Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight

Last updated

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight
MomodoraIV.jpg
Official logo
Developer(s) Bombservice
Publisher(s) Playism, Dangen Entertainment
Director(s) rdein
Programmer(s) PKBT
Artist(s) Hernan Zhou
Series Momodora
Engine GameMaker Studio
Platform(s)
Release
March 4, 2016
  • Microsoft Windows
  • March 4, 2016
  • PlayStation 4
  • March 16, 2017
  • Xbox One
  • March 17, 2017
  • macOS
  • February 16, 2018
  • Linux
  • February 16, 2018
  • Nintendo Switch
  • January 10, 2019
Genre(s) Metroidvania
Mode(s) Single-player

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is an indie Metroidvania video game developed by Brazilian [1] studio Bombservice and published by Playism. [2] The game was originally released on March 4, 2016, for Microsoft Windows. [3] It is the fourth installment of the Momodora series that began in 2010 with Momodora I.

Contents

Gameplay

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a side-scroller platformer. The player controls Kaho, a priestess on a quest to stop a curse that has been corrupting the land. Kaho explores a variety of areas collecting items, avoiding obstacles, and fighting monsters. In every area, Kaho must also fight a boss. In combat, Kaho can perform both melee attacks with a leaf and ranged attacks with a bow. Kaho can also find and equip items and spells to assist her in combat. [4]

Plot

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a prequel set 400 years before the events of Momodora I. [5] The story follows a Priestess named Kaho, who travels to the eastern Kingdom of Karst to stop a curse that has been spreading across the land and affecting her village. [6] In Karst City, Kaho meets Cath, a Knightess who informs Kaho that the queen of Karst is the source of the curse, and the only way to stop the curse is to kill the queen. Kaho travels around collecting the four pieces of a crest required to open Karst Castle and face the queen. Inside Karst Castle, Kaho is briefly reunited with a dying Cath who failed to stop the queen. Kaho confronts the queen and manages to defeat her. Kaho then sacrifices herself, drawing the curse into her body in order to seal it and save the land.

Development

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight was developed in GameMaker: Studio. [7] The developer of the Momodora series, rdein, funds the development of their games through the crowdfunding platform Patreon. [8]

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ports of the game were released on March 16, 2017, and March 17, 2017, respectively. [9] A Nintendo Switch version was released on January 10, 2019, by Dangen Entertainment. [10]

Reception

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight received an 82/100 aggregate review score on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [11] Chris Shive from Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4 out of 5 score saying, "Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is the ideal mix of old and new. The visuals and 2D platforming scream '80s NES, but the detail that went into the pixel art and the attack combos mixed with fluid animation give this title just enough of a modern feel so it doesn’t feel dated." [22] Destructoid 's Nick Valdez rated the game 8 out of 10, praising its "tight, intense combat," but commented that the game's soundtrack was "unmemorable, and not functional at all times." [23]

Related Research Articles

WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as the Super NES and Sega Genesis, as well as TV games and PC educational software. In 1997, they relaunched their video games arm, placing the company as a contractor for publishers and working on a variety of licensed assets.

2017 saw the release of numerous video games as well as other developments in the video game industry. The Nintendo Switch console was released in 2017, which sold more than 14 million units by the end of the year, exceeding the under-performing Wii U lifetime sales. This has helped to revitalize Nintendo, with the "retro" Super NES Classic Edition console, the refreshed New Nintendo 2DS XL handheld and a strategy for mobile gaming. Microsoft also released the higher-powered Xbox One X targeted for 4K resolutions and virtual reality support.

Numerous video games were released in 2018. Best-selling games included Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, NBA Live 19, WWE 2K19, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Marvel's Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Far Cry 5, God of War, Monster Hunter: World, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Games highly regarded by video game critics released in 2018 included Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Marvel's Spider-Man, Forza Horizon 4, Monster Hunter: World, Dead Cells, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Celeste. The year's highest-grossing games included Fortnite, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Dungeon Fighter Online, League of Legends, and Pokémon Go.

<i>Max: The Curse of Brotherhood</i> 2013 video game

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a puzzle-platform video game developed by Press Play for Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch and later on PlayStation 4. The game was announced during Microsoft's E3 2013 press event. It is a sequel to Press Play's previous work, the 2010 game Max & the Magic Marker.

