| Mischief Makers | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer(s) | Treasure |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Director(s) | Hideyuki Suganami[1] |
| Producer(s) | Yuuchi Kikumoto[1] |
| Programmer(s) | Masato Maegawa[1] |
| Writer(s) | Hideyuki Suganami[1] |
| Composer(s) | Norio Hanzawa[1] |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64 |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mischief Makers[a] is aside-scrollingplatform game developed for theNintendo 64gaming console byTreasure, and published in 1997 byEnix in Japan and byNintendo internationally. The player assumes the role of Marina Liteyears, a robotic maid who journeys to rescue her creator, Professor Theo, from the emperor of Planet Clancer. The gameplay is displayed in2.5D, based on grabbing, shaking, and throwing objects within five worlds and 52 levels.
It is the first 2D side-scrolling game for the Nintendo 64, and Treasure's first release for a Nintendo console. The 12-person team began development in mid-1995 with little knowledge of the prototype console. The team wanted to make a novel gameplay mechanic, and implementing the resultant "catching" technique became their most difficult task. The game was announced at the 1997Electronic Entertainment Expo and was released in Japan on June 27 that year and later in the United States, Europe, and Australia.
Mischief Makers received mixed reviews. Critics praised its inventiveness, personality, andboss fights, but criticized its short length, low difficulty, lowreplay value, sound, and harsh introductory learning curve. Retrospective reviewers disagreed with the originally poor reception, and multiple reviewers noted Marina's signature "Shake, shake!"sound bite as a highlight. Video game journalists appealed for its reissue either through theNintendo eShop or in a sequel or franchise reboot. In 2009,GamesRadar called it possibly the most underrated Nintendo 64 game.
Mischief Makers is the firstsingle-player 2Dside-scrollingplatform game on theNintendo 64.[2] Its gameplay combines platformgame mechanics with aspects from the action and puzzle genres.[3] The characters and backgrounds are modeled in pre-rendered 3D[4] similar toDonkey Kong Country's "Advanced Computer Modeling".[3] This style, with 3D backgrounds behind 2D gameplay, is known as2.5D.[5] Its gameplay is more exploratory than previousrun-and-gun games from Treasure.[6]
Theplayer-character, a robotic maid named Marina, journeys to save her kidnapped creator.[2] The story takes place on Planet Clancer, a world on the cusp of civil war due to the actions of its Emperor and his Imperial forces. The Emperor brainwashes Clancers to kidnap the visiting robotics genius Professor Theo.[3] Theo's creation, the player-character Ultra-InterGalactic-Cybot G Marina Liteyears, pursues the professor and grabs, throws, and shakes the obstacles in her way, such as enemies, floating "Clanball" platforms, warp stars, and missiles.[3] Almost all game objects can be grabbed, which lends towards the shake-based combat system.[6] Marina can shake "grabbed" objects to throw them as projectiles or to find loot.[7] Objects sometimes change functions when shaken, such as items that become homing missiles and guns with multi-directional shots.[3] Some drop red, blue, and green gems, which restore playerhealth.[8] The health gauge in the corner of the screen shows the amount of damage Marina can take.[9] The player can store up to two additional stock lives.[3] Yellow gems hidden in each level extend the final cutscene's length.[6][7][10] Marina can run, jump, and boost (via jetpack) in the eightcardinal and ordinal directions.[6] She can also slide, hover, and roll.[8]
The game has five worlds with roughly twelvelevels apiece.[b] Some levels are action-only while others include puzzles. The player's goal is to reach a warp star at each level's end. En route, Marina shakes enemies, breaks blocks, uses weapons, and rides "bikes" and objects along wire path mazes.[2] Each world has both final and mid-levelbosses. The levels and boss fights usescaling and screen rotationspecial effects to vary the gameplay.[3]
Almost all things on Planet Clancer—including people, buildings, and pets—either wear or are inscribed with identical "sad" faces with red, glowing eyes.[6] A Clancer named Teran substitutes for Marina in several brief areas and uses non-shake mechanics like punching, kicking, anddouble jumping.[6] A character named Calina, a petulant Clancer who imitates Marina, recurs as acomedic device.[3]
Treasure began to developMischief Makers in mid-1995, before the Nintendo 64's launch in mid-1996. At the time, little was known about the prototype console's future final technical specifications, graphics implementation, anddevelopment kit, but were nevertheless interested in the console and its improved "pixel quality".[11] Historically, Treasure developed games exclusively for Sega consoles,[11][c] which madeMischief Makers its first release for a Nintendo console.[3] Choosing the Nintendo 64 was a hardware-based decision;[11] theNintendo 64 Game Pakcartridges were more expensive thanCD-ROMs, but they loaded data instantly and were thus more conducive foraction games such as this. However, TreasureCEO Masato Maegawa said that development for the Nintendo 64 had a harsher learning curve than even theSega Saturn. Other than the special attention required to build a single boss in 3D, the team did not use features specific to the Nintendo 64 hardware.[11]
