Update #2 [Tue 9th May, 2023 14:30 BST]: It's been a while, but Bitwave Games has announced that Gimmick! Special Edition, originally published by Sunsoft on NES in Japan and Scandinavia in original, non-Special Edition form, will be landing on Switch (and other platforms) on 6th July 2023.
A new trailer (above) shows off some of the new features, and Bitwave also confirms that a physical edition will be available at some point "later in the year" on both Switch and PS4.
Update #1 [Thu 18th Aug, 2022 13:15 BST]: Developer Bitwave Games has confirmed that Gimmick! will be launching on the Nintendo Switch later this year under the title of Gimmick! Special Edition.

The release will come with some bonus quality-of-life features, including save and load functions, a rewind feature, a time-attack mode, gallery mode, achievements, and more.
It's also been confirmed that the game will indeed feature at Sunsoft's upcoming showcase, due to start at 1:00 PM PDT / 9 PM BST later today. The game will also be playable on the show floor at gamescom later this month, followed by Tokyo Game Show in September.
You can check out the official Bitwave Games website right now for more details on the upcoming release.
Original Article [Thu 18th Aug, 2022 10:30 BST]:
Earlier today, The Embracer Group announced a string of new acquisitions, including the likes of Limited Run Games, Tripwire Interactive, and the IP rights to J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
In additon, it also announced the formation of its 11th operating group known as Embracer Freemode, led by CEO Lee Guinchard, with a view to provide operational and financial support to small - mid tier game developers. To support this, Embracer announced the acquisition of several entities, including Japanese studio Tatsujin, Swedish studio Bitwave Games, and the accessory brand Gioteck.
In acquiring Tatsujin, which itself now owns the rights to Toaplan games like Snow Bros and Flying Shark, Embracer Freemode will be looking to bring these classic title to modern platforms and new audiences.
Perhaps most interestingly, however, Embracer announced that Bitwave Games will be looking to bring the classic NES/Famicom platformer Gimmick! to the west on modern platforms. It will mark the first instance the notoriously difficult game will be made officially available in North America. Previously, it was only available in Japan in 1992 before making its way to countries in the Scandinavian region in 1993, where it was known as 'Mr. Gimmick'. It was re-released in Japan in 2002 for the PlayStation, before getting a remake for the exA-Arcadia arcade system in 2020.
Gimmick! originally released to little fanfare, with critics claiming the game would be far too difficult for younger audiences to appreciate. In more recent years, however, retrospective analysis has deemed the title to be incredibly underrated, with many praising its graphics and unique level design.
It's currently not known exactly when Gimmick! will launch for modern platforms, but Sunsoft — the original publisher of Gimmick! — is showcasing a digital event later today, so we may find out more there.
Are you excited at the prospect of a previously unavailable NES title finally getting an official western release? Have you played Gimmick! before? Let us know with a comment.
[source embracer.com]
Comments 54
Let's wait and see what Sunsoft's announcements are I guess. I'd like to see the 2020 arcade version, as that's something actually new, but if we just got the FC original, that'd be fine as well.
It's my favourite NES/FC game of all.
I'd like to see a brand new Gimmick! game as well, but maybe that's just a little too much wishful thinking.
The Image above, makes it look like Kirby but green instead of pink.
i'm not much of an NES/SNES Guy, but the gameplay looks promising though.
Wowie. This is really impressive by NES standards. I'll keep an eye out.
Wow, that's some nice graphics and music for a NES game. Be nice if they put it on NSO Nes app!
I love it when a game uses clay and dioramas to create their key art!
One of the most expensive European NES games, just because it was exclusive to us here in Scandinavia.
Looks brilliant especially for NES generation
wow this actually looks kinda good for an nes game. If it someohow comes out on switch, I would play it
Quite interested I must say, old school Sunsoft is always a blast if only for the soundtrack. In my short lived foray into collecting classic NES games I did learn about this game and seem to recall seeing it commanding some pretty ridicuous prices.
Yes, finally! Gimmick looks so cool!
I’ve been wanting to play it since I first saw it on one of the GDQ events many years ago
Gimmick! for Evercade!
It's a fabulous game, so I look forward to any kind of official release.
@Aozz101x I thought the same thing. I’m not familiar with this game but by the name and image, I thought this would be a game where you play as various popular game character knockoffs.
And it does look good. I would like to try it.
I am getting some Mega Man vibes.
Definitely feels like a Kirby X MegaMan. I dig it.
I have seen several GDQ speedruns of this game and both the game and runs are awesome!
Great game with top-notch presentation!
This game is SO HARD. I'm used with 8/16 bits games, but this one is a big piece. The true ending is a really big challenge, but obviously it's too much.
It is good looking, but far away from the best Sunsoft games.
I remember passing up when the Famicom cart was like $90, in like 2010, and missing a listing for even the 2002 PS1 rerelease (where it was bundled with Battle Formula, aka Super Spy Hunter, another game which has become famously expensive at least in its Japanese form), for which the next copy I saw was of course crazy priced.
One of only a couple games I have ever bought a repro of. Normally, I go for originals, and if I can't buy an original at a fair price, then I'd ROM it.
@NKR I have not played more than a couple levels in, but I assume Gimmick! is difficult from challenging game design, and not hard from awful design/programming as most "hard" 8-bit games are?
MY WISH HAS CAME TRUE
Oh sweet! I've heard about this game from speedruns, so it's really cool to hear that it's getting an official western release! I'll definitely pick this up
I'm just now finding out about this game, and I've been as sunsoft fan since I was a child. I've played all of the Blaster Master games, and even have Ufouria: The Saga. I definitely want in on this one. I wonder if there are other NES gems from them that I missed out on.
