Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider Review

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a love letter to all the excellent side-scrolling action platformer titles gamers experienced on the NES and SNES. It feels like you mixed Mega Man X and Ninja Gaiden with a dash of Hagane: The Final Conflict, which is a must-play for anyone who grew up playing 16-bit games. The hero of the game was initially created to defend a totalitarian state. Still, Moonrider has the power to reject its programming and decides to go after its creators when they start using super soldiers as weapons of war. The Moonrider is on a mission to get vengeance against its fellow super soldiers and the evil creators who have started this war against humanity. 

You awaken in a simulation running in your mind to help you reboot and become active again. The tutorial will teach you how to attack the enemies you will encounter in the level using your weapons — the X button, martial arts like a flying kick, or your special weapon — using the B button — that will use power from your mana bar just like one of the weapons you get in Mega Man X from a boss you have defeated. Moonrider learns how to do a jump kick to push off one wall to the next, use metal bars to get over pits of spikes safely and jump up and down from platforms. Fortunately, the platforms are not solid, so you can jump through them to get to the top side or down through them. 

Gain new powers and abilities to customise Moonrider’s fighting style by collecting modifier chips hidden in the levels and guarded by enemies. These chips can grant powers like double jumps, armour, or even allow you to revive Moonrider back to life with half his health if he is defeated on the stage. You can equip and unequip the chips you want to use, though, from the beginning, you can only have two different ones equipped at once. So it is worth trying all the chips to figure out which two help you the most.

Once the tutorial is complete, you are taken to a map with six different areas/stages to challenge; the Bio Weapon Lab is the only area that will be unlocked in the beginning. Once you successfully complete the level and defeat the boss, you can play through the stages in any order you want. Laser Research Base, Asura’s Fleet, Fallen City, Lost Ruins, Desalination Facility or Iwondonilo City will all be available to explore. I was pleasantly surprised how every stage had its own gimmick to make it unique. Iwondonilo City has you driving into the city on a motorcycle, trying to shoot the enemies that appear in front of you while avoiding the foes that come up behind you displayed with the word danger. This stage reminded me of playing The Lion King on the SNES, where the wildebeest run up behind you during the stampede. In Asura’s Fleet, you are jumping between ships in the sky to avoid soldiers shooting at you while trying to keep your balance so you don’t fall to your death. It was fun trying out all the different stages to see what challenge awaits you.

The music and visuals in Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider did not disappoint. Between levels, we are treated to animated cutscenes showing scenes from Moonrider’s past. We learn why he turned on his creators and what motivated him. The pixelated graphics are like some of the best games on the SNES. But with the advantage of not slowing down when there were too many sprites on the screen. The music is super energetic and catchy to keep you motivated while you explore this world. Vengeful Guardian is definitely a challenging game, but in a good way, if that makes sense. When I got stuck on a stage, I would try one of the others to see if I could make it through and possibly find one of the hidden chips to give me a power-up that would help during my journey. Once you successfully complete a level, you will receive a grade based on how long it took to finish the level, how many times you died, and the number of secret chips you found.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a must-play for lovers of 2D side-scrolling platformers. This game channelled everything I loved from ninja-themed games from my childhood and mixed it into a new game with a vast amount of variety and challenge. It does take some time to experiment and figure out which chips you want to equip to Moonrider that will help you complete these challenging levels. However, you will feel a massive sense of accomplishment when you successfully complete a stage and move on to the next. I loved learning about the character through the animated cutscenes and discovering what motivated him as areas were completed; it made me want to keep playing!