Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon

Review by Mike Finkelstein

Back in the days of the NES, Konami was known for taking big swings. They became one of the premiere NES developers, crafting interesting, exciting titles that didn’t just look great but also played differently from other companies’ works. They experimented, they innovated, they worked to push the NES to its limits. And they let their games get weird. Konami spent a long time exploring the (then burgeoning) MetroidvaniaAt the intersection of Metroid and Castlevania lies the exploration platformer genre, the game style with heroes wandering expansive worlds, looking for items to expand their quest, known as Metroidvania. genre, and they had a ton of titles that explored the explorational platform game in different ways. Maze of Galious: Knightmare IIThe sequel to a top-down shooter, this platforming adventure changed gears drastically from its predecessor, diving deep into the burgeoning (as yet unnamed) Metroidvania genre. It helped show off Konami's ambitions in expanding their exploration style, becoming something of a foundational title for the company., The GooniesBased on the 1985 family film of the same name, this adventure platformer title never made it to the U.S. but its style still helped Konami expand its exploration ambitions. A sequel, The Goonies II, did eventually reach the U.S., though, creating some amount of confusion for Western fans of the film., Konami Wai Wai WorldOne of the stranger games released from Konami on the NES, this title features mascots crossover together in a Metroidvania-style adventure., not to mention both Vampire KillerA loose port of Castlevania for the MSX2, this platforming adventure took the bones of the original game but blended in minor exploration elements to create something different and interesting. and Castlevania II: Simon's QuestThe first true sequel in the franchise, and one of the few direct sequels ever released. It was the first game in the series to introduce players to the concepts that would eventually become the Metroidvania genre. all helped Konami set itself apart and make a name as a company that really pushed for creativity in its games.

And then there was Getsu Fūma DenCreated in the early days of Konami's venture into the exploration platformer genre, Getsu Fūma Den became something of a hidden classic of the Famicom, before being eventually accepted into the larger Castlevania canon., another interesting take on the nascent Metroidvania formula. Released only in Japan, this was a strange hybrid title that blended platforming sections with a (semi) explorable overworld, and first-person dungeon sections to create something wildly different and rather interesting. It wasn’t the most successful game for Konami, and it was relegated to obscurity (at least until Igarashi put main character Getsu FūmaThird and youngest brother of the Getsu clan, young Fūma has to pick up the clan's legendary sword when his two brothers fall in battle against the demons. The fate of the world is in Fūma's hands. into Castlevania: Harmony of DespairKonami's entry into the online massive multiplayer market, this game features teams of heroes going into Dracula's Castle to fight the demon, with rare loot and extra goodies to grab along the way. as a downloadable character), but there’s no questioning that it was an interesting title and a big swing for the company. No one, though, expected that Konami would develop a sequel, especially not almost 40 years after the first game’s release.

Officially published in 2022 (after a lengthy beta release schedule), Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon is a strange sequel. I say that not because the original Getsu Fūma Den was a strange game (although it was) but because the sequel feels weirdly watered down and safe. It doesn’t take the big swings of its predecessor. In fact, I’d argue that it doesn’t take any major swings at all. Instead of playing like a weird, hybrid gameplay experience mashing multiple ideas together to see what sticks, the sequel plays like a copy-of-a-copy of many other Metroidvania titles that are on the market right now. It’s almost bland, in a way, which feels very at odds with the legacy the first title managed to forge for itself. As thrilling as it is to have a Getsu Fūma Den sequel in our hands, Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon doesn’t feel like the worthy successor the first game deserved.

Set 26 generations after the original game, Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon focuses on the next Getsu Fūma, leader of the Fūma clan. Two events cause the new Getsu Fūma to pick up his demon-fighting blade. First, his brother, Getsu Rando, goes missing. Second, the sealed gate blocking the demons of hell from invading our world breaks. Sensing these two events might be related, Fūma grabs his sword and heads to the gate to hell, realizing he’ll have to explore through the underworld and kill all the demons that cross his path if he’s going to save not only his brother but all of human civilization.

