Review danksocks 4/5 · Jul 16, 2024
The Weirdest Game on the N64
Alright, that might be a little hyperbolic, but it's not obviously wrong to say that Mischief Makers is the strangest game on the system. It is so, so different from the games that immediately come to mind when you think of the N64. It's a 2D platformer on a console that is best known for its 3D platforming gems. Its …
Alright, that might be a little hyperbolic, but it's not obviously wrong to say that Mischief Makers is the strangest game on the system. It is so, so different from the games that immediately come to mind when you think of the N64. It's a 2D platformer on a console that is best known for its 3D platforming gems. Its art design is cute but foreign, almost like if you asked an alien to come up with a Saturday morning Kids WB cartoon that would come on right after Beyblade but before that weird 3D Kirby show (does anyone remember that or am I making it up?). Even the way the game utilizes the N64 controller is different from basically every other popular title you can think of.
It somehow works.
Now, it may take a second or two for it to click. Getting used to the controls comes naturally with time so long as you're willing to be a little patient. The grabbing and throwing of objects being the main gameplay mechanic will require you to temporarily rewire your brain from the classic mode of jumping on an enemy to kill it. There is also a decent amount of difficult stages and bosses, and getting all 53 gold gems is no easy feat either, one I have yet to accomplish at least.
But once you're there, once you're at the top of your game bouncing effortlessly between clanballs, grabbing missiles and tossing them back at enemies, realizing a little too late for someone your age that double tapping the d-pad lets you boost faster than just mashing the c-buttons, once you have figured it out, Mischief Makers becomes not just another weird game that sits in the back of your mind somewhere between your childhood Beyblade collection and that one time you stayed up late and caught a few minutes of Robot Chicken, but something a little bit more altogether.
Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my second ever playthrough of this game. When a game has me replaying boss levels after the credits have rolled, that's when I know I've found a gem.