@KingMike
I think Gimmick!'s level design is fun and challenging in a good way, for the most part.
There are unfortunately a few cheap traps that you can't know to avoid your first time playing - I'm specifically thinking about a falling stone in level 3 that hits you before the screen has even finished transitioning over... ...but it's by no means a frequent problem with the game.
Most of the difficulty is pure platforming challenges, with tight jumps and obstacles to avoid. And it's really satisfying to use your star in inventive ways to overcome the challenges.
@KingMike Challenging game design, indeed. But the weapon is a star you need to manage in order to 1/ defeat the enemies 2/ reach some high areas. This is really difficult and, from my opinion, a bad conception in the game. The star is your best friend but so less user friendly, I feel it awful.
@NKR
I have to disagree - I think the star is the key that makes the game amazing. There's so much skill and nuance to the way the star bounces, you can make crazy trickshots with it to hit enemies, and because you can also stand on top of it, you can use those trickshots to traverse the stage with a high degree of freedom, if you master using it. It's so much fun to play around with.
Always wanted to play this
YES!!! When I heard about the Sunsoft event coming up, I was hopeful that a Gimmick re-release or remaster would be in the cards. This is really fantastic! It's one of the most technically-impressive NES and Famicom games.
I imagine it will get a physical release, too, since Limited Run is part of the company now.
GameCenter CX had a great episode where Arino plays this game; it was my introduction to the game and how crazy difficult it looks.
Give it a watch sometime: https://www.sa-gccx.com/episode/mr-gimmick
Cool, quite nice that they gave this a proper release instead of just dumping it into the dumb rental service.
I run a weekly retro video game poll on Reddit. For the Top 100 Games of the NES/Master System Era, 4 Sunsoft-developed games have made the list so far:
1.) Batman: The Video Game
2.) Blaster Master
3.) Journey to Silius
4.) Gimmick! / Mr. Gimmick
I've heard Gimmick! described as:
One more step closer to a official release of little Samson! This game is awesome. I picked it up off ebay before the whole retro game craze took off. Got mr gimmick for about 20 bucks back in 2004!
It's... green Kirby.
YAYYY Gimmick! My number one favourite NES/Famicom game of all. It's so detailed and good and precious!
Glad it's got a release date now!
I thought M2 owned Flying Shark and Snow Brothers?
Still a shame it couldn't be a port of the EXA-Arcadia version, but I get it. No EXA games are ever getting console ports.
Blaster Master is on NSO...I wish this would be as well.
Great news! At some point I feel like I've played Gimmick a little, and it was old-school challenging despite the cute looks.
I'll keep an eye out for the physical release for sure.
Sunsoft is one of my favorite developers back in the day. I’m happy to get this, trip world, and ufouria all for the switch.
Gimmick is one of the few NES games I'd accurately describe as a true "hidden gem". One of the very best games from both a technical and gameplay perspective, and I never hear anyone talk about it... except Pat Contri who mentions it every now and again.
Also, for those unaware, just a loose cart will cost you around $500 for a Famicom version, or $1000++ for the PAL cart. I saw a cart only copy priced at £1750 ata convention recently, dunno if it sold for that though! No idea what a boxed version would run for but I shudder to think. I'm pretty sure it was never officially released in the States but there are plenty of cheap bootleg repros which often include "sequels" which are just romhacks.
I saw a physical listing was on Play-Asia a while ago, but with the Embracer Group situation and Limited Run Games recently taking pre-orders for Trip World + Trip World DX, Gimmick here is likely going to get an LRG physical release.
I'm also wondering if LRG's Japanese operation Super Deluxe Games will handle the Asia release.
Ufouria: The Saga / Hebereke was also shown off in a Sunsoft presentation recently, so I think that's something to look out for in the future.
@Atariboy I don’t think M2 owns any of the Toaplan properties. They were just hired to develop the new console ports.
I remember when I was passing up Famicom carts at "only" $90.
The game was also ported to the PS1, and I'm sure that when I had to pass up a copy offered at like $140, even that would probably be considered cheap these days.
@samuelvictor It was also ported to the PS1, bundled with Battle Formula (Super Spy Hunter, another game notoriously expensive for its Japanese version). That version undoubtedly commands a high price these days too (no idea about the port quality). I think it was also a pretty late release, over a year after the other "Sunsoft Memorial" two-pack Famicom ports.
@KingMike Oh that's cool, I had no idea! I remember bootleg NES emulators for the original Playstation, I didn't know there were official games that did that too. Sony is probably the side of the 90s console history I know the least about, as I was mostly a Sega and Nintendo kid... only getting into PS1 later for very specific titles I wanted, but not having read all the magazines etc at the time like I did for the other 2 companies. Always fun to find a new fact! Thanks
Its a difficult game. especially getting the proper ending. When i was buying famicom games it was going for around 700 and change USD. recently I seen a tag of 1569 USD converted.
And that is why I stopped at 756 famicom games. haha
I'd never heard of it, looks solid! Comes out on my birthday too
That is soooo cute! Reminds me a bit of Kirby's Adventure and the dinosaurs from Adventure Island. Looks like fun too, I've never heard of it.
This game is awesome. I have to purchase it just to show love to this gem.
Well, I'll be grabbing the physical I reckon. Looks fab ^^
Yes! A game to look forward to
That's good news. Always wanted to give the original a go, but never found it worthwhile to fork over the money asked.
I love Sunsoft, and I like the look of the game, but it looks pretty challenging. I'll have to check out some more footage and maybe a review.
@Doctor-Moo M2 is developing and self-publishing them, so they're not going it for another company that has hired them.
I guess they must've just licensed these and I misconstrued all the news that said they had "acquired the rights to rerelease" them as meaning they now owned this IP?
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