Just by looking at the cover, you can probably see why The Munchables from Bandai Namco might be passed over by the typical “gamer.” One glance and it could be labeled as a “kiddy game” and ignored. To be fair, the characters look like potential Pokémon rip-offs and the Wii does have a lot of shovelware (cheaply made games unconcerned with quality that are put out to make a quick buck). It can be difficult to know what’s fun and what isn’t.
That’s where we at ICG try to help. One of the most crucial elements to making a game fun is the gamplay. A game can have amazing graphics, music and a well-written story, but if the basic gameplay isn’t fun or the camera is broken, it’s going to kill the game. There’s a reason people still play Frogger today, right? Although simple in design, The Munchables definitely delivers an enjoyable experience.
A popular trend in the game industry in recent years is to take two well-established genres or play mechanics and fuse them into a new type of game. Games like Puzzle Quest (puzzle + role-playing game) and Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (puzzle + action platformer) have done wonders for the puzzle genre. While The Munchables doesn’t stray from the action genre, it combines two previously successful mechanics to create its own personal hook.
Take the “eat everything” aspect of Pac-Man, mix it with the “get bigger and bigger” aspect of Katamari Damacy, and you have the “eat & grow” gimmick of The Munchables. Your creature will start out small; eat more and more of the enemies (which are all living fruit and vegetable monsters, by the way) and you’ll grow larger, enabling you to eat bigger and bigger monsters. The world will also change in perspective as you grow. Barriers that originally block your way won’t stand a chance after you’ve grown to giant-sized proportions.
Imagine a little boy or girl sitting amid an assortment of toys. The child picks up a dinosaur and, letting out a massive roar, pretends to have it eat all of the other toys, destroying the scene. That’s the kind of feeling I got from The Munchables, especially after charging up and seeing how many enemies I could eat in a single dash. I even gave in to my inner child and literally belted out a few roars as I mowed down those evil vegetables.
Gameplay of an early level (via WiiFolder)
The game follows an ages-old basic structure of progression. Each themed world has a series of action stages followed by a boss battle. Although there isn’t too much variety beyond power-ups and scenery changes, your objective going into each level is always clear: eat everything in sight until you can take down the toughest enemy.
The bosses are on the easy side, mostly thanks to your onion-man leader (yes, really) always giving away how to beat them, even when you don’t want to know. Despite this minor complaint, the bosses are still imaginative and decent fun. Punny names (Brocco Lee, anyone?) and upbeat music round out the experience, keeping you coming back for more.
A boss battle from The Munchables (Kotaku)
Finally, one of my favorite parts of the game is the accessories you can earn from finding all of the acorns in any given level. As long as you take your time exploring, they aren’t too difficult to find and provide a way to extend the value of your purchase. Plus, the accessories make your character look adorable!
One of the many accessories you can earn (Kotaku)
I brought The Munchables to a friend’s once and played it a bit. The friend, though an avid gamer, had never heard of the game, but liked it right away and asked to borrow it. Later, she set about tracking down her own copy. The game won’t last you too long, but it can luckily still be found on the cheap. The Munchables may be simple, even somewhat shallow in areas, but it still provides a healthy dose of good, clean fun.
(Current retail cost: $10-20. Amazon link)
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