Moero Chronicle Review — A Monster Girl Adventure
Moero Chronicle is here to give the gift of half-naked monster girls to the fans, but is it worth playing as a dungeon-crawling RPG?
Compile Heart has a history for pushing the limit of mature content in their titles, which can be seen in Idea Factory International’s first published game, Monster Monpiece. Although this title would be the beginning of the Genkai Tokki series, it was the last entry to receive a western release for a long time — until now that is. In an effort to deliver niche Japanese titles in the west, Idea Factory International brings PC users the second entry in the Genkai Tokki series, Moero Chronicle, which was originally released exclusively on the PlayStation Vita in the east.
“If you haven’t figured it out yet, Moero Chronicle does not take itself seriously in the story department.”
Moero Chronicle is set in a world of fantasy where the regions are shared by humans and monster girls. This is where the game introduces Io, a pretty pathetic looking main protagonist who more or less plays the part of the “unsuspecting hero.” Io has a bit of problem where he finds it difficult to interact with girls in fear that they’ll think he’s a pervert. In the beginning the only girl he can speak freely with is his childhood friend Lillia. Evidently, the monster girls in other regions of the world have fallen under a curse and are acting strange.
Io isn’t anything special and the dialog in the game doesn’t make him out to be anything but ordinary. This is what makes it so amusing when he is asked to save the world from destruction. Against his better judgment, Io decides to go on the adventure as this could be the perfect chance for him to meet girls and stop freaking out over every encounter with the opposite sex. Originally joining him is Lillia, but then we are introduced to one who I feel is the best character in the entire game, Otton, a perverted seal who gets excited over panties.
The enemies are insanely over-the-top creatures that are almost too hilarious to defeat.”
If you haven’t figured it out yet, Moero Chronicle does not take itself seriously in the story department. Which I say as a complement because it’s one of the best qualities the game has. The dungeon crawling RPG mechanics in the game are pretty basic. Every level features a unique theme with multiple floors, the objective for the player is to make their way to the boss and cure her of the curse which is making her act out against humans.
Like most dungeon crawlers, Moero Chronicle is played in the first person and features random enemy encounters as the player explores the dungeon. The enemies are insanely over-the-top creatures that are almost too hilarious to defeat. For example: there is a monster who is wearing panties over their head. However, it’s possible that you’ll run into similar enemies throughout the game with the only changes to them being their element, making the game feel repetitive. With that said, the battle gameplay can be rushed through rather quickly if you’re powerful enough to just mash on the action button.
The more interesting battles happen during the boss fights. Besides the dungeon boss, players will encounter other bosses floating around the dungeon. In these battle the player can target multiple areas of clothing that the boss is wearing in order to find her weakness, usually being a certain skill or attack. Once the clothing runs out of HP, its breaks revealing the girl’s underwear. By doing this to every part of clothing the battle can be easily won. There were a few times that I was underpowered during boss battles and had to spend some time grinding — ahem, level grinding — in order to win.
This is where Moero Chronicle borrows a mechanic introduced in Monster Monpiece, the touching mini-game. After a boss battle, the monster girl will be displayed in a sexual position and the player must discover their favorite place to be rubbed, pinched, or poked. By accomplishing this you’ll induce them into a euphoric state and they will be cleansed of the evil curse. However, if you fail they will run away and you have to start the battle all over again. At first I found the PC version of this touching mini-game more difficult than the Vita version, but after some time I got used to it.
Throughout the game’s story many monster girls will join your party, each with their own personality and skill set. In order to get closer to them, Moero Chronicle has each of them stay at an Inn in the game’s hub village. This is where the player can spend time with each monster girl and give them gifts. With a cast of characters this large, I was surprised by how many story events there were as your relationships grew with each of them. Sure you’ll have your favorites and only focus on them, but it’s possible to gain max affinity with each of the girls.
The biggest downside of Moero Chronicle would have to be the uninspired dungeons. Even though each dungeon has a different theme, the levels within are pretty much all the same which can be disorienting at times. Additionally, the random battles lose any element of being fun once you’re strong enough to just breeze through them. The battles become even more mindless when you return to previous dungeons in search of panties to give to your party members. These gripes combined with the game’s other shortcomings makes Moero Chronicle an average game at best for fans of the genre.
Moero Chronicle is an interesting and entertaining dungeon crawler, which is difficult to mess up given the game’s premise. Furthermore, the game’s writing is hilarious and self aware which makes it even more delightful. Sadly, the best way to describe the battle system would be mediocre and could have used some unique mechanics to make it stand out in the genre. If you’re looking for a game that is not to be taken seriously, full of half-naked monster girls, has a basic battle system, and a touching mini-game then look no further because Moero Chronicle is exactly what you have been looking for.
