VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Over the Moon [v5.0.15] [Lockheart]

Nice story, classic theme for the desired AVN genre, but no vulgarity, and so much the better. The girls are truly beautiful, however, it's obvious that this game isn't finished because there are many shortcuts used in the story. Suzi is underutilized, like many other AVNs.
It's a shame the story could have been further enriched and continued, because at this stage it's nothing more than a slice of life and clearly the beginning of a story or adventure that could have been much longer.
It's obvious that the developer wanted to move on after two previous AVNs (prequels).

I liked the first two games better, I think the third game Over
the Moon, felt a little too rushed. I was hoping for backstory
such as images showing moon growing up when she was
younger, and why she felt the way she did, we didn't get any of that.
Also I hoped to see actual sex scenes between moon and
Petal [like them having oral sex] we in fact get very little
of Petal at all, only sex scene is Petal giving the dad a BJ
while Moon strokes him.

I think there were a lot of missed opportunities for
a more deeper story, that didn't happen. Which is
I'm giving the game 3 stars instead of 4.

Also something that makes no sense, is how the developer
does build a story with Suzi/Suzanne and that how
the OP needs to have sex with her and give her a baby,
and then nothing, no sex with her at all, this made zero sense,
that was a major plot hole to build that up as though the game
was waiting for it to happen, and then nothing.

I don't even know where to begin with this one. I can hardly put into words how let down I am with this conclusion of a trilogy that had everything to be great. Looking back, maybe I should've seen the writing on the wall, but nothing could've prepared for this disappointment.

Writing & Characters:
Visuals & Sexual Content:
Conclusion/TL;DR:
All things considered, it genuinely feels like the devs just wanted to churn out a final game and get the trilogy over with to focus on other projects. Don't let the "Completed" tag fool you. This game was abandoned. I honestly can't fathom how anyone could give more than 2 stars to this. Unless you have unbelievably low standards and this is your first adult VN, Over the Moon is just bad on every front.

Even if you argue that the game was abruptly ended and that's why the author couldn't flesh out Moon and her relationship with the MC, nothing justifies the unnecessary timeskip, garbage premise, terrible writing, sparse and uninspired renders, bland sex scenes, and the fact that you spend the first half of the game wasting precious time on side characters and detached sub-plots. Nothing could have saved Over the Moon other than rewriting the whole thing. If you stumbled upon this game, found out that it's a trilogy and came here to see if it's worth playing, the answer is a resounding no. If you value your time, skip this trilogy entirely, or at least play only the first two games and pretend like this one doesn't exist.

Okay here goes my review.

Storyline:
Once again it was well written out. I could see how the author poured his heart into this finale. The characters brought you into their stories, making the player want to find out more about them.

Graphics:
Nice touch on some of the scenes being able to change the view during certain scenes.

Sound:
Great soundtrack and haunting melodies.

Wrap up:
So why did I only give it 3 stars? The ending was abrupt and felt unfinished. As Moon put it, "All craft and no confession. The hands are willing but the soul is holding back."

*SPOILERS AHEAD*
I was left with so many unanswered questions when the credits rolled. Why introduce us to Suzi once again, showing us the heartache both she and MC shared, only not to give her a proper ending? Why go through the problem of even writing that part of the storyline if she doesn't get the happiness she craved? Why impregnate one woman and not them all? Why not show what happened the women later on in life?
*END OD SPOILERS*

The third chapter was a sad (and I mean that figuratively) ending to what could have been the greatest storyline of all time. It could have gone down in history as being the greatest game ever. The first chapter started with the fuse being lit. The second chapter went out with a bang. The third? It went out without so much as a whimper.

Version 5.0.15

Having tried its predecessors Petal and Bliss with the foray lasting no more than 30 minutes due to boredom, Moon surprisingly caught my interest enough for me to do a complete playthrough.

IMO among the sisters, Moon has the most non-tropey, complex and interesting character which makes the game more captivating. You can play Moon as a standalone as one can discern roughly what has happened in the past without the benefit of playing its predecessors.

Unfortunately, the last chapter was a hasty and poorly done piece of work which ruined what was otherwise a good experience.

Story
As part of an arrangement with an agency, MC will spend a week in China with his third daughter, Moon, to reconcile their differences and fix the current acrimonious relationship. This is a conservative stay with daughter setup that works for an incest game.

However, I don't see the need for the story to be set in China - it adds no value versus any other unnamed place. There is no Chinese character in the story save for a passerby who doesn't even look Chinese, all the character models, background and props are American centric.

Also some of the events make no sense for anyone who has been to China - e.g, nobody phones a company for a pizza and pays cash nor are deliveries done by a pizza girl with a car (food in China is ordered and paid through mobile app and delivered by a courier on electric bike or a drone). It's not a big deal, but such unforced errors dampen immersion for no particular plot purpose.

