Strider is reborn for the modern era as a downloadable multiplayer title, but does it stand up to the original classic?

Koichi Yotsui and developer feelplus have created an admirable effort and homage to Strider in Moon Diver, while at the same time attempted to distinguish the game by adding a multiplayer mode, role-playing elements, and cinematic cut scenes. In practice, this amounts to crafting a solid, if unbalanced, 2D action experience.

Game: Moon Diver
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: feelplus
Genre: 2D Action
Price: $14.99
Verdict: A low-budget take on multiplayer Strider.
Pros: Strider gameplay is present and just as fun as it was before.  Support for 4-player simultaneous co-op.
Cons: The addition of level grinding, repetitive environments, and unbalanced single-player gameplay make this one difficult to recommend to people unfamiliar with Strider.

Acquired via Publisher

Like Strider, Moon Diver is a 2D action sidescroller where the player is forced to slash through neverending hordes of enemies across a number of different stages (12, in this case). At the end of each stage, a boss must be defeated in order to advance to the next stage. Unlike Strider, however, the pace of each stage is routinely marred by the addition of barriers that only disappear after a player has killed a certain number of enemies. True, this kind of gameplay element has been used before in Strider‘s sequel on the arcade and PS1, but in that game it was used only for mini-boss or boss fights. It is used far more often in Moon Diver, several times each stage, seemingly to pad out the game’s length. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have been almost completely wiped out. The story is difficult to understand based on the brief cinematic cut scenes, but the cut scenes are interesting enough (the first time through, at least) to keep the player interested in the world of the game.

Visually, the game is a little disappointing. It’s very clear that this was planned as a downloadable title from the beginning. The characters look good, but the backgrounds themselves are made up of very few polygons and repeat far too often. When comparing the look of this game to another homage to a retro series (Hard Corps: Uprising), it’s clear to me that feelplus should have considered using sprites for the  characters and enemies in order to achieve a cleaner look. Additionally, the large amount of enemy/boss character model recycling is somewhat of a disappointment. On the other hand, the way the game handles the amount of action on the screen is impressive, as are the particle effects and explosions (of which there are plenty).  The game doesn’t look bad at all – especially considering the price – but as a fan of Strider, I was hoping for a bit more.

Unlike the Strider series, Moon Diver contains four different characters (five including DLC) and the capability to level up each one individually, increasing strength, magic, or damage resistance/health. There are also magic spells (named, in what is surely a translation fubar, “moonsault combinations”) hidden throughout each level to collect. These are retained permanently by the character who collects them and up to four can be equipped before the start of each stage. These spells differ widely in their use; their effects run the gamut from inflicting status ailments on enemies, to healing/buffing a player character, to dealing direct damage. Each character can collect a wide variety of these, but their usefulness varies substantially. In single-player mode in particular, expect to equip mostly defensive/healing spells on a regular basis.

The idea of playing multiplayer Strider is certainly very attractive. In practice, however, the experience was less fun than I was hoping for. The support for up to four simultaneous players is most certainly the game’s headlining feature, but several issues are present that severely hamper the fun factor. First of all, the addition of a variable character level means it’s very easy to have an unbalanced group when playing a Quick Match with players who have a level spread that makes game progression difficult. Any items or levels gained during the multiplayer session will not be retained if the session ends abruptly (which occurs automatically if the host disconnects – and in my experience, people  disconnect a lot). Additionally, the sheer chaos that inevitably occurs when 3-4 players plus hordes of robotic drones are all moving about the screen at once makes it all too easy to get lost. In order to scale difficulty for the multiplayer mode, the game has been made nigh impossible to complete while playing solo. Large enemies fill the screen with lasers that can land a character in a critical damage state if not killing them outright, and the large amount of enemies attacking simultaneously can make healing or buffing difficult. The best way to play the game, without a doubt, is local offline multiplayer, but the intense time commitment required to level up a character and locate the best spells in the game does not make Moon Diver ideal for pick-up-and-play sessions.

As far as controls are concerned, jumping and attacking is certainly responsive enough, and it sure does feel good – especially during the first few hours with the game – to just rush along and slash enemies to pieces, being rewarded with EXP in the process. However, character movement is frustrating to me.  Moving the character is done with the analog stick, and only the analog stick, which makes the controls feel looser than they need to. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to control a 2D game with a control pad, not an analog stick.  There is no option in the game to change the controls, either. Now get off my lawn.

It isn’t that Moon Diver is a bad game; far from it. But like many downloadable titles in the modern era, it feels incomplete. If this game were given more time and a substantial upgrade in budget, it could have been something wonderful. As-is, it shows plenty of promise but ends up being a disappointment to those expecting something with more meat. For fans of 2D action games that don’t mind a bit of punishment, Moon Diver is worth checking out, but for others, the game’s lack of balance and polish makes this one harder to recommend.

GrE Grade: B-

Popularity: unranked [?]