The Munchables for the Nintendo Wii is not to be confused with the little packed lunches with pizza, hotdogs, and crackers you used to excitedly eat as a kid. Lunchables are good of course, but The Munchables is way better.
The best way to describe this title is a mix between Bubble Bobble, Mario, and Katamari Damacy. The Munchables are animals (like Bub and Bob from Bubble Bobble) who love to eat whatever they lay their eyes on. The story involves evil pirates taking over the Munchables’ home, though these pirates aren’t quite what you’re imagining. They’re vegetables, a perfect enemy for the Munchables. Players can pick from one of two Munchables, Chomper and Munchy. Chomper is more male-oriented, while Munchy is geared towards the ladies.
Pirates attack the Munchables’ home planet, Star Ving. In order to control the planet, they need the legendary orbs (naturally). Therefore, the Munchable butt kicking begins. The object of the game is to visit each island and eat the space pirates. Each space pirate has a level and your munchable must equal that level to eat it. If your character isn’t at the pirate’s level, you must attack it to split the vegetable to a level you can eat. The islands you visit have three levels each, with the second level having a mini-boss and the third a main boss. To get to the next island, you have to defeat the levels of the previous. Eight islands compose this epic but short adventure.
Munchables’ controls are fantastic. The game gives you a couple of ways to control your beloved Munchables. You can use the Wii-mote and nunchuck, the classic controller, or the Gamecube controller. I used the Wii-mote and nunchuck which worked well. The other two controller configurations are equally functional. The diversity of options is appreciated.
The graphics, audio and game play are surprisingly top end. While the visuals aren’t the best, the developers created a unique and colorful game that adds to the vegetable chomping fun. The game’s creative art and world more than make up for the Wii’s lack of horsepower. The audio didn’t hold back either. There are several songs on the soundtrack which make you want to eat for some reason. The soundtrack compliments the game well.
The game play of Muchables is its strongest aspect, though. Players won’t get tired of eating vegetable space pirates – it never gets old. No matter how childish this game may appear, any player will become hooked because there is just something fun about eating all your enemies. It was a nice, new perspective on a tried and true platformer.
Sadly, the Munchables does have negative aspects. The game is too short, lasting only a few hours even when trying to eat every pirate in the game. It may take the younger Wii audience a little longer to conquer the game, but hardcore gamers will finish it in no time. The game is also way too easy. I didn’t die once, and I’m not the most skilled player out there. The healing mechanism in the game precludes all death. This even goes the bosses. Younger audiences might have a tough time, but any reasonably experienced gamer will find them laughable. Even the last boss is like this, sadly.
The game also lacks solid multiplayer. The game would have been a lot more fun with another player helping out, but there wasn’t an option for that. The most second player can do is shoot at enemies a la Super Mario Galaxy. Even still, The Munchables is a fun game many will embrace. I had no expectations of this game being as good as it is. The quirky gameplay, nice soundtrack, and fun islands warrant a good, long look.
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