"Way to go Treasure!"

*Remember, I’m always experimenting with different formats until I find one I really like*

Introduction to the Game

Well, Treasure has a reputation for making wacky yet extremely fun games, and Mischief Makers is no exception. In Mischief Makers, you play the role of Marina Liteyears, the ''intergalactic-cybot G'' who goes to the planet Clancer with the Porfessor, Theo. When they arrive, Prof. Theo is kidnapped by some evil clancers [the creatures who live on the planet.] And the story goes on. It’s simple side scroller, packed with wacky levels and challenges – even dodgeball and math! During your journey you’ll meet good and evil clancers, and some tough bosses including worms, frogs, bees, and so forth.

Gameplay

The gameplay is great – and it’s a relief to know that there are some companies out there who still like 2D games. The basic commands are jump, grab, throw, shake, roll, and dash. One of the most enjoyable things to do is pick up good clancers shake em for gems and throw them away! I know it sounds cruel, but you’ll be hooked once you try it. The story is confusing most of the time – your professor is kidnapped, you save him, and then throw him around. And you have to save him again. Very strange. In every stage there is a gold gem to collect – most of them are cleverly hidden. You’ll need these gold gems to watch the ending – well at least part of it. You see as the ending goes by, your gold gems count down. And that’s how much of the ending you see. Also you get a grade for how quickly you complete a stage – A, B, C, and so on. Mischief Makers will have you skipping rope, racing, throwing stuff around – and other things you’d never imagine to be in a video game.

Graphics

The graphics are as Nintendo says ‘two and a half dimensional’ Most of the graphics are in 3-D, but they’re placed in a 2-D environment. I think this gives it a nice effect, but a lot of gamers on the N64 are used to *cough* very original 3-D platformers. Everything looks great – especially Migen and the lava. Even if you’re not fond of these graphics, they’ll grow on you. Marina is a green haired robo-girl with kinda bunny ears and pegs for legs. Yes sounds strange, doesn’t it? Theo is a fat professor with sunglasses and a green [what’s the word? Oh well] ..hat type thing. Seriously is there a word for those? Never mind. Clancers are like walking heads with strange faces and open mouths. I really like the designs of the characters – they’re not the kind you’d see in an everyday video game.

Audio/Controls

The sound effects are alright, but the clancer’s laughing can get annoying. There’s a wide range of different sound effects – and even some speech such as ‘stop’ or ‘help!’ Nothing big, but it’s still a nice effect to hear the characters voices. The music is repetitive, annoying, and definitely not memorable. But most of the stages whiz by, so you won’t even notice it. The controls are fairly easy once you learn them. That is all.

Difficulty/Replay Value

Unfortunately, the game won’t last very long. By this I mean the game is way too easy [besides collecting the gold gems] and there’s almost no reason for wanting to play it again. If they had added some extra multiplayer mini-games of some sort, or made the game more challenging – it would’ve helped a great deal. But the chances for a sequel seem unlikely – so you’re stuck with what you get. Rent it for three days and I guarantee you can pass the game with a bunch of gold gems.

Overall

If you crave a 2D side scroller for your 3D dominated N64 [like I did] then pick up mischief makers – you don’t have much of a choice. It’s an enjoyable experience, even if it doesn’t last very long. Rent it for a week and you can probably pass the whole thing 100%.

***
Sushi’s Quick Sheet™

Gameplay : Excellent, and very original.
Graphics : 2.5 dimensional. I like it – you may not.
Audio : Not bad. Could be better.
Control : Perfect.
Difficulty : Besides the gold gems – easy.
Replay : Almost none.
Overall : Fun… but it should’ve been longer.
***

Scores

Gameplay : 10
Graphics : 9
Sound : 7.5
Music : 5
Control : 10
Replay : 2
Overall : 7.5
Sushi says : At least give it a rental – you’ll be hooked : )