Dark Ages was the moment everything changed in Plants VS Zombies. Less obtainable plants,
less than 25 levels (20 to be exact) and the world was released in two parts. Furthermore,
it was the first to promote premium plants, namely the Pea-Nut and Hypno-Shroom, but neither
will be on this list as they are not unlocked the normal way. As with all of these videos, plants are ranked on use in
the home world, other worlds, sun cost effectiveness (CRUCIAL in this world) and comparing them
to similar counterparts. I’m Asa, let’s get started.
At the back end of the list is the Sun Bean. The Beans in the game have been a mixed bag,
with the Laser Bean topping my Far Future list and the Spring Bean landing at the bottom
of the Pirate Seas list,. Sorry not sorry if I spoiled anything for you there.
The Sun Bean suffers from the latter’s fate. To me, the plant
is only really useful when boosted, as otherwise you have to use it on a zombie that’s tough enough
to basically make a profit. Also I feel you might as well just use regular sun-producing
plants in order to get the sun, especially if you have the Gold Bloom and time to flex
because I do. I suppose I have to give it props because in one level it’s the ONLY
sun-producing plant you can use, but it’s a pretty weak plant overall. Also, collecting
the small bits of sun gets increasingly annoying.
Next up is the Puff-Shroom. The first of the four mushroom plants on here is quite the
vital plant early on in some Dark Ages levels due to being cheap. Then of course you can
use stronger enough offensive plants when your Sun-Shrooms grow enough . Sure, that’s the
intention, so basically the Puff-Shroom is deliberately made to be bad, but the fact
it lives for a limited time really reduces its use. I find it's rarely good to use outside
of Dark Ages, however it can be quite the lifesaver in ‘Spend no more than X sun’
levels. Well, unless you have a ‘Don’t lose more than X plants’ objective due to
its limited lifespan. Also in regular Dark Ages levels (especially in the Endless Zone)
you can use boosted Sun-Shrooms and Grave Busters on sun graves to get more sun, and
the plant upgrade system reduces the sun cost of more powerful attackers, pushing the Puff
to the wayside just that bit more.
Slap bang in the middle of the list is the Sun-Shroom. This is a controversial ranking
for two reasons: first of all, it’s an essential plant in pretty much every Dark Ages level
due to the lack of falling sun making it difficult to use regular Sunflowers, and it’s generally
considered by many players to be one of the strongest sun-producers in the game. Unfortunately,
I think otherwise as its smaller sun production earlier on makes it less useful, especially
in later worlds when the first wave of zombies start really quickly, as you might not be
able to set up your defences in time. Also, if you lose the plant, well, when you replace
it you have to wait for donkey’s years to get it back up to its largest stage. Also,
I’m gonna have to use the Gold-Bloom counter again because in Dark Ages it pretty much
makes the Sun-Shroom redundant. And I don’t feel good about saying that. Regardless, a
vital plant for those without the Gold Bloom.
[blurry camera]
The top 2 are very close, but Fume-Shroom lands in the runner-up position. Your #1 counter
for those blasted Jesters (very helpful for Kings as well and Wizards and Imps if you’re
lucky and just about everything), this plant will set you back 125 sun, which is 50 more
than in the original game, but that’s because the Sun-Shroom can produce more in this game.
The Fume is great for graves and has one of the best Plant Foods in the game,
making it great for Gargantuars when reduced
to half health as if you time it right, its Imp will get hit with the blast too. The only
real thing keeping it from the top is that it’s almost universally weaker than the
Laser Bean due to having a shorter range, and while the Laser Bean is more expensive,
it’s not exactly by a long shot or anything. Still, a great offensive plant in the Dark
Ages, and it gets better yet when using multiple columns of them.
And topping today’s list of Dark Ages is the Magnet-Shroom. While you can debate that
it’s better in the original game due to stopping many more zombies rather than just
those with heavy armour, I honestly believe this is the only plant on the list that really
shines in outside worlds. It can be used for Bucketheads in all worlds, but also works
on Poncho Zombies in Wild West, Knight Zombies in its home world and perhaps most importantly,
Punk Zombies in the Neon Mixtape Tour, instantly killing the hair gel-addicted terrors. It
also shrinks the attracted object pretty quickly and has quite a good Plant Food effect. It
has a few disadvantages, such as not working on other high-health zombies like Fossilheads
and even All-Stars despite their helmet being metal (unless they used a non-magnetic metal,
hear me out Scientists!), but its versatility and pure crippling power knock it a spot above the Fume-Shroon.
That is my list, what about yours? Tell me in the comments below (you can count the Hypno-Shroom
and Pea-Nut if you wish even though I'm not counting them on this list),
please give the video a like, subscribe if you’re new and
I’ll see you for the Neon Mixtape Tour list!