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!