News beloved 2d famicom platformer "gimmick!" is finally getting re-released on July 6th

[Krvavi Abadas]

...and it was inexplicably buried in the numerous press releases embracer group made about their recent acquistions.

Freemode also acquired Bitwave Games, a Swedish studio with passion for retro games. With the backing of Freemode, Bitwave can expand the internal development team and build a publishing team. Bitwave will bring the highly regarded shoot ’em up games from Toaplan to PC and publish the NES/Famicom classic platformer Gimmick! on console and modern consoles in the west.

i'm assuming it was supposed to be revealed at the sunsoft event announced a few days ago, but wow.

this game has had the most utterly bizarre release history. while it was mainly japan-only, there was an extremely limited release of it in scandinavia of all places.
then it got a remake, which would be reasonable on it's own. but it was exclusive to arcades....

in 2020.

somehow the most normal re-release it had was on playstation 1 in 2002, but even that is somewhat unusual for bundling the game with super spy hunter of all things.

---

anyways, it'll be interesting to see which version they'll go with. is it an emulated build of the original famicom game, a normal port of the remake, or a collection containing both?

 

[Nathan Little]

Oh wow, I never even heard of it. Excited to see what it's all about.

 

[mazi]

neat!

 

[Dcubed]

About damn time!!

 

[juuso]

As OP mentions this game got a limited release in the Nordic countries, and we had it growing up. It was very difficult and I never beat it, but it was one of my favourite games. As a kid I thought that Gimmick was around the same level of popularity as Kirby, it never occurred to me that I was playing something no one else was.

Saw a loose copy selling for €700 a few years back, it must be even more now. I remember our dad stepping on our cartridge and it cracking into pieces.

Anyway, looking forward to playing this after 20+ years.

 

[Suiseiseki]

I wonder if they will have a mode that makes the Black Hole feature work.

 

[Jahranimo]

I remember a friend of mine was doing a Let's Play of this like 11 years ago. Fascinating game.

 

[bayonetta]

Bitwave Games | Gimmick! Special Edition hits PC and modern consoles

Here´s a classic game you don´t want to miss out on!

www.bitwavegames.com

"Are you as excited as we are? Well, you can get a taste of what's in store at this year's Gamescom where the game will be playable on the show flow. Gamescom is kicking off on August 24-26, and Gimmick! Special Edition will be available in Retro Gaming area F068 at the Dragon Box booth. For more on Gimmick! Special Edition, tune into the virtual showcase that will go live on Sunsoft’s YouTube channel at 1:00 PM PDT / 9 PM BST later today."

 

[Mbolibombo]

Super excited about this re-release.
This is one amazing game, the soundtrack is sublime - Was released as Mr Gimmick! here in the nordics and sold a grand total of 5044 copies (I've had 2 HEHEH)

 

[shoptroll]

This has major Mega Man vibes with the jump sprite and the level designs shown in the trailer. Definitely keeping an eye on it.

 

[Shroomy]

I’ll finally get to play this! Sweet!!

EDIT: I really, really need wonder if Batman and TripWorld will get a rerelease at the Sunsoft event too.

 

[Krvavi Abadas]

(a proper press release.)

there it is.

it's also not the only classic famicom sunsoft game getting re-released. uforia: the saga is coming too.

though there's considerably less info on that.

 

[Krvavi Abadas]

not much in the ways of news for the re-release (it's at least been slightly pushed back to 2023.) but i figured this video deserved more attention.


super well-researched, and has an interview with the game's creator Tomomi Sakai.

 

[Garlic]

Honestly one of the best games ever made, seeing widely available for the first time is like a dream

 

[CharginChuck]

Thread convergence:

“What kinda gimmicky launch title do you think we are going to get with the next nintendo console?”

“Beloved 2d famicom platformer ‘gimmick!’ is finally getting re-released”

Coincidence??

 

[Krvavi Abadas]

Folks, mark your calendars. Today we're thrilled to announce that Gimmick! Special Edition hits Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 on July 6th. Xbox players are welcome to join the party at a later date.

Gimmick! holds a special place in our hearts. It's an incredible physics-based game with astonishing graphics, which pushed the NES to its absolute limits. First launched in 1992 by SUNSOFT, Gimmick! only initially launched in Japan and Scandinavia and remains a highly sought-after title for retro gaming enthusiasts.

not sure what the deal with the Xbox version is, but i can't imagine it's that big of a delay.

 

[totofogo]

Hm seems a bit gimmicky to me