The Munchables (Wii) Review

Posted by Scott J. Simpson on 07.01.2009

Evil Space Pirates have invaded the planet of Star Ving and it is up to you and your appetite to defeat the monsters.



Title: The Munchables
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Genre: Action-Platformer
Players: 1-2
Rated: E for Everyone

All is well on the peaceful planet of Star Ving, a beautiful world made up of islands connected by rainbows and home to adorable little creatures known as the Munchables and their wonderful leader the Great Elder. These cute critters enjoy nothing more than eating day in and day out, and why shouldn’t they? After all, their planet is supplied with an endless amount of food thanks to the powerful Legendary Orbs that are found on each island on Star Ving. Life is indeed beautiful on the planet. However the tranquility of Star Ving is quickly interrupted when a legion of space pirates known as Tabemon monsters invade the planet. They steal the Legendary Orbs and use the power of the orbs to increase their strength so they can fuel their greed to take over the universe.

With the Legendary Orbs gone, the planet is no longer supplied with food and the Great Elder begins to panic. How is he going to save Star Ving? Luckily for him, Munchables Chomper and Munchy step up to the plate and offer to eat the yummy looking space pirates, who closely resemble fruits, vegetable and other edible goodies. Desperate to save his planet, the Great Elder accepts Chomper and Munchy’s offer to eat the Tabemon monsters that have descended on Star Ving and stolen the Legendary Orbs.

Gameplay

At the start of the game, The Munchables gives you the choice to play as either Chomper or Munchy, two Munchables who love to eat and have offered to help save Star Ving by gobbling up any space pirates that cross their path.

The Munchables are hard to describe. Both Munchables start out each level in the game as small balls with eyes, a tail and a mouth. Chomper is an orange and purple Munchable who does not closely resemble any familiar object, but Munchy on the other hand is a pink Munchable who resembles a little puppy with floppy ears and a long tongue. As you progress through each level, chomping away at space pirates, you slowly fill your Munchable’s stomach, increasing their level and causing them to evolve. Each Munchable evolves about four times in a level, and every time they evolve they increase in size and gain new physical features. Eating space pirates is the key to success in The Munchables. The more pirates you eat, the larger you grow and the bigger enemies you can digest.

The controls of the game are pretty straightforward. You will eat, jump, attack and move your Munchable through each level using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, the Classic Controller or a GameCube controller.

When using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, you will use the control stick on the Nunchuck to move you character across the level while holding the “Z” button to lock onto enemies. With the Wii Remote, you will press the “A” button to eat space pirates and other edible objects your Munchable comes across in each level. The “B” button is used to propel your Munchable at enemy space pirates so you can break them up into smaller, easier to eat portions. For example, your Munchable can only eat space pirates that are at the same level, or lesser level than your character. If you happen to cross paths with a space pirate who has a higher level than your character, you will need to attack them in order to break them up into small pieces. On occasion, you will need to do this multiple times, depending on the level of your character and the level of your foe. The next move in your Munchable’s arsenal is the ability to jump, which can be performed on the Wii Remote by simply giving your controller a quick, singular upwards jerking motion. Lastly is the ability to ward of death and the dreaded game over screen. There are no health meters in The Munchables. Instead, if an enemy attacks your character, they will simply shrink down in size and begin to run around the playing field like a mad lunatic. If your Munchable is attacked again in this vulnerable state, it is game over. However, you can save your Munchable by quickly wagging the Wii Remote back and forth in order to return you Munchable back to its previous size and continue on with the game, until you are attacked again, at which point you will have to repeat this process once more.

If you are not a fan of using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, The Munchables is also playable with the Classic Controller and GameCube controller. Since the buttons on both controllers are relatively the same, there is no need to describe the control functions for each controller separately. So for either controller, you will need to press the “A” button to eat, “B” to attack, “X” to jump and “L” to lock-on. If your Munchable is attacked while using either one of these controllers, you will need to press the “X” button repeatedly in order to return to your former size.

The game is very accessible with all three controllers. When deciding on which controller to use when playing The Munchables, it all comes down to user preference. Do you prefer using the Wii Remote, or are you more comfortable using a standard controller? However, if you plan on playing this game with two players, you will need at least one Wii Remote available to play. While player one controls their Munchable on-screen, chowing down on space pirates, the second player will use the Wii Remote to control a cursor on-screen, which they can use to aim and fire their Munchable at any enemies that threaten to attack player one.

Now just like the controls, the overall gameplay of The Munchables is fairly simply. Your main objective is to eat space pirates and retrieve all of the stolen Legendary Orbs, however each level in the game will also require you to complete a special goal in order to progress through that level and ultimately beat the game. These goals vary from beating a boss, growing to a certain level or eating a leader space pirate. Once you accomplish this goal, the level is complete and you can move on to the next challenge.

However, when choosing which character to play as in order to complete the game, choose wisely, because the two playable characters, Chomper and Munchy, actually control differently. Chomper happens to be the slower of the two, whereas Munchy is much quicker and her ability to gobble up a group of space pirates surrounding her, known as turbo eat, last slightly longer. Plus, her added agility can come in handy, especially when the Munchables evolve, because as they grow in size, they tend to lose a bit of their speed. But do not worry, if you chose to play as Chomper at the beginning of the game, you can change characters in between levels to test how another character controls.