The last chapter is also a major disappointment. I believe the whole idea of the game for the first four chapters is to corrupt a tough nut like Moon who is every bit hostile to the idea of incest. Yet in the last Chapter, Moon instantly transforms into an incest nymphomaniac after a pep talk with an AI, Suzi.

The ending was also abrupt - almost no warning after the first penetrative sex scene with Moon. I'm not sure if there were any commercial challenges that caused this sudden conclusion...

Game Mechanics
AVN with choices to reject LIs but the main story is linear.

Background / Character Renders
Backgrounds are mostly standard Daz3D urban assets with customizations, but as previously mentioned don't look like China at all which has an impact on immersion if you've been there before.

Character designs are attractive - MC looks hunky and handsome enough while the LIs like Moon, Nixie, Harmony and Suzi are highly distinguishable and appealing.

Character Development
As Moon is the main character, I found her persona well-crafted for the first four chapters - especially her hostility towards the MC, rejection of incest, stress driven by her agent's exploitation and a general conflict between personal life, passion for music and profession.

Some of the side characters like best friend Harmony and those from previous games like Suzi, Rose and Nixie are more touch and go and exist mainly for sex, but nothing particularly obtrusive here.

Sex Scenes
Generally, plenty enough and well done. Take note though that MC does not get to have sex with Moon until right before the credits roll, so for those gunning for Moon this is going to be disappointing.

Other than that, the scenes with other LIs are well done with adequate dialogue, smooth animations and good camera angles.

BGM and Sound Effects
BGMs are generic common tunes heard frequently in AVNs and I don't recall any sound effects so either there is none or minimal at best.

Conclusion
Moon is wasted potential. Everything was painstakingly setup in the first four chapters only to be abandoned abruptly with a sudden ending that consist of a collage of uninformative slides that did no justice to everything done so far.

I understand there will be a final arc focusing on Suzi which might wrap up the trilogy better, but Moon as a standalone could certainly have been handled in a much better way.

PROS
+ Visual style, and quality looks decent, girls/women looks good (some of girls like Nixie even looks better than before), sex scene animations are nice.

CONS
- SC-FI, and AI stuff is even more messy, and crazy with this game, for example Suzi is back, in fact now she has body of Suzanne's, and all thanks to nervous system through a wireless chip implanted in the back of her neck, and she is quite powerful, powerful enough can even bring humanity on their knees in hours or minutes, which is too over the edge.
- Moon is still treating MC like a sh*t, and she still acts like a huge b*tch for the most of the game, but since this ipratically the her game, she, and MC got some relationship progress, and she got some character development, and become better close to the end of the game, still doesn't change the fact how much she hates, and resents MC just for trying to find a his way in life by trying to become a comedian, which is dumb AF.
- We have more/new annoying characters, like Harmony, she gets better later on tho. And yes, Chuck, and Wendy are still even in this game as well.
- Choices doesn't matter, and as a player you have no control over the story, and there are some unavoidable content happening out of your control.
- The game end absurdly with a slideshow out of nowhere when the things just starting to get good, it was rushed, and terrible ending.
- Some characters designs changed into worse. First one is Rose, her design is changed, and she looks way worse than before, in last game her only redeeming point was she looking hot, now she doesn't even has that. Other one is Bliss, she was looking great before, she was quite hot in fact, but now she looks meh, especially her hair is terrible, and it feels like her head, and face shape is kind of changes as well.

VERDICT
The game was quite poor, which is sad because this whole series had pretty good potential, but execution/writing is just too poor for that.

Loved the trilogy until the last part of this one. No Suzie? 1 scene with Moon? What about the show he was making? The agent that was a bitch and her threats? The sleazy replacement guy? Feels like so much was just left and they walked away from it. I mean Suzie alone could of been another 2 or 3 chapters. She wanted a baby damnit! Shouldn't we have got some kind of follow up on Penny? Loved the series until this ending. It's one of the worst endings in history of AVN's. Seriously what a let down. So much promise and like some else said...they Game of Thrones the ending.

I have been a huge fan of The Rose Garden Trilogy since the beginning (and a fan of Lockheart's work). I honestly did like Over the Moon, but it felt like it lost something since the Trilogy began. Plus, I also feel like it ended it bit abruptly, which felt like it was missing some key moments. Never really saw Suzi and the MC hook up. When Suzi "pinched" Moon on their first visit with each other, was that something that helped trigger Moon's genes? Why did it feel like the VARG system was abandon during the last half of the story. And I'm sure that there are others that I can think of. Overall, the ending of Over the Moon felt rushed and also felt like the developer just wanted to be done and over with it, which is a shame because it was suck a beautiful world he built. Well, at least it did get finished and the journey was beautiful! Thanks for the wonderful stories.

I regret playing the last chapter. It ruined the other two for me. It ruined the entire trilogy. It's a shame that the author decided to throw it away. It would have been better if he had abandoned it rather than ending it so badly.

