I really do admire Treasure, the developers of this game.
When they set out to work on Mischief Makers, the Nintendo 64 was pretty much an unknown, and they weren't getting many details on what to expect regarding its power and capabilities, so they chose to stick with a look and feel that could guarantee some stable framerate while building a genuinely good game around it. And once they started developing for the SEGA Saturn and encountered monstrous loading times off a CD? They doubled down on their N64 bid and continued to build this game from the ground up as a pixel-based platformer... one which, ironically, ended up pushing the console all the same due to the way it handles those kinds of graphics.
Mischief Makers is kind of the poster child of the nineties in that sense, and it is a shame that it joined the ranks of games like Strife (a really innovative FPS with RPG elements that was quickly dismissed because it was made on the Doom Engine at a time when Quake 1 was the hottest new thing) because reviewers and the public in general weren't about to forgive its boldness of sticking to a past-gen look and feel when all they cared about was a polygon count, a concept they likely didn't even understand. It also must have been quite shocking for them to find out that the game handled only with the D-Pad at a time when most other offerings on the platform completely sidelined this control in order to focus on both the C-Buttons and the analog stick. In short, it was pretty clear that the game wasn't going to be popular among the then-current generation of gamers.
The biggest strength of this game is its variety -- there are not two levels alike.
And it's a shame, too, because those who chose to give it a fair try actually found a really enjoyable, well-constructed game just waiting for them.
Those dialed-back, colorful graphics worked wonders in representing a world that's just a joy to look at, and guaranteed a steady frame rate that never falters, despite how much stuff is on-screen at any given time (and there's a ton of stuff in there because the game simply can handle it). The controls are also very tight and responsive, only held back somewhat by the Nintendo 64's physical controller, which had been made with a stiff D-Pad, understanding that it was going to take a backseat as games moved onto full-3D environments that could only be realistically handled with an analog controller.
The sound effects are also really good, and the few voice samples that happened to be in there are funny to listen to because, legend has it, the developers just recorded all those lines in a broom closet to keep the costs down and the production going fast. They do sound kinda muffled (which gives credence to this theory), but that doesn't hurt the game at all (and if you believe the theory about the closet, it actually enhances it). This unusual move also managed to speed up the development cycle, resulting in the game actually getting ahead and being completed two weeks before its deadline.
The boss battles require a lot of thought and strategy, but that's precisely what makes them worthwhile. They are a test of skill, as they should be.
We must not fall in the same trap as those gamers and reviewers who trashed the game back then, though! And so we shall forget how good it looks and how funny it sounds and focus on what's really important: the gameplay.
Well... it's amazing.
Tight and responsive controls are one thing, but when combined with the incredible variety of the levels, this one truly does shine. It's almost amazing how many wild ideas made it into the final product, and I'm not ashamed to say that I played this one for hours just to see what kind of curveball the developers would throw at me next. I mean, there's literally a level when you run an Olympics-style marathon, and that one is followed by a (simple) math contest, which happened to take place a few levels after you swung around an amusement part like a drunk Spider-Man looking to show off, and that bordered with a level in which you raced around in a trike after controlling a giant robot. It's as great as it sounds, and a big reason to keep playing.
Even though this isn't a game to really push the N64 (at least not in the traditional way), they really did save those peaks in performance for the right times. The bosses are just a joy to look at and fight against.
Not that you would need any more excuses to keep sinking hours into this one, because the game has a high replayability value due to its true ending being tied to the amount of secret objects you collect. You may have a blast finishing the game like normal, then feel compelled to go back and do it all again just to get the best possible conclusion to the story. You won't find true closure until you have actually done so, but it's not mandatory. It's a tough balancing act for sure, but the developers just managed it.
