Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
The 3rd title in "memoly clip", a series of ports of 8-bit retro games run by the company "City Connection", which handles sales of the download version.
In the Cross Review of the game magazine Famitsu, the four reviewers gave 7, 8, 5, and 6, for a total of 26 out of 40. Among the reviewers' comments was: "It is elaborate down to the details, the enemies move as enemies should, and I felt I had seen a well-made action game for the first time in a while.
In the "Game Report Card" reader poll run by the magazine Family Computer Magazine,it scored 18.5 out of 30, as shown below.
As of 2025-12, the second-hand price of this game has risen abnormally high, at 50,000 to 60,000 yen for the cartridge alone, in the 180,000 yen range with the box, manual, postcard and other accessories complete, and in the 250,000 yen range if the copy is in fine condition.
Production of the packaged version of Gimmick! 2, the sequel to this game, also ended less than 1 years after release, and the price rose to the 10000 yen range, but Sunsoft started producing it again, so the second-hand price settled down to the 3000 yen range.
As it is a title from the last days of the Famicom and the quantity in circulation was quite small, there is a record of a second-hand copy consisting of the cartridge alone trading for 60,000 yen, even though it was a title sold in shops.
Masahiro Sakurai, who has worked on the Kirby series and the Super Smash Bros. series, has said of this game, comparing it with Kirby's Dream Land, released the same year, that "(Kirby's Dream Land) lost perfectly".
Describing the game's soundtrack as a "compilation of game music", Kageyama said that making it was a test in trying to "take what people generally considered to be the sound of the Famicom, and kick it up a notch.
Sunsoft of America's former vice president of development, David Siller, claimed that the company's managers felt the game's characters were too "strange or quirky" compared to cartoons by The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.
When Gimmick! was exhibited at places like the Tokyo Toy Show, Sakai recalled that he was hoping a dealer would see Gimmick! as a next-generation title developed for the original Nintendo and distribute it, only for them to lose interest once they learned it was a Famicom game.
Regarding the graphics, he stated them to be the "prettiest and most detailed" from the NES era.
In the game mook Hard Makki ni Hatsubai Sareta Meisaku Game Shu, it is described as "an action game with a hard-edged character unlike its comical setting, which can be played through thoroughly".
Critics both praised and criticized the game for its difficulty, and some thought the game was designed exclusively for children due to its character design.
The reviewers highly praised the visuals, sound and difficulty of the game, with one reviewer saying that the desire to complete the game trumps over any such problems it has.
He praised the physics and unique level design.
Ultimately, the only distributor that imported the game was Swedish distributor Bergsala, which released it in 1993 for the Nintendo Entertainment System in small quantities across the Scandinavian market.
When Gimmick! was exhibited at places like the Tokyo Toy Show, Sakai recalled that he was hoping a dealer would see Gimmick! as a next-generation title developed for the original Nintendo and distribute it, only for them to lose interest once they learned it was a Famicom game.
Critics both praised and criticized the game for its difficulty, and some thought the game was designed exclusively for children due to its character design.
The reviewers highly praised the visuals, sound and difficulty of the game, with one reviewer saying that the desire to complete the game trumps over any such problems it has.
, released in Scandinavia as Mr. Gimmick, is a platform video game developed and published by Sunsoft, and originally released in Japan for the Famicom in 1992.
The Japanese version of the game has since become a collector's item, with a United Kingdom guide in 2014 listing the game as costing £320.
When Gimmick! was exhibited at places like the Tokyo Toy Show, Sakai recalled that he was hoping a dealer would see Gimmick! as a next-generation title developed for the original Nintendo and distribute it, only for them to lose interest once they learned it was a Famicom game.
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