"An entrancing little chain of Misadventures"

~The demented, gangly, humanoid-mongrel slides across the frosty snow laden Terra whilst howling in true “non compos mentis” fashion. As he dashes ever so swiftly along the veneer white, it kicks up all around him creating a veritable rush of the elements as he streaks towards his target. His impassive opponent is most certainly as odd as he, if not more so: an even more spindly and diminutive robot maid possessing peg legs and large spherical hands. The mechanical entity facilely leaps over the large cur as he plows on past, but not without his secretive sneer still affixed on his face. Left behind in his wake are a line of glowing ovular apparatuses; their general design and pulsating light suggesting them to retain explosive materials. However, the adroit automaton immediately assesses the situation as it lands and takes counter measures. With exacting precision it grips upon one of several instruments of destruction left on the ground and leaps backwards through the air, simultaneously hurling the volatile tool at its source. Afterwards, a quick and sudden burst from the retro thrusters on its back jettisons it out of proximity of the odd grenades as they detonate, narrowly escaping harm. The zealous mongrel is not so lucky, however, as just when he comes to a halt the flung instrument imbeds itself into his spine as it erupts. With a yelp of pain, the canine warrior is heaved into the air by the force of the blast as his adversary awaits the enemy’s next move. Assuming there is a next move, of course.~

The reader may now be pondering upon what this passage is meant to connote, or even if it bears any true purpose at all. I will inform the reader now that that paragraph is likely the best illustration I can conjure to describe the surreal aesthetic feel, the game play, the unconventional physics and fighting engine, and the wholly unique 2D platforming experience that is Mischief Makers.

The “combat” system (if you would like to call it that) is especially unusual. It features minimal options yet remains critically absorbing and interesting. Regardless of whether you are bashing straight through hoards of lackeys or squaring off against a boss, only one true option is ever present for you: grab. From there you can move on to either throwing this object that you have grappled, or shaking it. The purpose of throwing is obvious, though the value of the application of the shake technique in combat may escape a few. To put it simply, shaking has the bizarre capacity to change the form of objects or unlocking secondary functions. A machine gun goes from simply shooting in a forward linear fashion to a diagonal upward spray and downward spray simultaneously. A missile may enigmatically increase in size, along with destructive power. These are just a few examples of the numerous effects that shaking creates in this game.

Now, how can such an incredibly basic system prove interesting? It doesn’t come in the options the main character has at her disposal, but how you make her employ them. It is simply amazing how many moves in this game can be evaded in a certain form and countered with a swift action. At a minimum, I would say at least 80% of all the attacks and enemy techniques thrown at you have a possibility of being countered. Missiles, laser beams, energy blasts, small enemies, fists, feet, lances, rocks (or grenades as depicted in the opening paragraph)… you can grab all these things as they barrel at you and then with the proper timing and throwing action, punish your opponent’s action. Some have extremely small windows by which you can act upon, perhaps only a couple frames, while others have a wide open time gap and allow even beginners to nail them without too much trouble.

Ultimately, this opens up two main styles for combat: turtling and rushdown. For first time players, they can jump around frantically and be on the guard until those slow, obvious attacks come out, at which point they can take the easy opportunity set before them and act. For experts, they can stay right in the enemy’s face and counter every single thing that is thrown out at them as it comes, obliterating the opposition in record time. The game will even reward you for this effort, due to how scoring at a level’s end is set up, but that will be discussed later. To put it rather simply, though, the fighting system gives a simple layout that grants beginners a window through which to navigate through the game yet can still present experts with the challenge of being extremely aggressive and almost invincible to enemy assault should they pull off the right moves in time.

There is also the platforming element that presides heavily in the regular level stages, incorporating a series of various jumps and sliding leaps that may be supplemented by thrusts from the small boosters on your character’s back to either propel you towards the ground, maintain position in the air, or jettison further to the left or right. Grabbing also becomes essential here where some stages demand vertical climbs hindered by all sorts of objects that could cost you a fall and start all over again, with only certain surfaces you can latch onto securely to avert this dilemma.

A problem is created, however, in that the game is not overly difficult in and of itself. This game can probably be blazed through by most experienced gamers in a night or two, and the ingame tutorials persist for quite a while; dropping hints to the player if they choose to seek them even half way through. The puzzle elements are present, but none of them are too difficult to overcome. Oddly enough, the final boss isn’t even as tough as some of the earlier enemies are, and will feel like a let down. Is there more to this game, then, in order to help boost replay value and keep the player playing after conquering the final enemy?

