Mighty Flip Champs

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Mighty Flip Champs is a Puzzle-Platformer released on the Nintendo DSi via the DSiWare service in 2009 and then grandfathered into the Nintendo 3DS eShop when that system was released, with an updated “DX” version releasing on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable in 2011. When it first released, Mighty Flip Champs was celebrated as one of the first great titles to be released on the DSiWare service, with players delighted by the game’s screen-flipping puzzle mechanics.

The presentation in this game features pixel art characters in front of simple backgrounds, with still images depicting these characters on victory screens between levels. While small, these characters have some good animation that lends a lot of personality to the game, and the game’s catchy chiptune soundtrack combines with these simple visuals to give this game a lot of retro-style charm.

The gameplay itself is mechanically simple, but makes use of the dual screens of the Nintendo DSi (and later, Nintendo 3DS) to present a unique puzzle challenge. Your character, Alta, cannot jump, but she can walk across platforms, climb grates, and at your command she can “flip” her reality to the one depicted on the bottom screen. Using this ability, players must navigate her to any of her animal friends in the level, and then make her way to her froggy friend who opens a warp to the next level.

The first few stages of Mighty Flip Champs are simple enough, getting players used to using the flip ability. However, as the game progresses, things will get increasingly complex, with the “flip” screens cycling through multiple areas rather than just sending you back and forth between two. This does make for some really ingenious puzzle design, but it also has the downside that players won’t be able to look at all of the level’s geometry at once to figure out how to make their way to where they want to go.

Despite this frustration, Mighty Flip Champs is still a really enjoyable Puzzle-Platformer, and it’s a game that’s particularly worth your attention while the Nintendo 3DS eShop is still available, since all of the other platforms this game was released to are now dead. If you enjoy clever puzzle design, don’t miss out on this game before the Nintendo 3DS eShop follows suit in March 2023.

tl;dr – Mighty Flip Champs is a Puzzle-Platformer where players need to make their way around a level by “flipping” from one version of the level to another. This game has an endearing retro-style presentation, and some really excellent puzzle design. And while it’s a bit frustrating that you can’t see all variations of the level at the same time, this is still a game well worth snatching up before the Nintendo 3DS eShop closes in March 2023.

Grade: B-

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