EN: It's a very difficult work to recommend, it won't be everyone's cup of tea.
There is not much to mention that has already been said, but considering that it offers a relaxed vibe in which we can explore its artistically beautiful world, the time limit mechanic breaks this idea, it becomes tiresome at the beginning, you must constantly be aware of your Stamina and have enough time to get to your bed to recover it completely, at least when you level up you extend this time to the point of being able to go days without having to go to sleep and you unlock options to teleport to different locations as you progress. Personally I find it contradictory. The gameplay is the weakest part, it has a lot of puzzles, being very few intuitive, to the point that doing 100% is complex without using a guide.

But despite the big problems in the design it has, it is a unique experience that is worth exploring, thanks to its beautiful world with a very careful artistic aspect in which you feel part of the world, knowing each person, solving their problems, it is so "immersive" that there is no soundtrack as such in each area, Despite its flaws, you can see the passion behind its developers and it manages to transmit what they wanted, it didn't age very well, but its ideas have transcended with time.
You are not a protagonist, but an observer in this small Lovely World.



ES: Es una obra muy difícil de recomendar, no será del agrado de todo el mundo.
No hay mucho que mencionar que ya se ha hablado, pero teniendo en cuenta que nos ofrece una vibra relajada en el que podamos explorar su mundo artísticamente precioso, la mecánica de tiempo límite rompe esta idea, llega a ser pesado al inicio, debes estar constantemente atento a tu Stamina y tener el tiempo suficiente para llegar a tu cama para recuperarlo por completo, al menos al subir de nivel vas extendiendo este tiempo al punto de poder estar días sin tener que ir a dormir y desbloqueas opciones para tele-transportarte a distintas localizaciones al progresar. En lo personal lo encuentro contradictorio. El Gameplay es la parte más débil, posee una gran cantidad de puzzles rebuscados, siendo muy pocos intuitivos, al punto que hacer el 100% sea complejo sin usar guía.

Pero a pesar de los grandes problemas en el diseño que poseé, es una experiencia única que vale la pena explorar, gracias a su precioso mundo con un aspecto artístico muy cuidado en el que te sientes parte del mundo, conociendo a cada persona, resolviendo sus problemas, es tan "inmersivo" que no existe una banda sonora como tal en cada área, sino que vas consiguiendo discos de música en el que podrás elegir tu Soundtrack, detalles como estos salvan en gran parte a este juego, A pesar de sus defectos, se nota la pasión detrás de sus desarrolladores y logra transmitir lo que quisieron, no envejeció muy bien, pero sus ideas han trascendido con el tiempo.
No eres un protagonista, sino un observador en este pequeño mundo encantador.

Exploring in this game is a painful and wonderful memory at the same time.

Although the main theme of the game seems a bit dated these days, I really appreciate what the creator was trying to say.

Next move to chulip

On one very boring day in 2019 I was walking home scrolling on twitter when I saw someone
posting a giant thread about how this game changed their life and going into some of the little moments that stood
out to them. Deep in the pit of my heart something felt off so I tweeted out (not at them just in general)
about how moon seemed a bit "overrated". I then proceeded to create a Youtube video on Shin Megami Tensei If... that
sounded like it was for a 9th grade class presentation. It's surreal finishing this game now because part of the journey of me finishing
it feels like having a conversation with my past self and thinking about where I am with it, how video games are discussed
on the internet nowadays, and maybe something else.

Moon is a game that I've grown to appreciate a lot over the years, even as someone who kind of showed up with an
eyebrow raised with how much the "anti-RPG" aspect is echoed around online I found a few interesting surprises as it's a game
that really isn't as cheap as that tagline sounds but a genuine artistic game that seeks to do more with the medium
as a whole and the past that it had whether it's critiquing or celebrating it (there's literally a slime and rainbow bridge here).