At its core, Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon is a roguelike platformer. As Getsu Fūma you start off in the clan village, sword at the ready, set to go into the first portal and explore one of the eight demonic realms. You’ll hack and slash and platform your way through the stage, killing enemies and collecting various currencies. When you find shops you can cash in your coins and demonic spirits to buy weapons and sub-weapons, upgrade weapons, and buy upgrades for your various skills. Defeat more enemies and you get more upgrades. But if you die then you’ll restart back in town, most of what you gained lost, all so you can start off on a new version of the adventure all over again.

In essence this game is Dead CellsDeveloped by Motion Twin, this 2D platforming roguelike was praised for marrying the tough-as-nails gameplay of the genre with beautiful pixel art likened to the best Castlevania has ever offered.. That game, which was praised for marrying the artistic beauty of titles like Castlevania: Symphony of the NightReleased on the PlayStation in 1997, this game, while not hugely successful in the U.S. at the time, went on to become on the most beloved titles in the Castlevania series. with the tough-as-nails gameplay of roguelikes, became a big hit and spawned multiple downloadable expansions. Hell, it even had a crossover DLC with Konami’s own Castlevania (Dead Cells: Return to CastlevaniaA crossover between Motion Twin and Konami that brought a new area to Dead Cells, along with new weapons, gear, and other fun additions., which is fantastic). It’s strange that after working with Dead Cells developer Motion Twin Konami would then turn around and make their own clone of the format.

And in many ways it is a clone. It has a similar structure – go into a new area, kill enemies, pick up weapons, gather currency, fight a boss, then go to the next area and do it again – and the same kind of procedurally generated levels to keep things lively and fresh. It has the same kind of punishing difficulty, the same resource grind, the same expectations. Aside from a very different art style (that is different from both Dead Cells and the previous Getsu Fūma Den, this game feels very much like a copy of someone else’s work.

Although… not a very good copy, frankly. Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon feels like a first draft of a more interesting, and more varied, game. The first few zones of the game feel very repetitive and same-y. While the art style for these stages does vary, the basics of their exploration does not. It’s a lot of running around, killing a few of the same types of enemies over and over, and trying to find the exit. There isn’t a lot of variety to the gameplay, especially early on, and within minutes you’re going to start feeling like you’ve seen all of the grind that this game has to offer. Now, a couple of later stages do change things up a bit. One has portals that warp you back and forth between two mirrored zones for the stage, while another has a series of teleporters you have to navigate to find the exit, but generally the core loop of the game is set by the time you finish the first stage.

The game itself controls well and is very playable, at a basic level. Combat is tight and responsive and the various enemies have identifiable attacks, movement, and patterns. Once you learn what they do it’s a manageable experience moving from platform to platform, zone to zone, taking out the enemies as you go. As the difficulty levels increase (and this is a game designed for multiple playthroughs at increasing difficulty levels) the enemies get more variance and more attacks and things get more interesting, and that’s great… if you make it that far. But to get into that level of the game you have to play through the earlier zones first, with their repetitive gameplay and grind-focused leveling. It becomes a lot, and not in a good way.

Which is a pity because, graphically, the game is gorgeous. The development team went for an art style reminiscent of the ukiyo-e style, with every stage, every enemy looking like they came from classical woodblock prints and paintings. The game is a feast for the eyes, from early stages set in forests and oceans, to later stages covered in ice or set in abandoned towns. I really loved looking at the game while I was playing it, I just loved playing it a whole lot less. Some spark, some vitality and creativity in the gameplay was needed to elevate this title up where it needed to be.

Really, what this game needed was to get as goofy as the original Getsu Fūma Den. More variety, more changes in gameplay, more strangeness, that’s what this title needed. By making a roguelike platformer Metroidvania title, Konami essentially created a game just like every other roguelike platformer out there, and we already have fantastic versions of those games. Instead of innovating and trying to push the genre forward, like the original Getsu Fūma Den attempted, Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon feels like it’s running to catch up.

Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon wasn’t a huge success upon release, and that meant that many of the planned DLC episodes, like new characters and new zones, were dropped. Players were disinterested in this repetitive, grind-heavy game that didn’t do anything that other games weren’t already doing. Playing it, you can see why. There’s a core to this game that works, tight and responsive and very pretty. But it’s lurking in a game that doesn’t have anything new or interesting to say about the genre it’s a part of. Say what you want about the original Getsu Fūma Den but it had its own ideas and tried to do its own thing. The same simply cannot be said about Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon.