Gimmick! (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Sunsoft's 1992 NES game, Gimmick! The version I'm playing here is the original Japanese release (complete with music generated by the Yamaha YM2149F chip used in conjunction with the custom Sunsoft FME7 mapper for graphics), but I chose to play the patched version since the limited western release version (retitled Mr. Gimmick!) lacked the enhanced sound hardware of the Japanese version. The Japanese version also benefits from using NTSC, whereas Mr. Gimmick! was PAL only. The rom runs flawlessly on a modded US console from a PowerPak. In the playthrough, I find all of the hidden items to reach the true final stage and ending. Gimmick! is an exercise in sheer brilliance on the part of the wizards at Sunsoft. Their technical mastery of the NES hardware really peaked with this game - it was by far the most advanced piece of software they released on the then 9-year-old console. The graphics rival those found in Kirby for artistry and use of color. They don't try to mimic 16-bit graphics in quite the same way as the gorgeous Batman: Return of the Joker (or Dynamite Batman, depending on region), but like Kirby, they still very much so push the limits of the machine beyond what it should have rightfully ever been able to do. The vibrance of the environments, the attention to detail, and the varied (and sometimes insidious) level design elevates the visuals to a plane VERY few NES games ever achieved. There was one scene in level two that left me just gaping in wonder - before jumping up onto the ship, going to the right will put Yumetaro on a small outcropping of land overlooking the ocean with a flock of birds hovering overhead. That they included something so inconsequential to game play speaks volumes to the love and attention this game had heaped upon it. The scene itself is beautiful, and yet it serves no purpose other than to enhance the feeling that you're exploring an actual world, and that that world was meant to be explored and appreciated. And then there's the animation and AI, which together really make the enemies feel "alive" more than any other NES game I've played. The cinematics are also pretty impressive pieces of work. And oh my god, the music! With Sunsoft's 5B add-in chip, the game hardly sounds like an NES. The songs run the gamut of musical genres, and each one of them is fantastic, both on their own and as compliments to the situations they play during. The PAL version also sounds excellent - the compositions easily hold up - even if the lack of extra sound hardware dulls the "wow" effect a bit. It does a thoroughly convincing job at proving that the inimitable Naoki Kodaka wasn't the only super-talented composer working at Sunsoft in their 8-bit days. And those digital drums really do impress - how did they pull such quality out of the samples? The gameplay itself is also typical of the extreme high-quality that Sunsoft was known for on the NES - it is right on par with their other classics (Batman, Journey to Silius, Blaster Master, Gremlins 2, etc), but it is quite different from any of those games. At its heart it is a simple platformer, but the level design feels closer to Mega Man with it's branching paths and the need to manipulate the level with your abilities. Instead of assimilating talents from fallen enemies, Yumetaro (the green stuffed animal that you play as) summons stars - mega buster, anyone? - that can be thrown. There's a fairly heavy-duty physics engine that drives the path it flies, and it can be quite challenging getting a handle on how to use it effectively to scale walls and reach otherwise inaccessible places and items. Speaking of challenge, Gimmick has it in spades. It is a Sunsoft title, after all! While it's not quite as brutal as the original Batman game, and it's always fair, getting a handle on the star mechanics can take awhile, but until you do, you won't get very far. Remember how even the first stage in Batman was hard until you knew it inside and out? Gimmick is very much cut from the same cloth. If you love classic 8-bit titles, have a Sunsoft fetish (like I do), or just want to see how far they managed to push the ancient NES hardware, check this out! It's an incredible achievement, and it's an experience that really shouldn't be missed! ___ No cheats were used during the recording of this video. NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games! Visit for the latest updates! http://www.facebook.com/pages/NintendoComplete/540091756006560 https://twitter.com/nes_complete