<i>A Hat in Time</i> 2017 video game

A Hat in Time is a platform game developed by Danish game studio Gears for Breakfast and published by Humble Bundle. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 3 and funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which nearly doubled its fundraising goals within its first two days. The game was self-published for macOS and Windows in October 2017, and by Humble Bundle for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles two months later. A version for the Nintendo Switch was released in October 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playism</span> Digital distribution platform for video games

Playism is a Japanese independent video game publisher operated by Active Gaming Media. Playism started as a digital distribution platform for PC games, launched in May 2011.

<i>Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds</i> 2013 video game

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds is a beat 'em up developed and published by Mages under the 5pb. brand, and originally released on February 27, 2013 for the Xbox 360. it is a spin-off of the fighting game Phantom Breaker.

<i>Dragon Quest XI</i> 2017 video game

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is a role-playing video game by Square Enix. The eleventh entry in the long-running Dragon Quest video game series, it was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4 in July 2017 and worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and Windows in September 2018. An enhanced version, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition, was released for Nintendo Switch by Nintendo in September 2019; for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2020; and for Stadia in March 2021.

<i>Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder</i> 2017 video game

Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder is a tower defense racing video game developed by ACE Team and published by Atlus USA. The game is the sequel to the 2011 Rock of Ages, and was released in August 2017 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. A Nintendo Switch port of the game released in May 2019.

<i>Sonic Forces</i> 2017 video game

Sonic Forces is a 2017 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was produced in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Sonic the Hedgehog joins a resistance force alongside Classic Sonic, his past self, and the Rookie, a survivor of Eggman's attacks. Together they must stop Doctor Eggman, who has conquered most of the world alongside Infinite, a new enemy, who wields the power of the Phantom Ruby, and is able to create limitless numbers of illusionary clones of past villains. It features three gameplay modes: "Classic", side-scrolling gameplay similar to the original Sega Genesis Sonic games; "Modern", 3D gameplay similar to Sonic Unleashed (2008) and Sonic Colors (2010); and a mode featuring the "Avatar", the player's custom character.

In the video game industry during 2019, both Sony and Microsoft announced their intent to reveal their next-generation consoles in 2020, while Nintendo introduced a smaller Nintendo Switch Lite, and Google announced its streaming game platform Stadia. The controversy over loot boxes as a potential gambling route continued into 2019, with some governments like Belgium and the Netherlands banning games with them under their gambling laws, while the United Kingdom acknowledging their current laws prevent enforcing these as if they were games of chance. The first video cards to support real-time ray tracing were put onto the consumer market, including the first set of games that would take advantage of the new technology. The Epic Games Store continued its growth in challenging the largest digital PC game distribution service Steam, leading to concern and debate about Epic Games' methods to seek games for its service. Dota Auto Chess, a community-created mod for Dota 2, introduced a new subgenre of strategy games called auto battlers, which saw several games in the genre released throughout the year. Blizzard Entertainment faced criticism due to their involvement in the Blitzchung controversy, which began after they had banned a Hearthstone player for making comments during a tournament regarding the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.

<i>Super Bomberman R</i> 2017 video game

Super Bomberman R is an action-maze game developed by Konami and HexaDrive and published by Konami. The game was first released worldwide as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, and later for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in June 2018. Part of the Bomberman franchise, it is the sixth installment of the Super Bomberman series and the first game in the series to be released in twenty years. It is also the first Bomberman entry in the franchise to be developed for consoles following the dissolution of original series owner Hudson Soft in 2012.

<i>The Mummy Demastered</i> 2017 Metroidvania video game by WayForward

The Mummy Demastered is a Metroidvania video game released in October 2017 by WayForward Technologies based on the 2017 film The Mummy. It takes place concurrently with the events of the film, with players playing as an unnamed Prodigium soldier under the command of Dr. Henry Jekyll who must fight the evil forces of Princess Ahmanet. The game released for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in October 2017. The Nintendo Switch version was released in Japan on July 30, 2020. A version for Amazon Luna was released on October 20, 2020.

Momodora is a series of indie platformer video games developed by Guilherme "rdein" Martins and his studio Bombservice. The series follows several priestess heroines who utilize magic maple leaves as weapons against monsters and other cursed entities. The series consists of five games: Momodora I, Momodora II, Momodora III, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, and Momodora: Moonlit Farewell.

