Mole Mania 1996

Is it still worth playing?

Muddy Mole sets out to rescue his wife and children from the farmer Jinbe, who has kidnapped them, in this 1996 puzzle game for the Game Boy. To leave each screen he has to move a black ball to a gate at the end, and he can push, pull and throw it. He can also dig into soft ground to find paths underground around obstacles, so each screen is split into an above ground half and an underground half. Choosing where to dig matters, because a hole in the wrong place can make the puzzle impossible until you leave the screen and come back. Moving enemies, pipes, barrels and weights get in the way, and each world ends with a boss. Boss fights and bonus games are more frantic than the slow puzzles that fill most of the game. Planning where to dig on each screen still takes real thought today.