A pretty blatant effort to market a pretty bishoujo heroine with a so-so game, I can see why this took so many years to see an international release.
Unfortunately Wonder Momo is a repetitive, clunky "kill the enemies to fill the power meter, transform, (hopefully) beat the boss and then repeat for 16 levels" type of game. Think Altered Beast but on a single screen rather than a repeating level layout. It appears simple at first but enemies swarm you, and Momo never feels as responsive as you'd like her to be. Even for the era there are other arcade games that do the bishoujo action lead better (Athena released the year earlier and Psycho Soldier would come out a week after Momo's debut).
It all makes sense when you consider Japan's growing fascination with idol culture starting to really solidify itself as a pop-culture movement when this released. Momo really did fit all the criteria for what was appealing to Japanese youth at the time, and she clearly took a hold of a subset as Wonder Momo still appears as a recognizable face of Namco's Japanese arcade history. I just wish it was attached to a game I'd actually want to replay.
Unfortunately Wonder Momo is a repetitive, clunky "kill the enemies to fill the power meter, transform, (hopefully) beat the boss and then repeat for 16 levels" type of game. Think Altered Beast but on a single screen rather than a repeating level layout. It appears simple at first but enemies swarm you, and Momo never feels as responsive as you'd like her to be. Even for the era there are other arcade games that do the bishoujo action lead better (Athena released the year earlier and Psycho Soldier would come out a week after Momo's debut).
It all makes sense when you consider Japan's growing fascination with idol culture starting to really solidify itself as a pop-culture movement when this released. Momo really did fit all the criteria for what was appealing to Japanese youth at the time, and she clearly took a hold of a subset as Wonder Momo still appears as a recognizable face of Namco's Japanese arcade history. I just wish it was attached to a game I'd actually want to replay.