I was first introduced the The Munchables thanks to a video review on Gamepro.com which piqued my interest. I love quirky, niche titles, and the Gamepro editors' enthusiasm for this game won me over at a time when I had no interest in the Wii, dismissing it as a shovelware system with a few good Nintendo-made games, and a stupid control gimmick. I wasn't anti-Wii per say, I just didn't care about the system in the least which was a common view that most traditional style gamers took at that time. However games like those traditional Nintendo titles, the Munchables, and even playing De Blob with a friend's nephew at the time won me over to the system. When I finally picked up a Wii (the one that came with Mario Kart, because you couldn't pay me money to care about Wii sports), I made sure that The Munchables was one for the first games I picked up for the system.
The Munchables, being developed by the same team as Katamari, takes the growth gameplay of Katamari Damacy, where rolling things up eventually grows your Katamari into a massive ball capable of gaining access to areas that were previously unaccessible, and puts an eating spin on the formula where your main character, either Chompy or Munchy grows bigger by eating enemies, and gaining size levels until they are able to access new areas in each map.
The peaceful planet of Star-Ving has been invaded by Don Onion and his diabolical army of Space Pirates who have stolen the Great orbs which would feed the planets inhabitants, The Munchables, who as the game's manual says are “Greedy and Hungy creatures.” Now it's up to Chomper and Munchy to recapture the legendary orbs by eating all the Tabemon invaders as possible.
The Munchables is a testament to the fact that a game doesn't always have to be challenging to be an incredibly addictive experience. The Munchables is an easy game to beat, being aimed at children, however, it's gameplay and design is addictive enough to pull in gamers of all ages. The simple concept, yet fun gameplay will addictively draw in everyone no matter their age. This game is hard to put down whether you're 6 years old, or 60.
Not to be played on an empty stomach, the core gameplay is simple, players start as either Munchy or Chomper, and eat enemies to gain levels, and grow larger in size which allows you to gain access to new parts of the level usually blocked by obstacles that can be eaten once you gain the required level to do so. Larger enemies that are at a higher level than the player can be dash-attacked to be broken up into smaller enemies that can be eaten. The levels end whenever you complete the final objective which is stated at the beginning of each level. There are power ups that can aid the player in eating more enemies, and also an exploration element where there are a set number of Acorns hidden throughout the maps to be found, finding all of which unlocks a new accessory, or clothing item, for your Munchable. Some levels will throw in some additional objectives like hunting down and eating 20 ghosts in a haunted mansion, or finding and eating statues.
After you complete the lower levels in each area, you are then thrown into a boss fight against bosses like Brocco Lee or Rice baller. Rinse and repeat this cycle 8 times, and you beat the game, unlocking the mirror mode, and a new character to play as. The bosses do have a little strategy to them, even if they are easy. The game does a good job at explaining the boss strategy mid-game for those bosses where it's not instantly obvious what to do. The final level even has a boss-rush scene where you re-fight all the previous stage bosses before taking on the final boss The King Pumpkin.
Being only eight levels long, the game is short, but the addictive gameplay always draws you in to play “just one more level” meaning you will probably beat it very quickly. One you beat the game, the Mirrored mode is unlocked which is a mode that, as the name suggests, mirrors the game maps, but adds a time limit to complete each level, acting like a time attack mode. Overall, the short length doesn't hamper the experience, because it's addictive gameplay mean it's always fun play through it again. Finding all the acorns, and the time attack mode also give it a little more length if you're a completest type of gamer.
Graphically, the game looks good for a Wii game, it definitely fits the colorful, cutesy, look of being a kids game. The varied locales from a forest to a desert to even a haunted house are aesthetically pleasing while the cutesy characters and objects in the game have that slight luminescent glow to them that was common in Wii games. The story segments were made to look like colored paper cutouts to give them almost a storybook look. Visually, by Wii standards, there isn't much to complain about here. The game looks and runs well overall.
While there is some Wiimote waggling in the game, it's put to a minimum here. The nunchuck is required for this game, and the only time you have to waggle is for jumping, and on those occasions you get hit by an enemy, and have to waggle the controller to get back to normal. Flicking the Wiimote to jump is similar to the jumping mechanic in De Blob which I played before The Munchables, and while it is far from the most accurate way to handle jumping, it works OK, and feels a little more accurate than it does in De Blob. For those who despise motion controls, they aren't over-implemented here, and everything else in the game from scarfing down enemies, to the dash attack to the Z-Targeting feels natural to pull off.
The music in the game is excellent. Some tracks are quirky similar to the tunes in Katamari, and other tracks fit the atmospheric theme of the level like the music in the haunted house. The tunes are well composed, and all-around fit the cartoony aesthetic of the game. The sound effects from the dash attack to the chomping effect as you gobble up enemeies also fit the aesthetic and sound like stock cartoon effects. The characters don't speak, but the narrator during the story portions of the game is also well acted. There's really nothing to nitpick at here, unless you're a parent who's fed up with quirky, cartoony sounds.
The Bottom Line: The Munchables may be derivitive of Katamari, but it uses the same evergreen, always fun, “growth” formula, and is an incredibly addictive game that appeals to gamers of all ages. Don't let the fact that it's a game aimed at kids dissuade you from enjoying this must-play Wii title. If you're collecting for the Wii, I wholeheartedly recommend putting The Munchables in your collection. Just don't play it on an empty stomach. I can just imagine mom's yelling at their kids after playing this game, “What do you mean you're hungry, you just ate dinner. I'm gonna take that game and trade it into gamestop if you don't stop telling me you're hungry after every-time you play it.”
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