Treasure's founders had come fromKonami, where they had worked onNintendo Entertainment System games such asCastlevania andContra.[2] They found their development environment restrictive and left to try riskier concepts and to singularly focus on making "great games".[11] In the three years between Treasure's founding andMischief Makers's development, the company released highly regarded games such asGunstar Heroes—known as "one of the definitive16-bit action games"—andDynamite Headdy.[11] An average of 12 people worked onMischief Makers, with up to 15 at times. Though the team was different in composition from that of previous Treasure games, it included the lead programmer and character designer fromGunstar Heroes. Treasure's CEO said that the staff liked to expand into new genres, though primarily in genres where the staff had experience. The company sought to depart from theGunstar Heroesshoot 'em up design, and chose to buildMischief Makers around an original "catching" gameplay mechanic, which became the hardest aspect to implement.[11] While foreign (non-Japanese) games were popular within the company, Treasure's CEO said the company's games did not look "particularly foreign" and could appeal to Japanese audiences.[11]
The game is Treasure's first to have been published byEnix. The publisher sought Treasure for its reputation in the action game genre, and had approached Treasure several times before the Nintendo 64 project surfaced. Treasure CEO Maegawa was already fond of Enix, having applied unsuccessfully to work there as a student.[11] Upon choosing the Nintendo 64, Treasure thought it would be a "good idea" to work with Enix.[11] Similar to how Treasure ended its historic loyalty to theSega Genesis by developingMischief Makers for Nintendo, Enix had just recently ended its historic loyalty to Nintendo by signingDragon Quest VII of itsDragon Quest franchise to Sony. Neither Square or Enix built a "special relationship" with Nintendo specific forMischief Makers's release,[11] though Nintendo was the publisher for Western markets.[12] Prior to Nintendo proposing to publish the game in the West, Enix said it had no plans to release it outside Japan.[13] When its English localization finished ahead of schedule, the North American release date was advanced two weeks.[5]
Mischief Makers was the only game displayed at the Enix booth at the April 1997 Tokyo Game Show.[14] It was later demonstrated at the 1997Electronic Entertainment Expo[12] and released in Japan on June 27, 1997,[15] the United States on October 1,[2], in Europe on December 12,[16] and in Australia in 1998.[17] Its Japanese title isYuke-Yuke Trouble Makers, orGo-Go Trouble Makers.[11] Near the Japanese launch, Treasure announced that it would continue to develop for the Nintendo 64 with the Japan-onlyBakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh, which was released in September and later introduced to North America asBangai-O.[18]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 73%[19] |
| Metacritic | 70/100[20] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame | 3.5/5[8] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 8/10[21] |
| Famitsu | 32/40[22] |
| Game Informer | 7/10[24] |
| GameFan | 95%[23] |
| GameSpot | 6.7/10[10] |
| IGN | 6.2/10[2] |
| N64 Magazine | 90% (JP)[25] 90% (US)[26] |
| Next Generation | 3/5[27] |
| Nintendo Life | 8/10[3] |
| Nintendo Power | 6.9/10[4] |
Mischief Makers received "mixed or average reviews", according to video gamereview aggregatorMetacritic,[20] and a "Gold Hall of Fame" score of 32/40 from Japanese magazineFamitsu.[22] Critics praised the inventiveness, personality, "variety", and boss fights,[3][8][10][21][28] and criticized the brevity, low difficulty, lowreplay value,[8][10][24][21] sound,[2][4][10][27] and harsh introductory learning curve.[3][8][21][28] Retrospective reviewers were more positive,[7][29] and multiple reviewers noted Marina's signature "Shake, shake!"sound bite as a highlight.[6][8][21]Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded the game its silver award.[21]
IGN's Matt Casamassina said that the game compensated for its average graphics with excellent level design and gameplay challenges. He added that the puzzles require thought, unlike those in other action games, and that the objectives were not clear until after the first few levels. Casamassina praised the transparency effects,anti-aliasing,mipmapping, and scaling rotations.[2]IGN described anticipation for the game as "tremendous",[12] particularly among the target market of "younger gamers and 2D fans".[5]Nintendo Power said that the game was the best side-scroller sinceSuper Mario World.[4]Next Generation wrote that "only diehard 2D platform fans" would be interested and that the game did not meet standards set bySuper Mario 64.[27] In contrast,GameFan said thatMischief Makers did for 2D whatSuper Mario 64 did for 3D, and suggested thatSega should be influenced.[30]GamePro instead argued that the similarity toMario is superficial, and thatMischief Makers had carved out its own niche with unique gameplay mechanics.[28]GamesRadar retrospectively called it "pure, unadulterated awesome" and "2D brilliance". The website summarized the game as about "grabbing sad-faced aliens, shaking them until gems come out, and then hurling them at other sad-faced aliens".[29] Zachary Miller ofNintendo World Report said that it may be most bizarre and surreal Nintendo 64 game,[6] butGamasutra's John Harris said that the premise is "only strange to people who have never heard of anime".[7]GameFan described the game as "obviously deeply Japanese",[30] where "old school gameplay and 64-bit visuals finally meet".[23]
