The Mister and Missis Challenge

[mirthturtle]

So, during this pandemic I've gotten WAY too deep into Mister and Missis.

Mister and Missis (or inconsistently: Mr. & Mrs.) appeared on Amiga Power 14 (June 1992) coverdisk #2 and a number of other shareware compilations. It's one of the most epic, punishing platform puzzlers I've ever played.

As a kid, I never did very well. There are so many places where you can get yourself stuck and have to restart the level (by clicking the mouse). This game arguably hates the player – but it's extremely satisfying to succeed at, and was clearly built with a great deal of care and ingenuity.

This month I finally beat the game, mapped all 7 levels, and found probably 99% of the secrets. There are a TON of secrets, including, in one level, an entire hidden quadrant of the map!

This game is ugly, and buggy, and thematically all-over-the-place, and there's almost no help available online, but it's super fun! So if you're up for it, I present:

The 2020 Mister and Missis Challenge:

1. In the Woodlands, how do you get the heart locked behind the cage?
2. In the Tower, where is the secret sewage pit & 1-up?
3. In the Desert, where is the secret woodlands area & 1-up?
4. THE MYSTERY OF THE DESERT AND THE HIDDEN OASIS
a. In the Desert, where are the keys for the 13 doors?
b. How can you get through the doors and still complete the level?
c. Why is it better to win the level this way?
5. In the Cavern, how do you collect the billiard cue?
6. How can you bypass the entire Cavern?
7. In the Sewer, there are two secret sets of giant initials. What are they?
8. In the Sewer, where is the hidden billiard cue?
9. In the Dungeon, what are the two ways to access the secret runner area?
10. What message is revealed upon defeating the final boss?

Upon receiving all the answers for a level, I will post the complete map for that level.

NOTE: For me, using FS-UAE, saving a state and then loading that state crashes the game. Therefore I was bound to 1992 rules – no saving during levels. Not sure if it's the game itself or my emulator.

Good luck.

[lilalurl]

Originally Posted by mirthturtle

NOTE: For me, using FS-UAE, saving a state and then loading that state crashes the game.

You should make a report about that then:
http://eab.abime.net/forumdisplay.php?f=122

[mirthturtle]

Originally Posted by lilalurl

You should make a report about that then:
http://eab.abime.net/forumdisplay.php?f=122

Good idea; thanks! Thread here.

[mirthturtle]

Does anyone dare attempt The Mister and Missis Challenge? I assure you the game is amazing, despite being what some might call "objectively bad".

Here's a low-res Level 1 to get things started. All the maps wrap both vertically and horizontally, which creates these sprawling, disorienting levels.

[Biscuit]

I looked this up when you voted for it on Leaderboard. Never heard of it before. It does look like something I would want to like. I seem to have a masochistic interest in challenging jank lately. It actually looks like it runs very smoothly despite the amateur graphics.

The one thing that stood out to me, was I read somewhere that you are supposed to collect the balls in the correct order like a snooker game. Is that for real?

I'm very tempted to give it a go sometime this week if I can make time for it. At least to find out why this particular game has seemingly haunted you since childhood.

[mirthturtle]

Originally Posted by Biscuit

I read somewhere that you are supposed to collect the balls in the correct order like a snooker game. Is that for real?

It matters if you're playing for points, as you'll accumulate more bonus as you keep the sequence going. And it matters when you're fighting each level's boss, as your bonus needs to be above 21 to attack. But it's nearly impossible to do consistently, especially in the later levels.

But if you collect the Billiard Cue which is often tricky to find, you can collect in any order & still get the bonus.

[Biscuit]

Billiard Cue. Nice. So the trick would be to avoid the balls until you find the Cue.

The snooker thing is just the sort of personal touch that pleases me. It's so unusual.

[mirthturtle]

The backstory is surprisingly extensive and completely bonkers:

"Bluemankind's only hope was to send Mr. & Mrs. (the renowned electrician and locksmith snooker players) to light up the 'OLD WORLD' and drive the Giant Mutant Parrot into his dungeons, by beating him at his own game."

And it does nothing to explain why there's also a lot of baby imagery around (rattles, dummies, teddy bears).

Maybe part of what captivates me is that it's so deeply unhinged.

[Nightshft]

Hey Turtle,
just gave it a quick try.
Despite the simple grafix it's somehow a lovely and interesting game and it could have gotten a good one if it wasn't so...

