Retro indie tributes are a dime a dozen, but really good ones are rarer than you think. Blazing Chrome, a 2019 run ‘n’ gun that channels Contra III, is one of them. And today its developers JoyMasher announced that they have a new one called Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider. It’s basically 16-bit Ninja Gaiden, and it looks great.
You play as a cyborg ninja who rises up against his masters and takes on an army of super soldiers to dismantle the totalitarian regime that rules a dystopian future. Along the way, you’ll pick up new upgrades and abilities, and receive detailed bosses. It also looks like you’ll be going full Akira bike slide at some point. Think Contra with a sword.
Here’s the trailer:
On the PlayStation Blog, art director Danilo Dias listed a number of inspirations for the look and feel of Vengeful Guardian. An obvious point of reference is HR Giger of Alien fame, whose fusion of organic curves and metallic surfaces is clearly on display in the game’s sci-fi aesthetic. But Dias also lists Keita Amemiya, the director of the 1991 Japanese sci-fi film Zeiram, and Japanese TV series like Genocyber and Cybernetic Guardians as inspirations as well.
Dias also admits that there is a lot of competition in the retro ninja side scrolling category. There’s The Messenger, Katana Zero, and Cyber Shadow to name just a few. I’d even throw the mini-arcade nostalgia of Steel Assault into the mix. Of course, they were all great, in part because they each excelled at something different.
Hopefully, Vengeful Guardian is able to carve a similar niche for itself. Blazing Chrome was a refreshingly tight and focused arcade hit at a time when Metroidvanias and roguelites dominated Steam. The latest from JoyMasher is slated to hit PlayStation, Switch, and PC this fall.