#rdein

[level2select]

Priestess Kaho of the Momodora 4.

You can support @r_rdein's indie dev work here!

[dotd0tdotd0t]

Momodora momo~

I did a doodle of Momo from momodora, thank you Rdein for making such an amazing game that has changed my life and made it brighter c:

i can’t wait to see what else you will create, 

                                                                                                    love Avah~

[samolos]

[triplesmoon]

IT’S TIME, Y’ALL! The newest Uncut SSSkillplay on Momodora 4 is out! Come have a look, I bet you’ll like it! https://youtu.be/GMlnWIB_SKk

[miloscat]

[Review] Minoria (PS4)

This follow-up to Momodora: Reverie under the Moonlight covers similar ground but drops the pixel art.

A fifth Momodora game in 3D was being developed by rdein and the team at Bombservice. After negative feedback, the project was sadly scrapped. Instead, we got Minoria, which ends up feeling very similar to Reverie despite moving from charming pixel graphics to a more flat painted/cel shaded style.

This style really works for the game, although some of the locations can feel a bit samey and dreary. Again it’s a full Metroidvania, with primarily sword-based combat. A range of equippable incenses act as limited-use ranged weapons and buffs. Mobility unlocks are merely a double jump and air dash, although they’re satisfying to use. Semilla is a mobile protagonist; dodge rolling is the fastest way of moving around the world and it feels good in and out of combat.

New to this game are blocks which can trigger a powerful parry attack, and the stun bar. Enemies all have one which builds up when they are attacked but much more when blocked. Their momentary stun when this is filled isn’t a huge deal in a fight but it adds a little depth. I mostly relied on dodging and Semilla’s ordinarily fast, powerful sword attacks. As before, defeating a boss without damage gives a bonus item... I took the challenge, and relished the rewards.

The setting of Minoria is touted as a departure from the existing Momodora games, but it’s effectively very similar to Reverie in concept; character designs share similar features; there’s even place names that are almost the same, and the occasional explicit back-reference. In this world, a militant, authoritarian church is fighting a faction of naturalist witches. You play as a battle nun and as you progress, the tragic pasts of you and your companion, as well as the kingdom as a whole, are doled out to make the conflict more ambiguous. Along the way there’s the occasional touching or surprising scene, and there’s a choice at the end but neither ending is a happy one.

Since Momodora V was cancelled, this stands in as a true and worthy successor. It doesn’t push the envelope or experiment with the structure as some instalments have done, and I personally preferred the pixel art look especially with its more expressive animations. But it’s still got a lot of the stuff I love about the series, especially as a direct sequel to Reverie. I look forward to what they do next... wait a mo, I see here that they’ve announced a final Momodora game with a return to pixel art! How exciting, well I’ll watch out for that!

[miloscat]

[Review] Momodora: Reverie under the Moonlight (PS4)

To round out this rdein/Pixel miniseries (for now), here’s the first big commercial release of rdein’s company Bombservice.

The Momodora series has been interesting to retrospect: the first is heavily Cave Story inspired and linear, the second tries out an exploration platformer mould and expands the lore, the third returns to linearity but experiments with it, adding items and such. This fourth entry is a full-fledged Metroidvania, and it goes grimmer in aesthetic.

RutM is a prequel starring Kaho, the ancestor of Momo, who was hinted at in 2 and was a secret guest character in 3. She’s a warrior priestess who wields the familiar leaf in melee and the new bow, a very fast ranged attack. You can augment your abilities by finding active and passive use items—allowing you to customise your playstyle to some extent as in 3—as well as some (sadly a bit underwhelming) permanent perks. There’s plenty of secret nooks and collectibles to find, plus some items can only be gotten by beating a boss without taking damage (no mean feat).

The structure is very familiar to the genre; the sprawling world map is split into zones, save points become warp points later, there’s shortcuts to unlock. That bleak atmosphere is very striking, and fits the shift away from chibi-size characters in this instalment, although the designs are still frequently quite cute (at one point you are transformed into an adorable kitty cat, acting as the “morph ball” equivalent a la Guacamelee’s chicken form). Considering the “gothic European horror” stylings of the kingdom of Karst, this game’s setting, I was getting Bloodborne/Souls vibes all the way through.

It’s been great seeing rdein and his team expand their skills and ambitions from game to game, and this is a worthy finale for the series (a 3D instalment was in production but cancelled in favour of Minoria, a successor to this but with a new setting). For my tastes it was perhaps a little too dark, some secrets too obscure, or side characters not tied in to the plot enough, but looking back these things have always been part of the identity of the series and the games that inspired it. So I still consider this a highly successful work, and I loved experiencing it!

[miloscat]

[Review] Momodora III (PC)

To follow up a recent stream of rdein’s early work, I’ve now played his first commercial game. It’s great!

Rdein makes no secret of being inspired by Pixel’s work, particularly Cave Story. This can be seen most clearly in his early work’s chibi dot-art style, and Momodora 1′s gun unlocks (not to mention Ika-chan easter eggs). The first game was a linear action-platformer with some side paths and backtracking. Momodora 2 tried out a traditional mini-Metroidvania style, while this third one returns to the setup of the first game and rdein’s Action 52 remake Bubblegirl Rozy. This time currency bounces out of defeated enemies like Cave Story’s triangles, and the deflection mechanic from rdein’s Bunny Swordmaster Story has made its way here too.

As you progress through you can find hidden items or buy them at shops to customise your playstyle. NPCs are sometimes involved in acquiring more but others are just there for flavour or worldbuilding. The story is light with hints of depth but can be explored further in this way, and also ties in to the previous two games nicely. The two selectable protagonists (who unfortunately appear to play identically) are returning heroines from each of the prior Momodora games, for example.

To compare further to what came before, I appreciated that the difficulty has been eased here; or at least, you’re able to select an easier mode and aren’t punished for this. You can even choose “casual” and breeze through with quickly-regenerating health. There’s still pitfalls and tough enemies but this is a much more approachable experience.

It really feels like rdein has brought lessons from all his previous work together into this while also making it accessible. I appreciated playing his early stuff to see how it led to this point but it’s also a good place to start. Subsequent releases Momodora: Reverie under the Moonlight and Minoria under the label of his studio Bombservice seem to be bigger and more ambitious and I look forward to trying them but this was a lovely smaller experience with nostalgic Cave Story vibes.

[tiotonyredgrave]

I became a fan of this franchise! . Virei Fan dessa franquia ! . #momodora #fanart #rdein #fanart #illustration #draw #game #sketch #sketchbookpro #digitalpainting #art #manga #bombservice #rdein #indiegame https://www.instagram.com/pseudonimo_anonimo/p/Br8r3XYBiin/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=vyp13mjpukj1