MaoMao Castle — 9 Tries, 9 Lives
MaoMao Castle came to me as a rush of rainbows. I guided the elusive Cat-Dragon to rescue their friends, smashed my way through greenery, and blasted through rainbow arches. No cat game comes without the nine lives, and even Cat-Dragons must maintain their longevity somehow, right?
Roughly 2 years ago, Dann covered MaoMao Castle in an article detailing their innovative use of Leap Motion, a motion sensor bar and their constant, jubilant presence at events. Back then Asobi.tech was in the development stage of MaoMao Castle. 3 years and 7 months of development later, the Early Access on itch.io was born! The Cat-Dragon had also made a grand total of 66 event showcases to date. As a person who loves both cats and dragons, what could be better than a game that combines them into a wonderful runner?
I popped the game up on my computer, and found it extremely intuitive as I swept daisy fields, and dodged around gates. The smashing charge was the fun part — as I released the charge the Cat-Dragon sped forward with the power of rainbows. The pixel art was crisp and clear on my computer screen, and the upbeat music kept the adrenaline pumping.
![MaoMao Castle](http://18.134.249.59/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/MaoMao-Screenshot-Bamboo-Swirl-1-1024x640.png)
The game still held the simplicity of its mechanics, but the Early Access version polished it up and gave it more fluidity. Even without a mouse, it was highly intuitive to my trackpad. The giant rainbow star turned me into a giant Cat-Dragon, and with my size — I set my sights on being Cat-Dragonzilla. Nothing could stop me now! I played until I exhausted my nine lives, and typed up my name on the scoreboard.
Now at version 0.5.1, Asobi.tech’s Quang and Viet plan to add more waves, a global scoreboard, and skins to dress up your Cat-Dragon — because you can look great saving your friends!
MaoMao Castle was a ride from start to finish, and it just keeps getting better. This game will see a full release on Steam, itch.io, iOS, and Android this May 31st. Until then, I will be keeping the Cat-Dragon close to my heart, and away from the gates.
You can try out MaoMao Castle’s Early Access version, check out Asobi.tech’s website, and keep up with the Cat-Dragon and its creators on Twitter!