GS Mikami: Joreishi wa Nice Body

Overview

Based off of Shiina Takashi's popular manga series of the early 90s, Ghost Sweeper Mikami: Gokuraku Daisakusen ( GS美神 極楽大作戦!!, GS Mikami Big Paradise Operation), this platformer puts the player in control of Mikami Reiko, a somewhat shallow exorcist working in Tokyo. The game's title, "Joreishi wa Nice Body" ( 除霊師はナイスバディ～) means "the master exorcist with the nice body".

The story of the game is quite simple: One day Mikami receives a strange package from Yakuchin at her office which has an unusual statue, allegedly of the goddess "Aegis", in it. A note enclosed says several ghosts have stones that are supposed to be set in the statue and that the statue, when complete, is worth an incredible amount of money. Mikami decided to go ahead and fix it, hoping to get some sort of compensation in the deal. But the statue might not be all it appears....

Gameplay

The player controls Mikami, moving her left or right with the D pad; she can also crouch. Jumping is performed with the B button, while attacking is performed with the A button; holding up and attack makes Mikami perform an overhead swing. In addition, special floating platforms will be encountered periodically throughout the game; they are noticeably marked with a spirit seal and candles. Mikami can grab on to these by jumping and pressing up and attack; while hanging on, pressing up again will cause her to do a flip kick (which can hit enemies) and vault to the top of the platform. There are also several types of magic and items to be found in the game. Two of them are bomb-type items which the player can use by pressing the X button, should they have any in stock.

Magic

Mikami can find several types of magic in the game. They add an additional effect to her basic attack.

• Raikou: Mikami will shoot a bolt of lightning straight forward when she attacks.
• Kamaitachi: Mikami fires a short-ranged crescent slash whenever she attacks.
• Hyouchuu: Mikami fires two spikes of ice as slight angles both upwards and downwards when she attacks.
• Platform creator: This un-named ability is automatically given to Mikami in stage 7; it is necessary to complete the state. Mikami shoots out ofuda that generate platforms.

Items

The following are the items Mikami can find.

• Cake: Restores a point of Mikami's life.
• Ofuda: The classic spirit sealing paper strips. This allows Mikami to perform a sealing bomb attack, which destroys all enemies on screen.
• Seireiseki: A spirit-stone earring. This allows Mikami to perform a spirit stone bomb, which also destroys all enemies on screen. It has a different visual effect than the ofuda.
• Mystery mark: A question mark that makes Mikami invincible for a brief period.
• 1up: A Mikami doll that nets the player an extra life.

Characters

Mikami Reiko: An attractive, 20 year old ghost sweeper. She manages to pick up things very quickly and as a consequence is skillful at a wide variety of activities; however, she's somewhat arrogant, boastful, and definitely greedy! Despite all this, she's a good person inside.

Yokoshima Tadao: A 17 year old high-school student who Mikami employs at her office as a general dogsbody. He is stupid, incompetent, unlucky, and perverted. But he'll work for much less than minimum wage!

Okinu-chan: The ghost of a girl who died sacrificing herself 300 years ago. After being forced to haunt a mountain for a long period of time, she forgot how to rest in peace, so she became another employee of Mikami. She's of a pure and honest character, and is friendly and helpful and often finds the modern world quite wondrous.

Medusa: A demon woman of the dragon clan who is behind everything in this game. She can turn her hair in to snakes, but isn't a "medusa" in the conventional sense. In the manga, she is generally trying to assassinate Shouryuuki the dragon princess.

Stages

Many of the stages and chapters are references to events from the manga, or feature cameos of other characters.

Stage 1: The haunted bullet train! The first stage starts out on the streets of Tokyo, with Mikami eventually boarding the expected ghost train. Zombies roam the streets along with various ghosts, and ghostly passengers on the train would prefer not to be disturbed... don't get groped! The boss turns out to be an evil spirit that has possessed the train; the green car turns in to a mass of ectoplasm as it attacks Mikami! Mikami gets the first jewel for defeating this abomination against railways everywhere.

Stage 2: Mikami goes to a haunted mansion high in the mountains. Of course, this journey can't be a relaxing walk! The mountain path is treacherous as bridges give out and various ghostly and monstrous beings attack Mikami along the way. Arriving at the mansion heralds the boss fight; in this case, the vengeful spirit of a Licca-chan doll long abandoned. Beat the doll and get the second jewel!

Stage 3: Mini-Mikami! Mikami is shrunken by a magical dart shot by a spirit from the Jungles of Southeast Asia. Riding the back of a random cat, she gives chase across the rooftops of the city, avoiding bees, suspicious clouds of gas, etc.. until she catches up at a construction site. Defeat this flea-bitten goblin and get the third jewel.

Stage 4: Dance with vegetables! This haunted green-house is full of chonchons and, of course, haunted vegetables. There are tomatoes here that would make Fozzie Bear cower in terror! Meiko, another character from the manga, makes a cameo near the end of the stage. The boss is the ghost of an angry dog, but he's not evil, simply protective of where his master's house once stood.

Stage 5: Magic broom riding! Mikami soars through the skies over the city, battling past many a flying goblin and witch. The boss is the vampire Count Bloodeau, the evil father of the friendly dhampir Pietro!

Stage 6: An amusement park under construction that has been taken over by Piper, the clown ghost. Various rock-theme ghosts and undead construction workers haunt this place. Beware the floor, it's a sea of rats! But that should come as little surprise, for Piper himself is truly.... don't let his tiny minions play their horns, or Mikami will be turned in to a child! With this, only one stone remains!

Stage 7: Yokoshima's dream world. Gravity changes periodically in this strange reality full of bunny girls and fairies. A special ability is awarded in this stage, the "platform creator" magic. Usage of it is necessary to scale some of the high walls and pits in this stage. The boss of the stage is Nightmare, who makes Mikami battle her high-school self. If Nightmare himself is forced in to combat, he's actually incapable of doing anything except cowering and trying to escape. With Nightmare's defeat, the final gem is obtained!

Mikami finally completes the statue... but wait! The whole thing was a trap by Medusa! The final battle awaits!