I was already intrigued by this new Zelda-like indie RPG blowing up on Kickstarter, but I'm precisely 10 times more excited after learning it's being developed by the same Spain-based studio that came out with Mika and the Witch's Mountain, one of my favorite indie releases from last year, which mashed up Wind Waker and Kiki's Delivery Service into an unstoppably charming cozy adventure.
I'm definitely not the only one charmed by Bel's Fanfare, as its Kickstarter was 600% funded in just three days and has more than 10 times its funding goal with over $500,000 pledged at the time of writing.
Whereas Mika and the Witch's Mountain was clearly inspired by GameCube-era Zelda, Bel's Fanfare is developer Chibig's chance to show love to N64 classics like Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time. "By now, you should know that we are obsessed with the Nintendo 64 era," the studio says. "We would like to bring the good times back by replicating the most characteristic artifacts of the games that we used to play as children."
What I love most about Mika and the Witch's Mountain is that it pays reverence to its inspirations without coming across as derivative. With Bel's Fanfare, Chibig once again seems to be marching to the beat of its own drum with a story about a once prestigious and magical ship called The Witch of the Sea, which is now plagued by aura, something you're tasked with cleaning up as the daughter of the ship's stoker. It's Ghibli-esque, yes, but it's also wonderfully weird and unique in its own right.
Its visuals and music are most obviously inspired by N64-era Zelda, with big-headed freaks wearing oversized pants and whimsical orchestral music having an outsized presence in the above trailer.
Meanwhile, I'm actually reminded most of Luigi's Mansion in reading about gameplay in Bel's Fanfare. Your job is to explore the whole ship and cleanse every room of aura, which is sometimes hostile and requires combat. Seeing as how the folks at Chibig are such big fans of old Nintendo games, it wouldn't surprise me if the Luigi's Mansion loop of cleansing haunted mansions of ghosts was an inspiration, which would frankly be pretty dope.
Anyway, I haven't been this excited for a new indie project in a minute, but sadly it's still a little ways off. Chibig plans to release Bel's Fanfare on Switch 1 and 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC in October 2027.
Here are some more upcoming indie games to keep on your radar.
