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To the Moon

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To the Moon
Developer(s)Freebird Games
Publisher(s)Freebird Games
Designer(s)Kan Gao
Composer(s)Kan Gao
Laura Shigihara
EngineRPG Maker
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • INT: November 1, 2011
Genre(s)Adventure game
Role-playing game
Visual novel
Mode(s)Single-player

To the Moon is the fourth video game by Canadian designer/composer Kan "Reives" Gao and the first commercial production by his indie game development team Freebird Games. Released in November 2011, it is a role-playing adventure game designed using the RPG Maker XP engine. The game was originally released on the author's website and various digital download portals and on September 8, 2012, it became available on Steam.

Story

The premise of To The Moon is based around a technology that allows the construction of artificial permanent memories. Sigmund Corp., a company that uses this technology, offers the notion of "wish fulfillment" as a service to people on their death bed. Since these artificial memories are permanent, it sharply conflicts with the patient's real memories soon after the person awakens, which is why it is only done on those without much longer to live.

The story follows Dr. Eva Rosalene and Dr. Neil Watts—employed by Sigmund Corp.—as they fulfill the lifelong dream of the dying Johnny Wyles. Johnny's wish is simple: he wants to go to the moon; however he doesn't know why. To accomplish this task, the doctors must insert themselves into an interactive compilation of his memories and traverse backwards through his life via mementos. With each leap to an important moment in his mind, they learn more about the patient and what brought him to his current position in life. Upon reaching his childhood, the doctors attempt to insert his desire to go to the moon. The intention is that once the desire is implanted, Johnny's mind will create memories of a new life based on that desire, and he'll die believing he lived without any regrets.

But not everything goes as planned. The two doctors find themselves with a heavy mystery concerning Johnny's desire, his past, and his deceased wife, River. With the clock ticking, Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts must unravel Johnny's complicated past and do whatever it takes to send him to the moon.

Ending

It is finally revealed that Johnny and River had met as children at a carnival, and promised to "find each other on the rabbit's tummy" (the moon in a constellation they made up while stargazing together) if they ever got separated. Shortly after, Johnny's twin brother Joey is killed in an accident. Johnny's mother gives him betablockers to induce memory loss of the tragic event - with the side effect that he forgets River. While he later meets again, romances, and marries her, River only becomes aware that he forgot their first meeting later on, when he confesses that he approached her in school because she was different. She is, however, unwilling or unable to tell him directly about their first meeting, perhaps due to her condition (hinted to be a form of Autism or Aspergers, but never clearly stated); instead, she tries to indirectly jostle his memories by cutting her hair and crafting paper bunnies, including the dual-colored one representing the constellation they made up. She is unable to do so before her death, and Johnny is left with lingering guilt and an unexplainable desire to go to the moon (the rabbit's tummy).

Rosalene and Watts eventually succeed at implanting a memory sequence that leads to John and River working together at NASA (though not romantically involved). As a comatose real life Johnny begins to die, he imagines going on a moon mission with River. During the stressful launch procedure, River holds out a hand to him. The moon appears in the background through a window on the ship, and he takes her hand as his heart monitor flatlines.

Sequel

On August 22, 2012 Freebird Games announced a second installment of the To The Moon series. It will be about a new patient; however, some familiar faces will return, such as Dr. Watts and Dr. Rosalene. They also announced another short story of the series that would be released before the actual sequel.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of To the Moon was praised by many critics. It features a theme song by Laura Shigihara ("Everything's Alright"), with the rest being composed by Kan Gao. The soundtrack was released on November 4, 2011 on Bandcamp, and includes 31 tracks at a total length of 53:05 minutes.[1]

  1. "To the Moon - Main Theme" [04:56]
  2. "Between a Squirrel and a Tree" [01:18]
  3. "Spiral of Secrets" [01:06]
  4. "For River - Piano (Sarah & Tommy's Version)" [02:58]
  5. "Bestest Detectives in the World" [01:15]
  6. "Too Bad So Sad" [00:08]
  7. "Teddy" [00:42]
  8. "Uncharted Realms" [01:08]
  9. "Having Lived" [01:21]
  10. "Moonwisher" [02:10]
  11. "Born a Stranger" [01:41]
  12. "For River - Piano (Johnny's Version)" [01:39]
  13. "Lament of a Stranger" [01:05]
  14. "Everything's Alright (Music Box)" [00:40]
  15. "Moongazer" [02:15]
  16. "Anya by the Stars" [02:15]
  17. "Take Me Anywhere" [00:59]
  18. "Warning (AKA best track ever)" [00:09]
  19. "Beta-B" [01:06]
  20. "World's Smallest Ferris Wheel" [00:35]
  21. "Once Upon a Memory" [02:25]
  22. "Once Upon a Memory (Piano)" [01:35]
  23. "Laura Shigihara - Everything's Alright" [03:25]
  24. "Everything's Alright (Reprise)" [00:58]
  25. "Tomorrow" [02:10]
  26. "Launch" [01:57]
  27. "To the Moon - Piano (Ending Version)" [05:15]
  28. "Eva's Ringtone" [00:04]
  29. "Trailer Theme - Part 1" [01:43]
  30. "Trailer Theme - Part 2 (feat. Laura Shigihara)" [01:49]
  31. "Trailer Theme - Part 2 (Instrumental)" [02:00]

Reception

To the Moon has received generally positive reviews which praised the story and music. The game holds an average rating of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic,[2] and 81.53% on GameRankings.[3]

In GameSpot's 2011 Game of the Year awards, To the Moon was given the "Best Story" award, which was won against Catherine, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Portal 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles.[10] which were also voted in the same category. To the Moon was also nominated in the categories of "Best Music",[11] "Most Memorable Moment",[12] "Best Writing/Dialogue",[13] "Best Ending",[14] and "Song of the Year".[15] It was also the highest user-rated PC game of 2011 at Metacritic.[8]

References

  1. ^ "To the Moon <OST>". Bandcamp. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |access= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b "To the Moon for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d "To the Moon for PC reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  4. ^ "To the Moon for PC review". November 7, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-12-01.
  5. ^ "To the Moon for PC review". GameSpot. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  6. ^ "To the Moon for PC review". November 16, 2011.
  7. ^ "To the Moon for PC review". RPGFan. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Dietz, Jason (December 23, 2011). "The Best Videogames of 2011 (PC)". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Best Indie RPG of 2011: To The Moon (PC)". RPGFan. 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Best Story". GameSpot. December 19, 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Best Music". GameSpot. December 19, 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  12. ^ "Most Memorable Moment". GameSpot. December 19, 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  13. ^ "Best Writing/Dialogue". GameSpot. December 19, 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Best Ending". GameSpot. December 19, 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  15. ^ "Song of the Year". GameSpot. December 19, 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
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