Muppet Monster Adventure

''Muppet Monster Adventure'' is a 2000 platform video game developed by Magenta Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was developed under Psygnosis' licence of '' The Muppet'' franchise. The player controls Robin The Frog as he attempts to save The Muppets from becoming permanently monsters.

The gameplay is reminiscent of popular 3D collectathon platformers of the time.

The game has received mixed to average review scores, with praise for the game's polish and fun factor and mixed reactions towards the games soundtrack and gameplay.

Plot

Robin the Frog is delighted that he and the Muppets are finally going on a vacation. His hopes are dashed, however, when he learns that rather than Krakatoa or England, their destination is a 'run-down, old castle in the middle of nowhere'. His Uncle Kermit reminds him that they had to accompany Dr. Bunsen Honeydew on this journey to hear the reading of his uncle's will, emphasizing the value of friendship. After becoming frightened of his surroundings and the door of the castle being opened by a mysterious figure, Robin faints.

Robin is awoken by Pepe the King Prawn, Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew in some sort of underground laboratory. Dr. Bunsen Honeydew explains that the laboratory belonged to his late uncle and that after Robin fainted, the group of Muppets was ambushed and many of them transformed into monsters by the castle's 'evil energy'. In addition, the castle's energy has begun to permeate the nearby village causing it to become twisted and evil. Robin asks what can be done, and Honeydew presents him with a special 'Power Glove' that takes evil from monsters and stores it in a backpack. Informing him that the glove will only work with "the amphibian anatomy," he sends Robin on his way to collect evil energy from the village and try to save the Muppets from being monsters forever.

Robin initially fights his way through the innards and grounds of the Castle von Honeydew itself, facing its corrupt knights and guards, before defeating (and thereby rescuing) Gonzo, who has turned into the vampire " Noseferatu."

Robin then ventures into the outskirts of the village nicknamed "The Deadlands" where he encounters villainous pirates and reanimated skeletons. Robin defeats the "Wocka Wocka Wearbear" and transforming him back into Fozzie Bear.

Robin is able to advance to the forests around the village called "Neverleave Forest." After avoiding falling prey to transmogrified hunters and evil pumpkin farmers, Robin must fight his own Uncle Kermit to save him from an eternity as "Ker-Monster" (a spoof of Frankenstein's monster).

Having done this, Robin moves into the river-dwelling and Arab quarters of the village referred to as the "Village of the Darned" before doing away with the fearsome Muck Monster who transforms back into Clifford.

With over half the village now saved and purified, Robin moves into Madness Marsh, a treacherous region of the village which is home to its heavily armed hiking community, as well as ravenous piranha, puffer fish, and hungry crocodiles. Robin dispatches them in short order and comes to face the fearsome "Ghoul-friend of Ker-Monster" (a spoof of ''Bride of Frankenstein'') and initiates her transformation back into Miss Piggy.

Having now gained access to the village's more mountainous regions, Robin battles through what is locally called "The Whatsamatterhorn," defeating all manner of foes including a group of violent monks.

Having saved his friends and believing his journey to be complete, Robin returns to the center of the castle only to find one final enemy awaiting him; Baron Petri von Honeydew himself (who has the appearance of Erik from ''The Phantom of the Opera''). Robin manages to turn the Baron's projectiles against him and finally lays his mad soul to rest. Having achieved all this in such a short space of time, Robin succumbs to another faint.

He is awoken once again by Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. This time however, all the other Muppets are with him and seemingly unchanged. He is also lying in the hallway of the Castle itself, where the butler Chives (the figure who opened the door) has led the group of Muppets. Robin exclaims that he has had the most amazing dream and describes his adventure to all those present, who assure him it was indeed a dream. However, as he and the group ascend the stairs and pass a painting of the late Baron von Honeydew, the painting appears to move and say 'shush' to Robin as the Power Glove suddenly appears on Robin's hand again, indicating his adventure may well have been something more than a dream after all.

Gameplay

The game draws heavy inspiration from 3D platformers like ''Spyro'', ''Crash Bandicoot'', and ''Super Mario 64''. In a review of ''Super Mario Sunshine'' the reviewer reflected on that game's poor swimming mechanic, remarking on how MMA and SM64 had done better. The gameplay consists of Robin using several context-specific transformations inspired by the monster transformations the Muppets themselves undergo. Robin can use the transformations once he has collected all four pieces of an amulet bearing the relevant Muppet's face. Noseferatu's amulet grants Robin the power to glide, the Wocka Wocka Werebear's enables him to climb, the Muck Monster's allows him to dive underwater, Ker-monster's permits him to push and pull large blocks, and the amulet bearing the Ghoul-friend of Ker-monster gives him the ability to perform door-smashing karate chops.

Each level requires a certain amount of 'evil energy' (dropped by enemies and scattered freely around all levels) to open it, and only three may be unlocked before a boss has to be fought. Bosses, however, do not require the collection of evil energy but instead need "Muppet Tokens." Once a set number of these have been collected from levels and minigames, the boss is accessible and can be defeated, opening up the next stage of the game.

Cast

* Jerry Nelson – Robin the Frog
* Steve Whitmire – Kermit the Frog, Beaker, Rizzo the Rat
* Frank Oz – Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear
* Dave Goelz – Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Baron Petri von Honeydew, Chives the Butler
* Kevin Clash – Clifford
* Bill Barretta – Pepe the King Prawn, The Swedish Chef

Reception

The game received average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. ''GameSpot''s Scott Steinberg called it 'surprisingly polished and enjoyable', but was unimpressed by the game's sound effects and 'forgettable' soundtrack. Jeremy Conrad of ''IGN'' disagreed with Steinberg's verdict on the soundtrack, deeming it 'probably the best part of the entire game', but found the gameplay 'isn't really anything we haven't seen before'.

References

External links

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Muppet Monster Adventure
at Muppet Wiki

{{The Muppets

2000 video games
3D platformers
Halloween video games
Magenta Software games
Midway video games
The Muppets video games
Platformers
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation (console)-only games
Psygnosis games
Single-player video games
Sony Interactive Entertainment games
Video games about amphibians
Video games about pigs
Video games about bears
Video games about mice and rats
Video games about vacationing
Video games scored by Michael Giacchino
Video games developed in the United Kingdom