Just to throw this out for a general summary: moon is an adventure game specifically based on acquiring "love" to
progress. Rather than number crunching as a means to generalize player progression like in RPGs, moon is about managing
your time, observing, and exploring using adventure game mechanics like interacting and using items. You make your way
through moon by assessing the strange land you find yourself in while observing the clockwork movement of people, creatures,
and things. In fact I'd say my core issue with this game sadly boils down to the context of its release as someone
who played this on the Nintendo Switch and didn't necessarily think to look at the game manual at first because of
how many games nowadays are presented but I highly recommend keeping this manual handy.

With moon being a game about observing characteristics and interactivity, what really helps make it stand out to me
is how the world has so many small moments within it that you just really would never find in bigger titles. It's
very obvious as you dive further into it but moon very much was a title developed by a small team and it shows
with the unique characters, references that range from Yellow Magic Orchestra, Freddie Mercury, Blade Runner, etc.
and the game's core theme/action of "love" is about as broad and abstract as it sounds to the point that the ending
even pulled a surprise move on me. It helps also that in this game about observing that there's the unique addition
of a music player with actual specific artsits brought on to bring a variety of tracks, I'm almost certain that even
in 1997 corporations wouldn't even think to do something as (potentially) costly as that for a new IP but it's here
in moon and with characters and a deep love of music that's rooted in here why would it not be.

This game reminds me of a moment when I was playing through Earthbound Beginnings this year where I realized that the repeated phone
calls you got from your dad, although very annoying, were a small game design decision that most likely was related to
a subject this game specifically goes after and it somehow feels like a miracle that I was pleasantly surprised by
how this game handled it because it felt like it came from a group of people that meant it and just wanted to make
something.

"It's been a while. Soon your journey will come to an end. When one journey ends… another journey begins.

…Life is like one night's dream. Waking and sleeping… birth and death… Many things appear and vanish… What has vanished appears… You and I are no exception.

Throughout the universe… …everything dies, and is born… Life rolls down the road…

The question is, when you wake from the dream, when will you set out toward another dimension? Will you be able to open the door? …Soon you will reach our final destination… Perhaps we'll meet again, at the side of some road. Goodbye."

I find the gameplay (which I would describe as a weird mix of a RPG Maker game and a graphic adventure) to be a bit obtuse and frustrating (not talking about the mechanics, mostly the puzzles), but it's honestly carried by everything else. Like, the humour, dialogues and themes make this game feel like it came out just a couple years ago, when it's actually been 26 years. I love the sound design, the characters, the mood, and the way the game pokes fun at the RPG genre is just brillant. Again, I think the puzzle are kind of dumb and frustrating, but it was worth playing this until the end.

Moon: Remix RPG Adventure exists in a dream, in a space of blended influences and distorted memories of childhood fantasies. From the claymation to the oddly realistic yet amorphous textures, Moon's visual style belongs to the imaginations of every child who grew up with games. The obvious jpeg artifacting and audio compression highlight the limitations of the technology in such a way that it reminds the player that this is, in fact, a game. It works as an immersive piece because it is not conventionally immersive. Trudging through these moments of jank and noticing the visual imperfections serve to ground the game in its commentary on the interactions players have with games themselves.

Moon: Remix RPG Adventure has a very strict time limit per day and the only way to reset the day is to go to sleep, which also lets the game save and for the player to deposit their love (xp equivalent) to the Love Queen. This mechanic, paired with the large world and slow movement, forces the player to prioritize and create a plan for what they are going to do in a day. Moon traps the player into only doing a certain amount of tasks per day to commentate on the the grind heavy and slow progression of other RPGs and the unhealthy binge that those games are designed to keep players in. Even if someone does binge Moon, there are still calculated moments of rest (even from the already relaxing world) and instead, rewards the player for taking breaks. Even when the timer expands to fit multiple days per run, the player still feels motivated to create a plan and because it fits with the design language of the world. The game's tone is so free-spirited and patient that blasting through it all harms the experience. It was nice to let myself get lost doing a couple small tasks and then calling it early and returning home. Moon incentivizes slower play and, in turn, fosters intrinsic motivation for the player to complete everything, save every animal and talk to every character.