Hirokazu Hamamura ofFamitsu commended the gameplay for balancing against its poor character design. OtherFamitsu reviewers admired Treasure's signature robot designs and were puzzled by the company's choice to use buttons instead of the 3Danalog stick.[22]Nintendo Life's Jamie O'Neill praised the characters and disliked the controls. He compared the Calina character to the role of Shadow Mario inSuper Mario Sunshine. O'Neill wrote that the intricate controls were "the antithesis of a friendly, approachable, and intuitive platformer" because they used every button on the controller (including thedirectional pad), though he said that players who persevered through the difficult controls would find them "inventive and unique".[3] He added that the complex controls allowed for experimentation that led to new and fun gameplay, and though the throwing enemies mechanic seemed to follow fromGunstar Heroes, the Clanball platforming was unintuitive.[3] John Harris ofGamasutra wrote that the game borrowed other elements fromGunstar Heroes, with similar protagonists, collectible gems, and bosses.[7] Harris also put Marina's "grab" in a lineage of Treasure's signaturecounterattack mechanics (where a player can escape an attack with a well-timed button press), which he extrapolated out to counterattacks inViewtiful Joe andSoul Calibur.[7] As the game took time to learn and understand, O'Neill left the reader to decide whether it was "ultimately convoluted or bordering on sophistication and genius".[3]
Nintendo Life's O'Neill thought the five world bosses were among Treasure's best (in particular, the transforming "Cerberus Alpha" boss), but found the mid-level bosses uninteresting.[3] Peter Bartholow ofGameSpot[10] andElectronic Gaming Monthly's reviewers remarked similarly.Sushi-X ofElectronic Gaming Monthly added that the technique of looking for a boss's weak spot was similar toMetroid.[21]Famitsu reviewers praised how the game encouraged players to experiment with the basic "grab, throw, and shake" gameplay, and praised the cadence of the short levels.[22] O'Neill ofNintendo Life said it had great variety in gameplay mechanics (from maze puzzles to outrunning lava), graphics (from bosses that scale back the screen to levels with screen rotation), and audio (from upbeat quirk to scary), and added that he was surprised that other critics were against the "unique, varied, and dramatic" sound.[3]GamePro also praised the varied stage objectives, and said the "whimsical" music and sound effects worked perfectly with each stage, though found the voice acting overly cutesy.[28] Scott McCall ofAllGame also appreciated the sound, from the voice to the "almost indescribable" music.[8]Gamasutra's John Harris noted its "tremendous variety" in gameplay—from aTrack & Field remake to outrunning a missile barrage—as rare for 2D platformers, and commented that "it is obvious that Treasure poured their hearts into this game".[7]
Peter Bartholow ofGameSpot summarizedMischief Makers as "a good game that will leave players wanting more".[10] He liked the bosses, which made the player use all available skills but said they were short-lived and easily solved in the context of a short game with tutorials as one-fifth of its levels. He did not consider the ending extension a suitable reward for returning to the levels, and predicted that most players would not finish the game more than once.[10]Game Informer echoed Bartholow's comments about the brevity, and named the seven-event Olympics as a highlight.[24] Sushi-X ofElectronic Gaming Monthly wrote that the game seemed incomplete and lamented that "a decent player can finish the game in under three hours",[21] thoughNext Generation said it was "certainly long enough".[27] The game's frequent reuse of a small selection of titles, objects, sound effects, soundtracks, and bland backgrounds (compared to the "impressive" boss battle animations and effects) ledGameSpot's Bartholow to suggest thatMischief Makers was limited by its cartridge space. He concluded that the "decent" game would be "truly excellent ... on another medium".[10] Zachary Miller ofNintendo World Report reported that the graphics did not age well into 2010.[6] Dan Hsu wrote inElectronic Gaming Monthly that the game is "definitely asleeper hit".[21]Hardcore Gamer's Ryan Cartmel said it went "largely unnoticed",[31] andGamePro claimed that it had "[developed] a strong following in Japan".[32]
Video game journalists from sources such asGamesRadar andNintendo World Report citedMischief Makers as suited for reissue either through theNintendo eShop or in a sequel or franchise reboot.[29][33]Retro Gamer placed the "masterpiece of mayhem" 80th on its list of "essential" Nintendo 64 games for its "unbridled quality".[34] In 2009,GamesRadar called it "possibly the most underrated and widely ignored" Nintendo 64 game.[29] In the years since,Retro Gamer reportedMischief Makers as a somewhat rare collectible, with a rarity score of 7/10.[35] The website wrote thatMischief Makers was received poorly because players wanted 3D instead of 2D gameplay in Nintendo 64 games.[29]Gamasutra's John Harris added that those who gave it a "bum rap" missed a "surprisingly clever" game.[7]UGO remembered it as innovative, though imperfect, and asked to see Marina reinterpreted and resurrected in a new game.[36] Marina reappeared as an unlockable character in Treasure's 1999Rakugaki Showtime.[37]
