Retro Dodo’s own Anthony Wallace aka Nara Makes Games has just launched his brand new game for the Game Boy Color, The Mayor of Sanctuary.
This is Anthony’s first major game project which he has been working on for the past 3 years, started while living in Japan during the Covid lockdowns and now brought to life in physical format.
That’s right; a tangible product you can hold in your hands, and more importantly, play!
The first thing we wanted to know is what kept him motivated for three years? How does a person go about making a Game Boy Color game today?
His answer: “coffee, pizza and lots of inspiration”.
Our follow up question was what inspired him?
“Life experiences, the beautiful environments of Japan, and of course… animals.”
Knowing Anthony and a little bit about his story, we should anticipate that the game will include lots of scenes from his travels throughout Asia.
And we’re also expecting cats. Lots of cats.
The Mayor of Sanctuary, A New Gameboy Game For 2023!
The Mayor of Sanctuary is a new exploration game created for the Game Boy Color.
It is inspired by many of Anthony’s personal favourite games, like The Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening, Eastward, and Secret of Mana.
If I was to make a cocktail of my favourite games, then they’d all be in there immediately, so it’s safe to say that I’m pretty excited to get playing!
And of course, the game is inspired by his life, his travels, and his love of retro video games.
The art in particular looks quite special, and we’re excited to see what Anthony has crafted for us!
This is looking like a pretty unique experience, and not just for the nostalgia of opening up a Game Boy Color box again after so many years.
Whether you plan to enjoy this new Game Boy title on one of the best emulation handhelds or on an original Game Boy, Anthony has made something very special that looks set to blow us away!
But make no mistake – this is a real Game Boy game made for real Game Boy hardware. So for the best experience, you’re going to want to get a physical cartridge.
The game’s physical release is being published by Incube8Games, who also brought us Game Boy titles like Deadeus, The Machine, and the upcoming Infinity.
So we’re especially excited to add a new Game Boy title to our physical collection in 2023.
Purchase Information
The Mayor of Sanctuary is now available for pre-order in digital and physical formats at Incube8Games.com.
The Digital Edition for emulation is $9.99USD and the Standard Edition is $54.99USD.
If you want to go all out (and why the heck not!), then the Collector’s Edition is priced at $89.99USD, and the Limited Collector’s Edition with a slick gold metal cartridge is priced $124.99USD.
The Collector’s Editions of the game include a bunch of bonus swag, like stickers, pins, a poster, and a CD soundtrack.
I’m not going to lie; that custom gold metal cartridge that comes in the Limited Collector’s Edition is the coolest thing ever. It’s something that Anthony has been dreaming of since the beginning of the project and we’re all very proud that his dream has finally come true.
We’ve been intently following Anthony’s progress with this game since he joined Retro Dodo; we’ve seen character changes, heard about the plot, and essentially received weekly teasers from him for months now. We’re incredibly excited to hold this game in our hands, and we hope that you’ll show some support to our tireless News Writer by showing The Mayor Of Sanctuary some love and bagging a copy!
You can grab your physical copy of The Mayor of Sanctuary through Incube8Games starting today, September 14th.
And you can also check out Anthony’s journey that led to the release of his first video game on his Instagram and Youtube channels.
Seb Santabarbara has bought every Nintendo console that has ever been released in his 33 years on Planet Earth. His favourite game franchise is Zelda, and he’s patiently waiting for Banjo-Kazooie to come back to the fold. When he’s not playing games, he’s travelling the world in his self-converted camper van.
