Mole Mania - A Game Boy Classic I Really Dig

The Game Boy was absolutely packed with heavy hitting, must-own games. You had Pokemon, Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and hundreds of licensed games from different properties. With so many incredible games released for the handheld, there was bound to be a few hidden gems that flew under the radar due to how insanely popular some of these games became. One of these gems is Mole Mania. Released for the Game Boy in North America in 1997, this handheld puzzler is insanely addictive.

First off, you'll never guess who produced this game: Shigeru Miyamoto. Mr. Mario himself! Out of all of the awesome games that he's produced, Mole Mania is quite possibly the most underappreciated. You can tell his imagination and creativity went full-blast with this game.

You play as Muddy Mole, whose family has been kidnapped by an angry farmer. Each stage in Mole Mania is fairly short. The goal in any stage (not including boss battles) is to smash open a gate with a black ball. It sounds simple, but there are lots of things that can block your path and have you racking your brain for the perfect solution. Muddy's moveset is very simple. You can dig and submerge yourself underground, tunneling below enemies and obstacles. When in contact with the ball, Muddy can either push it, pull it, or charge-up and roll it to destroy enemies or send it flying to the other side of the current stage. While submerged underground, you can hold B to have Muddy check the surface and make sure that you won't run into enemies or obstacles.

What keeps this game so wildly addictive is how simple it seems. While your moveset is tiny and basic, the stages are masterfully crafted and require some planning in order to complete. If you dig in the wrong spot, that hole is going to reset the ball back to where it came from if it lands in there, and you'll need to restart the stage. As you go from one area to the next, the game will introduce new gimmicks like heavy anvils that can't be pulled, moving spike balls, and a lot more.

The boss battles aren't too difficult once you figure out what to do. One is a kangaroo and you have to make it land on thumbtacks when it jumps. Another is the goddamn sun and you need to avoid its sudden bursts of light, and then slam a ball into its face. Nothing to write home about, but still pretty fun.

The soundtrack in this game is WILD. Good wild, I mean. Each tune gets etched directly into your brain and does not let go. Despite the restrictions of the Game Boy's hardware, these tunes still hold-up incredibly well.

Unfortunately the game is pretty hard to get your hands on. The cart alone with set you back nearly $70-$80. Good luck getting a complete-in-box copy. The game was ported to the Virtual Console on 3DS, but that's been shut down now. Since there are no other official rereleases of this game, you'll need to emulate it.

That's pretty much it. Short blog for a short game. If you love puzzle games, moles, and those charming 8-bit Game Boy graphics, load this thing up and start hoarding those cabbages! Oh, and Muddy Mole is ADORABLE. Nintendo, please bring back Mole Mania!