How's N64 Mischief Makers?...

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:33 am

I don't think I've ever read such mixed reviews of a Treasure game. Some people seem to think it's good, others average, and others mediocre.

But, being one of the N64's few 2D games, I'm very interested in it, and I'd love to hear some opinions on the game from people on this site.

Blue Lander · Post by **Blue Lander** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:40 am

I bought the game awhile ago but I've only played it a little. It isn't Treasure's best work, and it isn't the best 2D platformer ever made, but it is a fun game. It reminds me a bit of Dynamite Headdy. If you can get it for 10 bucks or so, I'd go for it.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:54 am

Mischief Makers... didn't like it. If you want some good obscure home platformers with charm go look for something better like Wardner on Genesis, or Blue's Journey for the Neo, imo...

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:08 am

Going by memory, this is actually my favorite Treasure game. Maybe if I played it now I wouldn't like it as much as Ikaruga, but hot dog this game just rocks. I hear about some people who complain about the lack of the crazy action Treasure's known for, but you should check it out dave. It's an awesome game, one of the N64's finest.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:10 am

I haven't played Mischief Makers, but the main complaints I heard about it is that it's too short and too easy. However, the actual gameplay is supposed to be pretty good. From the sounds of it, it's probably worth picking up for cheap.

I'm going to recommend Goemon's Great Adventure for a 2D platform fix on GCN. It has day/night, great control, wacky humor, long levels with multiple paths, and huge towns with lots of stuff to do. It's a really fun platformer with some RPG elements.

I liked Kirby 64 quite a bit, though the reviews said the same thing about it that they said about Mischief Makers.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:13 am

BrianC wrote:I haven't played Mischief Makers, but the main complaints I heard about it is that it's too short and too easy.

Naw way mang, it's a nice difficulty and the game's definitely not short. I was stuck on that "Find the ghosts!" level for months before I actually beat it. Definitely a long game. On top of that, it's got huge replay value.

Never played GGA, but I really did love the first Goemon on the N64. Another one of the N64's finest.

Kirby 64...eh, it was OK. Not my favorite Kirby game, way too short and way too easy. I'm still waiting for a proper Kirby game for the Cube.

Davey · Post by **Davey** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:22 am

It's creative and wacky, but not particularly fun.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 2:34 am

LoneSage wrote:
BrianC wrote:I haven't played Mischief Makers, but the main complaints I heard about it is that it's too short and too easy.
Naw way mang, it's a nice difficulty and the game's definitely not short. I was stuck on that "Find the ghosts!" level for months before I actually beat it. Definitely a long game. On top of that, it's got huge replay value.

Never played GGA, but I really did love the first Goemon on the N64. Another one of the N64's finest.

Kirby 64...eh, it was OK. Not my favorite Kirby game, way too short and way too easy. I'm still waiting for a proper Kirby game for the Cube.

I'm waiting for a proper GCN Kirby too, but you could always play one of the GBA Kirbys like Kirby and the Amazing Mirror on it while waiting (if you have GB Player).

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 4:08 am

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I have seen M.M. for $10, cartridge-only-although I should probably pick up Super Mario 64 first.

Personally, I find Wardner to be REALLY frustrating. I have played Yoshi's Island, and Paper Mario-both are excellent 2D games on the N64. I'll probably get Kirby 64, just because Kirby games are such a joy to play, IMO.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 4:53 am

I'd say it's worth ten bucks: not perfect, assuredly, but it oughta keep you occupied for awhile if you give it a chance.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 5:10 am

dave4shmups wrote:Personally, I find Wardner to be REALLY frustrating.

It's really fun once you learn the layout of the stages. Definitely one of my favorite platformers of all time. And the only Toaplan arcade I used to be able to 1CC

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 5:58 am

Off topic, but thanks for the Wardner recommendation Thunderforce, fun game

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 6:01 am

I need to try that Wardner game too. I have been interested in getting Toaplan games. All your toaplan games are belong to me! Ha Ha Ha!

E. Randy Dupre · Post by **E. Randy Dupre** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:16 am

BrianC wrote:I haven't played Mischief Makers, but the main complaints I heard about it is that it's too short and too easy.

Maaaaybe, if all you're doing is rushing through to finish it. Thing is, you *won't* finish it by doing that, because of the great secrets system.

Each stage holds a yellow gem somewhere. Some are visible on the level and require you to figure out how to get them, some are rewarded for completing a level in a certain time limit, some are given out for performing a specific sequence of actions, and so on. The most difficult to get are those on the boss stages, where you need to complete the stage without taking a single hit in order to earn the gem. Once you get to the end of the game, you find out what they're for - they buy you time to watch the end sequence. If you've only got a few, you'll see a few seconds of it. Only by getting them all do you see the full ending.

So it's a huge challenge there, and anything but easy. Also, it keeps track of your times for each stage and ranks your performance based on your best, so there's another challenge - getting all S ranks.

