Rainbow Moon: Review In Progress - Grindin'

Due to some recent hardships we won’t bore you about, our review for Rainbow Moon is taking some time to complete, as this game is big. How big, you ask? It’s probably big enough that I’ve been throwing time at it like water at an Australian bushfire without even creating a dent in the content. So, here’s a short rundown of things so far:

The big question: Will Rainbow Moon be something for you? Depending on your preference, I can already confirm or deny this to some degree. Rainbow Moon is a throwback to traditional strategy roleplaying, complete in isometric view and with grand battles on a grid map. If this sounds alluring and grinding is a term you’re familiar and comfortable with, then you don’t need to wait for the review. The revival is done quite well and some slight new touches paired with the barrage of content can warrant a purchase. It certainly won’t win any prizes with its opening act, but chances are likely there will only be more content up ahead.

Now to delve into the monster: What exactly is Rainbow Moon? As mentioned above, this SRPG goes back to classic days, when stories were some harebrained concoction only devised to string along endless battles. A character gets sent to a monster world and now it’s time to fight. Monsters are present on the map that show their biggest enemy and the amount of foes that battle would ensue. Through a level system and a separate upgrade system, players can get stronger, along with equipment and crafting options.  Most enhancing possibilities are done with third parties and that is a good way to diversify things and offer more control to the player as to their capabilities. However, prices are often steep and these parties are not always around, which leads to backtracking.

This is probably a conscious design choice, as the cornerstone for Rainbow Moon is grinding. Monsters are divided in levels and there isn’t so much a curve as there are stairs to the challenge rating. Monsters are overpowering until a certain level is achieved and a character is either faster or strong enough to dispatch foes without too much damage. But as progression is halted by these enemies, this means a lot of random battles need to be done until that stair can be climbed and the process restarts with a new enemy. To remedy this, Rainbow Moon offers separate and optional random encounters. It’s certainly a lot less annoying than the traditional model, but a sizable amount of grind every few hours is pretty much mandatory. This will be the decisive element in the starting of this game. If you’re not prepared to put in the effort, this game won’t be to your liking. There’s even a Hard mode where this gets heightened to exponential heights for true masochists.

Players can also help the world’s citizens with side quests to reap rewards that make the journey easier, but this just gives a reason for all the training. It’s a method to the madness, if you will. There is even more to the game, which we’ll delve into with the full review, some being good and some being bad. What’s certain is that there will probably be a ton more environments and dungeons to delve into before reaching the end goal. With that, consider Rainbow Moon an investment.

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)