Moon is a game within a game where the player first takes control of The Hero in fake "Moon" and plays like they would their average JRPG: looting houses, grinding for EXP, and searching for the next monster to slay. Then the boy who controls fake "Moon" is transported into the game, not as The Hero, but an invisible being who is left to internalize the other NPCs reactions to The Hero and witness their path of corpses. To save animals, you do not catch them per se, but catch their souls and then return them to their body. Each soul is attached to a habit that the animal had while they were alive. It gives a personality and quirky innocence to everyone that The Hero massacred. The real protagonist is left to pick up after themselves and confront their brutality. Its "anti-rpg" design enables the player to form a relationship with the animals and characters as their service is not characterized by violence, but by mending the damage. Instead of bonding through the defeat of the oppressor, the player's emotions are derived from a need to secure peace and save the world from themselves. Moon's overarching narrative about being an invisible helping hand runs counter to the God-like status players tend to work towards in other games and to The Hero's goals. It broke the way that I look at violence in video games. Anytime I fight a tonberry in Final Fantasy, battle Pokemon or even shoot down a grunt in Halo, I will think back to what Moon forced me to experience and lament on what anyone could only imagine exists beyond the code.






But fuck that fishing minigame. Six hours of my life I will never get back.

So much love.
Build a katamari out of love.
From all these adorable monsters and interesting people.
Go the moon.
Take a stroll around it.
To listen to the prettiest music.
Moon is the best place to hang out.

Probably the most ludonarratively cohesive game I’ve ever played. It’s inspiring how Moon loudly broadcasts its mechanics and themes and then sticks to them with such commitment.

Mechanically Moon is all about time. The game works around two concurrently running clocks: the limited time your character has left before passing out and triggering a game over, and the continuous passage of time as the game’s seven day week and the routines of the various NPCs loop. Let’s start by discussing the former.
Moon exists between periods of sleep, not unlike our own lives. Everything the player can accomplish within their time awake is saved and catalogued upon resting, but should one run out of gusto before reaching their bed, the game is over and the day’s progress is wiped. Especially early on when energy is in short supply this means you will be racing back to bed to bank your progress even after accomplishing the most minor of tasks.

The amount of time one can spend without resting is increased by leveling up, which is done by accumulating “love”, which in turn is done by doing things to help out the world’s denizens whether they be human or animal. It’s an incredibly wholesome arrangement; something as simple as listening to someone’s personal problems can get you a small amount of love. Other, larger acts, such as bringing together two lovebirds, accordingly give the player more love. It’s a game all about increasing the kindness in the world. By doing so you get stronger and that is channeled into more time to spend helping people.

What’s satisfying is how time is manifested in the game. Very few things pause the clock, so if someone needs you to wait for them, you will indeed be waiting for real world minutes. If a character needs you to show up on consecutive Sundays, you’ll spend the days between with the commitment hanging over your head. This is all to say that being kind, showing love, is not trivial, and nor should it be. If you want someone to love you then you’ll need to invest mental bandwidth into thinking of and remembering them. Don’t worry, they’ll reciprocate the gesture.

It would be easy to shortcut several elements of Moon in favor of a quality of life improvement, but a notion as selfish of QOL runs perpendicular to love as a concept. Moon asks you to engage in selflessness, and every facet of the design pushes towards that goal, even when it runs up against the notion of what is “fun”.

More openly Moon seems to be about subverting violent, “typical” RPGs of the time, what with its marauding knight-in-shining-armor “Hero” running amok across the world and massacring everything in the name of Exp, but I don’t think such a surface level, cynical reading is accurate.

No, Moon is more of a statement against thoughtlessness. Every puzzle in the game, every task there for you to conquer, is easily solved through just observing people, their routines, and the environment. It’s not a difficult game, the puzzles aren’t challenging, but they sure do become impossible brain teasers if the game is played with a self-centered approach that blinds the player to detail. If you just want to get through the game and “win”, the self-centered hero, you will surely struggle.

