Gimmick! 2 Review (eShop Conversion)
It can be said that Trick! 2 was a sequel that wasn’t on many people’s radar before its surprise announcement in June 2024. Predecessor 1992A classic gem and Sunsoft’s version of the mascot platform game, it is hailed as one of the rarest games for the Famicom/NES due to its limited release in Japan and, oddly enough, Sweden.
It certainly impressed Gothenburg-based Bitwave Games, the studio behind the 2022 release. Gimmick! Special Edition — a re-release of the famously difficult original for modern consoles — and its unexpected sequel. Not only The Story Behind the Revival of IP It was fun, but we’re happy to report that Gimmick 2 has reached and even surpassed the previous 8-bit version.
Bitwave’s sequel stays true to the original while still creating its own identity with a modern hand-drawn visual style, refined control scheme, and improved level design. It also makes extensive use of checkpoints and infinity that continue to encourage players to “play one more time” to overcome the many difficult challenges.
Gimmick 2 may seem like a light-hearted, kid-friendly outing thanks to its colorful world and adorable green mascot, Yumetaro, but make no mistake, this game is hard, and reaching the “true ending” requires mastering its main physics mechanic, the star throwing mechanic. At the same time, it’s accessible enough to test your mettle without being overly frustrating.
The story is set up without a single line of dialogue, with the player quickly thrust into a magical world to rescue a young girl kidnapped by an evil wizard. Yumetaro’s moveset remains incredibly simple, consisting of moving, jumping, and summoning a star projectile, which acts as a versatile tool for solving puzzles, defeating enemies, and timing moves. Learning how to use the star properly is crucial to progression, and trial and error is essential. When thrown, the star bounces around with realistic physics, meaning the player will have to skillfully throw it against surfaces to activate otherwise inaccessible switches, and figure out how to use it as a platform to access collectibles, cosmetic items, and well-hidden secrets.
Once you get used to the controls and the game’s approach to momentum, Gimmick 2 feels incredibly smooth. The game is generally fast-paced despite Yumetaro’s lack of sprinting abilities. You gain speed by taking advantage of sloping terrain to clear gaps, allowing you to easily take out groups of enemies by sliding, rather than bouncing, your bullets.
Gimmick 2 excels at presenting complex problems with simple – albeit not easy – solutions. Its six worlds are meticulously designed with spikes to avoid, pipes to enter, platforms to activate, and bosses to destroy. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, sequences involving running away from a giant snowball and hitching a ride on a whale add a refreshing unpredictability to the outing.
Players can switch difficulty settings on the fly with a more friendly “Assist” mode or a “Gimmick!” mode that stays true to the original with fewer health points, narrower platforms, and more frequent enemy encounters. With skill and practice, the game can be completed in about 90 minutes, but a first-timer can easily take 3 to 4 hours or more to complete if you include exploration and experimentation.
To be clear, “Assist” mode is not “Easy” mode. While it doesn’t reduce the game’s difficulty, it’s a better mode for capturing the finesse needed to overcome the game’s many challenges while providing a buffer against the perceived frustration of “cheap deaths,” preparing players for future replays, the fast-paced, masterful runs that Gimmick 2 was clearly built for.
The game boasts a well-polished presentation with a clean hand-drawn art style reminiscent of Cut the Rope and a soothing soundtrack from former Rare musician David Wise, which adds atmosphere and immersion without being annoying, an important design element since repetitive music can get annoying when trying a musical sequence multiple times.
While early Steam reviews have pointed out some lag issues, Gimmick 2 controls flawlessly on Switch, and we only encountered minor frame rate drops here and there occasionally, nothing that negatively impacted our playthrough. Overall, it’s a polished and smooth title, with no loading times or death penalties, sending players back to the last checkpoint to try again.
While we didn’t encounter any major issues or complaints, it would have been nice to have more variety in the enemies. Some people are divided on the game’s art style; we found it well done, though understandably not to everyone’s liking. The only barrier to a wide recommendation is that a “higher than normal” skill cap is required to complete the game.
Conclusion
Gimmick! 2 is an easy recommendation for fans of the classic platformer and a no-brainer for those who love the original. Its cute, laid-back feel hides a treasure trove of super-hard but well-crafted challenges that can be overcome with practice, precision, and patience. What’s clear is the sheer reverence that developer Bitwave Games has for the source material. Let’s dispel any notion that this is a retro cash-in; this is the sequel that this underrated, ahead-of-its-time NES classic always deserved.
