Mighty Flip Champs! Game by Wayforward Technologies Reviewed by Philip "Pocket Squirrel" Wesley Size: 48 Blocks Save: Battery Released: 2009 Works with: DSi/DSi XL/3DS ESRB Rated: E Rating Descriptions: Suggestive Content Quick Opinion: Try it first from a friend before thinking about owning it.. **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: Wayforward Technologies is one of my favorite developers. I enjoyed their Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS games. Mighty Flip Champs is their first DSi Ware title and it appears to borrow from early screenshots of an abandoned multi player mode that was on the abandoned Shantae sequel on the Game Boy Advance. One thing I rather enjoyed about early Wayforward work is the "quirk" for each of their titles. Many of their Game Boy Color games had a Harvey Comics license and then a really neat "twist" to make them special. Let us flip into review mode and check out what "quirk" is hiding in Mighty Flip Champs. **************************************************************************** Gameplay Description: You are Alta and for some reason you have a Warp Wand that allows you to "flip" from the level shown on the top screen to the level shown on the bottom screen. The action takes place on the top screen where you will find ladders, spikes, warping objects, and so forth. The idea is to use the Warp Wand to flip through the stages in an effort to get to the Fishman. Sometimes, you have to find a Kitty Cat or a Pig Cow in the level before you get to the Fishman. There really is no storyline, no combat, and no lives system. The idea is to prevent crushing yourself with a wall, or falling on spikes. The levels get more and more complex as the game progresses through about 40 stages of puzzles. Sometimes you will be thrown into levels where you can not control when the levels flip. You can see the next area that you can flip to before you flip to it. You can also use the touch screen to mark the map, allowing you to keep track of where you should go. You are also timed in the levels but you do not run out of time, instead the time is there to determine your score. Each level has a time to beat to earn an S rank score. S Ranks are pretty much bragging rights, especially since later levels get difficult to unholy degrees. Pause the game to see what the S Rank Goals are that level. The problem with Mighty Flip Champs is that the level difficulty spikes up way too quickly -especially once warps and buttons are introduced- and that can lead to players being a bit frustrated. I would actually not recommend this game to younger players or people who get easily confused by multi-layer puzzle games. The game is pretty satisfying to beat though and anyone who feels up to the challenge will enjoy this title. I have to stress that this game is for the serious puzzle fan, not for the serious platforming fan. Liked: The general Gameplay mechanic or "quirk" is a good idea and there is a decent amount of variation to it. Hated: Anyone going into this expecting a platform game will be sorely disappointed and the drastic difficulty spikes do little to help this. **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: The game looks like a bit like it was made for the Game Boy Advance. Alta is a short, squat sprite and so are her friends. The color scheme of the game is pretty bold with each area having a main color. For example, this area is all RED, the upcoming area is all BLUE. The character animation is simple and when you beat a level you are treated to a picture of the characters drawn in a pretty bold style. Everything is easy to see and distinguish, so there are really no complaints on the way the game looks. For some odd reason, you can see Alta's panties when she climbs ladders, or falls from great heights. That detail and the weird eyebrows the Fishman keeps raising kind of lend a weirdness to the graphic style. Alta feels a bit like a place holder in her character design though. The game looks like it could very easily be Bugs Bunny's Flip Champs or some other ridiculous thing. Alta is also made to look "sexy" in her style during the cut-scenes. This comes off as more absurd or inappropriate than anything else. While the tinge of sex appeal works with a game like Shantae or Shantae: Risky's Revenge, it does not work here. The color design for the levels could be called simplistic and garish, but I honestly feel that it is more akin to a Verner Panton design. Go ahead and do a search on Verner Panton's designs and you will understand what I mean. The use of single color schemes in each area makes it easier to plan your next flip. Liked: The color schemes are pretty bold and help the gameplay. This is an easy to see game... Hated: ...that is full of slightly creepy innuendo. Especially when Alta kisses the Fishman. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: Get yourself some headphones as this game has some great music! The sound effects feel a bit odd, especially the odd ribbit sound the Fishman seems to make. Climbing ladders gets you a weird squeaking sound and walking sounds pretty cartoony as well. Back to the music, the main theme is catchy and appropriate. I really can not recommend playing with headphones enough. The deep bass and excellent instrument choices in the music make for an excellent audio mix that really makes the game fun. Liked: The music is pretty awesome! Hated: The Fishman is a FISHman. Why does he RIBBIT? WHY? **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: The Directional Pad moves you left, right, and up and down on ladders. The B, A, X, and Y buttons will all flip to the next area shown on the bottom screen. In some levels, you can not control when the game flips. The level design is challenging and satisfying; but not for everyone. The difficulty spikes high really quickly. This is a pretty decently designed game with a wonderful "quirk" to the gameplay that makes it fun. This simple to understand but difficult to master title is a good choice for someone looking for a decent puzzle platformer challenge. There is no combat to speak of in this game and I think that many gamers will become frustrated or bored of this title very quickly. I feel that more of an effort could have been done to ease players into the more difficult stages. The level design, especially in the later stages, feels like it is intended to kill you as quickly as possible with spikes. When you fail a stage, you get kicked through a lengthy "death" and retry screen. This lengthy process could have been shortened by placing "check points" every few areas. You end up in a wall you get kicked back to the previous "check point" screen. They could have done this with the animal friends. You kick back to the last one you rescued if you die. That would be a good idea but the game does not do this. Instead you are kicked to a retry screen that takes several seconds to get to and the stage starts up from the beginning. Liked: This is an easy to control title with a really good challenge to it. Hated: The difficulty ramps up quickly enough to frustrate many gamers. The lack of a check point system hurts the game in a way that could have been easily avoided. **************************************************************************** Improve: I think the only real improvement would be to add more levels as a way of leveling the difficulty spike a little. Maybe the addition of some sort of enemies would be a good idea. The addition of "check points" would also be a pretty good idea since the stages get pretty complex and long later on in the game. RIYL: Puzzle platform titles like Catrap or Solomon's Key. Although the game is pretty different from those titles in that it has no adversity. **************************************************************************** Final Words: I have a bit of a mixed opinion on this title. I feel it is a great concept implemented in an often awkward way. There are things about the game that seem rough and unpolished like the difficulty spike and some of the odd graphic style choices. I also do not find the game to be much fun and while I beat it, I felt like I was just going through the motions of playing the game. Something about Mighty Flip Champs feels off to me and I can only really recommend it to experienced puzzle gamers who are willing to suffer through the more frustrating aspects of the title. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: *** Graphics: *** Sound/Music: ***** Play Control/Game Design: *** Value: *** Star Total: 51% Personal Opinion Merit: 15% Final Score: 66% Letter Grade: C ****************************************************************************