{"id":30737,"date":"2026-02-08T21:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T21:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.retronews.com\/?p=30737"},"modified":"2026-03-26T08:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T08:58:08","slug":"monty-mole-collection-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retronews.com\/staging\/modding\/monty-mole-collection-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Monty Mole Collection: Xbox Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

We previously reported<\/a> that The Monty Mole Collection<\/strong> was set to burrow up onto the Microsoft Store<\/strong> for Xbox<\/strong> and PC<\/strong>, following an earlier release on Nintendo Switch, and as Retro News<\/strong>\u2019s resident Xbox<\/strong> owner and ZX Spectrum<\/strong> fan, I was looking forward to digging into The Monty Mole Collection<\/strong> upon its release.<\/p>\n

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First off, we should clarify that the \u2018Monty Mole<\/strong>\u2019 In this collection has nothing to with the Nintendo character of the same name. Indeed, the \u2018Monty Mole<\/strong>\u2019 featuring in this collection pre-dates Nintendo\u2019s Monty Mole by six years. This Monty Mole<\/strong> first appeared in the 1984 ZX Spectrum<\/strong> game \u2018Wanted: Monty Mole<\/strong>,\u2019 which is indeed included on The Monty Mole Collection<\/strong>. So, let\u2019s really dig into The Monty Mole Collection<\/strong> and explore each game one by one\u2026<\/p>\n

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\"Monty<\/p>\n

Wanted: Monty Mole (ZX Spectrum) (1984)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This first adventure for Monty is a flip-screen platformer collect \u2018em up in the vein of Manic Miner. However, there\u2019s a reason that Manic Miner is considerably more famous than Wanted: Monty Mole<\/strong>. It\u2019s not that Wanted: Monty Mole<\/strong> on the ZX Spectrum<\/strong> is a bad game per se, it\u2019s just not as well designed as some other, similar titles on the format. On the positive side, Monty himself is a well-designed character who somehow manages to ooze personality from his tiny monochrome sprite. He certainly looks like a mole, anyway! However, the game itself does have some flaws when viewed through current-day lens. Instadeath is a far too common, and unavoidable occurrence, and due to the age of the game, having been released before some videogaming conventions that we now take for granted had been established, some of the choices made regarding controlling Monty seem counter-intuitive when playing the game today. \\For example, to climb up a rope, Monty must jump his way up, rather than pushing up with the thumbstick, which is what we\u2019ve been conditioned to expect over the years. Conversely, to climb down a rope you do push down on the thumbstick!<\/p>\n

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Sadly, Wanted: Monty Mole<\/strong> isn\u2019t a great game by modern day standards, but in a way, that\u2019s not the point, and as the very first game to star our subterranean hero, it\u2019s only right and proper that it should be included in this collection, even if you won\u2019t actually want to play it very much.<\/p>\n

\"Monty<\/p>\n

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Wanted: Monty Mole (Commodore 64) (1984)<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no getting away from it, the Commodore 64<\/strong> version of Wanted: Monty Mole<\/strong> is an ugly game, the Commodore 64<\/strong> has more colors at its disposal than the ZX Spectrum, but they\u2019ve been chosen badly on this game, and the Monty Mole<\/strong> sprite is less charming than the Spectrum version\u2019s, too.<\/p>\n

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So, the Commodore 64<\/strong> version of \u2018Wanted: Monty Mole<\/strong>\u2019 is definitely less attractive to look at than the ZX Spectrum version, but it does improve on the earlier Spectrum version in other ways. Being a more powerful machine, the Commodore 64<\/strong> version of the game allows for scrolling, rather than flipping between screens, which make the gameplay a little smoother. The Commodore 64\u2019s SID chip so famously allowed for superior sound and music to its other 8-bit home computer rivals, and that\u2019s certainly the case here, with the Commodore 64 version of Wanted: Monty Mole<\/strong> blasting out a rousing rendition of the Colonel Bogey March as you play.<\/p>\n

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\"Monty<\/p>\n

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Monty is Innocent (ZX Spectrum) (1985)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Despite being the sequel to \u2018Wanted: Monty Mole<\/strong>\u2019, the player doesn\u2019t actually assume the role of Monty Mole<\/strong> in this game, because he\u2019s banged up in prison, and the player, as Monty\u2019s chum Sam Stoat, is tasked with finding a key to bust him out. As in the previous game, the player\u2019s sprite is well-defined and characterful.<\/p>\n

