How do you solve a problem like Marina? What problem?
Actual score: 8.6
Overview: The self-proclaimed Professor Theo has finally arrived on planet Clancer following a mysterious S.O.S signal. Upon arriving however, he is soon kidnapped and his female assistant Ultra-Intergalactic-Cybot-G Marina Liteyears once again sets out to rescue him. However, Marina soon finds that most of the Clancers are peaceful creatures and that more sinister forces are at work.
Nothing serious, of course, despite a surprisingly deep (if slightly vague) story for a puzzle platformer, Mischief Makers is actually quite humorous, with quirky characters and exceptional writing.
Game play: Many platformers (at least, the good platformers) follow their own chain set of rules and principles. For Super Mario World, it's jumping, stomping and kicking. For Mischief Makers, it's grabbing and shaking. It's natural to learn and constantly refreshing to pull off, you would think the mechanic would be a bit simple but the game quickly finds ways to push it using increasingly complex environment puzzles. If you shake a Clanball (a floating ball) something might happen, if you use marinas downward booster on a Clancoil, you'll spring high into the air! Speaking of which, marinas booster pack, which works in four directions, can also be used to hover yourself in midair, gain a little extra height, or skirt quickly across the ground. This is good, because marinas normal movement can be described as rather tank like.
Graphics/FX: While I can't say it pushes the N64's graphical engine, it still does a good job of dealing out what needs to be done. Laser blasts, explosions, plenty of sprite animations, I mean, it's no Kirby 64 but it gets the job done.
Music/sound: If there is something that is to be said against Mischief Makers, it's that the music does not quite make the cut. It fits the game well, but it's just not memorable and there are too few songs anyway. The sounds also lack punch but it all isn't bad enough to make you stop playing.
End note: Like most Treasure games, Mischief Makers is on the short side, but then again, most fun Treasure games are. Though the game lacks difficulty settings and multiplayer, the game increases replayability by adding "Gold gems" hidden in every level, how much you collect is how much you see of the extended ending. Unique attack system, great bosses, zany humour and perplexing puzzles all wrapped into one little cartridge.
"Shake! Shake!"
Note: Mischief Makers, as of typing, is not available on the Virtual Console, but should be soon. The original game was controlled with the D-pad instead of the joystick, this works okay on the N64, but with the GameCube controller it would be impossible, so when it does come to VC be sure to have a Classic controller on hand.