I got stuck because I used a key for the wrong door and had no key for the important door left. Something you can only find out via trial and error.
After a few level restarts I got further in level 1, but then - after quite some advance - I got stuck again because I switched personalities too early. Misses should have opened the door before switching. You can't switch again in this room and running back kills you/doesn't help. Only solution: start level again. And that's where I quit for today.
also:
- why cant you swim up when diving in the water. It would have made the game more fun.
- why are there no monsters or so many that you can't avoid them when passing the room
(I know it's not your game)

So currently, sorry but I don't have enough time for that. Maybe I retry again when I have more time

Tipps for anybody who wants to give it a try:

- Read the info on the title screen. It's some important basic info.
- To gain bonus it's just important to alternate between red and color balls and you see the last one taken at the O of the "Bonus" text on top.
- Dont worry about the bonus for the beginning. Worry about getting doors and cages open with keys and switches.
- Winuae users. boot from disk with a500 config.
- The game looks fun and plays fluently. You just have to be ok with investing some time in figuring the level out and restarting it a couple of times (which can easily be done with the left mousebutton).

And... savestates seem to work in Winuae 3.6.0

[mirthturtle]

Thanks for attempting the Challenge!

Oh yes, this game is unforgiving. Save states would definitely help though, so I'm glad they work in WinUAE

And thanks for those tips for new players. It's also important to play the tutorial level, as there's a specific maneuver it'll teach you that you'll need in the later levels.

4 months in, and the Mister and Missis Challenge is still anyone's game with 0/12 questions answered and 0/7 maps unlocked!

[mirthturtle]

Less than 2 months remain for the 2020 Mister and Missis Challenge! But now there's an incentive... a $25 Steam gift card for the winner!

SCORING: points equal to the question number will be awarded, with 12 points total for 4 a, b & c. Most points when all questions are answered is the victor! Challenge ends Dec. 31, 2020. If no winner by 2021... well, maybe then I'll stop talking about the insane masterpiece that is Mister and Missis (1992). No guarantees though.

[Biscuit]

I did try this about a month ago and it plays surprisingly well. Got a long way through the first level until I somehow trapped myself with a door, I think, I forget exactly.

Haven't found time to play again, but encourage others to give it a try. I will no doubt load it up again sometime soon.

Gotta love your enthusiasm mirthturtle.

[mirthturtle]

Thanks Biscuit! Tell you what – if you win the Challenge, I'll produce that Syndicate cross-stitch from this summer and it's yours, if you want it.

That goes for everyone – winner gets a cross-stitch from a game of their choice. Been itching to do another one lately.

[Biscuit]

Ha. You're too kind.

I will be trying it again regardless.

[zardoz]

I'm a big fan of this game! I got it on a cover disk back in the day and was drawn in by the simple graphics and comprehensive platforming gameplay.

I still play it often. My retrogaming frond end has a scoring system - this was a 5/5 for a while. Regrettably, it's just too hard for me so I knocked it down to 4/5 out of frustration.

I'll dig it out again soon and try and make some more progress..

op I wish I had your commitment!

[mirthturtle]

Thanks zardoz

Let me also clarify about the Desert questions. Of all the places where the game makes you trap yourself, the most callous is where you fall down a pit and are confronted with 13 locked doors. Clearly impossible to get through as you only have 1-3 keys at this point. It's almost insulting.

BUT, there's one screen where you see a hint that there's more level behind those doors. You get a glimpse of another completely different area. Of course you can beat the Desert just fine without getting in there, so maybe it's nothing.

But then I mapped out the level, and there's a whole quadrant missing! Having mapped out other levels at this point, which use every square of space in the 8x8 map grid, I was very suspicious.

So that's the Mystery of the Desert and the Hidden Oasis. Where do you find 10 more keys? And why is it there? It's an extremely hard puzzle, and it's so sly, it hardly even tells you it exists.

[jotd]

trainer: infinite keys would be handy to discover all areas

[mirthturtle]

That would be cheating!

Though, in this situation, a key trainer will get you through the doors, but it's not enough to solve the whole mystery. I do admit I turned to the GOD +3 version in the depths of my obsession, but it only raised more questions. It's like the author foresees you'll try this.

[jotd]

Gods obsessed me like that a long time ago. Fortunately Kroah dumped the whole levels & all mechanisms

[mirthturtle]

That certainly would have helped with your remake!

Well... if anyone wants to hack apart Mister & Missis, I'm sure there are even more secrets and delights hidden away. I played a bit just last month and found a new secret, even after I was 99% sure I must have found them all, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was more buried in there.