2 silly shoot 'em ups in 1

If you're a shoot 'em up fan then I have great news because Muchi Muchi Pork! & PinkSweets Boosted is one incredibly enjoyable duology.

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There are a lot of power-ups to collect in Muchi Muchi Pork! Muchi Muchi Pork!

Despite being the first game in Muchi Muchi Pork! & PinkSweets Boosted, this one actually released 1 year later in 2007. You play it by choosing 1 of 3 distinctly-playing characters then 3 buttons allow you to shoot, drop a bomb, and use a focused shot which is hilariously called a lard attack. That sense of humour and lightheartedness permeates both of these games and the over-the-top artwork is quite funny, too. Throw in some energetic music and cute Japanese voice acting and you're left with one unique-feeling shoot 'em up experience. 🐖 v1d30chumz ztcyrryzxywwx

Anyway, the action in Muchi Muchi Pork! is intense despite its aesthetic and juggling your weaponry to maximise your score is a ton of fun. Specifically, whenever you defeat an enemy with your lard attack, they'll give you score items and as you amass these on the screen, you can really hit the jackpot with a clever multiplier system where the score items get bigger and worth more. Once you're ready, you can switch your shot and automatically collect everything onscreen which is oh so satisfying. And summoning a mech as your bomb attack? Genius! 🤖

Muchi Muchi Pork! does explosions right PinkSweets

Next up in Muchi Muchi Pork! & PinkSweets Boosted is an arcade game from 2006. PinkSweets is actually the sequel to a 2005 arcade shoot 'em up called Ibara which I sincerely hope sees its way west at some point but I digress. There's a lot of fun to be had in PinkSweets and it features intuitive 2-button controls where you shoot with one while the other changes your satellite shots' formation. 💥

When you press the buttons together, you can change your speed and there's also a super-clever move where if you don't shoot, you can fire a shield orb that explodes and absorbs certain projectiles. Now, this is one of the hardest shoot 'em ups that I've ever played and I must say that it's actually quite frustrating, especially certain bosses which are huge damage sponges and highly unpredictable. For example, you'll get in the rhythm in the dead space between a stream of shots then a boss may change direction abruptly and end you in an instant. It's still fun if you're up for the challenge and the selection of characters is great so there's a lot to experiment with for sure. 🍬

Projectiles in PinkSweets come in all shapes and sizes Boosted

So, what else is in Muchi Muchi Pork! & PinkSweets Boosted? For starters, you can browse local and online leaderboards as well as rotate the screen for some tate action if you prefer. Next, each game features an arrange mode complete with mechanics made specifically for consoles and a manual which helps explain the basics albeit a bit too briefly as there are a lot of complexities left out. 📖

With extra modes like score attack, training, and the ability to watch replays, there are a lot of opportunities to hone your skills. There are also plenty of options that let you adjust the screen in various ways (I highly recommend disabling smoothing right away as doing so makes the games look much crisper) and I love that you can change the music that plays during each stage to the original or arranged versions. There are a lot of wallpapers to swap among and you can remap the controls, too. Throw in settings that ensure anyone can enjoy the fun thanks to being able to adjust your lives, the difficulty and speed, and even the version of each game and you're left with a lot of options. 👩‍🔧

Finally, I wish more museum-style content was included even with all of these nifty features and options in-place. To be able to discover the history of such quirky shoot 'em ups would be a phenomenal inclusion so without such content, the package can feel rather light. 📦

A lot of challenges await in PinkSweets; that's for sure

There's definitely a lot to love about Muchi Muchi Pork! & PinkSweets Boosted in all of its fully-featured quirky and colourful shmup action.

Watch A.J. play Muchi Muchi Pork! & PinkSweets Boosted 5:25

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Filed under: Reviews › Switch.