8-Bit Adventures 2 Pre-Console Launch Q&A With Joshua Hallaran

Back in January of last year, Lords of Gaming was given the privilege of reviewing 8-Bit Adventures 2, courtesy of the lead developer at the time. The title for a time was exclusive to PC, due to needing more time to port the game to consoles as originally intended. Fast forward to this year, specifically last month, and the long-awaited console versions of the game are finally on their way thanks to Critical Games AU’s partners at Ratalaika Games.

With the game launching on consoles on October 16th, I reached out to Joshua Hallaran, the lead developer on the game to follow up on the game’s launch on PC and how the process of getting the games onto consoles went.

8-Bit Adventures 2 Developer Introductions

When it comes to the indie development space, it’s a lot more personal than what is to be expected from the modern industry. In fact, when it came to talking to the lead developer on the game, I asked simply: “Let’s talk about who you are and when did 8-Bit Adventures 2 begin development? How many people were on your team throughout the journey?” As the context of the people working on the game can be important to understand the level of love and care put into it. Joshua replied with the following info on his team:

Hi everyone! My name’s Josh Hallaran and I’m an indie developer from Australia, best known for creating story-driven, turn-based Japanese-style RPGs. 8-Bit Adventures 2 began development shortly after the first game launched, all the way back in 2015. It’s taken us nine years to reach the finish line with a team of four – including myself, artist Jerram Fahey, composer Sebastian Cruz, and programmer Sufyan Noor.

Between the release of 8-Bit Adventures 1: Remastered and the release of the second game, there is a very noticeable improvement in quality. But seeing as the long wait time between these two games, I was curious about players who experienced the first: “Seeing as 8-Bit Adventures 2 is a sequel, did you have any returning players from the original game? And how did they enjoy the improvements made in the second game from a gameplay and narrative standpoint?” The answer Joshua provided was very interesting on multiple fronts:

We had quite a few returning players from the first game, yes! I think the most common response was surprise at the increase in production values haha – 8-Bit Adventures 2 had a much larger budget than the first game, and it really shows. But we also added so much depth to the gameplay (8-Bit Adventures 1 was a relatively simple RPG) and took the story much deeper.

The consensus seems to be that the sequel elevated the first game, rather than harmed it, so I’m really grateful that no one felt I’d ruined the story or characters.

Funnily enough, a lot of people have finished the sequel, and then gone back to play 8-Bit Adventures 1 – so more people have probably experienced the series in that order now!

As you can see above, there is a massive leap in quality between the two games. So, hearing from Joshua that people were impressed with the sequel to the point of visiting the original is a testament to how enticed people were to not only see how far the series has come. But to get some important context for the story overall to appreciate both properly.

However, one aspect of 8-Bit Adventures 2‘s launch that intrigued me, was getting Joshua’s perspective on post launch support for the title.

Addressing Feedback, Hotfix’s, April Fools and Content Updates

When it comes to modern game releases, especially on PC, one of the things that comes as an expected challenge is taking into account all feedback given about your game. Anywhere from the Steam reviews page, or forums, there are going to various levels of praise and criticism leveraged towards it. As such I was curious to hear Joshua’s perspective on how this process went for him: “When it came to the game’s launch, what were the takeaways from some of the feedback you got from the general audience?” And his answer hit on a few notes I mentioned in our review from last year:

Most things, reviews and players seemed to agree on – the only real dissent was over difficulty (some people felt it was quite challenging, while others thought it was too easy). But the strongest piece of feedback from the general audience was the text speed being too slow.

I’d tried to make these tightly choreographed cutscenes where scenes played out alongside timed dialogue. But while some players liked this, most found it too sluggish; so that was one of the first changes we made (a change I’ve kept iterating on until recently). So, it really taught me to keep speed in mind for cutscenes.

While the initial experience does warrant reading all of the text provided and enjoying as Joshua said, the choreography in cutscenes, when replaying the game, it begins to wear off as you know where scenes are heading. But in terms of difficulty, my experience with the game was one and the other bouncing back and forth.

With those lessons in mind, I was eager to learn about how he tackled adding new content, and bosses to take on: “There were quite a few updates since the game launched last year, how did it feel tackling big updates that added new content and fixing bugs and the like?” His answer was similarly enlightening:

It’s quite fun adding content to an already completed game, because the foundations are already there; you’re just finding ways to enhance the experience (even if it’s just through bug fixes) and give players new opportunities to use the tools they’ve collected. 

One of the great things about releasing first on Steam was being able to be receptive to player feedback. So, I was able to add things like a viewable map with location names, some new enemy types, a new weapon, a new ability, and even an April Fools’ Day boss! As well as overhaul some elements of the game that were a bit lackluster, like the Golden Sapling quest.

The April Fools Day boss was something that took me by surprise as it was an update that only existed for a singular day as every character turned into Eek, one of the characters from story. But in a later update, this boss fight was made permanent with the removal of everyone being Eek. However, that is only because of 8-Bit Adventures 2‘s console version.

Ratalaika Games Partnership, Console Porting Process and Sales Talk

With the upcoming console release, I was curious to learn about how the game performed sales wise, as indie developers rely really heavily on them: “Can we talk about the game sales performance wise? Did it meet your expectations after the time you and your team spent on it?”

Obviously, considering how long it was in development, Joshua’s answer was pretty insightful:

When you have a nine-year development cycle, it’s pretty hard to financially justify that amount of time haha. So, I’m mainly thinking about financial sustainability going forward. The good news is that we sold reasonably well on PC (at least, compared to a lot of other small indies), and the game has consistently continued to sell (65% of our sales have been after the game’s release month). But a lot of sales we make are naturally sold at a discount, so that eats into profits – and our sales numbers aren’t huge in general.

