Released in the US for the Game Boy back in February 1997, Mole Mania is a hidden gem designed by famed game creator of Mario, Zelda, and more that is Shigeru Miyamoto. Players take control of a mole by the name of Muddy Mole on a quest to rescue his family from an evil farmer, Jinbe. Using a similar top-down perspective as found in certain Zelda games, players will explore puzzling landscapes filled with iron balls to push and toss, and various enemies to defeat. Of course, as a mole though, players can also dig underground to reveal a parallel underside of each screen in which to circumnavigate obstacles and reveal hidden paths.
This clever digging mechanic really opens up the game for some interesting exploration and puzzle elements. Players must be able to have spatial awareness of both sides of the coin that is above and below ground. On top of that, each time a player digs to go above or below ground, a hole is created which could cause problems for navigating certain objects across the screen. Therefore, each hole requires careful consideration in order to solve these increasingly tricky puzzles.
With the recent successes of strange and quirky games like Pushmo and Box Boy, let's hope odd little experiments like Mole Mania keep on popping up. Because they really are such strange delights to behold.
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