Lie of Caelum: Spirit, a brand-new indie JRPG inspired by PSX and Saturn games, opened its Kickstarter on 1 September, aiming to get a funding goal of $34,000. To the pleasant surprise of developer Classi5ed, JRPG fans made a party and not only broke the initial funding goal in a single day, but almost doubled the target.
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At a glance, if you watch the available trailer for Lie of Caelum: Spirit, you will see several callbacks to JRPGs of yesteryear, such as Xenogears, Phantasy Star, and other sci-fi titles, which, in my book, are nothing but perks. The developer said on Twitter that these two franchises were the main inspiration for the game, so if you like them, I recommend checking out Lie of Caelum: Spirit.
Sci-fi JRPG Lie of Caelum: Spirit Is Completely Funded, But There Are Still Stretch Goals
For those unfamiliar with Kickstarter, the creator sets a funding amount, which theoretically would be what is needed for the project to kick off. Then, they can add some stretch goals, which are extra bonuses in case the funding amount reaches certain milestones. According to the Kickstarter deatils, the $34,000 backing will cover hiring new artists to complete assets, such as character art, pixel art, and music — which, by the way, features guest composer Motoi Sakuraba, a pretty good musician heard on many JRPGs — as well as platform fees and taxes.
Lie of Caelum: Spirit has already passed its initial funding, and we have now entered the stretch goals. Since the developer didn’t set anything above the $60,000 mark, it shows they weren’t expecting this resounding success. The team has already announced that they are working on Phase 2 of the stretch goals, which should be revealed soon.
If you watch the available trailer for Lie of Caelum: Spirit, you will see several callbacks to JRPGs of yesteryear, such as Xenogears, Phantasy Star, and other sci-fi titles.
The first stretch goal for Lie of Caelum: Spirit was a digital artbook for all backers. The second, third, and fourth refer to the game itself, expanding more of its features, such as more cards for a card minigame within the JRPG and adding a New Game+ system. The $60,000 stretch goal is the most interesting, though, because it guarantees a port to the Switch 2. In Phase 2, the game will receive an Xbox port according to the developer, while there is currently no word on a PlayStation release.
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A Callback to JRPGs of the Past
As an extreme JRPG fan, I understand that we went through a golden era during the SNES and PS1 times. Still, I can also appreciate that we currently have countless JRPGs that retain all the essence and elements that captivated us in the past. Even so, I recognize that whenever an indie studio proposes to launch a new title paying homage to JRPGs of the past, with the most beautiful and intriguing pixel art they can make, bringing back elements that made me fall in love with the genre, I just cannot resist.
Lie of Caelum: Spirit is setting out to do all of that. With over 60 hours of gameplay in the main story alone and 20 hours for those who do all the side content, the game offers a plot where sci-fi philosophy meets cosmic religion, and I can already see Monolith Soft fans itching with anticipation. Regarding gameplay, battles will be turn-based, but will feature combo input strings to execute techniques as well as timed inputs, something that is thriving in command-based battles nowadays.
Lie of Caelum: Spirit has already passed its initial funding, and we have now entered the stretch goals.
Several other factors are at play during battles, such as the Sonus Gestalt, which, according to the description, is a limit break gauge. A mechanic called Elemental Blight causes debuffs as a target builds up elemental damage, and there are also the really interesting stances. Depending on which stance an ally or enemy is in, the focus of the attack changes, shifting between Chain, Normal, and Power Attacks, each with its own benefits and downfalls.
There are tons of details on the Kickstarter for Lie of Caelum: Spirit, and if you are excited, I recommend giving it a read. Who knows, you might even become a backer and help the game get finished faster than expected. For now, Lie of Caelum: Spirit doesn’t have a set release date, but it will come out on PC via Steam and, according to the stretch goals, on Switch 2 as well. An Xbox version may be considered if the backing reaches a certain threshold, but there is no word on a PlayStation version so far.
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