Sunsoft's absolute masterpiece on Famicom. Mr. Gimmick throws stars with staggeringly precise physics. Incredible visuals and music. One of the greatest 8-bit games ever created.
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Category
Platformer1 player7+
Description
European version of Gimmick! featuring Yumetaro and his unique bouncing ball physics. Published by Sunsoft, released in Europe in 1992. Yumetaro throwing a bouncing star to attack, smooth and precise movement physics and creative bosses. European version of Sunsoft's NES technical masterpiece.
Mr. Gimmick review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
A technical feat signed by Masashi Kageyama, the soundtrack exploits an expansion chip that multiplies the NES's sonic capabilities. From the cheerful "Good Morning" to the most inventive themes, each track reaches a mind-boggling richness. This achievement, long confidential, is now celebrated as an absolute peak of the console.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Launching a bouncing star and exploiting its physics to clear obstacles underpins a platformer of rare finesse and rigor for the machine. The subtle handling of that projectile rewards mastery. Beautifully animated, this overlooked gem retains an ingenious level design and a tactile playability that still amaze the connoisseurs.
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Engaging"
Difficulty
"Punishing"
Behind its cute looks hides one of the Famicom's trickiest platformers: the physics of the star the hero throws demands formidable finesse, between calculated bounces and delicate trajectories. Pixel-perfect precision and memorizing the levels lead to the true ending, reserved for experts. Adorable and merciless, it has become a holy grail for collectors.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
A very late European PAL NES edition of Sunsoft's 'Gimmick!', released in microscopic quantities on the Scandinavian market only. One of the most expensive NES PAL CIBs in the world, regularly clearing several thousand euros in clean shape. Physical scarcity is extreme, and the Sunsoft 5B chip aura combined with the Scandinavian print make it a mythic piece. Authenticated boxed CIB is an absolute grail of European NES collecting.
An underrated gem
A cult favorite among connoisseurs, this Sunsoft platformer is built on bouncing-ball physics of rare finesse, elevated by one of the most beautiful soundtracks on the NES. Its near-invisible release long kept it the preserve of the initiated. Demanding but rewarding, it's a high point of the genre for persistent players.
Is Mr. Gimmick still worth playing in 2026?
Mr. Gimmick is the Japanese title of Gimmick!, Sunsoft's absolute Famicom masterpiece. Mr. Gimmick throws stars with stunningly precise physics, across levels of rare demand but constant fairness. The graphics and music are extraordinary, the title pushes Sunsoft's proprietary sound chip to never-matched heights. One of the greatest 8-bit games ever made, rare and pricey but recently rediscovered via emulation and rereleases. An absolute peak.
