Mischief Makers

This article is about the video game. For other uses, see Mischief Makers (disambiguation).

Mischief Makers
A female robot named Marina Liteyears is blasting toward the right side of the box art, with fist outstretched and a trail of fire behind her. On the ground is a legion of identical, sad-faced creatures. The logo is in big, green bubble letters, and the Nintendo 64 sidebar flanks on the right.
North American box art
Developer(s)Treasure
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Hideyuki Suganami[1]
Producer(s)Yuuchi Kikumoto[1]
Programmer(s)Masato Maegawa[1]
Writer(s)Hideyuki Suganami[1]
Composer(s)Norio Hanzawa[1]
Platform(s)Nintendo 64
Release
  • JP: June 27, 1997
  • NA: October 1, 1997
  • EU: December 12, 1997
  • AU: 1998
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Mischief Makers[a] is a side-scrolling platform game developed for the Nintendo 64 gaming console by Treasure, and published in 1997 by Enix in Japan and by Nintendo internationally. The player assumes the role of Marina Liteyears, a robotic maid who journeys to rescue her creator, Professor Theo, from the emperor of Planet Clancer. The gameplay is displayed in 2.5D, based on grabbing, shaking, and throwing objects within five worlds and 52 levels.

It is the first 2D side-scrolling game for the Nintendo 64, and Treasure's first release for a Nintendo console. The 12-person team began development in mid-1995 with little knowledge of the prototype console. The team wanted to make a novel gameplay mechanic, and implementing the resultant "catching" technique became their most difficult task. The game was announced at the 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo and was released in Japan on June 27 that year and later in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Mischief Makers received mixed reviews. Critics praised its inventiveness, personality, and boss fights, but criticized its short length, low difficulty, low replay value, sound, and harsh introductory learning curve. Retrospective reviewers disagreed with the originally poor reception, and multiple reviewers noted Marina's signature "Shake, shake!" sound bite as a highlight. Video game journalists appealed for its reissue either through the Nintendo eShop or in a sequel or franchise reboot. In 2009, GamesRadar called it possibly the most underrated Nintendo 64 game.

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