Fans of 8-bit visual style gaming rejoice.  At the latest BitSummit event in Kyoto, Japan, renowned independent game creator/artist/developer Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya revealed his latest work, Gero Blaster bound for release in May of 2013.

Gero Blaster seems to be another RPG/Platformer, very similar in style and gameplay to his previous well known work, Cave Story.  If you have yet to play Cave Story you can purchase the remastered plus version on Steam or you can visit the official Cave Story website and download the game for free. Several of Pixel's other games are available on the site as well.

Jumping straight into the game, in Gero Blaster it appears you play as a frog named Kaeru, bound to save his girlfriend which appears to be a cat?  Honestly, I can't tell how the story will turn out, but at the very least we know we get to play as a frog.  With various weapons, interesting level layouts and enemy/boss mechanics, the game will undoubtedly be fun and tickle any old-school gamer's nostalgic nerve.  The game thankfully sports a very simple and easy-to-use control scheme.

Without further adieu here is the trailer for Gero Blaster:

Even at version 0.60, the game looks incredibly fun.  Prioritizing gameplay over fancy graphics and visual effects, the game should provide a very memorable experience.  The mobile market has a huge potential for quality games such as Gero Blaster to come and make a mark.  Studio Pixel has announced that it will be going straight to the iOS platform, though with how popular Android has become, we probably will see an Android version in the near future.

Here at T-ono.net, we had the opportunity to interview Daisuke Amaya himself.  The interview can be found right here.

Update (3/15/2013):

By chance, I found this very under-viewed gameplay footage of Gero Blaster.  Have a look!

The gameplay footage shows a couple of key things and demystifies some concerns fans may or may not have had.  First, the control scheme for directional shooting is now very clear.  The "Shot" button apparently can get locked into a left, right or up position and depending on which position the Shot button is locked in, Kaeru will face that direction and shoot.  Quite an intuitive control scheme for such a small space.  Through the video it is confirmed that the game will carry chiptune style music and the platform is indeed iOS first.  The developers have considered Windows phone as well (probably due to familiarity) and other platforms in the future.