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Summary

Gimmick! (known in Europe as Mr. Gimmick) is a hidden gem of the NES era that showcases Sunsoft’s technical wizardry. The Swedish distributor Bergsala managed a tiny import run in 1993, giving the game eight lives instead of the four found in its Japanese Famicom counterpart and stripping away the extra sound chip, so the soundtrack had to be re‑mixed for the console’s five native channels. Behind the scenes, the team split the 256 graphic tiles into clever groups—two blocks of 128, then four blocks of 64—to free up processing power, allowing surprisingly detailed sprites and fluid background animations. Gameplay revolves around Yumetaro’s horn‑top star, which doubles as a weapon and a temporary platform, opening up tight jumps and secret routes across six stages and hidden bonus areas. Critics have long praised its tight physics and polished level design, and modern retrospectives still cite its visuals as some of the most refined ever seen on the NES, earning it a spot on several top‑ten lists.

Storyline

The story of Mr. Gimmick (often called Gimmick!) opens on a young girl's birthday. Her usually‑busy father finally finds time to shop for a present and brings home a small green creature named Yumetaro, who had been wandering the toy aisle and was mistakenly picked up among similar stuffed toys. The girl instantly loves Yumetaro, making the other toys feel neglected. One night the jealous toys come to life, whisk the girl away to another dimension, and leave Yumetaro behind. Determined, Yumetaro follows them to rescue his owner, battling six bosses along the way; even after the sixth boss the girl remains missing, prompting the game to restart. By finding hidden magic items in each stage without using a continue, a secret area appears with an extra boss, and defeating it triggers a cutscene where Yumetaro finally saves the girl and returns her to the real world.

Edited by Maya Carter