News
Tiny Barbarian DX Physical Copy
SANTA ANA, Calif., July 19, in the year of our Lord
2017—Nicalis, Inc. announced today that physical copies of Tiny
Barbarian DX, the company’s upcoming sword-and-sorcery platform
game for Nintendo Switch, will feature a dynamic cover
illustration by world-renowned artist and character designer
Susumu Matsushita. The game is currently scheduled for release
in the fourth quarter of 2017 with an MSRP of $29.99.
Mr. Matsushita is best known as the legendary artist who created
cover art for hundreds of issues of Famitsu, Japan’s
longest-running video game magazine. He is the creator of Necky
the Fox, Famitsu’s mascot who appeared as a playable character
in Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker via the Mario Costume mechanic.
Tiny Barbarian DX is an action-packed side-scroller that
combines platform jumping with sword swinging, expertly blended
with retro pixel art and loincloth-stirring chiptunes. After
seeing gameplay footage and studying the production art created
by StarQuail Games, Mr. Matsushita agreed that his immediately
recognizable character rendering style would be perfect for the
game’s box art. “Tiny Barbarian DX is a game I’d like to play,”
he says, “and it’s been a while since I felt that!”
In addition to magazine covers, Mr. Matsushita’s acclaimed
artwork has graced the packaging of many other video games over
the past 40 years, including Motor Toon Grand Prix, Maximo and
even the original Hudson’s Adventure Island for the NES and
TurboGrafx-16. His Tiny Barbarian DX illustration shows the Tiny
Barbarian and his counterpart Tiny Barbarina riding on the
fearless Wasteland Wildcat while enemies from the game surround
them on all sides!
Retail copies of Tiny Barbarian DX will also contain a
full-color instruction manual that includes a featurette on the
making of the box art. It describes Mr. Matsushita’s creative
process, details his preferred art supplies, shows photos of him
working at his drawing table and even identifies the 1960s rock
instrumental that he listened to while he created the cover!
Developed by StarQuail Games and published by Nicalis, Tiny
Barbarian DX is planned for release on Nintendo Switch in the
fourth quarter of 2017.