If you grew up in the ‘90s you may recall the Samurai Pizza Cats – a 1990 anime, originally known as Kyatto Ninden Teyandee, that was localised for Western audiences.
To celebrate the franchise’s 35th anniversary a new video game is in development. Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past is being created by the Dutch studio BLAST ZERO (the team behind Jitsu Squad) and will be globally distributed by Red Dunes Games.
Taking the form of an action RPG with side-scrolling and top-down views, it features a recreation of cel-animation to match the look of the ‘90s show, and all three Pizza Cats will be playable – each of which has their own abilities.
The developers were able to reunite both the English and Japanese voiceover cast, including Rick Jones (Speedy Cerviche), Sonja Ball (Polly Esther), Terrence Scammell (Guido Anchovy, Narrator) and Dean Hagopian returning as Seymour “The Big” Cheese. Who doesn’t love a pun?
The Japanese cast includes Kappei Yamaguchi (Yattarou), Ai Orikasa (Pururun), Ikuya Sawaki (Kitsunezuka Ko’on-no-Kami), Naoki Tatsuta (Karasu Gennarisai) and Kenyu Horiuchi (Narrator). Seiichirō Yamashita joins the cast as Sukashii, taking over the role from Jurota Kosugi.
“I was deeply moved by the quality of the visuals. The passion of the game development team for this series was so evident, and it made me incredibly happy. Seeing Ko-on-no-Kami and Gennarisai’s interactions was exciting, and I was delighted to say Pururun’s signature catchphrase once again,” said Ai Orikasa.
Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past is planned for all current formats, but there may be a while to wait as it’s still in the early stages of development. The Steam page is however live with more screenshots.