Mischief Makers

"An excellent return to classic 2D platforming!"

Mischief Makers is the definition of a sleeper hit. The game had no flaws, but wasn't advertised well. Very few people would pick it up just based on the title, and most people heard of nothing beyond the title. I came upon this game in a bargain bin, a just picked it up for a mere $8. The game is truly amazing...

HELP ME MARINAAAAAA!

The game starts out with Professor Theo and his creation, cyborg girl Marina, landing on Planet Clancer. Almost instantly, he is kidnapped and Marina has to go save him. Theo gets kidnapped throughout the game, in humorous fashion but the story does evolve beyond this, but not until the last chapter of the game.

Marina has to save Theo similar to Mario saving the Princess. Which means crossing deadly landscapes with spikes, fire, and explosions of course! Marina does have more skills than Mario's jumping however. Marina has booster jets, which can be used by hitting either the C-Buttons or tapping a direction on the pad. The control stick isn't used at all in this game!

Shake Shake!

More useful than Marina's boosters, is her grabbing. In each level you'll find yourself grabbing, shaking, and throwing almost everything that comes along your path. In levels you will often find Clanballs suspended in the air, and you have to carefully launch yourself ball to ball. Enemies with guns will often bother you, so you have to grab them, shake them so they drop their weapon, then steal the weapon for yourself to use! Even innocents have great goods to drop, from continue gems, to health gems.

Marina has a health bar, but no lives. Falling off a cliff will take some health away, and when your health finally ends instead of getting a new life, you get Game Over and have to continue! However, health gems are around, but not to the point where the game is too easy, which is quite good.

Some levels are much harsher than others are. One level features you running as fast as you can to avoid the explosion creeping up behind you, while another is just a stroll through a town. However, the town levels aren't boring by any means, there are plenty of people to chuck around cruelly and steal their goods. Beating up the Clancers is oddly satisfying. You can also talk to all friendly people, which gives the game a bit more depth than your standard platformer.

Hereeee's Lunar!

The one thing most memorable about Mischief Makers is the boss fights. Having the Grab, Shake, and Throw tools at your disposal really give bosses tons of options on how to beat them. Finding out how to harm your opponent can take a bit, almost anything can be grabbed, but trying the throw the giant metal machine probably isn't a good idea. Almost anything the boss throws at you can be grabbed, so typically instead of dodging attacks, you have to use perfectly timed grabs to parry their attacks. You can even turn giant rockets against them, or turn fireballs into health!

Even after you beat all the levels, you aren't even close to beating the game. After the final boss, you get to watch the ending. However, the length of the ending is based on how many secret Golden Gems you've found. Golden Gems are hidden quite well, one in each level. Some are easy, some next to impossible to figure out how to get. Some put your puzzle solving skills to the test, others measure your skill at beating bosses. I've had the game for 4 years and I still haven't gotten all these gems.

Even harder than the gems, is the fabled S rank. At the end of each level you get a rank based on your time. You get an S rank if you clear a level almost perfectly. Literally. Some of these will make you find a trick to cutting time down, others just need some insane reflexes. Many people go through the game and never encounter any S ranks considering how hard they are to get.

Yahoo!

The game is lovely just to watch. Characters are 3D models in a 2D world, for a nice effect. Explosions are bright and vibrant, and worlds look fitting to the mood. The land of the Clancers is grassy and cheerful, while as you enter the enemies' lair things become darker and more serious. Bosses are incredible to watch. The animation of everything is great, and it really feels like an old school platformer. Watching Marina boost around, deflecting attacks, and giving punishment with her deadly throws couldn't look better. Some of the best 2D graphics I've seen on the N64.

The sound is equally great. The music is very high quality, and once again, is fitting to the mood. Hearing the explosions getting louder as they nip at your feet encourages you to race on even faster. A crowd of Clancers giving a cheer sounds lovely. Characters have voiced lines too, Marina giving a cheer of victory after clearing each level is always welcome, and the bosses yelling in fights is great too. Their voices are nice, unlike many voices that are far too forced.

Through fire, justice is served!

Show this game justice, even though it is a gem hidden among the many Nintendo 64 flops, it is an incredible game. You will have something to do forever, whether it is just beating the game, getting the Golden Gems, or mustering up your gaming might to get an S rank. We haven't had a truly good 2D platformer in a long time. Games have been getting easier and easier over the years, but Mischief Makers will press your skills to the limit.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/22/05