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.
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.
Weatherby
5 months ago