Developer(s) – rdein
Publisher(s) – rdein
PEGI – Not yet rated (some non-graphic violence)
Released on Steam back in 2014, three years after the release of Momodora II, Momodora III largely reverted back to the basic gameplay structure of the first Momodora; a semi-open world side scroller requiring a small amount of backtracking, but not to the same extent as a traditional Metroidvania game. There were a few new elements synonymous with the series introduced as well as some perpetuated from the first two games, and delivered a fair amount of variety in gameplay, garnishing generally favorable reviews from gamers and critics. In terms of quality, I would put it second out of the original trilogy; not quite as good as Momodra II, but much better than the first game.
Graphics – 7.5/10
The first thing to notice when comparing Momodora III to the previous two games is that in terms of concept, it does far better to come into its own and stand out among many other side scrollers. Gone is any trace of science fiction, or the recycled setting of the second game in favor of more varied landscapes from vibrant and colorful forest lands to snowy tundras and deep underground caves. The next game, Reverie Under the Moonlight would then go on to differentiate itself even more from other games in terms of conceptual design, but the third game is where the series truly started to take on a life of its own.
Gameplay – 6.5/10
The gameplay compared to the first two games, however, seemed a lot more underwhelming, as there was simply less to do. Taken away were the facilities to discover new weapons from the first Momodora, and like the second game, it was replaced with finding new items that grant new abilities. But the reason why it works worse in this game than it does in Momodora II is simply that the additional abilities aren’t ostensibly needed to complete the game. It works better on hard mode, but on normal mode, it can simply be rushed through without having to make use of anything else other than the main attack, so the gameplay feature is made quite redundant. The linear gameplay structure also doesn’t help things either, as there is very little cause to backtrack through the game anyway. The third game felt like it needed much more of a boost in terms of gameplay, which unfortunately it didn’t get.
Controls – 10/10
As it plays out more or less identical to both of the first two games, there are at least no problems with the control scheme. But at this point, it was to be expected if the developers were simply going to release a game that didn’t make any strong leaps away from its predecessors and added very few new features in terms of gameplay.
Lifespan – 1/10
Clocking in at around an hour once again, the lifespan of Momodora III is very much below par compared to that of most sidescrollers released either at the time or even back in the fourth generation. For what is supposed to be an ultimately retroactive experience, it does very little to differentiate itself in terms of gameplay, and in turn, the game’s lifespan is abysmal even compared to what was acceptable in days gone by. The hard mode necessitates an additional playthrough for more intrepid players, but completing the game on hard mode offers no incentive, so there’s not much point.
Storyline – 6/10
The story follows either one of two priestesses depending on which difficulty the player selects; Momo or Dora, who are charged with investigating supernatural goings-on around the land of Koho. For me, the highlight of the game’s story was the encounter with the main character of Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight; Kaho. Apart from that, the game’s story has slightly less substance than that of the second game, but much more than the original Momodora, as there is a lot more text, and a lot more going on. It also has multiple endings, which would also be included in Reverie Under the Moonlight, but overall, the story is fairly generic.
Originality – 5/10
Although the third game in the series does far better to stand out in terms of visuals, that’s about the only way it does stand out. Gameplay is very typical of a generic 2D sidescroller, and it needed a massive boost in terms of quality in this aspect compared to the first two games, and I don’t think it got it in my opinion. The series would later be taken to its apex with Reverie Under the Moonlight, but the original Momodora trilogy was overall a fairly disappointing experience, and the third game caps it all off in a very boring and dissatisfactory manner.
Niiutral
Overall, Momodora III is a pretty standard 2D sidescroller, which for reasons beyond me, has been touted as one of the best side scrollers on PC. In my opinion, it’s tedious, lacking too much in substance, and only served as a precursor for better things to come; as did the original Momodora trilogy on the whole.