Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

After Dark: Under the Moon Light offers a classic top-down RPG experience with modern refinements. Playing as either Kaida or Fay, you’ll navigate the mysterious Portland Mansion and its shadowy underground halls. Both characters share the same level layouts and challenge structure, but their combat styles and special moves provide unique approaches to encounters.

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Kaida wields a mythril sword for swift, close-range strikes, and can unleash a powerful dash technique to evade or close distances quickly. In contrast, Fay uses her trusty lamp to strike from mid-range and toggles between a walk and run mode to finesse her position around traps and enemies. These differences in movement and attack range make revisiting levels as each character feel fresh and strategic.

Puzzle-solving is a key pillar of gameplay. You’ll search for keys, unlock secret doors, and collect spirit stones to press forward. The item management screen lets you equip weapons with various Speed, Attack, and Defense attributes, store health kits, and activate special abilities like invisibility or time slowdown. This balance of combat and exploration keeps every moment engaging.

Graphics

The graphic style in After Dark: Under the Moon Light is a vibrant homage to late-90s anime aesthetics, rendered in crisp pixel art. Character sprites are expressive, with smooth animations that bring each swing of Kaida’s mythril sword and every flicker of Fay’s lamp to life. Environmental details—from dusty corridors to eerie underground caverns—are richly textured, drawing you deeper into the mansion’s haunted ambiance.

Lighting plays a particularly evocative role. Fay’s lamp casts moving shadows that dance across the walls, heightening tension as specters and flying skulls emerge from the darkness. Subtle particle effects accompany spells and special abilities, giving combat encounters a satisfying visual punch without overwhelming the screen.

NPC dialogue windows feature beautifully painted portraits, ensuring each conversation feels personal. Background music and ambient sound effects complement the visuals, weaving atmospheric cues—whispering winds, distant creaks, and ghostly wails—into every exploration segment. Together, they create a cohesive audiovisual tapestry.

Story

The narrative of After Dark: Under the Moon Light is steeped in mystery and personal stakes. It begins in 1999, when Kaida receives a sudden letter from Athemys urging him to return to the Portland Mansion—where his father vanished fifteen years prior. This familial quest for answers forms the emotional backbone of Kaida’s journey.

Parallel to Kaida’s pursuit, we follow Fay, a young girl awakening within the mansion’s corridors with no memory of how she arrived. Haunted by fragmented recollections, she senses a connection to her own past, a door in her mind she’s been too afraid to open. As both characters converge, their stories intertwine through unexpected plot twists.

Dialogue-driven interactions with NPCs and scattered journal entries flesh out the mansion’s dark history. Revelations about ancient spirits, blood magic, and family legacies unfold gradually, keeping you invested in uncovering each truth. The dual-protagonist structure ensures that every new discovery resonates from multiple perspectives.

Overall Experience

After Dark: Under the Moon Light succeeds in blending nostalgic RPG mechanics with compelling narrative twists. The dual-character system encourages replayability, as you’ll want to experience every corner of the mansion and its subterranean labyrinth from both Kaida’s and Fay’s viewpoints. Combat remains tight and responsive, while puzzles strike a satisfying balance between challenge and accessibility.

Exploration is both rewarding and atmospheric. Collecting coins, spirit stones, and hidden weapons—like the blood sword for Kaida and magical bow for Fay—adds depth to your progression. Save points and inventory management are thoughtfully implemented, ensuring you can focus on the story without undue frustration.

For fans of top-down RPGs and anime-inspired art, Under the Moon Light offers a memorable evening of mystery, combat, and discovery. Its rich visuals, evocative soundtrack, and layered storytelling make it a standout entry in the After Dark series—one that invites players to delve into its shadows again and again. Whether you’re drawn by the lore or the finely tuned gameplay, this title delivers an unforgettable journey beneath the moonlight.

Retro Replay Score

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