Because of the scale of our games, we only need to sell modest numbers to be successful. So, if we could reach a grand total of 20,000 sales, I’d be thrilled!

Obviously, I was not going to pry for specific sales numbers, but something else that was on my mind, that, while basic was: “How was the process of working with Ratalaika Games for the porting process? How involved were you?” As this is Joshua’s first foray into console development, his answer offered a good peak behind the curtain:

Ratalaika taught me a LOT about console development, so it was a really interesting journey learning from their experience. There are lots of things I take for granted on PC (like raw power) that just don’t easily translate over to consoles.

Until late 2023, I wasn’t that involved because it was all about porting the engine and game systems. But then once there were builds to start testing, I was able to go hands-on and give direct feedback (since, naturally, there were a lot of things that only I would notice).

Then in 2024, I got more involved, trying to optimize every element of the game that I could to get it working better on the less powerful systems – while leaving the console-side technical issues to Ratalaika. I’m really happy with the result!

But when it came to choosing how to get the game ported, I asked him: “What made you choose Ratalaika as the dedicated porting company?” With his answer providing a very unique reason:

8-Bit Adventures 2 is made in RPG Maker MV (albeit with a ton of features we added via custom plugins), and that engine cannot natively port to consoles. Ratalaika Games announced in 2020 that they were working on porting tech for RPG Maker MV, so when I saw the news I jumped at the chance to get in touch with them – especially since they had a good reputation.

With all of this in mind, I was curious to follow up on the potential sales performance on consoles: “Do you have a specific expectation on how much the game will sell on consoles?” And considering this is, again, his first foray into porting a game to consoles his answer was:

Since this is my first time ever launching a console game, I don’t really have specific expectations yet; because I have no data to base them on. My hope is that between all of the console platforms, we’ll sell more than we did on PC at launch. But beyond that, I’m hoping for the best!

Considering a lot of indie games big and small can turn into big hits, I also wondered about his first game getting the porting treatment: “Would you ever consider potentially porting the original game for console players who really enjoy the second game?” And his answer hints at something a little more:

Absolutely! The challenge is that the first game was made in a really old engine, and so it can’t be easily ported. So instead, what I want to do is remake it in a new engine and bring it up to the standards of the sequel. I can’t make a formal announcement, but speaking generally it’s a part of my long-term plan – so please stay tuned!

I have personally yet to play the original title. But seeing this announcement does get me excited to finally dive in and appreciate what improvements will be made. Similar to how people who played the original Nintendo Switch version of Dragon Quest 3 will feel about the upcoming HD-2D version.

Which also made me curious about how Joshua feels about the state of current gaming industry trends, as the landscape for big publishers is constantly changing, and some legacy companies have been trying to change with it.

An Indie Perspective on the Modern Gaming Industry Pivots

My question was simple, yet loaded: “When it comes to being an independent developer, do you or your team ever feel disheartened by the current state of the gaming industry? As it seems like more and more developers are opting for mobile platforms and free-to-play over the traditional model?” With his answer echoing some good-hearted sentiments on the subject:

It definitely is a little bit deflating, since – for me personally – those aren’t the kinds of games I enjoy, or want to create. My hope is that the current turmoil (chasing trends and taking huge losses) will lead to a return to, say, PS2 level budgets. Small to medium-sized teams working with moderate budgets to make great games, and generate a healthy profit – I really think we need to get back to that. And hopefully indie developers will be in a good position to ride that wave, if it happens!

Obviously, when it comes to this discussion, it is one thing for most media outlets, ours included, to comment on industry trends and failures. Along with the general public offering their thoughts one way of the other. But I am very thankful Joshua was able to offer his perspective on a sensitive topic.

What Comes Next After 8-Bit Adventures 2

One of my final burning questions for Joshua, seeing as it was two years ago that we talked about the game prior to launch. But I was curious to know what his plans were for the future: “Can we get a little hint at what’s next for you and your team? If you have a new project in the works, is it going to be something in the vein of 8-Bit Adventures 2? Or will you be trying something new?” With him answering with a lot of little hints that can go alongside the possible 8-Bit Adventures 1 remake:

Sure! I’m working on 8-Bit Adventures 2’s Free DLC at the moment, which should launch in early 2025, alongside two other top-secret projects. One of them I think has a pretty surprising element to it, and you should hear about it next year. 

With that said, RPGs are my passion, and so it’s safe to say that everything I’m working on is in the same realm as 8-Bit Adventures 2. So, if someone likes the work we’ve done before, there’s definitely more of it on the way!

In a follow-up conversation with Joshua, he did confirm that the free DLC will not have a staggered release between PC and consoles:

“It’ll be a simultaneous release for the Free DLC, as it’ll be handled in an update”.

But, to not stray too far away from the main purpose of this interview, the game itself, I asked one final question for him: “What would be your “elevator pitch” to console players who are only just now discovering the game and might be on the fence about it?” And his answer still had the same vigor as the one previously given in our prior Q&A:

Pilot your Airship and explore a vast World Map in 8-Bit Adventures 2 – a story rich tribute to the Golden Age of JRPGs. Strengthen your party’s bonds with character-driven side-quests and face off with challenging bosses in dynamic Turn-Based battles!

I personally believe that entertainment should leave us in a better place than where it found us. So, If you’re looking for an uplifting experience – and if you love Japanese-style RPGs, turn-based combat, or story rich games – please check out 8-Bit Adventures 2. Thank you!

8-Bit Adventures 2 will be launching on consoles on October 16th for PlayStation 4|5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. It will launch at $19.99, and if you have access to a computer with a competent processor, or a laptop that is not even built for gaming, you can try a free demo here to get a taste prior to launch!

You may also find Joshua’s X account here to follow him for updates on the game.