The story of the game largely doesn't matter, unfortunately (and it's actually almost an excuse to link together the seemingly random events that compose it), but I will say that it works well as a way of setting up your character and her gameplay mechanics. Because, you see... Marina Liteyears isn't a ninja, a commando or anything like that -- she's a robot maid, and so her powers are limited to those she'd use in her normal profession. She doesn't suddenly become a killing machine after her master had been kidnapped, and tackles every task with her own skill set, which consists on grabbing, shaking, tossing and combining objects in order to interact with the world around her and the many creatures that inhabit it. This works really nicely because the game would be too easy if you could just tank a ton of damage or blast your way through every scenario, so having Marina's powers and abilities that limited actually encourages strategizing and keeps the player sharp and in the game, particularly as many levels are built around the concept that you can't take that much damage or need to really put your abilities to good use in order to solve them. This one simply wouldn't work with any other character, and I find it commendable that the devs crafted something so unique whilst respecting their own rules to this degree at the same time.
One thing I absolutely love about the game are its bosses and NPCs.
The NPCs are fun to talk to and are often key in finding solutions to the many puzzles that plague the entire thing, whilst the bosses are great to look at and challenging to take down, requiring a lot of practice and carefully-planned execution in order to defeat them after a certain point in the game. They are interesting and keep the game feeling fresh through the frequency in which you face them (not too often as to result annoying and not too rarely as to make you forget that they are even there). Some can be wrecked in a matter of seconds, whilst others would keep you in your toes, begging for the final blow to land so you can be done with them. It's amusing (although a little frantic) and I had fun fighting with many of them, particularly after learning their patterns and what the game actually wanted me to do with them.
I have praised this one a lot, and it has been deserved but... are there any negatives? Yes.
For starters, some levels feel like they were thrown in there just to fill a slot and pad the game out. It's not too often that you'd encounter a stage that just feels like it doesn't belong, but it's very noticeable when it happens. There's also the problem that the game loves to fake you out once it looks like the adventure is finally drawing to a close and that all your hard work is finally going to pay-off... seriously, the professor needs to either give Marina a gun or hire a bodyguard. He gets kidnapped more frequently than Princess Peach, and it's less amusing after you have gone through your favorite podcast already just for this guy to be taken away once again.
The game can get a little repetitive, though. It's certainly not perfect.
And, of course, there's the random difficulty that plagues some of the later levels of the game. Some, you'd blast your way through with ease and others would make you want to tear up your hair in frustration (one particular boss battle took me no less than thirteen tries to beat because of how quickly he destroyed me after the start of the encounter, requiring me to abuse save states for the first and only time in the adventure just to stand a fighting chance).
Those are nitpicks, though.
I'm sure it shows by now, but Mischief Makers is actually my favorite game on the N64, and one I wish there would be more like. It didn't blow me away like Banjo-Kazooie, didn't surprise me like Daikatana 64, nor was it so easy to pick up and play as to become instantly addicting like Pilotwings 64, but it did so many things right that I just kept coming back for more at a point when my time for playing games was already far limited due to the fact that I had two kids to take care of and needed to double down my efforts in order to keep them fed and clothed. In a way, this one became my escape from the jaws of adulthood and actually helped me blaze through my enormous backlog of podcast episodes as I tried to beat each and every section. It's probably what kept me sane during my first steps into the wonderful world of fatherhood.
I obviously recommend the game to anyone willing to play a true hidden gem on a system that isn't likely to get many people excited for digging into the deeper parts of its library, but I specially recommend it to those of us who aren't fortunate enough to own an actual N64, because Mischief Makers is one of the few games on the system that doesn't freak out when it comes to emulation and actually remains playable throughout the whole thing, something that can't be taken for granted with this console.
This is actually the first N64 game to be reviewed on the site, and I honestly can't think of a better one to start off.
Enjoy!
Pros
- + Beautiful graphics and sound effects.
- + Addicting gameplay.
- + Unique mechanics.
- + A charming world.
- + A really fun cast of characters.
Cons
- - Can get a little repetitive.
- - Almost random difficulty at spots.
- - Doesn't have any multiplayer options.
- - Cutscenes a little crude.
- - Some baffling stylistic choices.
8
Gameplay
8
Graphics
5
Story
7
Sound
10
Replayability
9
out of 10
Overall
Mischief Makers is what every platformer should aim to be: addicting, fun, fast-paced and just weird enough to leave a lasting impression on its players. It's interesting to imagine what the Nintendo 64 would have accomplished if it had more games like it in its library.
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