Like its big brother, this game’s visuals and music impress on every level. The character designs, the cartoon-freaky visuals, and the phenomenally funky music all come over mostly intact, preserving the unique Mushroom Men look and feel. The tunes are particularly good, with deep melodies and earthy sounds that meld right in to the grungy atmosphere. Even when you’re ready to throw your DS off a bridge after missing the 30th easy grapple point, you’ll still be tapping your toe to the melodies.

In fact, the aesthetic and fun weapon building elements save this title from utter mediocrity. While Spore Wars hid its very simple game mechanics under layers of fun (and never frustrating) gameplay, Rise of the Fungi’s artificial difficulty and occasional control issues prove too punishing and aggravating to earn the same pardon. As it stands, this is a fun but flawed platformer that requires a little more patience than it really should.

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