The pastiche is so good that the game gets a lot of pleasure from just that (THOSE WRETCHED INSTRUMENT PLAYING FOOLS), and the story is very fun and expertly paced in general. Presenting the game as a singular episode from the middle of a larger series is an inspired choice, though the story does play it a little safe by remaining firmly self-contained instead of hinting at unseen continuity – even if that is, of course, very faithful to the inspirations.
The soundtrack is a real standout, single-handedly establishing the tone, and I like how creatively it factors into the storytelling. I can think of one sound design nitpick: when a diegetic song interrupts the background music, it's a little annoying that it starts from the beginning every time. Don't take this as actual advice because I don't speak Ren'py, but I feel like you could probably have managed some equivalent of fading it out temporarily and playing the other track on another channel to avoid interrupting the playback.
The visual side of things is as good on paper, but I think you can kind of see the scope of the game jam limiting what the team could accomplish. Despite being modeled after cartoons that usually prioritized having something going on visually lest the kids with the 80s version of TikTok attention span change the channel, it's all a little static after the thrilling opening. Though it's nice how much they move around, the sprites do feel a little Filmation stiff with only having one pose, and the musical moments just don't have anything happening – I think visual feedback even in the form of some kind of graphical effect would make them hit much harder.
(Un)fortunately, the thing you all are parodying is something I have a bit of familiarity with, so have some more thoughts that aren't necessarily criticisms but did occur to me as I played:
– The character designs are good out of context, but maybe not quite toyetic enough to feel completely faithful. The heroes wearing predominantly dark colors feels a bit unusual, as does the relatively desaturated color palette; for something titled "Defenders of Neon", there's not a lot of neon in there! I think the kids from the focus group would also have loved for everyone to have a stupid accessory.
– I called the pacing good, and I do think that is the case, but it did not escape me that there's a lot of talky talky stuff and a dearth of action around the middle. With no cliffhanger leading up to the commercial break, I'm afraid some of the audience tuned out...
– Again, game jam scope, I get it, but I think the small cast is what really betrays the fact that this was not actually written as an episode of an extant series. Limiter doesn't have any named secondary antagonists to monologue to – although the drone thing does make for a funny way to comment on it – and side characters are kept to an absolute minimum. The mall comes off as deserted due to not having more people in it reacting to what our heroes are doing.
– Similarly, we spend a lot of time staring at that one background! Apart from the arcade and Limiter's lair, the mall lacks defined places. Much of the story feels like it happens nowhere in particular.
– I like how you all went for a definite 90s vibe with the in-your-face coolness and a hint of annoying self-awareness; even the joke about today's moral lesson felt like a conscious throwback to a slightly earlier era of cartoons.
Anyway, all in all, nice work from everyone involved, an insanely fun premise pulled off with style. It was a pleasure to read!