Momonga Pinball Adventures (Wii U) Review

By Luna Eriksson 16.02.2016

Review for Momonga Pinball Adventures on Wii U

Genre mixes are interesting. Strange, and almost untested, genre mixes are even more interesting! What makes them so fascinating is seeing how different elements can blend together to create a new experience, in the same way mixing two different colours creates a new hue. Momonga Pinball Adventures tries, as its title implies, mixing the adventure genre with the pinball genre. Will the result be a beautiful shade, such as the wonderful colour purple?

A pinball adventure? Sounds interesting, doesn't it? This is premise is so embedded that even its title, Momonga Pinball Adventures, flat out throws it in the faces of gamers. Many might inspect this title because of the fresh premise, hoping to find an adventure game of massive and well-developed pinball tables and high-scores to hunt... Resist the temptation, if that sounds enticing!

Momonga Pinball Adventures is exactly what it says on the tin, but is also the worst possible implementation of the premise. Instead of being a pinball game with an adventure atmosphere, it is an adventure game with pinball mechanics forced into the game. There is no real pinball action found here, not in the sense of an infinite pinball table that has the player competing to stay alive, and racking up the most massive score. The lack of such classic pinball elements are certainly a setback, particularly for pinball fans.

Screenshot for Momonga Pinball Adventures on Wii U

Once past that disappointment, several other issues come to light. Foremost is that even as an adventure title, Momonga Pinball Adventures is very half-done. A sense of exploring and combating enemies are important aspects of adventure games, and these aren't introduced until extremely close to the end, where some enemies finally appear. However, fighting could not be more unsatisfactory. The combat is based around a firefly who is a "Fire Fu" user, and who distracts enemies while the brave momonga (the ball) hits them. To do this, though, the momonga must first hit a gong-gong. It is definitely a way to implement pinball mechanics into the combat, but also the laziest way possible.

The biggest redeeming quality is that there are very few technical issues and direct "flaws" like those found in many titles that do something new, but this doesn't exactly make it a good title—just one that is not bad. Ultimately, pinball fans will be disappointed by the lack of deeper pinball elements, and fans of adventure games disappointed by the lack of deeper adventure elements. It simply aims to be something it isn't: a pinball adventure.

Screenshot for Momonga Pinball Adventures on Wii U

Cubed3 Rating

5/10
Rated 5 out of 10

Average

While there are very few issues with the game from a technical point of view, and it has very few annoying features, it completely lacks a hook and great, memorable parts. Momonga Pinball Adventures is the definition of a mediocre game. It is not bad enough for people to yell for refunds, but it is certainly not good enough for anyone will return to. Much more could've been done, but simply wasn't. The addition of one big pinball table could've done wonders, providing replayability and something for pinball fans to truly enjoy. Sadly, it didn't. The developer went their own way to create a new colour, but the project clashed somewhere along the way, creating a mess instead. It is, however, hinted that there will be a sequel, maybe one that will better mix the elements into something new.

Developer

Paladin

Publisher

Paladin

Genre

Action

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  5/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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