If you’re a fan of visual novels and also suffer from high blood pressure you might not want to continue reading this. I know that when I saw another Kickstarter for Echo Tokyo launch I couldn’t help but feel more than a little sick to my stomach. While technically the fourth campaign being ran by AJ Tilley and crew it’s actually more like the third as he canceled the previous one just a day or so into it. Presumably because it was too soon after the second campaign and that the mold for the Shizume figurine wasn’t good enough. I have my doubts as to the authenticity of some, if not most, of that.Echo Tokyo

I won’t reiterate what Echo Tokyo‘s about. We’ve covered it enough times already to get the idea. What I will say is that even if this campaign is mainly for the figure the game itself is also being heavily pimped to potential backers. I doubt we’d see too many existing people returning except for those interested in getting the new swag and I’m certainly not returning to the well as I’m already getting what I care about from the first attempt. That said, it’s already halfway funded so enough people either missed the boat the first two times or they really want the figure.

Echo Tokyo

Anyway, aside from quadruple dipping the other major red flag is that the project’s title says nothing about Echo Tokyo. It’s called purely “Shizume the Flame Detective”. It almost feels like he wants others to think it’s something entirely different. I don’t know, but that’s how it looks to me. I do hope to see the game eventually released, and done well, but there’s too many shady things being done here. At least there are new screenshots to ogle over even if it’s left quite a bitter taste in my mouth.

About the Author

Serena Nelson

Serena has been a gamer since an early age and was brought up with the classic adventure games by Sierra On-Line, LucasArts, and Infocom. She's been an active member on Kickstarter since early 2012 and has backed a large number of crowdfunded games, mostly adventures. You can also find her writing for Kickstart Ventures and evn.moe.

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