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Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast From the Past revives the beloved series as a hand-drawn RPG
D
Dave Tach
The titular felines—Speedy Cerviche, Polly Esther and Guido Anchovy—starred in an animated series that debuted more than three decades ago in 1990. Alongside a wide cast of characters like Seymour "The Big" Cheese, Jerry Atric, and Bad Bird, the Samurai Pizza Cats sliced their way into ‘90s kids’ hearts worldwide. But their story remained confined to that original run of 52 episodes—until now.
They make a surprise return thanks to the developers at Blast Zero and the just-announced action role-playing game Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past. The Dutch developers, formerly Tanuki Creative Studio, are perhaps best known for Jitsu Squad. And according to Blast Zero founder and CEO Dave Baljon, that co-op-focused beat ‘em up (inspired by Marvel vs. Capcom) led directly to Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past.
After the indie studio successfully funded Jitsu Squad on Kickstarter in 2021, a Japanese company contacted them about releasing an arcade port in Japan. That led to a discussion about what they might want to add to the existing game and what they might want to do next.
“And we started thinking, ‘Well, if we can make a list, and we put something at the top of the list, what would that be?’" said Baljon. "Then, at the top of the list, you put something, of course, which is difficult to get. And then, suddenly, this guy from the company that we know in Japan said, ‘I know somebody at Tatsunoko.’”
That’s Tatsunoko Production, the animation company behind Kyatto Ninden Teyandee, known outside of Japan as Samurai Pizza Cats—the property at the very top of the developers’ wishlist. It was a longshot, they knew, because the rights to the intellectual property had been historically complicated.
“And before we knew it, they asked us if we could do some sort of a pitch where we would show them what we would like to do with the characters of Samurai Pizza Cats, because they played Jitsu Squad," said Baljon. “So we made a pitch of artwork that we quickly put together. And they said, ‘Let's talk.’ And then we spoke about what we could do—the idea of the game. And then half a year later, suddenly, a contract drops. And they said, ‘We want to do it.’”
The Samurai Pizza Cats worked well in Jitsu Squad because the gameplay was reminiscent of the anime. Speedy, Polly, and Guido each had a defined set of distinct skills that lent themselves naturally to different play styles in the game.
The collaboration was so successful that a new conversation began about a standalone Samurai Pizza Cats game for the first time in 35 years.
The same skills and personalities that made the arcade integration successful also made developing Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past, in some ways, obvious.
“The game is an action platformer RPG,” Baljon said. “You can switch between the Pizza Cats. We thought it would be pretty cool to let them fight along as a team. Speedy is more for close combat, fighting with a sword. Guido is more like the aerial character, which is very good for platforming and different in the way that he fights. And Polly is more like a distant character, like Mega Man, shooting with her kunai shuriken. And she's very fast.”
The role-playing element comes in the form of cards that you collect in-game. Apply them to the characters, and they’ll gain bonuses like speed, double-jumping, and more strength.
“We have many, many, many cards that people can collect over the game itself. These cards are being drawn by the original artist, by the way.”
On top of that, Baljon said that the developers added elements to deepen the gameplay and show more of the Samurai Pizza Cats world.
“There is side-scrolling, just like in Mega Man and like in Mario. And there's an overworld where people can walk through cities and go through houses. You can purchase stuff. All that.”
As Baljon talks not just about the game but about what Blast Zero was able to do, you can see the unmistakable wonder and excitement in his face.
“We know what fans expect, and we want to wow them,” he said. “When you bring Samurai Pizza Cats back after 35 years, you have to deliver. Everything needs to be spot on.”
And there are a few ways that happened, as the game’s announcement trailer unambiguously shows.
First, they were able to bring back nearly every original English and Japanese voice actor, as well as the show’s original artists and writer. Second, to capture the feel of the animated series, they became animators themselves. In creating a digital game that looked like the original animated series, they had to become traditional 2D animators.
“We had to study the cel technology,” he said, referring to the 2D animation technique where artists draw on transparent sheets called cels. “It's like a piece of plastic. They do the line work and on the back of the cell, they paint them. This is actually what we did for the trailer, and this is actually what we do for the game. So backgrounds and stuff are being made like that.”
If what you see in the game looks like the kind of traditional 2D animation that the original Samurai Pizza Cats was created with, that’s because it is the very same. The Samurai Pizza Cats return in 2025 using a combination of old and new technology.
It’s clear that this is a labor of love for Baljon and the team. They aren’t just excited to bring Samurai Pizza Cats back—they’re excited to create a fun and unmistakably reverent adventure for fans old and new.
“Nostalgia is powerful. When people see the game, we want them to think, ‘This is exactly as I remember it.’ That’s what we’re aiming for.”
Wishlist Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past on the Epic Games Store.