When you are a young man, no job, and college is hitting you real hard with assignments, I say that there is no better place to find games that no one else will play than your local libraries. I don’t know if all libraries do this, but the one in my area allows people to rent not just books, but movies and video games. I found some pretty good games there, as well as some… Less good ones. But regardless, these games are in fact underrated, so it is my job to review them. And what better game to review than an underrated Wii game, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars.
~Story~
Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is, from what I can tell, is actually a sequel to the previous Mushroom Men for the DS, called Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi… It wasn’t very good, apparently. Thankfully, (Or at least, from what I am assuming), you don’t need to play the original game to understand the story of the The Spore Wars. Mushroom Men takes place in a world where alien meteorites have fallen from the sky and crashed on earth. To humans, nothing really happens and they just go on about their business. However, the meteorites end up turning the mushrooms into living things… I mean, they were living before, but now with eyes, arms, legs, and the ability to create their own societies. Some of these societies are the Bolete, a race of mushrooms with the ability to move things with their mind, which they call Sporekinesis, and the race that the main character comes from. Morel, larger mushrooms that are able to create different machines. Amanita, an evil race of red mushrooms and skilled fighters. Lepiota, other evil mushrooms and the antagonistic race of the game. And Shiitake, a race of ninja mushrooms… Yes, really. The game follows Pax, a small Bolete who is trying to find a meteorite that he won’t absorb, as every other one he finds he absorbs into his body and becomes stronger. Along the way, he runs into the evil Lepiota leader, Pester, who also has Sporekinesis, and must stop him from taking over the world. The whole generic villain thing. From there on, the game just does it’s own thing.
~Gameplay~
Mushroom Men is a game that really feels like a sixth generation platform game, like Tak or Dr. Muto, other underrated platformers of that time. You must traverse the area while using Pax’s Sporekinesis to traverse the area. While this may sound very simple, I can say that the level design is really good. The whole game is just our own world, except through the eyes of a mushroom character. Things we see in our everyday life could be an obstacle for Pax. A thread and needle could be used by Pax as a weapon. A toaster with bread could launch Pax into the air. A few bottle caps can allow Pax to grapple his way up ledges. A single living room is a massive level for Pax to explore. I was always a sucker for turning things in our own eyes and make them bigger just by having the character be tiny, and that is what Mushroom Men does very well. With Sporekinesis, Pax is able to solve all sorts of puzzles… And they are pretty easy, actually. From moving blocks to flipping switches, they are all easy. Sure, there is definitely variety in the puzzles. They aren’t all move this block puzzle or hit this in the correct pattern puzzle. They are all different and never repeated, which I can respect in a sense, even if they are pathetically easy. I never got stuck on one of these puzzles, because they were super easy to solve.
Speaking of pathetically easy, the combat in this game. I know that, as a kids game, the combat isn’t going to be Devil May Cry levels of complex, but man, this game isn’t really that good. In this game, you have two attacks. A simple slash and a jump attack. You can use Sporekinesis to throw objects for damage, but I never used it, since that wastes time. Don’t worry, because enemies will always flinch and give you enough time to wail on them until they die. But this is only if it’s just you and one enemy. If it’s a gang of them, that may take a bit more planning- Nope, just jump attack instead. You’re health is displayed by Pax’s mushroom head. The more damage he takes, the more his cap comes off to reveal his fleshy brain. Once his entire cap is gone, he will die, but will regrow in a different spot. You cannot game over in this game, and how much damage you did to the enemies will stay with them when you respawn. I can’t tell you how many times I just threw my corpse at the enemies until I won. It is far from challenging. The bosses aren’t much better, I’m afraid, at least not until the final boss. It’s simply just use a certain ability, and once you find out which one the boss is weak to, just do that until you win. Not much else to the strategy aside from that. But it’s not to say there aren’t some good things about this game, because there certainly is.
Some of the things I like about this game is the bizarre characters. You wouldn’t think characters like plants would be that strange to look at, but trust me, these are some really creative and, sometimes creepy, character designs. From vines with bloodshot eyes, to giant cactuses fighting giant mushrooms, to the bizarre appearance of Pester, they manage to be pretty creative in their own ways. But enemy mushrooms aren’t your only enemies in this game. You will also fight off animals infected by the meteorites, such as bugs, moles, and even rabbits. And you could whack them with your weapon, or you could use the environment to your advantage. And let me tell you, for a kids game, this game is pretty bloody. Yes, it’s green blood, and green blood makes everything family friendly, but it can be pretty violent. Grind a rabbit with a fan, smash a mole with a wood covered in nails. This is pretty hardcore for a kids game. Another thing I should mention is the weapon crafting. In every level, there are little easter eggs (Not secrets, actual collectables) that hold different items that you can use to build a new weapon. When you find these items, you can create a new weapon, from bludgeoning to piercing to slashing to ones that require ammo. Yes, that is the only ones you have and, aside from design and strength, there isn’t much difference from how those in their classes behave when swung, but it does add a little more charm to the game. On the subject of charm, this games soundtrack. It is one of the strangest and most experimental soundtracks I’ve heard for a game. It uses bizarre instruments to tell the tone of the level. I’m not sure how to describe it. The game states it uses a metronome-like instrument for the soundtrack, which was groundbreaking at the time. Doing research, I found that the game’s soundtrack was done by Les Claypool, bassist and vocalist for the band Primus. Well, that explains the strange music, at least.
