Gimmick! aka Mr. Gimmick is one of the most desired NES games for many people. The game was only released in Japan and Scandinavia and was a well-liked title from the legendary Sunsoft. This was a late release in the system’s lifespan and that shows in the overall product. This is not to say Gimmick! is a lazy game, but rather just the opposite, as you can see Sunsoft put what they learned towards game development into creating something special.
Gimmick! was a passion project for director Tomomi Sakai and you can instantly see the effort that was put into the game. The visuals and music are some of the best on the system, and can even stand with many early Super NES titles, as hard to believe as that may be. The gameplay may not be for everyone, but the presentation is of the highest quality.
The game sees you take control of the creature Yumetaro, who has been gifted to a young girl as a toy. Yumetaro does not need to mind this situation, because when the girl gets kidnapped and sent to a strange dimension, he sets out to rescue her and bring her home safely. It may not be the most inventive plot, but it works fine for the game.
Gimmick! is a platform game that is well-regarded for its level design. These levels are meticulously thought out and make smart use of the physics properties and the layouts require a lot of strategy to get by. There is no mincing words here as Gimmick! is a brutally difficult game, with traps to avoid, pits to dodge and more. Though only six levels are present here, beating the game will not be easy at all, and you will need a lot of time to get past everything.
The stages also require quite a bit of exploration in order to find secrets and to understand how to navigate to use Yumetaro’s main means of defense and attack. Yumetaro will use a magic star as a projectile that can bounce and take out enemies, but it interacts with the environment in ways you may not expect. You need to keep careful track of the star’s trajectory and understand how it moves before using it because there is more you can do.
You can also jump on the star and use it to reach more areas, including finding many of the secrets the game has to offer. This is where you need to understand the physics of how the game’s levels work because a wrong move will throw you off completely, while a right move will help you find the hidden magic items within the levels. You will need to find them all without using continues to get to the final boss and true ending, but this is easier said than done.
Gimmick! Special Edition is a great re-release of this classic game, and BitWave and City Connection did some great work here. There are many great quality-of-life changes and additions such as a rewind option and save states, and there is a neat art gallery as well, not to mention achievements. There is also a neat inclusion of a Speedrun Mode and Serious Mode, the latter of which disables the Quality-of-Life features, though a CRT filter would also have been great.
Overall, Gimmick! Special Edition is an excellent port of the classic game. While the difficulty may be off-putting for many, the well-designed game levels and amazing presentation will help win over some doubters. This is one that can be recommended with ease because it is so well made.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
