FINALLY, A SHOOTER FOR 3DS AFTER 3 YEARS…
GAMEPLAY:
Moon Chronicles is a first person shooter (FPS) for the Nintendo 3DS. It’s a genre that lacks games on the Nintendo eShop, so will this remake of the Nintendo DS game be enough?
In the game, you will follow a story while you play the game. You have to move to point A then to point B, shooting enemies that appear while finding some puzzles along the way. Really classic right?
Moon Chronicles is broken in four different episodes, and right now, you will only have access to the first episode. The first episode contains four chapters which are part of the story, and a hidden fifth one which is unlocked while you play chapter 2.
There’s another division – the difficulty. The game presents three options: rookie, normal and veteran. Rookie is the easy option which is excellent for starters, the normal option is good to enjoy the game and veteran is for those who search for a challenge. The level design is really good and every difficulty will also present a different experience.
The time you will need in each difficulty is different too. The game (not counting the extra chapter) in Rookie can be beaten in a range from 15 to 20 minutes and Normal from 25 to 35 minutes, however, Veteran can take over an hour to complete.
There are parts where you have to move around when you’re following the story and when your way is locked, you will need your remote droid to unlock the way. Those little parts of the gameplay can be challenging because you have to care not only about your health, but also the droid’s own. If you die or the robot is destroyed, it’s an instant game over. In those cases, you will start playing from the last checkpoint. There are places where you can save your progress and recover your health, and if you’re in trouble, getting back is an excellent strategy. The enemies can also leave health and ammo when beaten.
The controls are a big win, being really varied thanks to the different options presented in the game. Here’s a little explanation of the options you have:
- Walk with the Circle Pad, move the camera with ABXY buttons, shoot with L button, actions with the R button and manage your weapons with the Control Pad.
- Walk with the Circle Pad, move the camera with the stylus, shoot with L button, actions with the R button and manage your weapons with the Control Pad.
- Walk with the Circle Pad, move the camera with the Circle Pad Pro, shoot with L button, actions with the R button and manage your weapons with the Control Pad.
- Walk with the Circle Pad Pro, move the camera with the Circle Pad, shoot with L button, actions with the R button and manage your weapons with the Control Pad.
You can also swap the L and R buttons so that you will be able to shoot with R and do actions with L.
At the end of episode 1, you’ll be able to drive a little car. The controls work well but is a little more difficult than when you’re using the droid or your player.
The only bad thing I found about the first chapter is its price. While it’s understandable it should have a premium price comparing with the other episodes due to development costs, I feel it’s really unbalanced. The main reason I think about this is for the game duration.
The developers made the game replayable. They made a record system on the chapters so once you finish the episode, you will be able to beat your old times on any chapter or just play it in another difficulty. The lack of an online leaderboard or an option to share on Miiverse is disappointing.
GRAPHICS AND AUDIO:
The game’s graphics are good, the upgrade is just excellent. Plus, those 60 frames per second are really enjoyable, being stable with or without the 3D effect. Talking about it, the 3D effect is overall a nice experience to play with, but it has some ghost effect sometimes.
Something I find lazy about the game, they’re using the same videos from the DS version of the game. Their videos are just stretched and no 3D effect is active but still a good opportunity to see the quality difference this remake offers.
I find the soundtrack quite regular, maybe a little generic and repetitive. Still, the game offers an atmosphere when playing and, being honest, using different songs would ruin the exploration experience. The sounds for the other side have a great quality, I actually recommend playing the game using headphones.
PRESENTATION:
The game presentation is good, but I think it can be better.
The game menus are great, you can see and set the controls every time you need to, the controls work excellent, and the game in overall looks good.
Here is also a little recap of stuff I said before:
BAD: Like I said, the videos are from the DS version and can be very easy to notice because the game offers better graphics than the cutscenes. In addition, the lack of an online leaderboard and a really simple manual don’t help at all.
GOOD: In first place, something I find superb in the game is the control options. It’s such a great thing to have different ways to play, using the one you enjoy most. Also the difficulties present a different experience.
Moon Chronicles is really good but also really short for its price. The game looks good, sounds good and the control options are excellent. It has replay value, but the developers missed a few good opportunities. If you love shooters, the game is a must have, but I think it would be best to wait for the release of its other chapters.
Score in text: Gameplay 80 – Graphics 80 – Audio 70 – Presentation 70
