Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider will remind you of your best hours on the Super Nintendo

Video games are a medium that knows how to honor its glorious past. In a not-so-distant era, which people under 20 may not know, there were Super Nintendo (or Super Nes) fans on one side and Mega Drive enthusiasts on the other. Both consoles were the faces of the fourth generation, otherwise known as the 16-bit era. There was no question of 3D graphics, 4K definition, framerate at 30 fps, display options, microtransactions or open world. On Super Nintendo and Mega Drive, we devoured in particular punishing 2D action games, without ever complaining about the difficulty on social networks (which did not exist).

Available since January 12, 2023 on PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is designed as a tribute to these experiences of yesteryear. Being myself the owner of a Super Nintendo in my youth (sorry Sega), I was immediately attracted by this title developed by the Brazilian studio JoyMasher – specialist in old-school trips (their slogan? “ We know retro “, that is ” We know the retro “). Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is therefore intended primarily for those who are a little nostalgic for old consoles, when you passed the time by accepting to be trampled on without complaining.

Even Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider’s storyline is old-school

In Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider, you play as a ninja super-soldier, disguised in samurai armor and normally designed to protect a totalitarian state against popular uprising. It was without taking into account a sudden awareness that will push him to turn against his creators, by putting himself at the service of the oppressed. There will follow a merciless struggle with his congeners, as powerful as him, until the overthrow of a tyrannical regime. Animated by a handful of cinematics, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider finds its narrative salvation in the codes of the 90s, with assumed Manichaeism. Anyway, we will not play it to be upset by a story.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider consists of eight varied levels, taking us on a journey from a forest to laboratories. To achieve his ends, the hero must get rid of the other super-soldiers, each keeping key installations that symbolize the omnipotence of the dictatorship in place. Surprisingly, JoyMasher has not opted for a linear structure, and it is then possible to eliminate the targets in the order of your choice. It’s hard not to see it, too, as a way to soften the challenge. Are you stuck in a level? Do another one, and come back later when you feel seasoned enough.

JoyMasher has also integrated another lever to soften the challenge, by default very high. Thus, we can equip our super-soldier with two chips, which are similar to passive improvements. One of them, unlocked after the very first lost game (the others must be found), boosts damage resistance, but will prevent you from getting a high score. It will not be too much to allow everyone to survive the many pitfalls, without feeling cornered by a challenge that is too overwhelming. Certainly, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is hard. But it still gives you the keys to complete it and avoid getting frustrated. After all, some have lost their old reflexes with age.

Will play Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider really brings back old memories – those times spent clubbing the keys of a small joystick to get out of dramatic situations. In this case: very offensive enemies who know how to aim very well at us, elements of the environment which require us to pay attention to where we put our feet or even bosses who multiply the attacks to be learned by heart, by simply reading sprite animations. Everything is designed to push us to fail, knowing that Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider knows how to be punitive when he hides well the traps he sets for us. It makes you want to curse, to cry out against injustice. But it is in his fits of rage that one finds satisfaction. The most gifted will be motivated by the quest for rank S, the best grade possible. It requires a perfect attempt and a quick time.

Finally, under its visually broke game air, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider still allows a few eccentricities to spice up the adventure even more. Which also makes him fall into overzealousness: when you appreciate the shooting phases on a motorcycle, you taste a little less in the underwater portions. In the air, it will be necessary to show tact to jump between the different platforms. This same dexterity that was so useful to us when we had fun on a Super Nintendo and/or a Mega Drive. More than 30 years later, 16-bit is still good when developers have a taste for a job well done.

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