Gimmick!

Gimmick! (ギミック!) is a platformer developed and published by Sunsoft. It originally released for the Family Computer on January 31, 1992, and was later released on the Nintendo Entertainment System exclusively in Scandinavia on May 19, 1993 as Mr. Gimmick.

Plot
Famicom manual transcription 年の数のろうそくがケーキの上でゆれています. 今日は女の子の誕生日. いつも仕事で忙しくていないお父さんが今日1日はいてくれます. 久しぶりに家族3人が揃うのが女の子にとって誕生日よりも楽しみなのでした. 「誕生日おめでとう」女の子はうれしそうにちょっと笑ってプレゼントの箱をあけてみました.

ゆめたろーがお店のぬいぐるみを売っているフロアを歩いている時、 プレゼントを買いに来たお父さんが店員に案内されて、そこにやって来ました. あわてたゆめたろーはぬいぐるみの山に隠れました. そこにはゆめたろーそっくりのピンクのぬいぐるみがいっぱい積まれていたのです. ちょうどそこでお父さんは足を止めました. そして、ゆめたろーを手に取ってしまったのです. ぬいぐるみのふりを続けていたゆめたろーは、リボンをかけた箱に入れられ女の子の家までやってきたのです.

女の子はゆめたろーをとっても気に入り、部屋にだいて帰ると、女の子を見つめる視線がありました. あまりにゆめたろーばかり可愛がるので、今まで毎年ひとつづつもらったぬいぐるみたちは自分達は もう愛されることはないのかも知れないという不安を感じずにはいられませんでした.

ある夜、突然ぬいぐるみたちが動き出し、他の空間へ女の子をつれていってしまったのです. 一人たんすの上に残されたゆめたろーは、ぬいぐるみたちの行った空間に女の子を捜しに行きました.

When Yumetaro is in a store that sells stuffed animals, a father looking for a present walks in. Yumetaro hides in a pile of stuffed animals, and the father picks him up and brings him back as a birthday present for his young daughter. The girl really likes Yumetaro, so much so that the other stuffed animals that she's received feel worried that they may never be loved again. One night, the stuffed animals suddenly started moving, and took the girl to another dimension, and Yumetaro goes to find her.

Gameplay
The player controls Yumetaro (renamed to Mr. Gimmick in the NES version) as he traverses a land in search of his owner. There are seven stages. Yumetaro dies on contact with water, pits, or spikes. Yumetaro has the ability to create bouncing star-shaped projectiles, and can stand on enemies. He takes damage upon other contact with enemies, and can refill his health gauge by picking up health potions. By picking up other types of potions, he can change the type of projectile he can create, such as a star he can stand on, or a bomb that flies in a high arc but doesn't bounce. At the end of each stage, Yumetaro fights a boss, which can only be defeated by use of the aforementioned projectiles.

Release
Gimmick! was released in Japan on January 31, 1992 for the Famicom, with plans to bring the game over to North America on the NES. However, the North American release would be cancelled by Sunsoft of America citing that the characters were "too strange or quirky" for the American market. The game would eventually release in Scandinavia as Mr. Gimmick on May 19, 1993. The game would not see a rerelease until 2002 for the PlayStation where it was featured in Memorial Series: Sunsoft Vol. 6. The game would see a release on modern platforms on July 6, 2023 under the name 'Gimmick! Special Edition'.

Legacy
While initially given lackluster reviews, Gimmick! would slowly build a cult following years later and is widely considered an all time classic of 8-bit gaming with its impressive visuals and music.