Publisher Bitwave Games and Developer City Connection announced the enhanced re-release of the classic Famicom/NES title Gimmick! Special Edition on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on July 6, 2023.
Developed by Sunsoft in 1992, Gimmick! was exclusively released on the Famicom/NES in Japan and (rather strangely) Scandinavia only, causing original physical cartridges to blow up in prices throughout time due to the unusual rarity outside of the two countries. Now, for the first time, North American players can feel the excitement of popping Gimmick! into their console for the first time—newly enhanced in Gimmick! Special Edition.
Gimmick! takes players on a physics-based adventure in the boots of Yumetaro, a cute horned blob-shaped youkai that wields star-summoning powers. While simple on the surface, the game challenges players with complex physics-influenced puzzles and platforming that see Yumetaro bouncing off floors and walls alike, to traverse danger atop his star-shaped mount.
While Gimmick! Special Edition will initially launch as a digital-only title, the announcement outlines that a physical version of the game will be coming for Switch and PS4 later this year at a currently unknown date. The developers have also stated that an Xbox version is planned but will be available “at a later date”.
▍Gimmick! Special Edition Release Date Trailer
▍New Features in Gimmick! Special Edition
The newly realized port to modern consoles sees loads of quality-of-life features that enhance the old-school challenging gameplay for modern players.
■Rewind and Quick Load
Snap into the action with the all-new rewind function that allows you to roll back any mistakes made in the game’s countless deathly platforming sections. The new save and reload function also means you don’t have to beat the entire game in one sitting.
■A Full Compendium of All things Gimmick!
The trailer revealed that the special edition will feature a holistic art and music gallery that features previously rare art materials such as scans of the original manual for the Famicom and NES releases of the game.
The game also includes a Music Sampler function, where players can listen to the full soundtrack of Gimmick composed by Masashi Kageyama on the then-cutting edge SunSoft 5B custom sound chip that pushed the possible sound channel output on the console to its limit, creating the impressive soundscape that is the game’s OST.
■Challenges in and out of the game
Finally, the trailer also revealed that the game will feature newly added achievement challenges, alongside an online leaderboard that lists the high score and total time taken on each successful run of a level.
The game also now features a full-blown time attack mode, that will display your total time and time splits for each level cleared in the left border, with your best time set off to the right. The online leaderboard will also record times for any time attack attempts, beseeching players to reach for the fastest clears.