Indeed, there certainly is. Each stage features a hidden gold gem that can be collected. Or rather, you will be wanting to collect them since the more you have gathered the more of an ending you will be able to see (along with a secret ending stacked on top of the last one). Most of these gems are hidden quite thoroughly. The game will demand mastery of control and coordination in order to claim theses shimmering prizes. Boss battles in particular have an extra edge in this regard, since to claim a gold gem in these encounters you must defeat you opponent unscathed. This adds an extra twist to some of the earlier boss battles that are easy to win, but difficult to escape with zero damage. Your adversaries can throw out many projectiles out at once hard and fast, and despite the fact that the damage may be minimal, it takes a mind numbing level of coordination between reflexes and hand dexterity to stand triumphant in these clashes without losing a single sliver of health.

Yet still, that is not all the challenge Mischief Makers can serve up. Additionally, you are given a letter grade to correspond with the time it took to complete the stage. For this reason, you may have not found a particular battle or stage difficult… but that is because you took your time and waited for the best opportunities, the most obvious of solutions, or to put it simply you took the easy way out. Don’t expect much more of a better grade than a “D”. You can beat the game, sure, but guess what? You’re still a naïve novice. The game will demand that you have an overall rank of “A” before allowing you to find one of the many gold gems, so if you want the complete ending you will also have to bulk up on speedy level completion as well.

Finally, above this simply A-D ranking is the elusive “S” ranking. This requires a phenomenal level of speed and perfect application of gameplay to obtain in any given stage and is a true, taxing challenge to attempt to live up to. The near flawless prowess you must display in order to achieve this special ranking presents a special challenge for those already hopelessly addicted and leaves an even greater margin for sharpening of skill and refinement of ability. “S” ranks are strictly optional and as such there is no true incentive to obtain them, but they are always there, taunting the gamer that wants a perfect file and to conquer every aspect of a game. It is for these “S” ranks that I still keep my N64 in my closet, and occasionally drag it out for a few hours in order to assault these intimidating time trials.

Let’s look back for a moment. The game has hours of gameplay and challenge wrapped together despite the fact that it isn’t too difficult to reach the end of the game. The simple and minimal controls are easy to learn and employ, but their application in advanced settings and narrow timings will still present a challenge to the experienced player. I believe most any serious gamer could extract a good deal of enjoyment from this title if they can put up with the other aspects of the game. The ambiance created by the aesthetics and the atmosphere that pervades over the game is well done and reaches its goals, but it is not necessarily for everyone.

Host to a menagerie of half human beasts, chattering ball shaped creatures known as Clancers, and a variety of robots in a wide diversity of shapes and sizes, this game is everything and anything but realistic. The brightly colored backgrounds and level layouts definitely feel as though they are intended for a younger audience to absorb, and all in all there is nothing in this game you can really consider to be threatening. Even amongst your foes, character sprites range from a scale of cute to goofy, with a few that emanate a certain level of cool, like a large humanoid eagle clad in cerulean armor and wielding a golden lance. The attack animations are often spastic and amusing in a style true to the character designs, and fits them quite well. Additionally, most of these characters fit their overall appearance. The mood never is truly serious, and the few ominous moments that do dribble the story into a more stern atmosphere are quickly swatted away as they turn out to be blatant jokes or parodies. Additionally, the music is befitting and adds extra relaxed and sugary accents to the already cartoony charm that is present.

If you are looking for a hardcore game with tons of bad-ass attitude, this definitely isn’t going to fit the bill. If anything it is the exact opposite of what you are looking for. It is flippant and lighthearted throughout the entirety of the game.

Looking at a closer level to the main story and the characters, we have the main character known as Marina Lightyears, a cyborg maid created by the adept yet doltish Professor Theo. No sooner do they arrive on the plant of the Clancers does it seem that the bumbling Professor manages to get himself kidnapped by unknown forces. It is then the job of Marina Lightyears to go running around the planet in search of Theo and rescue him. This happens not once, not twice, but at least around half a dozen times throughout the course of the game. While constantly on the move in search of your hapless master you’ll encounter a wide number of different locals and unusual enemies, creating some minor interesting subplots and side conflicts along the way.

It earns points for originality, but it isn’t the type of plot to draw the player in and steal their soul; forcing them to plug on into the end of the game for the shocking conclusion. Don’t get me wrong, the ending is well done and worth seeing. The thing is that it is just as silly and lighthearted as the rest of the game. If one can get into the brilliant colors, strange anime styled characters, goofball story line, and overall mild atmosphere of the game then they will really enjoy it. If you prefer an ambiance that is contrary to these descriptions, however, you might want to stay away from this one as you may find it too ridiculous to play.

The end product when taking all of these elements into account is a rare and delightful treat served up by Treasure. It’s a 2D platformer that is saturated with simple yet engaging combat and gameplay along with a thick sugar coating of oddball personality and a decadent helping of blithe. It is easy to learn and play through, yet requires rigorous attention and refinement in order to truly master it. Don’t be deceived by how simple and silly this game can be; it is exceedingly unique and engaging to play once you delve into its depths. The only real flaw with the game is that the atmosphere certainly won’t appeal to all and the base level of challenge could be raised a bit more.

Still hardly anything to shake a fist at.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/02/04