Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider

I'd like to commend the developers of this game. Man, the younger version of myself would have gone crazy playing this! Let's just say I gave my inner child a hug while playing it, even using my 8bitdo m30 controller to increase immersion. I don't know if the console could handle it, but a version for Mega Drive and Super Nintendo would be a huge success! I'm typing in English because I know the reach of the review is wider, but as a Brazilian, I say it's a source of pride to know that this game was made by a fellow countryman.

This one's a 7/10 for me. An all-right retro 16-bit style action-platformer without retro difficulty. Yes, it's lives based, but a "Game Over" just ends your attempt at that level, and you can try again with 3 starting lives. I only got a single "Game Over" over the 3h it took me to beat this one, probably thanks to always having a health regen chip equipped. I'm honestly thinking the game was probably balanced around not having these chips at all - there are 10 different ones you can find across the levels , and you can equip 2 at a time, and most - health regen, energy regen, weapon leveling up the more enemies you kill, etc - feel like cheating. I was basically able to half-face-tank most of the level bosses with barely learning their attack patterns, often on the very first try. Sure, I was almost dead by the time their HP ran out, but just being able to do that in the first place is not something you'd usually expect of a game of this style. I did get only an D or E rank all but 2 of the missions, so I guess you really have to master the game to get a high rank, but that's not something I'm interested in myself. Format-wise, after the introductory mission you have complete choice in which of several missions to do next, Mega Man style in more ways than one as defeating each mission boss gives you their weapon to use as your secondary. Most of them drain the MP/energy bar pretty quickly so I never really experimented much with them and only ended up using a couple different ones more than once. You can also rerun the missions at any time, to search for chips you missed the first time around, or to try to get a higher ranking. After beating all of the first set of missions, you get a couple sequential ones to do, but unlike the Wily Fortress there is no boss rush, and these levels are no more difficult than the preceding ones. Gameplay/action-wise, the game really didn't feel like anything special to me. You run, jump, slash, and pogo enemies, and use a secondary attack when you need/want to and have the energy for it. There are some secrets containing health & energy refills, and better hidden secrets containing chips. One of the chips helps you locate the secrets containing other chips, so once I got it this is the one I kept equipped all the time alongside the HP regen one. Graphics-wise - well, you can see the screenshots. It's either your thing or it's not. The music is rather good.

Levante-se para vingar, cavaleiro da lua! Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider parece um jogo de ação perdido da era dos 16 bits que, de alguma forma, viajou no tempo e chegou à era moderna. Desde o momento em que a primeira fase começa, fica claro que a desenvolvedora JoyMasher não estava interessada apenas em recriar estéticas retrô — elas queriam capturar a velocidade, o desafio e a emoção que tornavam os clássicos de ação e plataforma inesquecíveis. Você joga como Moonrider, um poderoso guerreiro cibernético que se torna rebelde e está fadado a derrubar todo o sistema... Um chefe de cada vez! O que imediatamente se destaca é o movimento do jogo. Moonrider é rápido, responsivo e incrivelmente satisfatório de controlar. O combate com espada é afiado e impactante, enquanto habilidades especiais transformam gradualmente a experiência em um balé de destruição em alta velocidade. Diferente de muitos jogos inspirados no retrô que imitam a dificuldade old-school sem entender o equilíbrio, Moonrider continua desafiador sem se tornar frustrante. É um jogo da Ninja Gaiden, sem todos os artifícios cansativos da jogabilidade. Visualmente, o jogo é impressionante. Cada fase explode com pixel art detalhada, cores vibrantes e animações impressionantes. Seja correndo por cidades futuristas ou lutando sobre instalações militares, a apresentação sempre parece polida e energética. A trilha sonora complementa perfeitamente a ação, entregando faixas de cortar o fôlego que mantêm o ritmo alto. No fim das contas, a única coisa que eu não gosto no jogo é o quão curto ele era... E também, deveria haver um ranking que testemunhe que você fez S em todas as fases, certo? Bem, não tem. 7/10 jogo.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a decent game that is heavily inspired by Mega Man X8 and Shinobi, but it’s flawed in many aspects, especially when it comes to boss fights, the difficulty, and storytelling. It plays like Mega Man Zero and Shinobi; therefore, it flows so well that you can keep running and eliminating the obstacles swiftly. Furthermore, there are chips scattered throughout levels for you to find to enhance your combat abilities and gain an edge against enemies and bosses. However, their necessity is questionable, since the game is already too easy. The regular enemies have variety, but they barely pose a threat since they lack a complicated moveset that can challenge you. The bosses, on the other hand, are even worse. The balance between your base damage output and the damage you receive is already broken, and on top of that, the game gives you the abilities of the bosses that you defeat, which turns the rest of the bosses into a joke. The only boss that challenged me was the final one, but even he became a cakewalk after a few tries. However, can we really discard a game for being too easy, though? I don’t think so. Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider could be recommended as a beginner-level entry point for people interested in Mega Man X/Zero and Shinobi. It doesn’t mean I’m simply turning a blind eye to its faults, though. Speaking of its faults, the storytelling is another one, as it feels rushed and doesn’t make much sense despite being a platformer. A robo-guardian that is designed to be the protector of the regime is being activated, and suddenly grows a conscience for humans and rebels against its creators? I mean, it’s not a game that you’d play for its story, but I wouldn’t have minded if it made more sense than suddenly throwing you into the action without giving a backstory of the protagonist and what made it conscience in the first place. Leaving its flaws aside, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider still manages to offer decent fun for a few hours along with a banging soundtrack by Dominic Ninmark. It’s strange, but the soundtrack reminded me of Shenmue rather than Mega Man, probably because some of them were quite sentimental. I just wish that the game had difficulty settings instead of a chip that lets you die in one hit. [h1]TL;DR[/h1] A very easy, short, and underwhelming entry by JoyMasher. It’s still fun for a few hours since you can breeze through the levels swiftly in style. Just don’t pay the full price for it.

Muito obrigada, Joymasher por esse jogo maravilhoso. Estou impressionada!

Kind of like a gory Megaman except you are a metal samurai. Good but don't pay full price.

short, fun, challenging enough to not be boring, retro aesthetic, amazing music by eurobeat man dominic ninmark, what's not to love?