Krome Studio, the original developer of Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, had gone to Kickstarter in the hope of bringing the mascot platformer back on Nintendo Switch as an HD remaster. Here was Krome’s mission statement when the campaign kicked off:
“Now, in 2019, we’re seeking to return to our roots and our mates with a nostalgic re-mastering of this platformer-genre classic. We’re seeking US$50,000 to bring TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD to the Nintendo Switch. The best part will be the new Switch controls where you can use them like boomerangs to throw and glide. And because it’s on the Switch, you can take it with you – it’s portable! While we’re at it, we’ll improve the graphics and the audio, and of course we’ll need funds for the various testing costs associated with releasing a product on Nintendo’s console. Passing Lot Check ain’t free ya know.”
Here are the features that were promised at the start of campaign:
- Joycon 6-axis motion control for throwing the rangs, gliding and precision boomeranging!
- Screen-space ambient occlusion
- Fully dynamic shadows
- Color correction and bloom
- High definition (HD) art textures for the levels and characters
- Improved particle effects
- Improved camera
- New Gamemode called “Hardcore Mode”
- QA testing and problem fixing
- Nintendo Lot Check
- New TY character skins (a stretch goal feature)
- Compatible with both the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite* (*requires extra controllers to be able to use the TY motion controls. i.e. throwing and gliding.)
Sounding good so far, right? Well, apparently many other people felt the same way, as Ty has officially blown past the $50,000 asking mark and now rests at $58,215. While that’s in and of itself quite the success, it also means that a number of stretch goals are now vying to be reached. Here’s a rundown of them:
Digital Wallpaper Art (Stretch Goal)
This is a global reward for all backers if Stretch Goal 1 is achieved. You will receive 6 wallpapers for use on your phone/desktop.
Live Stream on Twitch (Stretch Goal)
This is a global reward for all backers if Stretch Goal 2 is achieved. Join us on Twitch for a live gameplay session with the creators of TY the Tasmanian Tiger! You’ll be able to send in your questions and hang out with us.
TY Skins (Stretch Goal)
This is a global reward for all backers if Stretch Goal 3 is achieved. Well, except Bilby level backers unless they later get the Switch game. We will add the ability to have some new looks (also known as skins) to the Nintendo Switch game for TY.
There are a few more, but you can check out the full list by clicking on the link to the campaign, above. Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD will apparently be available on Steam immediately following the conclusion of this funding drive, but the actual Switch version won’t be coming until March 2020. Ty is perhaps not one of the most famous platformers of all-time, but it was still quite the fun adventure on GameCube, back in the day. This new remaster is looking to take what fans remember and add an ample amount of polish to it.
Will you be backing Ty? Share with us on social media or in the comments!