~Ending~
~SPOILERS AHEAD~
So, after Pax chases Pester into a trailer, he finds him inside the room where the owner of the trailer created a robotic wife with a TV for a head. Okay, that is actually a pretty disturbing site to see, and, remember, this is an E rated game (E 10 if you wanna get technical). You have to climb up to the top of the robot wife while Pester shoots at you. The first part sucks, as, without warning, a crazed mutated dog makes a Beeline for you and starts attacking you, and unlike enemies before, rolling does not help. You just have to pray that the dog rushes somewhere else while you try to find where you are going. I know it’s not too bad, since you don’t actually die, but it can end up being real annoying. After that, you make it onto the belly of the robot wife, where Pester will shoot rocks at you while his Lepiota army attacks. After you lure him down to your level, he makes it to the TV head, where you will have to fight him off. But no matter what, your weapons will not do anything. You will have to use Sporekinesis to launch him off, where the dog at the bottom will eat him and kill him. Okay, so, I actually find this boss to be pretty good. It’s not great (That first part can rot in hell), but as a boss that tests all of your skills you’ve learned, it works great. It sure as hell ain’t Virgil, but it works. After Pester is defeated, Pax takes his meteorite and gives it to the Morel people. After which, he continues on his journey. A cliched ending, but I think it works well in this game's favor.
~Legacy~
While Mushroom Men wasn’t exactly the hypest game for the Nintendo Wii, it still managed to gain some fans. At least, enough for the group at Red Fly Studio to push for a sequel. The guys made a crowd funding for a sequel to The Spore Wars, and, by a miracle or dumb luck, the game managed to succeed and came out on Steam, titled Mushroom Men: Truffle Trouble. I haven’t played or heard of that one. In fact, I think I’ve heard of that one even less.
~Verdict~
Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is a simple game. A very simple game. It was clearly made with the younger audience in mind, and I can appreciate it for that. But, I can at least say that, as an adult, this game can still have some fun to it. The game manages to have the fun and explorative nature for kids without being to complex, but also have the bizarre and crazy, almost scary world, that some adults can enjoy. It’s also a super short game, going in at around five hours, but there is enough secrets and collectables to keep you going for at least a few more. Not a game that you should pay a lot for, but I’m sure this game is super cheap nowadays. So, if you want to have a simple but bizarre little game, I’d say Mushroom Men is for you. With that being said, I give Mushroom Men the rank of Excavation Worthy. Goodbye for now.
~Story~
Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is, from what I can tell, is actually a sequel to the previous Mushroom Men for the DS, called Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi… It wasn’t very good, apparently. Thankfully, (Or at least, from what I am assuming), you don’t need to play the original game to understand the story of the The Spore Wars. Mushroom Men takes place in a world where alien meteorites have fallen from the sky and crashed on earth. To humans, nothing really happens and they just go on about their business. However, the meteorites end up turning the mushrooms into living things… I mean, they were living before, but now with eyes, arms, legs, and the ability to create their own societies. Some of these societies are the Bolete, a race of mushrooms with the ability to move things with their mind, which they call Sporekinesis, and the race that the main character comes from. Morel, larger mushrooms that are able to create different machines. Amanita, an evil race of red mushrooms and skilled fighters. Lepiota, other evil mushrooms and the antagonistic race of the game. And Shiitake, a race of ninja mushrooms… Yes, really. The game follows Pax, a small Bolete who is trying to find a meteorite that he won’t absorb, as every other one he finds he absorbs into his body and becomes stronger. Along the way, he runs into the evil Lepiota leader, Pester, who also has Sporekinesis, and must stop him from taking over the world. The whole generic villain thing. From there on, the game just does it’s own thing.
~Gameplay~
Mushroom Men is a game that really feels like a sixth generation platform game, like Tak or Dr. Muto, other underrated platformers of that time. You must traverse the area while using Pax’s Sporekinesis to traverse the area. While this may sound very simple, I can say that the level design is really good. The whole game is just our own world, except through the eyes of a mushroom character. Things we see in our everyday life could be an obstacle for Pax. A thread and needle could be used by Pax as a weapon. A toaster with bread could launch Pax into the air. A few bottle caps can allow Pax to grapple his way up ledges. A single living room is a massive level for Pax to explore. I was always a sucker for turning things in our own eyes and make them bigger just by having the character be tiny, and that is what Mushroom Men does very well. With Sporekinesis, Pax is able to solve all sorts of puzzles… And they are pretty easy, actually. From moving blocks to flipping switches, they are all easy. Sure, there is definitely variety in the puzzles. They aren’t all move this block puzzle or hit this in the correct pattern puzzle. They are all different and never repeated, which I can respect in a sense, even if they are pathetically easy. I never got stuck on one of these puzzles, because they were super easy to solve.
