Berita
Spaceman Memories blends retro JRPG fantasy with futuristic space wanderlust
A
Aron Garst
As Ichiro 94, players freely explore an open-world archipelago where folklore and futurism collide, and where every street corner reveals a lovingly crafted piece of nostalgia. Built in vivid 3D pixel art, Spaceman Memories captures the warmth of retro RPGs while offering the scale and freedom of a modern adventure.
The game’s standout charm is its aesthetic. Softly lit alleyways, cluttered convenience stores, rusted train stations, and misty mountainsides create a version of Japan that feels both familiar and dreamlike. It is a place suspended between memory and myth. The deeper Ichiro wanders, the more the world tilts toward the fantastical, pulling players into a mystery that blends timelines, cultures, and reality itself.
A project years in the making
That careful sense of craft is the result of a long development journey. It has been a personal project for its solo developer Tulio Tercero, who built Spaceman Memories through years of experimentation and a complete engine change.
"I've been working on this one for a couple of years now. I started it as a 2D game in Unity," said Tercero, who goes by NerdyPunkDev online. He switched engines during development, moving from Unity to Unreal Engine.
The switch shaped the game in ways the developer did not expect. Under Unreal, the world gained new layers of lighting, depth, and atmosphere that elevated the pixel art into something more tactile and expressive. The hybrid presentation merges handcrafted character detail with sweeping environmental views, giving players the sense that they are exploring a miniature world built with patience and intention.
Those visual upgrades also help sell the emotional tone. Ichiro’s situation is lonely, but the world around him is warm and inviting, from lantern-lit side streets to oddball yokai drifting through quiet forests. It is a setting that feels lived in even when it feels uncanny.
A wide range of influence
The inspirations behind Spaceman Memories read like a playlist of modern and classic favorites, all reassembled into something new. It's fused with DNA with many of NerdyDevPunk's inspirations, including everything from Undertale to Earthbound to Pokemon.
"It's a mix of everything happening there, like Octopath Traveler, a bit of Paper Mario," Tercero said, noting that he gets deeply inspired whenever he steps away from development to play something else. "Yeah, a bit of everything I tried to put into the whole thing."
These influences can be felt in both the structure and the mood. Combat encounters have the clean visuals and expressive animations of classic turn-based RPGs. Exploration carries a storybook quality similar to the layered worlds of Paper Mario. At the same time, the quiet moments between missions and the sense of wandering through a place that is half-real and half-imagined give the game an identity that is entirely its own.
Tercero also took notes from The Witness, a magical adventure steeped in challenging puzzles that tasks players with using visuals cues to progress. Japanese RPGs aren't known for visual puzzles, and he wants to do his part to change that.
"I improved the puzzle system in the game to use visual logic instead of math," he said. "I've always loved The Witness since way back, and I was thinking it would be cool to solve puzzles like that from a third-person perspective."
Even with recognizable touchpoints, Spaceman Memories never feels like a collage. The future Japan setting, the playful yokai encounters, and the offbeat humor that runs through Ichiro’s journey build toward a distinct tone with personality and confidence.
A solo developer's vision
If the game feels cohesive, it is because every part of it comes from a single creator—the art, the writing, the systems, and the worldbuilding all come from one perspective. With so many pieces, each pulled from a different inspiration, it is impressive how Tercero has shaped them into Spaceman Memories. There is a Godzilla-inspired spaceship, a Pokemon-style turn-based combat system, and even handcrafted Japanese architecture. It is all work he would be doing regardless of circumstance, and the result is a world that feels unmistakably his.
"I am a loner, dude. I think of myself as a lone wolf," Tercero said. "Even if I had the money to pay other people, I would still be doing the game by myself, this game that I'm making. It's my vision."
That independence has shaped Spaceman Memories in important ways. He can test ideas quickly, and the tone remains consistent from start to finish. The world feels personal, almost intimate, because it all comes from one person’s imagination. Every character quirk, roadside detail, and environmental clue comes from that same voice.
In an indie landscape filled with ambitious projects, Spaceman Memories stands out by embracing both scale and individuality. As Ichiro navigates a surreal version of Japan filled with spirits and secrets, players get the feeling they are exploring a world built with care, curiosity, and a singular creative vision.
With its striking art style and imaginative setting, this game is shaping up to be one memorable adventure on the horizon. Whether you are tracking down yokai, uncovering the mystery behind Ichiro’s accident, or simply taking in the neon glow of future Japan, the game invites you to slow down, explore, and enjoy the strange beauty of its world.
Ichiro 94 is still in hypersleep, waiting for his adventure to begin when the game launches in the near future. If you're looking for a new JRPG to get lost in, pop open that cryogenic bed and settle in. Spaceman Memories is on its way to Epic Games Store, and it just might be worth a hypersleep of your own.