Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider Review – Kindred Nostalgia

It’s not difficult to find retro platformers. Myself is among those videogame players who appreciate small-scale development teams. This appeals to my nostalgia for an age when playing video games was as simple as tuning in to a channel. Many are wonderful, while others can be frustrating, the majority of them fall somewhere between. Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider won’t go down in history as one of the greats that both embraces the past and modernizes the action, but I would place it closer to the fantastic side of the scale, even if it doesn’t quite make it all the way.

Vengeful Guardian Moonrider is a game where you play as the Moonrider. Your container is broken and you destroy all guards. It would be a shocking display, which would have been viewed by your parents if it had been on your Genesis in 1992. Although the story is brief, it’s still enjoyable. For most of the experience, I wondered if I was the bad guy and enjoyed Moonrider’s soliloquies about how unrestricted power isn’t appropriate for anyone, no matter how noble their intentions. Every boss was given a little bit of personality before they began the fight.

However, the story is only secondary to sword fighting and platforming. Moonrider can move well and bounces off walls like Samus Aran. He also sprints to jump over large chasms. He feels great to move, but some annoying shortcomings appear where you can’t see your next platform due to the camera limitations. To zoom out would make it feel too much like a modern game, but I don’t know if it was worth the Genesis-era accuracy to be occasionally annoyed.

A few motorcycle levels are included in the jump and sword action which makes up most of the game. These levels toe a difficult line of looking like they could have existed on a 16-bit console, but I am almost certain they couldn’t. They were just as enjoyable as standard platforming.

Similar games often lack difficulty, with some putting more emphasis on challenge than fun. Vengeful Guardian Moonrider manages to strike a balance. Although difficult, levels are possible with reasonable lives and checkpoints. Bosses have patterns you can track and exploit, although it may not be easy the first time.

Mega Man is a good example of this. After clearing the first level you can pursue the six remaining levels in any order. Defeating the boss will reward you with a brand new weapon. The mechanic is a familiar one but it works, and it’s exciting to try out your new tornado weapon, or my favorite, a tentacle that ejects from a portal. You can choose to equip hidden upgrades such as a double jump and the ability become more powerful the more enemies that you defeat. These were a reward for exploring the side paths, and I found them to be quite enjoyable. However, some of these are more valuable than others. Two I discovered early in my journey were indispensable and I have never lost them.

The length of Vengeful Guardian Moonrider’s quest is one of its best features. The time it takes to reach the top and beat the boss is only about an hour. In this way, it knows exactly what it is: a brief but enjoyable nostalgic experience that doesn’t overstay its welcome. By the time you start feeling like you’ve completed a full retro meal, credits are right around the corner and I appreciate it for that. Moonrider’s adventure likely won’t linger with you, but I don’t regret playing the short, familiar, and satisfying experience.