Play as a flying squirrel to save your tribe from an evil owl in this pinball game.
General Gameplay
Momonga Pinball Adventure is a pinball game with a story line in which you go from level to level where there are objectives that tell the story of Momonga and how he is going to help his tribe from the evil owl. The Game Visuals are very vibrant with lighter colors on the screen. The characters are very animated, and the game graphics are very easy to see on the screen. The main character does become a pinball and, in between cut scenes and other levels, reverts to be a flying squirrel. Everything on the pinball tables can be seen and easily found, and goals are explained so gamers are aware of what is needed to be done… this may not seem like a big deal, but many games cause frustration for lack of instruction or guidance. There is no colorblind mode in the game, but it is not needed as the game colors are very easy to see. Game Audio is very basic. There is only one track for most of the levels, a different song track for the “boss” level, and one for the special stage – that’s it. Being an independent developer, Paladin Studio may have not had enough of a budget for more songs or licensed music, but other than the one song, there are just basic sound effects that you would expect to hear from a pinball table. The game is not in 5.1 surround sound, but it is not needed for a game like this. In our play testing, we did not meet any issues with the sounds or in-game music, and Momonga Pinball Adventure should be fine for any gamers in your gaming family to play. Controls for Momonga Pinball Adventure are very easy to use. There are the left and right triggers to move the hammers, a button to launch the “ball” and that is all there is to it. As the game is meant to be played as a pinball game, the controls are designed to be very easy to use and played by all ages. Controls are tight for the most part, but we did see some issues with the ball’s movement and some physics of the ball as well (more on this in our Family Friendly section of our review). As the game does not need a special controller to play, you should be fine using the standard controller for the console without any issues.
“Momonga Pinball Adventure is a good game for casual gamers looking for an easy pinball experience, but once the story gets started up it just ends without explanation.”
Family Friendly
The best way to go into this game is to understand that this is a “lite” pinball game, one that’s more about a story than anything. The pinball mechanic that is designed into the game is more about the control of the character than being an adventure game. I can see why the developer wanted to go into this direction, but there are so many shortcomings in the game that make it hard to call it a story-driven game, let alone a full-fledged pinball game. If anything, think of it as more of a hybrid game than anything else, and by hybrid we mean light pinball/story-driven. One of the biggest complaints that came from our playtesting was that “is this a pinball or story game?” However, this was more from our hardcore story driven gaming fans as well pinball fans. If you are going to play Momogna Pinball Adventure, be sure to go into it knowing that it is a light pinball game and you will have fun with it. The game does have challenges that will keep gamers in your gaming family busy for a while, so if you have casual pinball fans in your gaming family, they will enjoy the game.
Some issues with the game that we saw during our playtesting… There is only one track in most of the game, so you may get bored of hearing the same track repeatedly. This isn’t a game-breaking issue, as most games throughout the last 30 years did not have a robust soundtrack. Another issue is the game physics – when it comes to hitting with the hammer, the “pinball” just does not feel accurate with regard to where you want the pinball to go. This will take some getting used to, but for those who think that they are hitting the pinball and that it will go where you need it to, half the time it does not. Another thing is that the story mode is left off after the boss battle without any explanation of what will happen next in the game’s story. Imagine watching a movie and, a 1/3 into the movie, the story stops for no reason; this is the case with Momogna Pinball Adventure. Now, if the developer has DLC to fill in the blanks, then this would be understandable, but at the time of writing this review there was no announcement of any DLC. In our special needs game testing, we did not meet any issues with the game visuals, audio or even controls, and none of our special needs gamers had any issues with the game itself. If you are planning to pick up this game for your gaming family, do keep in mind the issues that we ran into, but also understand that this is a good game for casual gamers who are looking for an easy pinball experience.
Closing
Momonga Pinball Adventure is a cute, charming game for casual pinball fans, however lack of more background audio, levels and story keep it from being a great game for more avid pinball or story-driven gamers.
