Dune’s popularity last October not only revived its own franchise IP with a reinvigorated luster, but the movie has also etched its influence into other popular IPs as well, such as Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides having aDunecharacter model added toFortnite.
Dune’s recent revival has also resurfaced Soft Brigade’sDune: Ornithopter Assault, a 3D flying-shooter with a first-person perspective in theDuneIP, which was finished yet unreleased and got shelved for the forseeable future. Now, twenty years later, this previously unreleased game has found new life through Retro Room Games and seeks pledged funds on Kickstarter toward its completion and future content.
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Because the Kickstarter’s timing aligns with the fanfare aroundDune’s massively successful theatrical reboot, it would seem as though Retro Room Games hopes to take advantage of that excitement. However, Retro Room Games has apparently needed to shed theDuneIP from its distribution entirely after a failure to secure the license, despite securing the rights to the canned Game Boy Advance game itself. Instead, Retro Room Games has rebranded the game asElland: The Crystal Warswith an original narrative and lore that supplants that ofDune’s science-fiction epic.
Elland: The Crystal Warshas reached ninety-six percent of its Kickstarter goal, with 120 backers and 56 days left for fans to pledge, at the time of this writing. Retro Room Games' John Roo ambitiously plans torelease the Game Boy Advance gamewith physical copies, localization, merchandise, and new missions if extended stretch goals are also achieved. Pledges for $15 US will offer backers the digital edition of the game, which includes a Rom copy as well as a digital game manual, while backers who want a standard physical copy must pledge at least $55 US.
Special “Thank You” editions ofEllard: The Crystal Warsare also available for backers with the most funds required to pledge, though these backers will have access to digital and physical copies, their name in the game’s manual and credits, and other exciting features and trinkets. Because the Kickstarter started merely three days ago and already has nearly all of its goal completed, it is certain that fans are excited to get their hands on this game for the first time in twenty years asElland: The Crystal Wars, despite it not being anentry in theDunefranchise.