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Not only has the protagonist changed in \u2018Monty is Innocent<\/strong>,\u2019 but it\u2019s also a very different game from \u2018Wanted Monty Mole<\/strong>\u2019. You can now climb ropes by pushing up, but the instadeath issue from the first game persists. While still a flip screen platformer at heart, the game is much more colorful than its predecessor, with colorful backgrounds, and chunky , colorrful sorites. However, much like the first game, its presence here is more for historical interest, rather than because it\u2019s much fun to play. However, it\u2019 s interesting to see the progress that Spectrum<\/strong> games have made just one year on from the first game.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

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Sam Stoat: Safebreaker (1985)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Monty\u2019s criminal pal returns, and this time he\u2019s interested in stealing moolah, rather than rescuing imprisoned pals. Jumping between platforms is introduced in this game, which feels like a mode modern\/console-style element of platform games than we\u2019ve seen in the series to date. The instadeath issue has also been resolved this time round, so while the series is definitely improving as it goes along, it\u2019s still not all that much fun to play. Perhaps the next entry in the series will be where the Monty Mole Collection gets really good?<\/p>\n

\"Monty<\/p>\n

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Monty on the Run (ZX Spectrum) (1985)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Monty on the Run takes the series back to its roots, starring Monty as the main character, and being a (great looking) flip-screen platformer collect \u2018em up that requires some precise jumping skills to navigate the hazards you\u2019ll encounter. Monty on the Run plays like a much-improved version of \u2018Wanted: Monty Mole,\u2019 \u00a0and it\u2019s the first game in the collection that you\u2019re likely to play for enjoyment, rather than just for historical interest.<\/p>\n

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Auf Wiedersehen Monty (ZX Spectrum (1987)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Monty games continue to improve as they go on, with Auf Wiedersehen Monty<\/strong> offering the series\u2019 best-looking spites yet, and even the humble Spectrum<\/strong> version manages to offer in-game music!<\/p>\n

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\"Monty<\/p>\n

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Auf Wiedersehen Monty (Commodore 64) (1987)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The series returns to the Commodore 64<\/strong> for the<\/p>\n

first time since the first game, \u2018Wanted Monty: Mole<\/strong>,\u2019 and this is a huge improvement. It\u2019s basically the Spectrum<\/strong> game, but with superior graphics and sound.<\/p>\n

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Auf Wiedersehen Monty (Amstrad CPC) (1987)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The series makes its debut on the Amstrad CPC<\/strong>, and while the gameplay is much the same as the Speccy and C64<\/strong> versions of the game, this is the superior version of Auf Wiedersehen Monty<\/strong>, with the best graphics of all three versions.<\/p>\n

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\"Monty<\/p>\n

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Moley Christmas (ZX Spectrum) (1987)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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For the final game on The Monty Mole Collection<\/strong>, we return to where it all began: the ZX Spectrum<\/strong>. From its title, you might be expecting a yuletide adventure from this entry in the series, and it is, sort of, even though it doesn\u2019t look that way. Moley Christmas<\/strong> wasn\u2019t released to retail, but was created especially to be given away with the Christmas issue of Your Sinclair<\/strong> magazine. For a game given away on a magazine covertaoe, Moley Christmas is surprisingly good. The game involves Monty collecting items for the mag\u2019s Christmas issue, and it plays much like the earlier Monty on the Run<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Conspicuous by its absence on the Monty Mole Collection<\/strong> is the series\u2019 final game: 1990\u2019s Impossamole<\/strong>. Considering Imagine Ltd.<\/strong> were able to include the curio Moley Christmas<\/strong>, it\u2019s a real shame that Impossamole<\/strong> isn\u2019t on the collection. Perhaps this is due to rights issues, as Impossamole<\/strong> was developed by Core Design<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\"Monty<\/p>\n

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In addition to all the games we\u2019ve explored above, it\u2019s worth commented on how well presented The Monty Mole Collection<\/strong> is, with the collection\u2019s developers Imagine Software Ltd.<\/strong> creating a menu in the style of cassette boxed lined up on a shelf, with Monty himself wandering around on it, and to play one of the games, you select the cassette from the menu, which adds an extra touch of nostalgia for those of us who remember playing 8-bit home computer games at the time!<\/p>\n

Overall, The Monty Mole Collection<\/strong> might not offer the greatest ever 8-ibt home computer games, but it\u2019s absolutely worth digging out for anyone with nostalgia for that era ( I must admit replating old Spectrum<\/strong> games on a modern Xbox series X<\/strong> did give me a very welcome, and warm rush of nostalgia.. And by including games from a single series on different formats, the Monty Mole Collection offers an enjoyable way for those interested in video game history to see how quickly 8-bit home computer games evolved.<\/p>\n

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The Monty Mole Collection is published by Pixel Games<\/strong> and is available now for Xbox series X|S<\/strong> on the Microsoft Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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