Fans of classic Final Fantasy games or webcomics from the early 2000s have a good reason to be happy. Brian Clevinger, creator of the classic Final Fantasy webcomic 8-Bit Theater, made a big announcement this week.
8-Bit Theater was a webcomic that began in 2001, around the same time as Final Fantasy 10, and ended in 2010. It was a loose retelling/parody the story of the original Final Fantasy using sprites from the game. Instead of telling the story of four heroes who left on a journey to save the world, it tells the story of four violent jerks who conned their way into the job and cause comic mishaps as they go. It was one of the first sprite comics and hugely influential on the medium. It was well regarded for its witty dialogue and excellent use of anticlimax.
Earlier this week on Twitter, Clevinger announced a Kickstarter for the 8-Bit Theater: 20th Anniversary Complete Script Book Do Not Sue Edition. The book will be a collection of the entire series, from the beginning all the way to the comic's illustrated 2010 epilogue. It will also include commentary and behinds the scenes tidbits. Of course, making money using copyrighted Final Fantasy assets probably wouldn't fly with Square Enix, so, rather than reprinting the comics, the book will contain the complete script of each comic, as well as occasional illustrations, hence the subtitle.
This announcement has been incredibly exciting for fans of both 8-Bit Theater and classic Final Fantasy. Until Final Fantasy 1 gets it's own Final Fantasy 7-style remake, it might be the next best thing for fans of that game. Despite having only been open for a few days, the Kickstarter has already gotten more than 200% of the funding it initially sought.
People who are interested might not want to wait too long, though. According to the Kickstarter, this will be the only chance to get the book, as they're limiting the print run to whatever people buy during the campaign.
8-Bit Theater: 20th Anniversary Complete Script Book Do Not Sue Edition is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter.
Source: Kickstarter