Mighty Milky Way (DSiWare Review) by Leroy S.

Mighty Milky Way
Publisher: Wayforward
Developer: Wayforward
System: Nintendo DS (DSiWare)
Release: May 9, 2011

May 16, 2011, by Leroy S. - Mighty Milky Way is a fusion of three distinct gaming genres: action, platforming and puzzle. Released for 800 Nintendo Points on May 9, 2011, from the minds at WayForward Technologies, it is the spiritual successor to Mighty Flip Champs. You assume the role of the protagonist, Luna: a rather appealing female alien, who is supposedly French. Her job is to planet jump across various worlds within the cosmos while dodging many hazards including the onslaught of her arch-nemesis, the T-Rex.

The world of Mighty Milky Way is very bizarre, but the tutorial at the beginning manages to clear up a few things control-wise. You are indirectly controlling Luna as she planet-jumps, so you might rely on the placement of planets, gravity and pure luck to get her to the end of each level. Her planet-jumping comes with a heavy price, as she can destroy the planet she lands on by pulse jumping off them twice. Thankfully, Luna has the ability to form new planets using Planet Candy. You can form planets of different sizes, which will affect her behavior on them gravity-wise. These are recurring items that are key to progressing through the levels of the game.

The main menu is a nice little sandbox/hub area where you can planet-jump around Luna's home planet and practice, as well as venture into the various worlds which orbit around it. Each world is very distinct in its theme, and each level is very different in its presentation: there will be pre-placed planets, both natural and metallic, for Luna to hop across until she reaches a portal at the end, which will take her to the next level. You are given control of Luna's speed on the planets, as she will walk around it until she is slowed down or hops off. You are also given camera control from which you can zoom in and out, giving a nice overview of the level's layout. Of course, there are both great hazards and helping hands as the game progresses.

There are walls that surround the level, but will kill Luna if she touches it. Thankfully, some walls have non-lethal surfaces from which she can ricochet from. The metallic planets that Luna lands on are indestructible, so as much as she'll jump, it will not break. Also, there are planet-dwellers that roam each planet, and if Luna touches them, she'll vaporize and the level will start all over. There are also teleportation portals which Luna can enter and exit from, as well as Crater Cannons from which you can launch her in a fixed direction. More hazards come in the form of occupied space (where planets can't be manifested) and instant death planets laden with spikes, and a skull insignia. These are all very odd on paper but when you experience it, you'll understand how beneficiary (and deadly) they are. The end level has the T-Rex chasing Luna, firing deadly lasers at the planets she lands on as she moves quickly towards the end portal. You are expected to outrun these lasers and make it to the end, without dying or running into hazards. There are 40 levels in all, and after the game ends, there is an added mode in which you replay these levels in a different fashion.

The soundtrack on Mighty Milky Way is very impressive as it leaves behind very memorable melodies, including the vocaloid-inspired theme song at the game's start screen. The tunes are incredibly diverse (some very chiptune-esque, others very synthesizer-influenced) and manage to match the mood of each level. What really surprised me was the French dialogue from Luna as she'll utter random phrases (in French) whenever something significant takes place, like dying or level ends.

The only gripes about the game was how the save system was thought out. It reminded me of New Super Mario Bros. DS and its odd save structure, as it waited for castle level completions to save progress. In Mighty Milky Way, saving occurs at the end of each world, which consists of 9 levels and a T-Rex boss battle. Before I knew this, I was already half-way through the third world, which had rather challenging levels, and starting from the first level really irritated me. Also, there will be a lot of cheap deaths to experience. I found myself likening the deaths to the caliber of Super Meat Boy (even going as far as proclaiming the game as DSiWare's own SMB), but these deaths struck me in a much opposite way of thinking. Gravity is a very mysterious force to take advantage of in MMW and each time I died, it presented a new way for me to manipulate gravity to make it to the end, which I saw as marvellous.

Nonetheless, Mighty Milky Way is still an ace game. The level design is great, the soundtrack is fantastic, the main character is very appealing and the whole premise of the game, as a fusion of three genres (puzzle, platforming and action), is really awe-inspiring and strikes me as a very original, forward-thinking move by WayForward (no pun intended). With heavy hitters like Shantae: Risky's Revenge and Mighty Flip Champs, there's definitely a reason why I think WayForward has made the most potential out of the DSiWare service so far.

The Verdict

Sound
15/15 - The soundtrack is very impressive, and I loved how it altered the ambience of each level significantly.

Graphics
16/20 - Sure, it may not have the prettiest graphics (a title I give to Shantae: Risky's Revenge), but the art style is very nice and really breathes life into each world, giving them its own distinct look.

Appeal
23/25 - Platforming, puzzler and action, rolled into one hot package. With such a bold combination like that, I would dare to see the face of that person who's not even thinking "wow, is that even possible?"

Gameplay
38/40 - The levels in Mighty Milky Way stretch your thinking capacity, as they are indeed a challenge and require constant planning in order to make it to the end without dying. Sure, cheap deaths are here and there, but they don't encourage you to fling your DSi, instead it's an opportunity to re-think strategy and try again.

Overall
92/100 - Mighty Milky Way could definitely be one of the last great games on the DSiWare service before the advent of the Nintendo 3DS eShop. With its charming level design, brilliant soundtrack and very inventive gameplay, it's worth the 800 point plunge. Go ahead and jump in.