Wonder Momo

I know what you're all saying. I can hear you when I sleep. You say, "Chad, we want a review for one of the weirdest damned games you've ever played." Well, I am a man of the people, and I have for the peoples my impressions of Wonder Momo, by none other than Namco.

I don't know how exactly to describe the experience, hence the nonsensical introduction. This one begins with a raucous crowd of men hooting and hollering. They are the audience for Wonder Momo, a magical girl with unique abilities. Unique outside of Japan, mind you. When the curtain rises Miss Momo descends from high and begins her assault on everyone else on stage. I don't know if they're enemies or she's just your standard prima donna and hogs the spotlight. Whatever the case, she attacks her assailants until a tornado whirls across the stage and picks her up, spinning her into a frenzy which transforms her into an Ultraman-looking character that steps up the beating like only an Ultraman-looking creature can. This metamorphosis can also occur by repeatedly pressing the attack button while facing the crowd, thus causing her to transform of her own volition.

Once transformed, Wonder Momo's new abilities include a circle she can throw at her adversaries, causing significant damage, and a whirl wind attack that spits projectiles in all directions. The scene's climax is reached when a much stronger looking enemy appears that our heroine much dispatch. Then its curtain's up, and Miss Momo dematerializes just as she appeared, and flies back to the heavens.

While it's an odd premise, it retains enough of a unique aspect to make it more than a generic beat em' up. The fighting mechanics are serviceable, but not as intricate as a title like this should or could have had. The controls are responsive, and aside from a walking kick, Wonder Momo has a jumping split kick she can perform when facing the crowd. Several types of flying enemies require you to jump to hit them, and you have to time them just right or take damage. These enemies can get rather annoying. It's interesting, though, that attacking and defeating the larger enemy results in a victorious finale, regardless of how many enemies are still onscreen.

This is one of the strangest games I have played for a while, and I would have to say it is worth checking out if you can find it. If nothing else, for the higher-res pictures of Wonder Momo between certain scenes that show off her sexiness!