Black Finger JET: Everything We Know

Remember the complete and utter disappointment that cloaked the gaming industry when SNK finally closed the book on Metal Slug? Well, in a bid to reconstruct the mantel, legendary artist Akio and the guys over at Kohachi Studio have announced a new type of IP—a pixel-ripped shooter titled Black Finger JET. And if all goes as swimmingly as one would expect from such a top-shelf team, then we should see the spiritual successor bolt to life at some point over the next twelve months.

There is a downside to this rather exciting announcement, however, which is the lack of information on the subject. Turns out, Kohachi Studio has been rather coy with the initial information dump, which leads us to believe that there are still several creases in need of ironing out. For what it's worth though, here's everything we can currently tell you about the sprite-heavy IP.

What Is Black Finger JET?

Black Finger JET is an upcoming run-and-gun shooter by Kohachi Studio, a team best known for its lineage of dungeon crawling RPGs, which includes Marchen Forest: Mylne and the Forest Gift. A spiritual successor to Metal Slug, Black Finger JET will reintroduce a classic 8-way aiming system and the “feel of an old-fashioned game.” So, if you happened to have your hopes set on romping through a homage of some of the most timeless 90's arcade side-scrolling platformers ever conceived, then you're in luck.

Story

Right now, we can't say for certain what the plot will be here, other than the fact it'll supply a “great adventure on a variety of stages.” It'll also set a lot of its world around the JET car, a versatile tool that can be fashioned into an airplane, a submarine, and other types of battle-ready tech. As for how this will tie into the overall narrative remains unclear — as it probably will be until Kohachi Studio comes to a final decision on which way to take the IP. Until then, it's really anybody's guess. Western? Cyberpunk? Horror? Honestly, your guess is as good as ours at this point.

Gameplay

Judging by what's already been said, Black Finger JET will accomodate a classic side-scrolling run-and-gun style, similar to that of Metal Slug. To this end, you can expect plenty of high-octane combat, boss battles, and a whole lot of pixels. This is subject to change, of course, but from the looks of its are style and elevator pitch, we'd be lying if we said it didn't look a whole lot like a love letter to Akio's earlier works. And that's fine, to be fair.

“Depending on the situation, use various guns such as handguns, machine guns, shotguns, and sometimes ride the proud vehicle “JET car” and defeat the enemies that rush!” the description adds. “A versatile and perfect vehicle, the JET car transforms into an airplane, sometimes a submarine, as well as ground battles! A great adventure on a variety of stages created by it is waiting for you!” Intrigued? Count us in.

Development

Kohachi Studio will be heading up the project — a team built by various industry veterans including OG artist Akio, who designed the original Metal Slug sprites, and Meeher, who previously worked on Undercover Cops, and Samurai Spirit Bushido. And while the team is relatively small, the site has made it clear that home-based freelancers will be brought on to help develop Black Finger JET.

Going by the site, the team is currently on the hunt for pixel artists, 3D artists, 3D animators, Unity engineers, and Unity effect designers. You can see the vacancies for yourself over on Kohachi Studio's handle here.

According to the press release, development on the game has already begun. That said, without the momentum of a full team behind it, chances are it won't go under the hammer for several months. And when it does finally come to fruition, it'll be heading to PC via Steam. Does this mean a console port is out of the question? Not exactly. In fact, Kohachi Studio has yet to decide on whether or not to branch out to other platforms.

Trailer

Again, it's early days, so don't expect to see any form of preview or in-depth trailer for at least a few months — maybe even a year. If we're lucky, then we could see a more insightful trailer of the tentative title before year's end. Just don't put all your eggs in one basket and you won't be disappointed.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Black Finger JET will be heading to PC via Steam at some point in, well, 2024 or beyond. Rumor has it, Kohachi Studio is also considering the idea of bringing it to consoles, too. A release date has yet to be formally announced, though it's safe to say that, with the team looking to recruit new staff, it won't be for a fair while. If, by chance, the studio makes heads or tails of it, then news is sure to spread like wildfire over on its chosen streaming handles.

Unfortunately, it's a little too early to comment on the game's pre-launch bonuses or special editions. Chances are, if it's only coming to PC, then it probably won't have the latter. But who knows? We'll have to hang fire and see what happens with that one.

When all's said and done, Black Finger JET won't be arriving just yet — but it is happening. And so, if you're interested in staying in the loop while Kohachi Studio cross the t's and dot the i's, then be sure to check in with its official social feed for more updates and clues here. If anything major drops—like a release date, for example—then we'll be sure to let you know as soon as we're able to.

So, what's your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Black Finger JET when it eventually releases? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.