Save Me Mr Tako: Definitive Edition is bringing the game back to digital stores this May with many long-requested upgrades and new features. Mr Tako began development back in 2014, when the 25th anniversary of the Game Boy-inspired creator Christophe Galati to create a platformer based on the games of that era.
Once Save Me Mr Tako: Definitive Edition is released, Galati will be dedicating his time to a new game for now known only as "Himitsu Project," with "himitsu" meaning secret in Japanese. Speaking to Game Rant, Galati opened up about Himitsu Project, and how he plans to use it to pay tribute to the Game Boy Advance era.
Moving On From Mr Tako
The development of Himitsu Project began in 2019, when Christophe Galati spent five months in Kyoto, Japan while staying at an artist's residency named Villa Kojoyama. In an early Patreon post about the game, Galati described a central theme as "secrets and how they turn into shadows" and said the title was "leaning toward the Action RPG genre."
Himitsu Project follows the same basic mantra as Save Me Mr Tako: telling a complex and occasionally dark story using the same basic code as an earlier era of gaming. The project's current name is used both to hide the game's real title and to reference the story's interest in secrets and how they are "used by people in power to control the world and shape history." When it comes to inspiration, Galati cited Golden Sun and Illusion of Gaia as key reference points within the ARPG genre.
The Differences Between Mr Tako and Himitsu Project
Himitsu Project players will be able to switch between a variety of characters within their party as they battle monsters from the shadows. The game will include a spell system similar to those found in Golden Sun and Illusion of Gaia, which as in those games will have uses both in combat and for solving puzzles.
Playable characters known to be in the game so far include Clive the protector class character, Jeanne the warrior, and Mylene the "creator." The characters have a design inspired by JRPGs, with the new game's pixel art going in a very different direction to the one found in Mr Tako. There's good reason for this shift behind-the-scenes.
While Mr Tako was developed almost exclusively by Galati, he told Game Rant that he had already "gathered a team of really talented artists" to work on Himitsu Project, a team including pixel artist brothers Pixel Boy and AAA. The game's story will deal with "politics, cults, pop and drag culture." Having visited drag shows in both Paris and Tokyo, Galati is keeping touch with performers to create a story which accurately depicts the drag scene. Fans can expect something created more collaboratively this time around, though with a similar dedication to recreating its genre to Mr Tako's.
Speaking to Game Rant, Mr Tako's creator said that the development of Himitsu Project was slowed down by the "situation Tako was in." After Save Me Mr Tako's original release back in 2018, the developer found himself unable to patch the game, leading him to eventually part ways with publisher Nicalis. Since then, Save Me Mr Tako has been unavailable on digital platforms, a problem Galati seeks to remedy with the release of Save Me Mr Tako: Definitive Edition under new publisher Limited Run Games.
"I’m excited to now be able to fully focus on this ARPG."
Galati said, who is now dedicating his attention to Himitsu Project.
Save Me Mr Tako: Definitive Edition releases May 5 on Nintendo Switch and on Steam.