The Great Giana Sisters 25th Anniversary![UPDATE!]

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***UPDATE***

Congratulations are in order for Black Forest Games! Their Project Giana Kickstarter has reached it’s initial goal of $150,000 with over 48 hours remaining on the clock. However, they still have plans for stretch goals: At $200,000 they’re going to add some more levels, and a hardcore mode. If they reach $250,000 they’ll add 2 more enemies, a new boss, and a new interactive object. And at $300,000 Black Forest Games will be able to bring Project Giana to the OUYA console. If that’s not incentive to donate then I don’t know what is.

For those of you on the fence download the Project Giana Demo, and give it a go. It’s beautiful, and insanely fun!

Come on all! Black Forest Games might be cleared to release the game as it is, but they still need our help to see the project through to it’s most complete state. If you wish to help fund the project then visit Project Giana Kickstarter and send a donation their way.

Check out the original post below for more info!

***Original Post***

It seems like every couple weeks we hear about a new 25th anniversary game in the works and, more often than not, Kickstarter is the place to go to celebrate said anniversaries of these retro classics. It’s not a bad thing at all. These retro games deserve another shot in the spotlight. We already have current versions of old classics like Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid. But what about the many other memorable franchises like The Great Giana Sisters. You say you’ve never heard of The Great Giana Sisters? That’s. . . well, not entirely surprising.

Here’s the story: The Great Giana Sisters was a side scrolling platformer that took many cues from Super Mario brothers. It was released in 1987, when I was 1. That’s my excuse, what’s yours? The Great Giana Sisters hit various Non-Nintendo consoles such as the Amiga, Commodore 64, and Atari ST. The game starred Giana and her sister Maria, who would obtain various power-ups while jumping on enemies heads and over large gaps. You know, standard platforming affair. Unfortunately, Nintendo didn’t like the idea of a game that looked and played like their own leading franchise and forced the title off the shelves just a few weeks later.

The Great Giana Sisters on Amiga

Super Mario Bros on NES

And that was that. The Great Giana Sisters lied dormant for over 20 years until 2009. Spellbound Entertainment, founded by Armin Gessert, creator of The Great Giana Sisters, created Giana Sisters for the Nintendo DS in Europe and Australia. Giana Sisters didn’t make it to the US until 2011. It didn’t reach critical levels of success but Giana Sisters did expand on the ideas of the original game. The new version featured updated graphics, new levels, and new power-ups. Giana Sisters made a big change by removing Maria, leaving Giana alone to explore the dreamworld. Giana could transform herself into Punk Giana which granted her the ability to shoot fireballs. It was an interesting change for the series, and one the team wanted to develop even further.

Giana Sisters on the Nintendo DS(2009)

That leads us to today. Black Forrest Games, comprised of key members of the now closed Spellbound Entertainment, is looking to bring Giana into the current generation with “Project Giana.” Currently a working title, this updated version of Giana goes deeper into the transformation of Cutie Giana to Punk Giana. Not only does Giana change appearance, and gain new abilities, the world around her transforms as well. It’s amazing to watch, and even cooler when you realize the transformation occurs in real time, whenever you want, without waiting on any type of cooldown! I’m not kidding! Check out this video of one of the levels below. Be forewarned, it does contain “spoilers” in that the player explored nearly all of the secret areas within the level.

Demo Level from the new Project Giana(2012)

See what I’m talking about? Not only are the graphics amazing, the shift from Candycane World to Spooky Landscape is awesome! Each version of Giana has a different ability. A spinning twirl allows Cute Giana to make longer jumps and hover in the air a bit, while Punk Giana can smash things with a fiery dash. The music is being composed by the composer of the original Great Giana Sisters, Chris Hülsbeck. Chris also has support from Fabian DelPriore, composer of Giana Sisters on the Nintendo DS, and chiptune band Machinae Supremacy. It sounds awesome, looks awesome, but it needs your help. . .

There’s currently a Kickstarter program running to support the project. “Project Giana” is nearly complete, but needs just a bit more funding to finalize production. Ideally, Black Forrest Games would like to raise $250,000 to release their dream version of “Project Giana.” However, if they can raise $150,000 they will still be able to release a “basic” version by October of 2012. Basic means 3 bosses, 9 enemies, some enemy variations, and 12 interactive objects. The stretch goal for the “full” version will feature 4 bosses, 2 more enemies, some more interactive objects, a hardcore mode, and a total of 20 levels! Unfortunately. . . they’re pretty far off this goal. “Project Giana” is currently floating around the $70,000 mark with 15 days to go, so we need to help them out as best as we can!

Ok, here’s the good stuff! You can help Black Forrest Games at the Project Giana Kickstarter. You can follow along the development at Project-Giana.com. Lastly you can follow and like the project on Twitter and Facebook for updates! Don’t forget to tell us what you think in the comments below!

Eric is not a boss. You can Email Eric or follow Eric on Twitter @EricSweeten or Facebook

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