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V Game Completed

Moonrider is a really tough game to evaluate, because it really feels like a game that could have been truly great with only a tiny amount of refinement. It never really shows its true potential until the last stage, but getting there feels like a slog.

The fundamentals here are really sound - it borrows heavily from the 16-bit Mega Man X games, but also Chakan: The Forever Man on the Genesis. In fact, the rolling jump and jumping off walls feel almost identical to how they do in Chakan. There's also a "chip" system pretty much identical to the one in X5 and X6, where you can equip two chips at once to modify your abilities; extra damage tolerance, larger sword-swipes, health regen, etc. You also inherit boss weapons after defeating them, in true Mega Man fashion, which can then be used with a limited energy meter.

The twist with this game, though, is that instead of killing the 8 Robot Masters or Mavericks, you play as one of them, so you actually start with your own boss weapon, which is kinda neat. The story of this game is interesting, but it's not given enough room to breathe... It's ostensibly about the Moonrider becoming self-aware and rebelling against the authoritarian government that created him, which in turn creates an opening for struggling rebel forces to slide in and start a revolution.

Some of the scenes are genuinely quite compelling... They just come and go way too soon, and without much build-up. Had the devs put more effort into making the levels more clearly thematically linked to the story, with set piece moments that show how the world changes as you fight back against your creators, I think the story could have actually been a remarkably strong one that suits the genre with a little extra care.

The same kinda goes for the gameplay as a whole. There's a lot of stuff here that feels like it needed an adjustment. For example - the Hydro Shuriken weapon rips everything in this game a new asshole. It's the Metal Blade from Mega Man 2, but it also gives you a shield that does contact damage. Every other weapon is super situational, and extremely weak. There's a boss weakness system, but the Hydro Shuriken does SO MUCH DAMAGE you might think every boss, including the final boss is weak to it. There's almost never a reason to not use it.

The same general problem extends to other elements of the gameplay. You will frequently be stuck with enemies guarding ledges or platforms difficult to land on because the timing cycles these objects operate on get all out of sync. The "chip" system is interesting, but they run the gamut from unlocking a palette swap menu to literally cutting damage in half. These are not permanent upgrades; you choose your load out at the start of a stage and you cannot change it. Your double jump is gated behind one of these chips, so if you roll into a level with reduced damage and improving slash distance, and you encounter a difficult jump... Well, you can get fucked. 🤷 It all feels very hastily assembled, without a lot of though about how these systems meaningfully interact with the game. The controls also feel weirdly sticky; if you are familiar with Genesis action games, you will know exactly what I mean. The game's made in Brazil, so I have to imagine the Genesis influence is completely organic.

The music is one weak spot. It's generally up-tempo and bouncy, but it mostly feels like really basic, monotonous vapourwave. The final stage is the exception - that track is outstanding.

Overall, Moonrider is an above-average Mega Man clone, and if you really loved playing Zero in the PS1 MMX games - or you're one of the 5 people on Earth that remember Chakan: The Forever Man - you will find a lot to enjoy here. But compared to something like Gravity Circuit, which came out the same year, it just feels a step behind. Worth a play for fans of the genre, but not anything I fell in love with.