Long-Awaited Game Boy Advance Title Sees Release Over Two Decades After Announcement

Kien, an independent Italian-developed action platformer initially intended for the Game Boy Advance, has finally seen the light of day in 2024, launching as a retro-exclusive title for the original Game Boy console. Plagued by years of delays and even a publisher-led cancellation, the game's eventual release on its originally targeted handheld platform is hailed as a triumph for game preservation efforts, with the development team expressing the profound joy of witnessing Kien's long-awaited debut on the hardware it was designed for over two decades ago.

Kien, an action platformer initially slated for the Game Boy Advance over two decades ago, has finally seen the light of day in 2024, launching exclusively on Nintendo's retro handheld. While it's regrettable that the game's official release is limited to a console no longer supported by its manufacturer, the mere fact that this long-lost GBA title has been made available to the public is a significant triumph for game preservation efforts.

The journey leading to Kien's eventual release has been nothing short of arduous. Developed by the independent Italian studio AgeOfGames, the game was conceived in 2002 as a passion project by a team of aspiring game creators with little prior experience in coding and programming. Despite facing a setback that pushed the title into production limbo, the game's development progressed smoothly, and Kien was actually completed and shipped to reviewers as early as November 2003. However, the title was then abruptly canceled by its publisher just before launch. Over the years, AgeOfGames persistently shopped Kien to other companies, but they were unable to secure a suitable publishing partner for decades, until the game's recent retro-exclusive launch on the original Game Boy hardware.

In a fortuitous turn of events, in March 2024 the retro game publisher InCube8 announced a partnership with the independent studio AgeOfGames to finally bring the long-delayed Kien action platformer to the Game Boy Advance, complete with a physical cartridge release. Just a few months later, the once-canceled GBA title has officially made its debut on Nintendo's classic portable console, marking a triumphant conclusion to its arduous journey. To commemorate this much-anticipated launch, Fabio Belsanti, one of the five original developers who worked on Kien, shared his thoughts in an interview with The Guardian, expressing the profound significance of witnessing the much-postponed release of the game on its intended platform.

Two Decades After Cancellation, Long-Lost Game Boy Advance Title Sees Unexpected Release

In the interview, Belsanti touched on numerous topics, but one that stood out was the decision to release Kien on the now-defunct Game Boy Advance platform. The Italian developer expressed a sense of profound magic in seeing the game finally reach its intended console, describing it as a "dream come true" to witness Kien come to life on the very system it was designed for. While the title may appear dated by modern standards, Belsanti argued that the technical limitations of the GBA actually added to the game's charm, asserting that "the power of the video game experience can, not always but in some cases, be much more intense and powerful in old video games made with limited graphical and technical resources."

In a surprising reveal, Belsanti disclosed that AgeOfGames is currently developing a spiritual successor to Kien, offering an exciting prospect for fans of the long-awaited Game Boy Advance title. Hopefully, this follow-up project won't face the same protracted, two-decade-long development cycle and exclusive release constraints as its predecessor, providing a more timely and widely accessible experience for modern audiences to enjoy.