Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight

The Good
For those of you who hanker for the days of painstakingly-drawn, sumptuous hand-draw 2D visuals, Moonstone will not disappoint. The classic introductory and ending sequences of the game were near cartoon quality and framed the tale perfectly. In-game graphics were similarly mouthwatering, well-animated and bursting with life and character. And did I mention the gore? The screen resembled a charnel-house when you had finishing hacking and slashing your way through legions of wickedly sadistic foes. Limbs fly and the blood flows in rivers. Has ever a hack’n’slash been quite so satisfying? Golden Axe? Pah!

Richard Joseph’s sparsely utilised, but nevertheless, stunning score added to the prevailing atmosphere of doom and simply has to get a mention. From the jolly “Olde-England” ballad that accompanied your wretched efforts at gambling in squalid taverns, to the Arabesque Eastern twang when you paid a visit to Mythral the Mystic, the quality was everything we’d come to expect from Mr. Joseph. Not to mention the dread evoking dirge that set the mood of the game, and its use to such stunning effect during the loading screens before each tense encounter. Sampled sound effects were of a similarly high standard – every grunt, roar and screech was devastatingly realistic, and even the sound of blood pumping from severed limbs and arteries was included! Heaven for the sadists amongst you :)

Intuitive gameplay, spot-on controls and collision detection kept the action frenetic but fair and there were even RPG elements - the ability to upgrade equipment and abilities added an extra element of depth to proceedings. The world of Moonstone was a very rich one indeed. Just don’t mention the dragon…

The Bad
Perhaps a few more months development time could have ironed out the frequent crashes in the Amiga version, or at the very least Mindscape could have implemented a save or password feature to save pissing gamers off and the breaking of many a joystick in frustration! More enemies, more locations, more equipment and a larger, scrolling, world map would have been welcome – the game is over far too quickly for my liking. What about human knights temporarily joining forces to simultaneously attack lairs and share the spoils? Not enough use of the moon phases, which could have been an amazing innovation if implemented correctly. Despite these nitpickings, Moonstone still rocked and the potential was there (and still is!) for a killer sequel… Anyone know what the sales figures for Moonstone were like?

The Bottom Line
Underrated all-time classic… Can’t believe Sega didn’t pick this gem up and stick it on Megadrive – its gore quotient alone would have ensured that it sold by the bucketload! Go visit my Moonstone tribute site at www.moonstonetavern.co.uk, grab an emulator and rediscover the goodness of Moonstone! :) Remember, the Gods await their new champion…