There’s a fair few games out there that claim to be inspired by the likes of Chrono Trigger and Super Mario, but very few actually mention an old classic that I absolutely adored as a kid: Vagrant Story. That’s precisely what Asteristic Game Studio says is one of the inspirations for its own vibrant RPG, Toada Brava, and that’s why I’m super interested now. It is set in a world rooted in Brazilian history and folklore and combines hand-drawn animation with a tale of captivity, rebellion, and family.
The adventure is Kako, a young monkey whose land has been taken and whose mother has been arrested. His quest for her becomes a journey of escape from the Santacrúz labor prison, where you can have allies, and you can have enemies. Of course there’s the Duke of Santacrúz above it all with his supernatural powers, which presents the prisoners with another investigation to undertake.
Combat is an active-time battle with timed inputs for both attack and defense. The timing of your actions can actually affect the damage you do or the damage you take. The devs have cited Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG and Vagrant Story as influences. You fight in the environment as you’re exploring; there are no random encounters, and you can get a preemptive strike if you strike an enemy who isn’t expecting it.
Music also has a practical function in that the instruments can be used to perform magical attacks at the party. During exploration, you can use weapons to hit things and discover items, which is another reason to be interacting with the environment as you go about your search for a way out.
Exploration is all about hidden paths, puzzles and recruiting your own companions with their own skill sets and backstories. One of the characters you encounter is a maned wolf out looking for her imprisoned brother, so Kako has a fellow traveler in the business of rescuing family members. The setting is very much rooted in colonial Brazil, with the history and folklore of that period informing the world behind the very expressive character designs.
For a proper look around, there’s a free Steam demo which allows you to wander the prison, do the side quests, find the secrets and try out the timing. It also gives you a playable introduction to some of the characters who are involved in the escape.
Toada Brava is set for PC via Steam (with English and Brazilian Portuguese text support), though the Steam release date is yet to be announced. The Kickstarter is currently looking for $35k and has been extended to 13th November 2026.
