Because a certain publisher didn’t want to pay to update it
The reception for Save me Mr. Tako upon its release in 2018 didn’t really play out the way developer Christophe Galati thought it would. A passion project for fans of the Game Boy and Super Game Boy, its initial response wasn’t encouraging, with perfectly valid complaints about its difficulty, camera, and movement. Normally, a game would receive a patch or two to address these complaints. But Galati couldn’t do that as the game’s publisher, Nicalis, wouldn’t foot the bill for it. After two years, Galati split with Nicalis and Mr. Tako was delisted from digital storefronts.
On May 5, the 8-bit octopus is coming back with a new definitive edition and a physical release from the folks at Limited Run Games. Save me Mr. Tako: Definitive Edition will release for Nintendo Switch and Steam, and it will include a host of improvements over the original title. Some of these include:
- Improved Physics
- Improved Camera
- New Difficulty Modes (Heart Mode, Standard, Classic)
- Reworked Hat and Ink Systems
- Bug Fixes
- New Borders
- New Visual Options
- New Localization
Galati goes into further detail on these improvements over on his Patreon page. He also brings a bit of bad news to anybody who purchased the Nicalis-published version of Mr. Tako: there will be no discount or free upgrade path to the definitive edition. Galati contacted both Nintendo and Valve, and was told there would be no way to provide such a discount or service. So if you want to play the new-and-improved version of Tako, you’re going to have to buy it again.
Save me Mr. Tako: Definitive Edition – What’s coming for Tako-San! [Patreon]
