Mischief Makers

"It makes me sad that so few people realize the beauty in this game. And what does the name have to do with the game?"

Ah, Mischief Makers. Where do I begin? I loved this game dearly, but then again I have always been a victim of mediocre games that are highly addictive (See also: .hack). The 2-D sidescrolliness turned many away, but it really is worth it to check it out, especially considering the fact that it's probably less than 3 bucks nowadays. So here's my review...

Story: So your name is Marina, an anime-style robot thingy with pigtails who looks more like a frog with horse legs during the actual gameplay. You're in the world of the Clancers, were every... single... word begins with "clan" and inanimate objects have faces. And people LOVE to shake things. Oh yes. Shake that clanpot, Marina... okay, I think I'll continue the review now. Professor Theo, the guy who made you, gets conveniently kidnapped while you're not looking, sending you through several worlds to find them. Although this instigates the action, after you rescue your beloved Prof., there's a whole lot left to go. You gotta go through like 5 more worlds and about 50 more levels to defeat these 3 boss guys. You also meet this clancer named Teran, who you eventually get to play as, and his little sister. Though the plot may seem a little undeveloped, read on.

Graphics: THIS is where the main conflicts in Mischief Makers comes. 2-dimension sidescrolly goodness. But I have an argument for all those who believe MM would have been better as a 3-D. This game simply would not work as 3-D. When your only means of killing some enemies is to throw things at them, how would this game feel if you kept missing them? Frustrating as... stuff. The whole sprinting/flying thing would just feel weird in 3-D. And just IMAGINE doing some of the levels when you're jumping from clanball to clanball in 3-D... However, there is NO excuse for the cutscenes- or lack of, rather. Just a bunch of floating pictures in front of a blue background. No animation at all. Simply put, the graphics are no Ocarina of Time.

Gameplay: THIS is where the game shines. The whole game is compelling and wildly interactive. Rather than going up and punching the baddies, as is a constant cliche in so many games, you throw things at the guy, or throw the guy himself. Or, you can shake him until he begins to cry! *Just had a fond reminder of Marina's voice going "Shake, shake!"* And the whole grabbing-throwing-shaking concept is what makes each boss fight compelling. In one boss, you have to grab the big lizard guy's fist and throw it back at him. In another, you're riding atop, of all things, a kitty, and you have to grab the missles the boss throws at you and direct them back at him. In the main game, it tends to be about timing. You run around, and jump things, grabbing on to conveniently placed clanballs when necessary. You can shake things and get gems which give you blue gems which give you health or red gems which can be used to buy a 1-up if you die. You can use a clanpot to mix items to get new items. By shaking the pot, of course. And not all the levels are like this at all. There's one mission where you're riding on a missile and you have to maneuver the missile through this maze. In Freefall, you're, well, falling, and you have to fall in the right spot to get to the end of the level. And then there's the Olympics levels!! There's The Day Before, which has a way fun race and the almighty jumprope game. Then, The Day Of, you're on a team of Clancers, the white team, competing against the red team in various athletic competitions. The prize? Professor Theo, of course, silly!! So you're playing a zillion and a half mini-games, like the long jump, the meter dashes, the hurdle race, the collect the balls in the pot game, and... A MATH GAME! WHEEE!!! On the next mission you play dodgeball with a cuuuute little clan-kitty!! Once you beat it it starts crying and it's all sad... So naturally before talking to it to end the mission, you pick it up, shake it, and throw it at the ground! Doesn't this game sound AWESOME?!?! But there's more! There's one part where you get to play as Teran, and he has is own controls. Think of Samus from the Metroid games. Sadly, you only get to be Teran for 2 levels. But it's pretty dang refreshing!

Replayability/Fun: This game is ADDICTIVE. I swear you will be playing that Olympic game forever. It took me so long to beat that level, so I gave up on that game for a couple years. One fateful day though, I pulled it out of my closet and decided to try it again. Little did I know that the game got at least 4 times better after you get past chapter 3. And the bosses are FUN, which is definitely not the case in so many games, and you will beat them over and over again. But what mostly contributes to the replayability is the gold gems. All throughout the game, you get hints to collect the gold gems. One is found in each level by doing something special. The more you get, the longer you get to see the ending of the game. So even if you beat the end boss 3 million times, you still haven't beaten the game. There's still so much left to explore! All in all, if you are in the mood for a quick N64 fix, go buy Mischief Makers NOW. It will be worth the whole 2 bucks you spent to get it. I believe a game this fun should be worth at least 20 bucks, even today! 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/15/05, Updated 04/15/05