<i>R-Type Final 2</i> 2021 video game

R-Type Final 2 is a horizontal-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Granzella. Part of Irem's long-running R-Type series, it is a sequel to R-Type Final released in 2004, and the first R-Type game in over a decade, after the release of R-Type Tactics II: Operation Bitter Chocolate in 2009. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on April 29, 2021. An updated version titled R-Type Final 3 Evolved was released for the PlayStation 5 on March 23, 2023.

<i>Cyber Shadow</i> 2021 video game

Cyber Shadow is a side-scrolling action-platform game developed by Finnish indie studio Mechanical Head Studios and published by Yacht Club Games. Using an 8-bit aesthetic, the game follows a cybernetic ninja named Shadow who sets out to rescue his clan in a world overrun by machines.

<i>Minoria</i> 2019 indie Metroidvania game

Minoria is an indie Metroidvania game developed by Brazilian studio Bombservice and published by DANGEN Entertainment. It was released on August 27, 2019, for Windows, and on September 10, 2020, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It is a spiritual sequel to the Momodora series with 2.5D graphics. It has a similar gothic horror tone as Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight and revolves around warrior nuns who are sent into the ruins of the Kingdom of Ramezia to free Princesses who were kidnapped by heretical witches. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who praised it for its combat mechanics and graphics, but criticized it for its "uneven" quality and short length.

<i>Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series</i> 2022 video game

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series is a 2022 Klonoa video game compilation developed by Monkey Craft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It features remasters of the platform games Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (1997), originally released on PlayStation, and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (2001), originally released on PlayStation 2. The remaster of Door to Phantomile is built from its 2008 Wii remake developed by Paon.

<i>Momodora: Moonlit Farewell</i> 2024 video game

Momodora: Moonlit Farewell is an indie Metroidvania video game developed by Bombservice and published by Playism. It was originally released on January 11, 2024 for Microsoft Windows. Moonlit Farewell is the 5th game in the Momodora series and continues the story from Momodora III with returning protagonist Momo Reinol. The game features Metroidvania gameplay similar to the previous game in the series, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight.

References

  1. "Criada por brasileiro, Momodora é uma adorável franquia no estilo metroidvania". April 29, 2017. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  2. Sykes, Tom (March 6, 2016). "Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight looks lovely, is out now". PC Gamer . Future plc. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  3. Devore, Jordan (March 4, 2016). "Whao, where did Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight come from?". Destructoid . Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  4. Couture, Joel (February 28, 2016). "Face Down Epic-Scale Bosses In Momodora: reverie Under The Moonlight". Siliconera . Curse LLC. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  5. Priestman, Chris (January 7, 2015). "Momodora IV is a Prequel To The Trilogy, Still Features A Fighting Priestess". Siliconera . Curse LLC. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  6. Couture, Joel (March 14, 2016). "Beloved Characters & Worlds: A Chat With Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight Developer Rdein". Siliconera . Curse LLC. Archived from the original on April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  7. @r_rdein (April 8, 2016). "Hey! So far I've used Game Maker Studio, which is a free tool" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  8. Priestman, Chris (January 14, 2016). "Priestess Action-Platformer Momodora IV Gets A New Title". Siliconera . Curse LLC. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  9. "'Momodora: Gekka no Rekuiemu' kodawari no 2D gurafikku tansaku akushongēmu no PS4-ban to Xbox One-ban no haishin ga kettei!" 『Momodora:月下のレクイエム』こだわりの2Dグラフィック探索アクションゲームのPS4版とXbox One版の配信が決定! ['Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight' Release Dates for PS4 and Xbox One Versions of Action-Exploration Game]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. March 13, 2017. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  10. "Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details". Nintendo . Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  12. "Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  13. "Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  14. "Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  15. Whitaker, Jed (March 21, 2017). "Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight Review". Computer Games Magazine . Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  16. Valdez, Nick (March 30, 2017). "Review: Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight". Destructoid . Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  17. Brown, Peter (April 7, 2017). "Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight Review". GameSpot . Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  18. Shive, Chris (March 16, 2017). "Review: Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  19. Zawodniak, Matthew (January 23, 2019). "Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  20. Croft, Liam (March 20, 2017). "Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight Review (PS4)". Push Square . Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  21. Papadimitrou, Charalampos (March 20, 2017). "Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight Review". RPGamer. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  22. Shive, Chris (March 16, 2017). "Review: Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  23. Valdez, Nick (March 30, 2017). "Review: Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight". Destructoid . Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2019.