Last Crown Warriors looks like someone mashed up Link’s Awakening and a light RTS, and it bills itself as an “action-tactics” game, blending overhead action-RPG combat with territory control and base-conquering mechanics.
You control a small squad of warriors, each with unique abilities, roaming a tile-based overworld and clearing out enemy forces while capturing bases by literally raising flags. Hold a point and your influence spreads; ignore it for too long and the meter ticks back, forcing you to loop back and re-secure territory as new threats pop up.
Combat leans heavily into handheld Zelda, with sword swings, enemy patterns, and screen compositions that clearly nod to Oracle-era design, while the broader structure and party abilities echo the Mana series more than a straight action RPG. The current public demo focuses on an early zone called Button Plains, giving a decent slice of the loop without spoiling anything.
Behind the project is Light Games, a tiny outfit built around three core contributors: designer/programmer Imanolea, pixel artist Seiyouh, and composer/sound designer potatoTeto. The team funded Last Crown Warriors on Kickstarter back in December 2022, pulling in over €40k from hundreds of backers for physical and digital editions targeting original hardware. Physical carts are still in the pipeline, with backers currently getting early access builds through Ko‑Fi and Kickstarter updates, while the new demo is completely free for anyone with an emulator or a flash cart setup.
If you have a modded GBC, a MiSTer, or just a favorite retro handheld, it is an easy drop-in ROM that feels surprisingly modern in how it treats battlefield control, without losing that chunky, late‑’90s pixel charm.
Source: itch.io via Time Extension
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