PaRappa, Elite Beat Agent Dev's New Game Fails To Reach Kickstarter Goal

Project Rap Rabbit, the rhythm-action game from the creators of PaRappa The Rappa, Gitaroo Man, and Elite Beat Agents, has failed to meet its Kickstarter funding goal, raising just £162,057 of the £855,000 it was asking for.

In an update posted on the Kickstarter project page, developers iNiS J and NanaOn-Sha thanked people for their support but said they "must sadly accept that our crowd-funding journey must end here."

The statement continues: "We knew that sourcing funds for a high-quality rhythm-action game would be tough, and though we knew that Project Rap Rabbit would be an incredible game, unfortunately we weren't able to do enough to prove that to the wider world."

The developers added that they "are not in the position to be able to fund further production for a crowd-funding relaunch involving a title deeper in development" and wouldn't want to scale back their vision for the game. As a result, "work on Project Rap Rabbit cannot continue at this time."

Despite the seemingly definitive end to Project Rap Rabbit, iNiS J and NanaOn-Sha indicated they haven't given up on the game entirely and that recent meetings at E3 may help give the project a future.

"Though our Kickstarter campaign hasn't gone the way we'd intended, our early stages of development have left us more determined than ever to bring Project Rap Rabbit to life. While you didn't see Project Rap Rabbit at any conferences or booths during E3 week, we had a very, very busy E3 filled with meetings about our vision for the future of rhythm-action.

"So what happens next?," the update adds. "At this moment it's far too early to say, but thanks in part to your overwhelming support we know that our vision for Project Rap Rabbit hasn't gone unnoticed."

The game was set to follow Toto-Maru, a rabbit and farm boy, and his sidekick Otama-Maru on their quest to save the world. The planet is becoming an increasingly hostile place thanks to "overlords." The heroes needed to create peace by "embracing the strength of music and by using the magic of rhythm and rhyme." The art style was inspired by 16th century Japan, and promised to blend traditional Japanese artwork and modern rap culture.

Project Rap Rabbit was initially planned for release on PlayStation 4 and PC. The team later committed to making a version of the game for Nintendo Switch if they exceed their goal and raise $1.5 million.