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''Mighty Flip Champs!'' is a
puzzle-platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action game, action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform game ...
, developed and published by
WayForward Technologies WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as t ...
for the
Nintendo DSi The is a dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony ...
's
DSiWare This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 201 ...
digital download service. It was first announced on March 9, 2009, and was released on June 1, 2009 in North America and on November 27, 2009 in the PAL regions. The developers took inspiration from multiple sources, including the video games ''Wendy: Every Witch Way'' and '' The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past''. In it, players control Alta, a girl who has to reach a fishman by flipping between areas until she can reach him. Since its release, ''Mighty Flip Champs!'' received all-around positive reception, while also being called one of the best video games for the DSiWare service. It is the first game in the ''Mighty'' series, and is followed by ''
Mighty Milky Way ''Mighty Milky Way'' was an action puzzle video game for the Nintendo DSi. It was the second title after '' Mighty Flip Champs!'' in the ''Mighty'' series from WayForward Technologies. The game was released for download through DSiWare on May ...
'', '' Mighty Switch Force!'', and ''
Mighty Switch Force! 2 ''Mighty Switch Force! 2'' is a puzzle platformer developed and published by WayForward Technologies for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the fourth game in WayForward's ''Mighty'' series and the sequel to 2011's ''Mighty Switch Force!''. The game was r ...
''. The game has been ported to
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 200 ...
via the
PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smar ...
as a
PlayStation Mini This is a list of all PlayStation minis (PS minis) for the PlayStation Portable, which are games available to download from the PlayStation Store. Many of them are also compatible with the PlayStation 3 (PS3), as well as a few of them with PlayS ...
under the title ''Mighty Flip Champs! DX''. It was released in North America on July 12, 2011.


Gameplay

''Mighty Flip Champs!'' is a puzzle/platform game hybrid, requiring players to explore stages that vary from having two areas to up to eight areas. The objective is to get the player-character, Alta, through the stage and to find the Fishman. Later in the game, levels will add characters that Alta must find before she may exit the stage. Alta has only two abilities: movement and flipping. Movement requires use of the Nintendo DS' directional pad, allowing Alta to move only left or right. The player controls Alta on the top screen, with another area being shown on the bottom screen with a mirror image of Alta shown. Players are able to flip to a different screen by pushing a button. When these screens are flipped, the area on the bottom screen will appear on the top screen; depending on the number of areas, the top area will be moved to the bottom area, or a new area will be revealed. If Alta does not have any footing to land on, she will fall, though uninjured. If there is an obstacle in the way while flipping, she will lose and the level will end. Some special stages exist where Alta cannot flip the screen, and is at the whim of a clock which flips the screen every so often. Once a stage is completed, the players are shown their time and an accompanying rank, the highest being an "S".


Development

''Mighty Flip Champs!'' was announced on March 9, 2009 for the
Nintendo DSi The is a dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony ...
's
DSiWare This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 201 ...
download service. It was developed by
WayForward Technologies WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as t ...
, using only five developers, the lead designer being Matt Bozon. It was designed for the sake of taking advantage of the Nintendo DS' features, though scaled to work with the DSiWare. Initially, the developers were contemplating the inclusion of enemies and items. The developers chose to leave enemies out of the game, feeling that if they had enemies, it would make the game too complicated. However, Matt commented that if players responded well to the game, they may implement enemies in a clever way next time. While the difficulty level was not designed to cater to younger or inexperienced players, the developers designed earlier levels to be more forgiving. They had younger players play it, and were surprised as to how far they could make it through. One of the developers, Mark Bozon, commented that it was as difficult to create the levels as it was for players to beat them, adding that they have to build the concept, account for player movements, and then ensure that players cannot exploit any mistakes in the level design. The developers used very little storage space in developing the game, attributing this to the small sprites, which allowed them to have improved audio and cutscenes. The developers took inspiration from multiple other video games, such as '' Wendy: Every Witch Way'', which was developed by Mark and Matt Bozon, the former describing ''Mighty Flip Champs!'' as a spiritual successor to it. They also took inspiration from '' The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past'' for the idea of dimension traveling. Mark called it the "grand daddy" of the concept. Development took a total of two months, while testing and the publishing process taking a month. It was released in North America on June 1, 2009 and in the PAL regions on November 27, 2009 for the price of 800 DSi Points. The developers described ''Mighty Flip Champs!'' as a way to gauge fan interest in the possibility of a ''
Shantae ''Shantae'' is a series of platform games developed by WayForward. The eponymous heroine of the series, a half-genie, was created by Erin Bozon, while the games were created from this character by her husband Matt Bozon. The series consists of ...
'' sequel for the DSiWare, in order to see how well it could perform. A sequel to ''Shantae'' was later announced for the DSiWare service, titled '' Shantae: Risky's Revenge''. When asked if they would ever use the DSiWare service's ability to add new content to games, Matt stated that he would rather do a sequel with new ideas. Mark concurred, adding that if they have the time, money, and fan support, he would like to do a sequel, stating that they have some great ideas for a sequel.


Reception

''Mighty Flip Champs!'' and the PlayStation 3 version of ''Mighty Flip Champs! DX'' received "favorable" reviews, while the PSP version received "universal acclaim", according to the
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website
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
. On June 10, 2009, ''Mighty Flip Champs!'' ranked ninth on the top 20 best-selling DSiWare games of that week. It stayed at that ranking in the week of June 17, 2009, falling to 13th on the week of June 25, 2009. It ranked at 18 on July 2, and its last appearance on the list was on July 9 in the 20th place. ''
Official Nintendo Magazine ''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo. Originally published by EMAP as ...
'' praised it as a "charming, addictive and original addition to the growing
DSiWare This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 201 ...
library".
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praised the DS version's unique design and retro style, describing it as a top notch package and highly recommended. They also gave it their "Editor's Choice" award. ''
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'' described the same DS version as being both a "cold study in design brilliance" and a "speed-runner's dream" in certain points, comparing it to video game developer
Treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...
's ''
Gunstar Heroes ''Gunstar Heroes'' is a run-and-gun shooter video game developed by Treasure and published by Sega. It was Treasure's debut game, originally released on the Sega Genesis in 1993. The game's premise is centered around a pair of characters, the ...
''. ''
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'' praised both the overall quality of the gameplay as well as describing the music and artwork as high quality. ''Mighty Flip Champs!'' was nominated for multiple awards and listed as one of the best DSiWare games by several publications. ''Nintendo Life'' named it the runner-up for best DSiWare game of 2009, ''
GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', ''SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Compute ...
'' included it as one of the best DSiWare games, calling it an interesting puzzler and one of the most ambitious titles on the DSiWare. In 2011, IGN ranked it as the 13th best DSiWare game, calling it one of the first must-have games for the service. ''Mighty Flip Champs!'' was a nominee for best downloadable game of 2009 by GameSpy.


References


External links


Official site
* {{Mighty series 2009 video games DSiWare games PlayStation Network games Puzzle-platform games Video games scored by Jake Kaufman Video games developed in the United States Indie video games Video games featuring female protagonists WayForward games Single-player video games