Welcome to the beginning of our coverage on interesting indie funding projects (Kickstarter, IndieGoGo), Steam Greenlight games, and news and previews!

Platform: PC (and Wii U, PS3, PS4, VITA & VITA TV, Xbox 360, Xbox One!)
DRM: Steam
Developer: WayForward
Genre: Action-Adventure/Metroidvania
Planned Release: October 2014
Funding Asked: $400,000.00USD
Funding Ends: October 4th, 2013

WayForward has been in the business a whopping 23 years with over 200 releases under their belt, most recently nostalgia-hammer DuckTales: Remastered, and now they aim to bring the star of their hit iOS game, Shantae: Risky's Revenge, to PCs and consoles everywhere in an entirely new adventure with the planned Kickstarter for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Gorgeous visuals? Quirky gameplay? Cheeky characters and story? Classic platforming action with an adventurous Metroidvania flair? Awww yisss, sign me up!

As you'd surmise from the title, the game stars Shantae, who is in fact half-genie, and sets out to stop the arise of an ancient evil that visits her in a dream. Shantae doesn't quite have semi-phenomenal, nearly-cosmic powers, but she does have an impressive arsenal of tricks to go along with her platforming prowess, such as the ability to use her ponytail as a weapon, belly-dance to transform into different beasts with unique powers, upgrades, and more. At the moment, the game is planned for three chapters (no word on how long those are), but the team has some truly ambitious stretch goals planned if their funding really takes off... such as the ability to play as Shantae's arch-nemesis, the pirate maiden Risky Boots, in her very own full campaign with her own unique abilities.

Shantae has been around for a long time, even beyond her iOS hit, having originally had her own adventure way back in 2002 on the Game Boy Color, and WayForward definitely has the talent and expertise to see this project through with their long history. To say the game looks gorgeous is an understatement, and with the constant demand for games to innovate and dazzle, it's easy to forget that classic platforming adventure, done well, can dazzle just as well, and is something we don't see enough of anymore. If that sounds promising to you, then head on over to the official Kickstarter page to learn more and check out a teaser video of the game in action!

JayisGames.com Kickstarter picks are selected based only on personal evaluation and perceived overall quality of the project. We assume no responsibility for failed projects or developer's inability to deliver. Donate with care! Contact dora AT jayisgames DOT com with KICKSTARTER in the subject line if you find a project you think we should know about!