The second of the game’s clocks, the looping week, is where the most detail is to be gleaned. While a bit of a hackneyed idea now, Moon’s NPCs all have set schedules in accordance with the hour, day of the week, and events of the game, and this grants it a lot of depth. If you want to investigate a character, your best bet is to check on them on each of the game’s seven days. What do they do each night? Who are their friends and when do those characters tend to meet? If you want to help someone you’ll need to get to know them, even if doing so precludes your convenience or your ability to dote on others in parallel.

What’s brilliant is that one’s ability to explore this aspect of the game thoroughly waxes as the strategic depth of the other time mechanic wanes. There comes a point while leveling up where the main character’s remaining energy ceases to be a realistic concern. This could have become an incredible bore had Moon shown its hand too early, but instead it seamlessly transitions into a fascinating game of people watching that just wasn’t possible earlier in the game.

As such Moon works on a few levels. It’s time management and scheduling for some percentage of its run time, and a narratively focused puzzle solver for the test.

Other elements of Moon are worthy of praise. The soundtrack is great, the pre-rendered backgrounds are entrancing, and the story itself is relatively interesting. But this is a game, first and foremost, and games should always convey themselves through their mechanical systems. Moon is exemplary here, and deserves a visit for that quality alone.

Incredible game!

I learned about moon in the same way I learned about The Silver Case, finding the OST back in like 2008 on Youtube. They were both so mystifying, their styles so unique, and as a kid who couldn't read Japanese, nor understand the plot, I was left to just hope to play them some day.

Eventually the Silver Case got translated, but it would be another 5 years after that until we even got a mere mention of a moon translation. I stalked the Onion Games website from 2019 to 2020, and when it finally came out...I didn't play it.

I had built up the game so much in my head, after years of anticipation, I was just too scared to actually play it. "Gotta be in the right headspace, not now." "Don't want to play it on the Switch." " I want to play it with this person." Excuse after excuse.

Then, a moment of clarity hit me, bought it on Steam, sat down, and played it.

It consumed me, it had my complete attention. It made me feel like a kid again, playing through Chibi Robo, making an agenda, connecting the dots. It's been so long since I've felt that, without any outside noise or motivation. I was playing it because I wanted to be there, I wanted to find everything. Nobody was forcing me to do that damn fishing contest, nobody made me buy all of the CDs and listen to them all in my house. It was all so organic, so natural...

But with that said, the game can be really damn obtuse, thankfully there are plenty of guides that play by the "three strikes" rule, giving you hints before outright giving you the answer. I managed to figure out a lot of the puzzles on my own, but just couldn't figure out the exact timing or way to execute them. But that's half the fun, immersing yourself and noticing new things with every area.

Artistically, it's unmatched. I mean, wow. Everything from the sprites, the backgrounds, even a simple animation like the Birdman's guitar and hat. And to hear the OST in game after all this time, building a playlist just like I did all those years ago, so awesome. Love and charm was put into every facet, you could feel just how much of every team member's heart went into the game, a true melting pot of artistic integrity.

So yeah, it was brilliant, and for Love de Lic to get it so right so early on, managing to make it on par (or even better in some cases) than their later games is astounding.

My main takeaway:
Enjoy life, enjoy its weird intricacies, don't take them for granted. This world is strange, funny, beautiful, sad, scary, frustrating, open, closed, it's all of that. When you're stuck in life, it won't be like that forever. It's only a matter of time before you figure things out, or things figure out themselves. In the meantime, put on some music, meet up with an old friend, or just reflect for a while.

Maybe you'll see something new.

wonderfully unique game that in many regards feels like it was far ahead of its time.

it’s whole “anti-rpg” shtick is definitely something that’s been done to death in today’s climate, but I think there’s much to take away and appreciate from moon’s approach to the deconstruction of the genre, particularly with its theme of love.

Love is all around us. Love is this and that. We find love in those who bring us comfort, and love in mementos of time long past. I wouldn’t say this exploration of love is particularly groundbreaking, but moon’s continued emphasis on the different sizes and shapes love can take drives home just how full of love the world is.

Please be patient with this game. Under a layer of obtuse puzzles, initially confusing mechanics, and long periods of waiting lies a world with something to say.

Did you find Love?