Mutant Mudds (Hands-On) (Nintendo 3DS) Preview

Mutant Mudd’s main designer, and general face of Renegade Kid, Jools Watsham, has gone on record to state one of his influences for this revamped version of the initial idea was the Virtual Boy edition of Wario Land from Nintendo. Whilst European gamers sadly never had the chance to try it, the game was certainly one of Nintendo strongest platform efforts at the time of release, and incorporated a multi-layered effect to make use of the system’s 3D capabilities. This has been employed in Mutant Mudds to fantastic effect, with the lead character, Max, able to switch between three planes during each level. At keys points along the side-scrolling adventure, players can fling the main character either into the miniature background world or right up to the forefront of the screen where objects are, obviously, enlarged as the viewpoint draws closer. The action remains the same, but it is amazing how the alteration in perspective affects instincts when it comes to both platform jumping and enemy despatching.

Max must work his way through stages to rid the world of the Mudds that have invaded Earth. This involves some intricate platform antics, blasting away at all manner of enemies, including those that sit in the background and slam into the field of play trying to swat the life out of the bespectacled hero. This is no easy ride, and it can possibly be likened to something like the dastardly ninth and tenth Mega Man releases on WiiWare, with the key exception that Max can actually crouch and shoot at the same time, as well as hover slightly when pressing jump again!

The retro appearance taken for Mutant Mudds follows the trend set by Capcom’s Mega Man reboot as well, which definitely adds great character to proceedings, giving a distinct feel that heightens the overall atmosphere, complemented by a fine soundtrack. To move further on in the adventure, the main levels (of which there are forty in total) need to be cleared with all three key challenges being met, thus unlocking new stages and worlds (five being present overall). Max has a water-powered cannon to wash away the Mudd army, and his backpack is also water-based, so it runs out after too much usage, meaning only short bursts of flight can be done at any one time. Before reaching the end goal, trying to avoid losing all three hearts en-route at the same time as keeping an eye on the timer counting down, players are encouraged to collect all 100 diamonds dotted around each stage and also uncover a secret land somewhere along the way.