Speaking of pathetically easy, the combat in this game. I know that, as a kids game, the combat isn’t going to be Devil May Cry levels of complex, but man, this game isn’t really that good. In this game, you have two attacks. A simple slash and a jump attack. You can use Sporekinesis to throw objects for damage, but I never used it, since that wastes time. Don’t worry, because enemies will always flinch and give you enough time to wail on them until they die. But this is only if it’s just you and one enemy. If it’s a gang of them, that may take a bit more planning- Nope, just jump attack instead. You’re health is displayed by Pax’s mushroom head. The more damage he takes, the more his cap comes off to reveal his fleshy brain. Once his entire cap is gone, he will die, but will regrow in a different spot. You cannot game over in this game, and how much damage you did to the enemies will stay with them when you respawn. I can’t tell you how many times I just threw my corpse at the enemies until I won. It is far from challenging. The bosses aren’t much better, I’m afraid, at least not until the final boss. It’s simply just use a certain ability, and once you find out which one the boss is weak to, just do that until you win. Not much else to the strategy aside from that. But it’s not to say there aren’t some good things about this game, because there certainly is.
Some of the things I like about this game is the bizarre characters. You wouldn’t think characters like plants would be that strange to look at, but trust me, these are some really creative and, sometimes creepy, character designs. From vines with bloodshot eyes, to giant cactuses fighting giant mushrooms, to the bizarre appearance of Pester, they manage to be pretty creative in their own ways. But enemy mushrooms aren’t your only enemies in this game. You will also fight off animals infected by the meteorites, such as bugs, moles, and even rabbits. And you could whack them with your weapon, or you could use the environment to your advantage. And let me tell you, for a kids game, this game is pretty bloody. Yes, it’s green blood, and green blood makes everything family friendly, but it can be pretty violent. Grind a rabbit with a fan, smash a mole with a wood covered in nails. This is pretty hardcore for a kids game. Another thing I should mention is the weapon crafting. In every level, there are little easter eggs (Not secrets, actual collectables) that hold different items that you can use to build a new weapon. When you find these items, you can create a new weapon, from bludgeoning to piercing to slashing to ones that require ammo. Yes, that is the only ones you have and, aside from design and strength, there isn’t much difference from how those in their classes behave when swung, but it does add a little more charm to the game. On the subject of charm, this games soundtrack. It is one of the strangest and most experimental soundtracks I’ve heard for a game. It uses bizarre instruments to tell the tone of the level. I’m not sure how to describe it. The game states it uses a metronome-like instrument for the soundtrack, which was groundbreaking at the time. Doing research, I found that the game’s soundtrack was done by Les Claypool, bassist and vocalist for the band Primus. Well, that explains the strange music, at least.
~Ending~
~SPOILERS AHEAD~
So, after Pax chases Pester into a trailer, he finds him inside the room where the owner of the trailer created a robotic wife with a TV for a head. Okay, that is actually a pretty disturbing site to see, and, remember, this is an E rated game (E 10 if you wanna get technical). You have to climb up to the top of the robot wife while Pester shoots at you. The first part sucks, as, without warning, a crazed mutated dog makes a Beeline for you and starts attacking you, and unlike enemies before, rolling does not help. You just have to pray that the dog rushes somewhere else while you try to find where you are going. I know it’s not too bad, since you don’t actually die, but it can end up being real annoying. After that, you make it onto the belly of the robot wife, where Pester will shoot rocks at you while his Lepiota army attacks. After you lure him down to your level, he makes it to the TV head, where you will have to fight him off. But no matter what, your weapons will not do anything. You will have to use Sporekinesis to launch him off, where the dog at the bottom will eat him and kill him. Okay, so, I actually find this boss to be pretty good. It’s not great (That first part can rot in hell), but as a boss that tests all of your skills you’ve learned, it works great. It sure as hell ain’t Virgil, but it works. After Pester is defeated, Pax takes his meteorite and gives it to the Morel people. After which, he continues on his journey. A cliched ending, but I think it works well in this game's favor.
~Legacy~
While Mushroom Men wasn’t exactly the hypest game for the Nintendo Wii, it still managed to gain some fans. At least, enough for the group at Red Fly Studio to push for a sequel. The guys made a crowd funding for a sequel to The Spore Wars, and, by a miracle or dumb luck, the game managed to succeed and came out on Steam, titled Mushroom Men: Truffle Trouble. I haven’t played or heard of that one. In fact, I think I’ve heard of that one even less.
~Verdict~
Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is a simple game. A very simple game. It was clearly made with the younger audience in mind, and I can appreciate it for that. But, I can at least say that, as an adult, this game can still have some fun to it. The game manages to have the fun and explorative nature for kids without being to complex, but also have the bizarre and crazy, almost scary world, that some adults can enjoy. It’s also a super short game, going in at around five hours, but there is enough secrets and collectables to keep you going for at least a few more. Not a game that you should pay a lot for, but I’m sure this game is super cheap nowadays. So, if you want to have a simple but bizarre little game, I’d say Mushroom Men is for you. With that being said, I give Mushroom Men the rank of Excavation Worthy. Goodbye for now.