A lot of people have nostalgy for games from Sunsoft and I can see why. However, for me it was never the case. I did play Blaster Master and perhaps Batman on NES a bit as a kid, but the only game of theirs I’ve played a lot was their PS1 Hard Edge/T.R.A.G. (which I do love). So, seeing the company return to making games recently and re-releasing their old classics on their own or through other companies wasn’t a big deal to me. I was curious, however, since some of their games are considered cult classics.
Two of such titles were re-released over the past two years in the new format that emulates the original NES game, but with cool quality of life editions and bonuses. These are Hebereke Enjoy Edition (known as Ufouria: The Saga in the European and Australasian release on NES) and Gimmick! Special Edition (also known as Mr. Gimmick in Scandinavian NES release). Which I was glad to finally play, because I don’t ever want to play them again.
Both of these games were originally released on NES/Famicom (in 1991 and 1992 respectively) and this new release is a result of a fancy emulation repackaging. Games now have an ability to rewind and use save states, original box art and manuals for all regional releases were scanned and included, there’s a separate mode for speedrunning in each game and you can also unlock achievements. Hebereke is presented in its original Japanese version without the changes to the visual style and story that the Ufouria version had. However, it is also fully in Japanese, with the translation to all of the cutscenes and dialogue presented as a separate menu which does include the Ufouria translation for the sake of comparison.
Anyways, onto the games themselves.
Hebereke is a very curious exploration focused action adventure platformer that has a huge interconnected world. Despite additionally having new characters, unlockable special abilities and key items to find, all of which get you access to previously unavailable areas, the game doesn’t quite fit the mold of a metroidvania or a Maze of Galious-like title and instead feels a bit closer to a typical adventure platformer title like Dizzy. It has plenty of action too, though, with the enemies dropping special popoon items that can then be picked up and thrown. Which is how you usually go through boss fights that range from extremely simple, to barely fair in the worst early 90s NES game fashion. Still, the game has incredibly unique in its silliness, visual style and a catchy soundtrack.
Sadly, some of the features of the Enjoy edition (like the dialogue translations) don’t seem to be working correctly right now, but the game is still being patched. Ultimately, while I did like going through Hebereke, I doubt I would’ve done it without the rewind and saves of the Enjoy Edition. And I doubt I will ever want to play the game again.
As for Gimmick!, despite it’s wonderfully colourful look and adorable character designs, it’s an unforgiving platformer that mixes puzzle and precise platforming with some light combat and emphasizes inertia. The game is full of surprising details and ideas. Every level has completely unique one-off moments and characters, the main combat mechanic is also a potential movement mechanic and the game does some things that weren’t common during the era and are almost reminiscent of the immersive sim approach. About that combat mechanic – you generate and throw a big star that bounces around the world with expected inertia. It cannot be generated again until the existing one disappears. And it can also carry you if you happen to jump on it or it “catches” you in a specific way. It’s really cool if not for the fact that it’s also unreliable, frustrating to pull off and in most times where it’s required (either for a secret good ending path or just for progress), failing to do it correctly leads to death.
Though not even that is my biggest problem with the game. Rather, it’s the amount of “gotcha” moments it has. You can get damaged or killed immediately upon entering a new screen, there are traps (some of which instantly kill you) everywhere that are often hard to avoid unless you know they are there, some bosses have extremely particular ways you can damage them that are not even always obvious… And on top of that, to get the “true” ending of the game, you have to get all of the extremely tough to get secrets and do it without using a single “continue”. This approach to “difficulty” was transferred even to this Special Edition, where the ability to save state or rewind is only available in the Normal mode of the game, which also doesn’t give you any achievements. Because only the true hardcore gamers can get those, I guess. I can see some people enjoying this title, but for me it was a frustrating experience and I’d never want to play this game again.