Thank you guys for the support on the 200th Podcast coming up. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just look at the post below this one! Can’t wait to chat about this horrible show we’ve been doing for 200 episodes straight. I’m going to sort through a few more of your emails, and then it’s off to bed for me. Catch you all in a few, short hours. I’d like to kick this impressions article off with another look at this week’s Top 20 DSiWare games. Instead of posting the full list, I’m just going to repost the top 10. 1 (-) - Nintendo DSi Browser 2 (-) - Paper Airplane Chase 3 (-) - Dr. Mario Express 4 (-) - WarioWare: Snapped! 5 (-) - Photo Clock 6 (-) - Bird & Beans 7 (-) - American Popstar: Road to Celebrity 8 (N) - Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again 9 (-) - Mighty Flip Champs 10 (-) - Art Style: PICTOBITS Mighty Flip Champs debuted at spot #9. I’m very happy to see it make the list, and fall into the top 10 after it’s debut week. With that said, I’m shocked to see that the game didn’t hit hire up. I just want to get this straight…according to those that own the DSi, a Photo Clock is more interesting than a brand-new puzzle game. I’m not sure I understand that one. I’m going to use that bit of nonsense to fuel my impressions article. My single goal is to get Mighty Flip Champs bumped up at least one spot by next week. Do you remember the days of ridiculously tough puzzle games? I remember playing a ton of them on the original Game Boy. There seemed to be a ton of puzzlers that had you ripping your hair out to find the solution. After the Game Boy went away, those types of games seemed very few and far between. I can’t even think of any off the top of my head. Anything out there now seems to be a variation on Tetris, Bejeweled, Picross or Sudoku. While I love those games, I yearned for a puzzler that tried something new…a game that twisted my head in ways that I didn’t even know I could comprehend. Lucky for me, along came Mighty Flip Champs. I don’t care how many levels are in Mighty Flip Champs. I’m telling you that if this game came out back in the Game Boy days, it could have been released on a cart for $20, maybe even $30. If there were a level editor, there would be no doubt in my mind that it could have survived as a retail game. Instead, in these times, we get the game at a fraction of the price, and we can download it from the comfort of our own homes. The problem is, Nintendo doesn’t bother to promote DSiWare all that much. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let a quality game like Mighty Flip Champs go undetected by the DSi owners in North America. Everyone knows that the first rule of a puzzle game is to make it extremely easy to play, but impossibly hard to master. All you need is a simple mechanic that can be stretched across a numerous amount of setups, or levels. That’s exactly what Mighty Flip Champs has. The goal of the game is very simple. You have to maneuver your character from her starting position to the end position. In this instance, the end position is a weird fish/man creature. Once you have the two characters meet, you’ll be warped out of one level and into the next. It’s how you get to ‘Fishman’ that will warp your mind. Mighty Flip Champs uses the two screens of the DSi better than most games out there. The top screen shows the main character’s current position. In the upper left-hand corner of the screen you will see a number display. For example, the very early levels show you a display such as ‘1/2′. The first number indicates which ‘page’ of a level you are on, and the second number shows you how many pages there are. With the press of a button, you will flip from your current page to the next. The following page in your flip sequence is shown on the bottom screen. Once again, if the number displayed is 1/2, then the top screen shows page 1, and the bottom shows page 2. The bottom screen also shows a holographic version of the main character. This hologram represents where you will end up once you flip pages. If you haven’t already guessed, this is where the mind-bending puzzles come in. You’ll have to flip between pages in order to reach ‘Fishman’ and finish the level. It’s your job to find out where to walk and how to position yourself in order to reach him. That means you need to warp into open areas, instead of solid walls or onto spikes. If you do that, it’s game over. Throw in levels with multiple pages, as well as various characters you have to collect in order to appease ‘Fishman’ and have him warp you out, and you’ll find yourself stretching your mind to its limit. I cannot tell you how much fun I’m having with this game. Yes, it is hard as hell, but that’s what makes it enjoyable! DSiWare may be home to a bunch of tiny games, but Mighty Flip Champs will definitely take you a handful of hours to get through. There will be puzzles that you have to sit and stare at in order to pass, and even then you’ll have to play through multiple times before you figure it out. This is not a game you’ll breeze through in a half hour…I promise you that. The level scheme makes it absolutely perfect to pick up and play in small doses…but sometimes those intended short play sessions will turn into hours depending on the level you’ve reached. WayForward fans should also get a kick out of the game’s art style. The character designs and bold colors will definitely remind you of some of their past games. For me, this is the kind of art that I could sit and stare at forever. I just wish there was more of it! The care given to the hand-drawn art translates over to the pixel art as well. The animations are silky smooth, with tons of flourishes that help breathe life into the presentation. I could sit and watch Alta (main character) sway back and forth on a ladder for hours. What can I say…I love idle animations! Seriously, if you don’t grab Mighty Flip Champs for the ridiculously low price of 800 Nintendo Points, than you’re part of the problem. If you absolutely hate puzzle games, I’ll give you a pass on this one. Other than that distaste for the genre, I can’t think of any other reason to skip this title. WayForward has been working their ass off to create quality content across both retail and digital distribution. LIT is a fantastic game that is criminally overlooked, and I don’t want to see Mighty Flip Champs meet the same fate. I swear, if MFC doesn’t hit #8 or higher in next week’s top 20 DSiWare list, I’m coming to your house to dish out some pain. Yes, I’m talking to YOU!
Original post:
GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Mighty Flip Champs impressions…and my mission to get it recognized
