Wonder Momo
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Wonder Momo[a] is a 1987 beat 'em up arcade game that was developed and published by Namco exclusively in Japan. It was ported to the PC-Engine in 1989, with both versions of the game later ported to the Wii Virtual Console, and ported to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as part of Arcade Archives. The game was also included in Namco Museum Encore for the PlayStation. Wonder Momo inspired a webcomic series in 2012, an anime miniseries in 2014, and a sequel game by WayForward Technologies in May 2014.
Gameplay
Wonder Momo is a loose parody of a typical
As Momo, she can only attack using kicks, and in doing so builds up her "Wonder" meter. When she touches a tornado icon, or spins around by herself, she can turn into Wonder Momo and can also attack using the Wonder Hoop, which can be reused as long as she is Wonder Momo. After the Wonder Hoop is thrown, she will not be able to throw anymore, while she will have to wait for it to bounce back to her. She can also shoot small waves of energy in whichever direction she faces (while she is crouching), which is based on the similar move by the Ultraman characters. Her most powerful attack is the Wonder Typhoon - a more powerful version of her small energy wave attack which shoots numerous small energy waves towards the left and right sides of the screen simultaneously, while she is spinning.
The game is notable for featuring some slightly risqué content for the time, in the form of
Year | Platform | Media | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
April 21, 1989 | PC Engine
|
HuCard | Ported by NEC Avenue |
October 30, 1997 | PlayStation | CD-ROM | Included in Namco Museum Encore. |
June 2005 | FOMA | Digital distribution | Included in Namco Museum Encore. |
February 27, 2007 | Wii | Digital distribution (Virtual Console) | PC Engine version. |
June 16, 2009 | Wii | Digital distribution (Virtual Console) | Original arcade version. |
December 18, 2013 | PlayStation Portable | Digital distribution (PlayStation Network) | |
PlayStation 3 | |||
March 31, 2022[2] | PlayStation 4 | Digital distribution (Arcade Archives) | |
Nintendo Switch |
The titular character made numerous appearances outside of her video game, mostly in Namco's other video games. Wonder Momo appeared as one of the playable characters in the Japan-only, tactical RPG title
In other media
Wonder Momo received a brief adaptation as part of the manga anthology Famitsu Comix: The Shape of Happiness (しあわせのかたち, Shiawase no katachi), published in the Famitsu Comics collection from March 1989, drawn by Tamakichi Sakura.
Besides appearing in video games,
ShiftyLook comic
On March 15, 2012, Wonder Momo was resurrected as an internet comic strip on Namco Bandai's comic strip website ShiftyLook with the title Wonder Momo: Battle Idol. The series, illustrated by Omar Dogan and written by Erik Ko and Jim Zub, is set 25 years after the original game and focuses on Momoko, an idol who, after failing a TV show audition, encounters a race of aliens who give her Wonder Momo's powers. Learning to harness them, she begins battling evil aliens as well as rival hero Amazona, who is actually a popular idol named Akiho Mazo who was inspired by the original Wonder Momo, later revealed to be Momoko's mother. Wonder Momo also made several appearances in Shiftylook's concurrent Bravoman webcomic and webseries, voiced by Romi Dames in the latter. The comic concluded with its 200th page on March 14, 2014 following the announcement of ShiftyLook's closure.
Anime
On January 28, 2014,
A side-scrolling action game developed by
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Wonder Momo on their April 1, 1987 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[10]
Reviewing the
Notes
References
- )
- ^ "Side-Scrolling Beat 'Em Up 'Wonder Momo' Is The Next Arcade Archives Game". Nintendo Life. 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ Nakamura, Toshi (29 January 2014). "Japanese Cult Classic Revived as New Game and Anime". Kotaku.com. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- YouTube.com. 2014-01-30. Archived from the originalon 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
- ^ Lien, Tracey (28 January 2014). "DuckTales Remastered developer to make Wonder Momo game". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ^ "Wonder Momo Game Spawns Web Anime by Graphinica & New Game - News". Animenewsnetwork.com. 2014-01-29. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
- ^ NamcoMuseum2. "Wonder Momo: Typhoon Booster Release Information for PC". GameFAQs. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c "WEEKLY CROSS REVIEW - ワンダーモモ" (in Japanese). No. 8. Enterbrain. Famitsu. 9 June 1989.
- ^ a b WL (January 1990). "Wonder Momo". No. 26. Newsfield. The Games Machine. p. 79. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
- ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 305. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 April 1987. p. 25.