JoyMasher's fourth, and to date last, title is first and foremost an homage to [b]Hagane[/b], one of the hidden gems of the SNES library ([b]Shinobi[/b] and the old [b]Ninja Gaiden[/b] are valid comparisons too), but also to Kamen Rider productions of the 1980s and 90s; more broadly, to the works of Keita Amemiya, who was in fact associated with both of the above. The design of the protagonist and the bosses, especially their portraits, would be right at home in a dark [i]tokusatsu[/i].
There's also quite a bit of [b]Megaman[/b], as besides the first and last, all levels can be played in any order, and defeating bosses allows to equip their special attacks. The hero looks more intimidating than most villains, as he used to be one of them but developed a conscience.
Levels are far from large and sprawling but they can be tackled again, not just to gain better scores but also to find a dozen chips spread around them, ranging from extremely useful (longer sword, double jump, slow regeneration...) to superfluous (color change, player dying in one hit for masochists). I was lucky to find the Detective chip first, which helps find the others, and ironically it's in a very visible place. Even if you fail or quit a level, found chips are kept; you may potentially collect all before you defeat any boss.
Given JoyMasher's precedents, there was little doubt they'd craft fantastic visuals once again. The palette is quite subdued, perfect for this dystopian cyberpunk, and the spritework is immaculate: from basic grunts through bio-mechanical monstrosities to the distinct designs of the Guardians, there is not a single "bad" frame to be found. A couple of stages are aboard a motorcycle in pseudo-3D, making clear use of the experience they already had with a similar stage in [b]Blazing Chrome[/b]. After being few in the latter game, there's a fair number of cutscenes here, to narrate a simple story but with a strong anti-authoritarian message.
Music is from Dominic Ninmark, whom I recently appreciated in [b]Mighty Goose[/b] and [b]Blazing Chrome[/b] too, and he does another amazing job. The boss theme of Darkchaser is my favourite, topping one of the best looking levels of the game. Also the beginning of the final boss, it's like taiko drummers are just offscreen.
Even if Moonrider can run, wall-jump, strike from above with rider-style kicks, and block or even send back some projectiles with the sword, the gameplay is not frenetic; enemies aren't numerous but even basic soldiers can be dangerous, along with traps and minibosses, and the player character has a certain "heavy" feeling to his handling. Especially important is the running slash, which stops any momentum but is very powerful, destroying enemies that usually require four regular hits. [Also look at the guides for a simple and useful way to execute it.] While you can speedrun a level, and must to get a better ranking, running and slashing without some method leads only to a quick death.
Of course it wasn't in continuous development over all that time, but there was a video with a mostly complete Stage 1 and Ninmark scoring in 2018 already, so given the time it took, the lack of polish in some areas surprised me. The controls can feel stiff at times, with the wall jumping being the most annoying. In some passages, it seems almost impossible to avoid taking damage, with placements of health recharges feeling quite convenient. The weapons from bosses are quite unbalanced, with some being far more useful than others even though it could be intentional (it's frequent in [b]Megaman[/b] games too). The motorcycle sections look cool but are a bit too long for how little actually happens in them. There are no additional difficulty levels, nor any extras for completing the game. While English is not the developer's native language, the translation of some lines is awkward, unless it is, too, intentional to evoke the feeling of questionable localizations from the 1990s.
The good, however, far outweighs the bad. The game can feel tough at times but it's manageable after some practice, and the right chips help a lot. JoyMasher not only strikes again, they have reinvented themselves each time, never content to stick with a type of gameplay, crafting four titles that are so distinct from each other and all great in their own right. Hopefully there will be more from them... 2027?