The overall gameplay of The Munchable is fairly simple. You will mainly be moving your character around each level mashing the “A” button as you attempt to eat space pirates. The more space pirates you eat, the larger you grow and the bigger enemies and objects you can shove down your throat. However, this does not mean that The Munchables is a cakewalk. Sure, you can probably beat this game without dying once, but the game still provides a challenge even to the most avid gamer. You will have to collect acorns scattered throughout each level in order unlock accessories, there are time attack challenges to complete, you will have to search for rare space pirates if you wish to eat all the Tabemon monsters available in the game and the boss battles will have you dodging and reflecting projectiles.

Graphics

The graphics in The Munchables are very good. The game is not trying to go for realism, instead the game is going for a cartoon look and feel, and The Munchables accomplishes this task.

The design of the game and graphics actually make you feel like a giant terrorizing puny monsters as your Munchable grows and evolves in each level. For example, when you start a new level your Munchable begins the game as a very plain and ordinary ball, but as you progress through each level eating space pirates, your character slowly evolves. As your Munchable evolves, it grows in size and gains new physical features including horns, wings or even a new tail. Plus, as your character grows, the camera pulls out and the level begins to get smaller. But as the level and enemies get smaller, the graphics do not diminish, instead they still retain their quality.

The few cut scenes that are in the game, with the exception of one, resemble paper cut-out animation, similar to the animation style used in South Park. However the cut scene animation used in the game is more colorful and actually looks better than the animation style used on the show.

The game also features over 100 enemies, each with their own unique look that matches the island themes on the planet of Star Ving. For example, the island Ghost Mansion features space pirates that resemble the Frankenstein monster, mummies and even witches.

The graphics are simple, colorful and fun, which works perfectly for the game.

Sound

There is very little voice acting in the game, and for the most part, when characters do speak, they often speak in gibberish; think Cousin Itt from The Addam’s Family. The only time voice acting is ever present in the game is during the cut scenes, which only appear a few times throughout the entire game. However, when the cut scenes do appear, the voice acting is very good. For example, the narrator during the opening cut scene does a great job of introducing the player to the planet of Star Ving while also conveying the urgency the Munchables and the Great Elder face when the Legendary Orbs are stolen by the Tabemon monsters. The narrator’s voice conveyes urgency and humor at the same time.

The sound effects in the game are also good, there are some great chomping and squishing sounds the player hears as they munch on space pirates, however the sound of the game truly excels with its soundtrack. The music in The Munchables is simply fantastic. Every island has its own tune that compliments the theme of that island. The desert island Pot Belly Ruins has a Latin feel, whereas the haunted island of Ghost Mansion has a very creepy tone.

The game features a wide assortment of toe-tapping tracks, some of which sound like they were performed by a live orchestra, but for the most part, many of the songs in the game have a nice techno beat, which complements the game very well.

Lasting Appeal

As previously hinted at before, The Munchables is not going to be an extremely difficult game to beat, which is the game’s only real downfall. However, that does not mean you will not enjoy playing the game, nor does it mean you will never play the game after you have beaten it. The Munchables is a very enjoyable game to play, especially for younger kids and casual gamers, but there is still lasting appeal for hardcore gamers.

After beating the game you will unlock a new character, whom I will not reveal, but let me just say that the unlockable character has an added feature you may enjoy. Plus, you will also unlock Mirror Mode, a time attack challenge that will require you to replay each of the 24 levels in the game backwards if you wish to unlock all of the accessories in the game.

Fans of this genre will more than likely pick up the game again shortly after beating it, but others may never touch it again. It all depends on how much you enjoyed the game your first time around, and if you can accept the fact that it is a fairly simple game to play and beat.

Fun Factor

Simply put, The Munchables is a fun game to play. Who does not enjoy controlling a character that wants to devour everything in its path, or a mentor with the head of an onion who tells you to “brush your teeth after eating sweets” as you are about to enter a boss fight with a giant chocolate bar? The only thing that diminishes The Munchables’ fun factor is its relative ease to beat, which can be viewed as a good thing or bad thing depending on how you look at it.

The 411

The Munchables is a fun, relaxing change of pace from extremely competitive video games. If you are looking for a game that the whole family can enjoy or if you are looking for a fun experience, then look no further than The Munchables. It is a cute game with great music and simple controls, but its lack of difficulty could hamper the game’s lasting appeal. The Munchables is a perfect game for children, casual gamers and even hardcore games who can put aside the game’s difficulty level. Although it is possible to beat this game without dying once, the game will still offer a mild challenge to even veteran gamers and its charm will hopefully keep bringing them back for more. Munch. Munch. Much.

Graphics	8.0	The graphics are well polished, simple and colorful.
Gameplay	8.0	With its simple gameplay mechanics, the game is virtually accessible to any who picks up the controller. Simply eat, jump and move your way through the game as you devour monsters, increase your size, retrieve the Legendary Orbs and save the universe.
Sound	9.0	The sound effects are good and the music is great. The game features variations on classical music, heavy metal and even techno, with each track setting the tone and mood for every island you visit in the game.
Lasting Appeal	7.5	The game is fun to play, however its relative ease hampers the title. After you have beaten the game, you can unlock a new character and a new mode for added replay, but unless you enjoyed your first venture through the game, why would you replay it?
Fun Factor	8.0	If you go into this game expecting to play the most challenging game in you life, than walk away right now. But, if you go into this game expecting to have fun, than you will have fun.
Overall	8.1   [ Very Good ]