GENRE
	Platform
	DEVELOPER
	Treasure
	PUBLISHER
	Nintendo
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONTROLLER PAK
	yes
	RUMBLE PAK
	no
	RAM PAK
	no
	BUY NOW AT

On a platform where the notion of 2-D is pratically dea, this comes as as breath of fresh air. Not only is it 2-D but it is also imaginative and original. Basicaly you are a house maid saving trying to rescue you kidnapped professor. This pretext sets the action for the main game.

Visually, Mischief Makers incorporates stunning background locations with foreground sprites. The sprites of the central characters are a bit pixilated, but its hardly noticable during play. The backgrounds are smooth and sharp and very imppressive. but the most striking thing about the graphics is the imagination. Each level (there are five in total ) roughly sticks to the staple patformer diet of grass, ice , sand ,etc. But the foregroung settings are brilliantly imaginative-a bizzare, alien theme park , an underground shrine , a military base - and really improve the more sedate sections of the game,i.e jumping , talking,etc. It certainly makes a refreshing change from Banjo's desert/ice/grass worlds.

visuals

The audio in the game is not realy technically proficient (at all). But the tunes are pleasant and suit the japanese feel to the game. More importantly , it fits the mood of the levels.

audio

The gameplay is fresh and imaganitive. Although some say the controls are complicated- they are actually pretty simple , if obscure. Each action takes, at the most, a quick press of the d-pad along with one of the central buttons to perform. The moves include shaking and throwing (told you they were obscure.)

gameplay

The game is split between action and puzzle solving , and each level brings something unexpected. Some of the set-pieces include freefalling through an underground shrine, fleeing from a giant ostrich(!), escaping from an earthquake,partcipating in a mini olympics and guiding an out-of-control-missile. Every so often you will come across one of the games' several impressive bosses which require several stages of fighting and also intuition.

multiplayer

N/A

overall

This game will certainly last a while . Once you've completed the game , you will need to collect gold jems from every level to see the outcome of the story line ( which, without giving too much away, includes an assasination plot and a family conspiracy.) Once again , these gems will require intuition and persistance if you want to get all of them . The hardest are on the boss stages, where you will have to kill the bosses without getting hit AT ALL.

Overall, i would say that Mischief Makers is one of the best platformers on the N64 , and well worth buying, especially for those jaded by racing titles and bet-em 'ups.

9.0/10