Moonrise Preview

There’s a game that we’ve all have dreamed of, but that has never come to realisation. There are poor renditions to this idea, which makes many of us believe that there is still hope. I am talking about a proper next-gen Pokémon game, with real time combat and direct control over the Pokémon. A game with the same feeling of exploration, progression and adventure as any of the original series, but with an engaging and tactical combat able to bring about the tension of the battles we saw in the show. Until then, we’ve got Moonrise, a free-to-play copycat of the Pokémon double battles that debuted in Generation III. However, this time it’s in real time, opposed to turn-based. Sadly, it’s not what we always wished for.

In the world of Moonrise, there are creatures that evoke the appearance and attacks of Pokémon in any generation — there’s going to be a lot of comparisons. These are either called Solari or Lunari. Solari are those creatures that haven’t been corrupted; they’re friendly and usually have a Warden as owner— a fancy way to call a trainer. Lunari are exactly the same creatures, but wild and covered in a purple and black aura. For me, it’s still not clear why they became tainted by the darkness when in the wilderness, but it presents no problem for a Warden. It turns out that if you smack a Lunari in the face hard enough, they snap out of their dark possession and become friendly — just like a moody teenager. You can use your Solari to do so, or use your own Warden superpowers — lightning, fireballs, you name it.

The main difference between Pokémon and Moonrise is that the latter, instead of having a turn-based structure in combat, the moves are chosen on the spot. That, and swapping team members when appropriate, will be the only actions that you can do during combat, which is not entirely bad per se. You don’t have items to give to your creature-slaves, but this system is much more action-packed and frenetic. As both Solari in battle have abilities as well as your Warden, you need to manage every attack and objective, as well as the charging and cool down times of each attack. It is indeed tense and frantic, but I’m afraid it borders the line with being a chore, as keeping up and managing with all attacks is quite inaccurate, tedious and not particularly fun. This is probably why there is a button that resolves all battles automatically — which makes me wonder, why including them in first place?

I feel that I can’t stress enough how game-changing the mechanics brought by the free-to-play system feel. At the moment, as it’s still in development, one has to purchase a key to play, but as it releases, developers have confirmed that it will be launched as a free-to-play. Yet, the micro-transactions system is still in place for those who have paid the 10.99/14.99 for the Early Access version. Imagine if catching’em all had been behind a pay-wall. Or if sinking hours trying to evolve your Charmander had felt unfair, because it turns out it’s possible to just pay for coins and essences to level it up and make it extra powerful. It is true that I’ve never felt like I was behind, in terms of power, as a result of these micro-transactions. I did, however, feel that I was missing out on parts of the game, that I wasn’t catching as many Poké-Solari as I wanted. This meta-economy just breaks the immersion and makes the various in-game currencies confusing and weird.

This brings me to the main reason I stopped playing this game. Coins, essences, experience points crystals, moon dust and others are some of the currencies that you’ll need to power up your creatures, teach them more moves, evolve them, trade and buy objects… It just becomes way too messy when you add micro-transactions. Unlike Pokémon, where defeating other Pokémon meant gaining experience (and with it, learning abilities, becoming more powerful and evolving) and defeating trainers meant earning money; in Moonrise, every object and battle is used differently. Battling Lunari and releasing them gives you essences, which you have to combine with coins, earned by defeating other Wardens, in order to power up your Solari’s stats. On top of this, all Solari in the team get the same experience, independently from whether they battled or not. This experience lets them learn new moves and evolve, but you don’t need to battle to do so. It’s like having an Exp. Share in all your party members, but the Solari won’t get more powerful, they’ll just learn new tricks and maybe, evolve — while still having crap stats.

It’s a pity that they left any option for exploration out of this game, as it’s always been a key element in keeping the player engaged in Pokémon. Let’s be honest, Pokémon battles weren’t particularly fun, but going off the beaten track to find that rare one, usually fitting with the scenery, was quite the thrill. There are enemies that emulate gym leaders and trainers of different types, but again, these battles are better set on automatic.

The design of the Solari, however, is indeed fantastic. In terms of visual style, they feel like next-gen Pokémon, with the similar types and movements — although the strength and weaknesses chart does change a little. Although the visual style and the combat system feel innovative, it’s impossible to recommend a game where battling is better done automatically and the only thing left to do is management of your Solari. I was greatly disappointed when I saw a very typical free-to-play interface in this game, which already made me approach it very sceptically. I wish that I had been wrong.