Have you heard of Momodora before? That series of games with the anime-esque pixel art aesthetic? With that girl on the cover that kind of looks like little red riding hood? I don’t know, maybe that’s a weird description of Momodora, but that was the extent of my knowledge of the franchise until I saw the trailer for Momodora: Moonlit Farewell about a month ago. The newest and final entry into the series of metroidvanias from developers Bombservice and publishers Playism and Active Gaming Media.
What struck me the most watching that trailer was how good the game looked. Looking back at the screenshots of some of the previous Momodora games, it’s evident that this series has always looked great, evolving its visuals with every new entry. And as such, it would follow that Momodora: Moonlit Farwell is the most gorgeous of them all, and I can hardly see anyone making a case against that. After Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight (2016), it’s in no way surprising that the pixel art here is outstanding, but what puts Moonlit Farewell even higher for me is the gorgeous color palette. It’s like the golden shine of the moon covers the world, with a light color palette of beautiful yellows, greens, and beige tones. There’s something so calming and exalted about the colors used that put me into a relaxed mood, but also somehow invoked a sense of melancholy.
Part of that is also the soundtrack, which can be breezy and light but also gains in heaviness and drama as needed. Within that is always a mystical note, and sometimes that feeling of longing and, once again, a sense of melancholy. Even without the experience of the journey that led us here from the previous games, the finality that envelops Momodora: Moonlit Farewell is palpable through its auditory and visual presentation.
The obvious thing you’d be concerned about when jumping into the final entry of a series without prior knowledge of the previous games is the degree to which you’ll be able to follow the story. That was not an issue here. Moonlit Farewell tells a very straightforward fantasy video game story about an artifact that has been stolen and an ancient evil that has been awakened using it. The kind of storytelling used to convey that plot is also classic video game stuff in a way that I despise. I’m sorry, but “Thank You Mario! But Our Princess Is In Another Castle!” might have worked in the original Super Mario Bros. (1986), but getting hit with that in 2024 every single time you’re achieving the perceived goal set up by the story is annoying. There has to be a better way to keep your plot moving forward than one fakeout MacGuffin after the other. All it does is break the pacing of the game and make it drag despite its short time to beat, due to there being an ending post in clear sight the whole way through that gets moved further away every time you’re about to reach it.
Fortunately, it quickly becomes evident that storytelling is not the focus of Momodora: Moonlit Farewell but rather fun 2D metroidvania gameplay. And fun it is! Although Moonlit Farewell is in no way revolutionizing the genre, it hits all the beats you’d want from a game like this and delivers on all the fundamentals needed to make it work. But while it feels good to play and is entertaining throughout, it’s too short and far too easy to leave a lasting impression. Its simplicity is its strength, as it allows the very small team to execute on everything present in the game without anything feeling janky or unpolished, but also its weakness, as there isn’t much to hold onto after you’re done with the small but well-made package that makes up Momodora: Moonlit Farewell.
Nairon played Momodora: Moonlit Farewell on PC with a review code.
