See the embedded tweet here

ONE FENIX DOWN is a turn-based RPG inspired by classics, developed by Regalcraft Games, which promises to take players back to the golden era of the 90s. With 14 playable characters, hundreds of unique enemies, and an epic story of war, betrayal, and redemption, the game has everything to captivate fans of the genre. The crowdfunding campaign achieved success in just three days, with a release scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025. In an interview, the Regalcraft Games team shared details about the inspirations behind the project and the next steps in development.

The main inspiration for ONE FENIX DOWN comes from Final Fantasy VI. The lead developer recalls the magical experience of playing the Square Enix classic at age 10, a feeling he never managed to recreate with other games. "Almost all my inspiration comes from Final Fantasy VI. I still remember playing it when I was 10 years old and nothing else came close to the awe I felt playing through the story and experiencing the character interactions. I wanted to play a game that felt just like FFVI after I finished it, but nothing could recreate that magic for me." This nostalgia drove the creation of ONE FENIX DOWN, aiming to capture the essence of 90s RPGs. Although the industry has evolved, the passion for SNES titles remained, resulting in a game that promises to bring back that magic for modern players.

To ensure that each character and location is unique and engaging, the game adopts a hierarchical approach to the narrative. "Here's where I deviate a little from Final Fantasy VI. Instead of having a full ensemble cast where there's no clear protagonist, I have a sort of pyramid ranking system. At the top are the protagonists – three siblings from the prestigious Strauss family. Those three will play the most pivotal roles in the story and we'll experience a lot of it through their perspective." The game's vast world includes multiple biomes, countries, languages, and cultures, offering a diverse and realistic experience filled with secrets and rare abilities to discover. "For the vast world, I've tried to create something realistic with multiple biomes, countries, languages, and cultures. Some will play a more vital role in the story, while others are littered with goodies for the player to discover."

The success of the crowdfunding, which reached 140% of the goal in less than a week, had a significant impact on the game's development. "We recently hit 140% of our target goal in less than a week, which is more than I could have hoped for. It certainly validates the thousands of hours I've poured into this game." With an expanded budget, the team can now create an original soundtrack for ONE FENIX DOWN, further enhancing player immersion. "The biggest impact is that I'll have enough budget to create a ONE FENIX DOWN OST thanks to the crowdfunding." The main priority is to complete the main story, which is 90% finished, followed by a long period of polishing. The game is expected to be available in English on Steam by the end of 2025, with possible localization for other languages, including Portuguese, and porting to consoles, depending on the initial success.

Players can look forward to innovative gameplay mechanics such as character swapping and instant-killing enemies on the map, although these features will only be available during specific events. "In terms of features, I've tried to include some of the more interesting ones in the demo such as party swapping and instant-killing enemies on the map. Although both of these will be during certain events and not always available." As for the story, the team keeps details secret to avoid spoilers but guarantees that fans of SNES-era RPGs will have much to enjoy in ONE FENIX DOWN. "Story elements will be kept hush-hush as I'm big into avoiding spoilers. All I'll say is that fans of the SNES-era Final Fantasies will probably enjoy what I have cooked up for them."