Talking not only about "Over the Moon" individually but the whole trilogy(also include "A Petal Among Thorns" and "A Moment of Bliss"), i gotta say this trilogy has been a very enjoyable experience, cute devoted(and horny) girls all around, plenty of deflowerings, truly makes you feel like a modern day Sultan

If i have one criticism is that Over the Moon closes a bit fast, right after you deflower Moon the story ends.
Maybe it should've closed with a big family orgy(Rose, the 3 girls, new extended family... Nixie, Harmony and others...) to wrap up the entire journey not just Moon's chapter. Maybe a special chapter would be nice

But doesn't undo the entire work of the trilogy, which again is a great time and very enjoyable

The Rose Garden Trilogy is an absolute banger. Top tier, 10/10. Petal was my third AVN after Fresh Women and BaD. FW is fine, and I love BaD, but finding Petal was a big eye opener for me, in terms of what could be done with AVNs.

The whole trilogy is sweet, romantic, and funny, while also being hot as fuck. It's a triumph.

I have inadvertantly followed this series of games about Petal, Bliss and now Moon, with increasingly bewildered delight at the storytelling of the creator.

Ok for the boring stats people, graphics great, models perfect, animations more than satisfactory, some of the background story a little sketchy but honestly who cares in the grand scheme of things.

But the dominant storyline linking the main and important characters together through the series, and promoting them each appropriately in turn, is masterful

And permeating it all, is the wonderful Suzi, and her presence and social commentary on the concerns over the advance and place of Ai in our world pantheon. Here, the creator has their finger firmly on the pulse of whats important - it may not be what politicians or IT "specialists" owning the billion dollar companies fuelling Ai development concern themselves with, but rather what us in the streets should be considering

If Amazon, Netflix, (God forbid) Disney (fuck sake they would have Grande as Harmony) or any other streaming company had the balls to pick up an original story with taboo subjects, then its right here with Lockhart

The final chapter in the Rose Garden Trilogy.
I really like the trilogy, and this is the final installment.
I like both the main characters and side charachters in OTM. I wouldnt say that this is my favorite between the three games in this story, but It is still very, very good.

The renders are great, and I like the fetishes, but the dialogue is unbearably stupid, and the story is dumb too. Keep asking why a girl is even talking to the mc, and I'm never sure.

Also the main menu is pretty well done.

What the hell, man? The main character doesn't learn anything from his past. He is as dumb as can be, making the same mistakes as before and failing to understand his daughter's feelings before kissing her, which is just plain stupid.

Last installment I believe of a good VN Series

Pros:

1. Story follows nicely on the last two
2. Models are good as always

Cons:

1. MC is actually pretty stupid, makes some choices that no person in their right mind would do, it makes him highly annoying.
2. Feels rushed, hard to explain this, but my feeling is tied to the MC making poor choices that keep driving his daughter away, its too much to be normal, feels forced and that makes it unrealistic in a game that has dabbles with real life issues, emotions etc.
3. The disconnect between the MC and his daughter are also not realistic really, especially when they are given a week to try and find some reconciliation which the MC destroys more than anything.
4. This is not helped when the daughter acts completely nice to the MC after showering him with disgust and contempt, just to switch over and be fine. Then just as you think its going better, the MC screws himself again with his ignorant, selfish and arrogant behaviour.

I would rate this game more, but its too early to do that

While Lockheart's previous games were hardly perfect, they showed signs of steady improvement.

This one, though? It takes all of that and throws it out the door.

Outside of vastly improved rendering of character models, there's little to be happy about. The premise is a mess, characters act in absolutely stupid and illogical ways.

The basic premise is that due to external pressures, Moon is forced to spend a week with her father, supposedly leading to a reconciliation. How years of resentment, if not hate, are to be realistically handled in a week, is beyond me.

What makes it worse is the MC - who has apparently learned nothing from the past.

His hubris seems to have gotten out of control, as well.

He arrogantly assumes he knows exactly what Moon's issue is, that

Three stars for the renders, and because the author may still be able to redeem this story.

Dev is back at it after all of the domain and project transfer drama. Second chapter is mostly great - no explicit sexual content but it sets up a lot of stuff that will obviously happen in the future.

Not sure I liked the "twist" at the end of the chapter, but Lockheart is a good enough author that I trust he's taking it somewhere.

If you like Lockheart's other stuff, then you'll like this continuation of the story, it feels different than the first two while still being familiar, if that makes sense. A bit heavy handed on some of the characterization, but it's a porn game, so.

And with him being back on the project with a relatively quick turnaround on the second chapter after stating he'd be back, I have high hopes that this will be finished: he promises as much as well.

Dev refused to abandon Patreon after it ruined his first game. Unsurprisingly, Patreon didn't change its policies so now another game gets killed. Hopefully he learns something. I doubt it. It's a shame. He's talented. Was my favorite developer but clings to a platform that has now killed 2 games. Lockheart, you are an outstanding developer and I enjoy your characters and stories. Patreon is just not a compatible platform.

Edit: Dev took a stand and stood by his work. Will finish the game. Rating changed to what the work deserved.