Gimmick!

Prototype Info Prerelease Info Notes

Bit Reversal#

This game's samples are corrupted by the 2A03's bit reversal bug. For more information, click here.

Sound Test#

To access the Sound Test, hold Select and press Start at the title screen. It contains every track in the game, with the exception of Evidence of My Life, later named in the game's own OST, and an alternate version of Cadbury with slightly different instruments.

In the Japanese version, the round cursor's color depends on bits 1 and 2 of music data, for a total of four different colors. It doesn't change much, with the bits mostly remaining at zero, except for the tracks Strange Memories of Death and Paradigm.

During Paradigm, the cursor will blink orange during the intro of the song. After the intro, the cursor will turn green during certain parts of the song.

For Strange Memories of Death, the cursor will remain green during the whole intro of the song. Before the song loops, the cursor will turn green during three measures of eight, high-pitched notes.

There is not much connected to it; the developers just selected not-so-frequently-changing data to highlight the cursor. If they had selected another piece of data, it may have been much more interesting.

Disabled Debug Features#

Using Game Genie codes will re-enable some debugging features, which differ slightly between versions.

For the Japanese version, use both ZEETLZPS and PAVVTZAA Game Genie codes to activate the functions below. For the Scandinavian release, only PAVVTZAA is necessary.

In the Japanese version, pressing Select on Controller 1 will refill your HP. On Controller 2, pressing A + B will increase lives. Using the D-Pad on Controller 2 will warp to one of the four checkpoints in a level and pressing B will complete the current level and return you back to the map. The level skip function will result in the bad ending, unless the player collects the special item in each level before using it. Holding A and pressing B will enable the good ending.

In the Scandinavian version, all functions are done using Controller 2. Pressing A will refill all items and HP. The other functions work the same.

Unused Music#

The second track in the NSF, "Strange Memories of Death", goes unused in the game proper. It can be heard in the sound test, though.

Almost 30 years later, this track would finally see in-game use in the arcade remake Gimmick! EXACT☆MIX, where it is used for the new continue screen, and in the Special Edition re-release where it is played in the main menu, and on the PlayStation 4 home menu when highlighting the game.

Anti-Tampering Routine#

The Japanese version features a unique anti-tampering routine. If the intro code is tampered with (as is the case with the pirated version, Shui Guan Pipe) and the player makes it to the secret Stage 7, the routine will trigger, preventing unsuspecting players from being able to reach the final boss and get the good ending. This routine was removed in the Scandinavian version.

Contrary to popular belief, this wasn't intended as an anti-piracy measure. Instead, this routine was a remnant of Tomomi Sakai's attempt to prevent his name from being removed from the intro. He was ultimately unsuccessful in doing so, as the final game is neatly altered around the routine trigger. The message displayed is a reference to Atlantis no Nazo, an earlier Sunsoft game, and is itself another change that was made to the prototype before release.

In the Japanese version, Game Genie code PAZAOY will change the value at address 8F21 to 01, which will trigger the message: Simply access the final level and walk close enough to the castle for the routine to be executed. Conversely, Game Genie code IALEUN will maintain a value of 0D at address 8F3B, bypassing the routine and allowing the bug in the final level to load properly.

See the Notes page for a detailed description of the anti-tampering code.

Playable Enemy#

Watch on YouTube One strangely still Ohagi in the ship's interior portion of Stage 2 can actually be controlled using Controller 2.

On Controller 2, Left and Right makes the Ohagi walk, and A makes it jump.

Like any other enemy, the Ohagi will still do damage if it runs into the main character. Unfortunately, it cannot defeat enemies and cannot be brought into any other area of the stage.

Unused Graphics#

Yumetarō#

This is found with the ending cutscene graphics of Yumetarō and the girl running away from the crumbling castle.

Text Characters and Symbols#

A variety of unused text characters and symbols. The letter "A" takes up two tiles, and was intended to be used in a scrapped intro screen, documented below.

Unused Text#

The Scandinavian version contains two unused intro text strings that were (mostly) overwritten in the Japanese version, which is rather odd given the fact that the former is a later build of the game.

CK ENTERTAINMENT TEAM

Found at 0x37C43. This string was partially overwritten by the "AUTHENTIC ENTERTAINMENT" string used in the intro. The "CK" would seem to imply that it once said "GIMMICK ENTERTAINMENT TEAM".

The full string being present in the Japanese prototype seems to confirm this.

A
TOMOMI SAKAI
GAME

Found at 0x37C5A. Atypically, the letter "A" used in the first line is actually comprised of two tiles, both of which are only present in the Japanese version.

Only a small portion of this string, "TOMO", remains in the Japanese version; oddly enough, the aforementioned anti-tampering routine actually checks for the presence of these unused characters.

Regional Differences#

Lives#

The player starts with four lives in the Japanese version and US prototypes, whereas the Scandinavian version offers eight lives instead.

Music#

The Scandinavian version and US prototypes have minor alterations to the music to make up for the missing extra sound chip. As an example, Strange Memories of Death seems to suffer from this change the most.

Title Screen#

Japan	Scandinavian / US Proto

Both the Scandinavian release and US prototypes replace the katakana on the title screen, which reads "Gimikku" (ギミック), with "Mr. GIMMICK."

Intro Screen#

The Scandinavian version shows a "LICENSED BY NINTENDO" screen when booting up the game that was completely absent in the Japanese version.

Additionally, the "GIMMICK!" screen is changed to "Mr. GIMMICK" in the Scandinavian version and the US prototypes to reflect the change made to the game's name.

Revisional Differences#

PlayStation#

In 2002, Gimmick! was re-released on PlayStation (and later the PlayStation Network) through the Japan-only two-game compilation Memorial Series Sunsoft Vol. 6 (メモリアルシリーズサンソフト Vol. 6). This version uses the original Japanese ROM, albeit with a few bytes changed.

Cropping#

Famicom	PlayStation

First, the visible area has been cropped on all four sides, most noticeable on the top. As a result of this change, ceiling hazards appear to be floating, and it's slightly harder to notice the entrance to Stage 6's secret area.

Music#

Second, the instrumentation is significantly altered due to the emulator using an incorrect clock speed for the SUNSOFT 5B chip. The incorrect clock speed results in the pitches being a higher octave, affecting both the soundtrack and the sound effects.

The above comparison uses the track Just Friends, which plays in the secret areas hidden throughout the game, as an example. The harmony is overemphasized in the PlayStation version, overwhelming the melody.

Evercade#

Gimmick! was one of the six games included in the Sunsoft Collection 1 compilation for the Evercade. Despite being titled Mr. Gimmick, it is actually based on the Japanese Famicom release of Gimmick! with a few changes.

General Differences#

Famicom	Evercade

• The title screen was changed to match the Scandinavian version and US prototypes.
• The Evercade version starts the player with nine lives instead of four in the Japanese version.

Limited Run Games#

To do: Screenshots

In 2025, Mr. Gimmick was reprinted and distributed by Limited Run Games as a licensed Sunsoft NES cartridge (but not licensed by Nintendo).

General Differences#

SUNSOFT PRESENTS

1992

AUTHENTIC ENTERTAINMENT

SUNSOFT PRESENTS

Mr. GIMMICK

GIMMICK ENTERTAINMENT TEAM

© 1992 SUNSOFT

A 
TOMOI SAKAI 
GAME

The intro text was modified and re-ordered.

Scandinavian / US Proto	Limited Run Games

The Mr. in Mr. Gimmick was removed and the text was moved slightly to the left.