Emotionally provocative little Indie game: 8/10

To The Moon is a delightful little RPG that narrates the story of two doctors whose job is to satisfy their client's (or patient's) wishes in their last hours before death by altering their memories. This plot focuses on one specific patient of theirs - Johnny, who has an oddly particular, yet obstinate desire to visit the moon which he does not even know the reason for. Unlike their typical patients, Johnny's 'treatment' was not a smooth ride. Usual procedures performed did not have any effect at all, and the two doctors are soon to discover events in Johnny's past - that he himself is not even aware of - that complicated not just the treatment, but also their mutual relationship with each other.

This game will certainly appeal to those who love story-rich games and fans of the RPG genre. It has to be one of the most impressive works created using the RPG Maker engine, lovingly emphasized by a soothing soundtrack. It may appear rough - like a child's sketch at first - due to its default assets and plain menu used. However, what drew me in and continually captivated me was its intriguing plot. To The Moon starts off with the final ending and as the game progresses, brings us back to the start where it shows us how one development led to another; We, the players are given the capacity to formulate our own thoughts of how all these events add up and I like this freedom given to us: Some lingering doubts are never answered directly in the game and that still leaves me cycling through possibilities in my head up till now - a clever touch by the developer.

Yet of course, this game does have certain flaws that I thought could have been polished up. To The Moon was a pleasant ride for me until the last bit. I was a bit fed up with the crude battle mechanics towards the end that seemed to last forever - I felt that the repeat of it was too much (you could say it was necessary since it was a loop, but in my opinion it need not have been repeated so much), and my annoyance with it was definitely not aided by its less-than-satisfying controls that just served to annoy me further. I had wanted to stop playing the game at that point in time but thanks to its engrossing plot, I was just too deeply involved with it to simply click the Quit button. To add on, the cutscenes also dragged on longer as the game progressed, especially at the ending of Johnny's memories. I would be more appreciative of this game if the pace could be more standardized throughout as I tend to dislike draggy scenes where I have complete knowledge of what is expected to happen.

I completed To The Moon's story in 4 hours. Since I am not a big fan of RPGs, the duration I took to beat this game was of acceptable length to me. Compared to other titles such as Rakuen where I have dedicated more hours in and am not even halfway through the plot, I would definitely recommend To The Moon to the general gaming audience, especially to those who fancy games with substantial plots. Furthermore, having heard the news of an animated film feature for this game in development, I will certainly look forward to its debut as it will definitely be worthwhile. For what the game has lacked and underperformed in, I am sure the film will make up for it.