Gimmick!

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Gimmick!

Developer(s)	Sunsoft
Publisher(s)	Sunsoft
Release date(s)	^JPN January 31, 1992
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	NES
Media	2-megabit cartridge
Input	NES controller

Gimmick! (ギミック!, Gimikku!^?) is a 1992 platform game created for the NES (Famicom in Japan) by Sunsoft. The game featured bright, child-like graphics which disguised the game's notoriously steep difficulty level.

1 Story
2 Gameplay
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Story

In Gimmick!'s intro animation, a young girl receives a Gimmick doll for a birthday present. She quickly favors the new doll over her previous toys whom, jealous over abandonment, kidnap her and hold her captive in an alternate dimension inhabited only by toys. Gimmick, as the protagonist, must track down his new owner and retrieve her from the toy world.

[edit] Gameplay

Gimmick!'s gameplay revolves around a platformer engine in which the doll must make his way through each of the obstacle course like levels before reaching a boss. Gimmick's weapon is a star which he can spawn above his head and throw in the toy world. The star doubles as a functional utility, as Gimmick can ride his creation and use it to reach otherwise unattainable areas.

Gimmick!'s levels are relatively short, though they carry a menacing learning curve. Once the player completes all the levels, and the "final" boss, it is revealed that the girl is still missing. To fully complete the game, Gimmick must go back and find hidden areas in each level where a magic item resides. If he can obtain each level's magic item without losing all his lives (i.e. no continues allowed) a new, secret level will be made available where an extra boss must be beaten. Only after these compromising conditions are met is the game completed in full, with a new animation showing Gimmick rescuing the girl and leading her back to safety.

[edit] History

Gimmick! was released by Sunsoft in 1992 in Japan. Shortly thereafter, the game was released in Scandinavia, Europe under the title Mr. Gimmick!. The game was not overly successful and did not find a sizeable audience until the resurgence of NES via computer emulation. Though a cult classic of sorts, Gimmick! never received a proper sequel.