Copy n paste of something I wrote about MM on another board recently, in response to somebody saying how it received mixed reviews:

I think there are three things at play there.

Firstly, it looks like shit. Really, really nasty shit. The N64's Vaselinovision's in full effect and the colour scheme's horribly garish. The character design is great, but the use of renders a serious misjudgment. Treasure always come up with superb hand-drawn sprites, which makes this decision seem even more backwards.

Secondly, the control scheme takes a bit of getting used to. For example, the boost never feels like it boosts quite enough - cuts out just that little too early. Makes weighing up those jumps harder than it should be, as far as newcomers are concerned.

Thirdly, the intial levels are dull. There's just no way of getting around that. It wouldn't be a problem on its own, but combined with the other problems, it makes it difficult for people to want to stick with the game, to learn to work with its peculiarities and get to the good stuff underneath.

Still, I adore it. It's just that you need to learn to love it, and a lot of people aren't prepared to dig beneath the surface. I also disagree with Duddy re: the later levels. I think it gets better the further in you get. Treasure start throwing ideas around all over the place, it's got the most hugely entertaining boss fights of any of their games (in fact, the only time when the rendered sprites don't look out of place is the transforming bosses) and the pace increases to fever pitch. Stealing an enemy's rocket launcher and going on a twenty second explosive rampage after having spent the previous few levels shake-shaking, platforming and puzzle solving is wonderfully liberating.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:18 am

E. Randy Dupre wrote:
BrianC wrote:I haven't played Mischief Makers, but the main complaints I heard about it is that it's too short and too easy.
Maaaaybe, if all you're doing is rushing through to finish it. Thing is, you *won't* finish it by doing that, because of the great secrets system.

Each stage holds a yellow gem somewhere. Some are visible on the level and require you to figure out how to get them, some are rewarded for doing certain things, and so on. The most difficult to get are those on the boss stages, where you need to complete the stage without taking a single hit in order to earn the gem. Once you get to the end of the game, you find out what they're for - they buy you time to watch the end sequence. If you've only got a few, you'll see a few seconds of it. Only by getting them all do you see the full ending.

So it's a huge challenge there, and anything but easy. Also, it keeps track of your times for each stage and ranks your performance based on your best, so there's another challenge - getting all S ranks.

Copy n paste of something I wrote about MM on another board recently, in response to somebody saying how it received mixed reviews:

I think there are three things at play there.

Firstly, it looks like shit. Really, really nasty shit. The N64's Vaselinovision's in full effect and the colour scheme's horribly garish. The character design is great, but the use of renders a serious misjudgment. Treasure always come up with superb hand-drawn sprites, which makes this decision seem even more backwards.

Secondly, the control scheme takes a bit of getting used to. For example, the boost never feels like it boosts quite enough - cuts out just that little too early. Makes weighing up those jumps harder than it should be, as far as newcomers are concerned.

Thirdly, the intial levels are dull. There's just no way of getting around that. It wouldn't be a problem on its own, but combined with the other problems, it makes it difficult for people to want to stick with the game, to learn to work with its peculiarities and get to the good stuff underneath.

Still, I adore it. It's just that you need to learn to love it, and a lot of people aren't prepared to dig beneath the surface. I also disagree with Duddy re: the later levels. I think it gets better the further in you get. Treasure start throwing ideas around all over the place, it's got the most hugely entertaining boss fights of any of their games (in fact, the only time when the rendered sprites don't look out of place is the transforming bosses) and the pace increases to fever pitch. Stealing an enemy's rocket launcher and going on a twenty second explosive rampage after having spent the previous few levels shake-shaking, platforming and puzzle solving is wonderfully liberating.

You have me sold. I definatly plan to get Mischief Makers.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 8:26 am

Do it, the post above sums it up perfectly. Initially a bit of a chore, I played the latter half of the game wearing a shit-eating grin and wondering why nobody else every thought of ideas like this in a platformer before. Definitely a case of the more you put in, the more you get out.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 9:52 pm

E. Randy Dupre summed it up very well. My favorite N64 2D game. In 1997/98 there were two games I hungrily waited for: Mischief Makers (after seeing footage of it on a Nintendo Power video, heh..) and Yoshi's Story. Later that year I was surprised to find that I preferred MM much more than YS which was a huge letdown from Yoshi's Island. First Treasure game I ever played and was blown away. Sure the levels are short but they offer so much to do (way more stuff to so than Yoshi's Story, tediously sniffing an entire level to collect neverending light green melons was awful and you don't even get rewarded with extras unlike Yoshi's Island) and the gameplay is so unapolegitcally creative. What other game can you go from playing a round of dodge ball with a cat to riding on the same cat in the next level while throwing missles at a giant dog/dragon mech?

I disagree with the graphics and color scheme being poor though, the game has very nice, well drawn visuals despite the N64's apparent inability to texture things crisply. It also has very nice sound effects which make up for the terrible voice acting.

Anyways, just started playing this again recently to see if I can finally get all the yellow gems.