Western RPG with Japanese flavor headed for big Kickstarter success

"Project Phoenix," which bills itself as Kickstarter's "first Japan-based video game project," has reached its $100,000 funding goal within nine hours of its month-long funding window. The project comes stocked with industry talent from both sides of the Pacific ocean: Hiroaki Yura (Valkyria Chronicles, Diablo III) is set to direct and produce, Vaughan Smith (L.A. Noire) has been tapped for lead game designer, and Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) will serve as main composer. It promises a "squad-based real-time strategy game combined with Japanese RPG design influences [which] balances Western functionality with Japanese aesthetics" and has a vague launch window of mid 2015. That the game promises a robust international development team (with developers from Japan, the U.S., U.K., Australia and Germany -- with several key team members still unannounced) arguably goes a long way in selling "Project Phoenix." Of course, $100,000 is also a very modest target for such an ambitious production, which is something the Kickstarter page's Q&A addresses:

This would raise more questions than it seems to answer, especially concerning quality control and timetables, but donors don't appear to mind. The project now stands at 2.6 times its original target amount. Several stretch goals have already been outlined.