Mr. Gimmick is a little doll with a life of its own, that's given to a girl for her birthday. The girl's other toys quickly become jealous of the attention given to Mr. Gimmick, and they decide to carry her away to a mystical land. Mr. Gimmick goes after them to bring his owner back.

The game Mr. Gimmick is a platform game where you take control of Mr. Gimmick over the course of six levels. You defend yourself by throwing bouncing stars that take a second to form and are then thrown downward. You can also ride the stars thrown to gain access to higher platforms. The inventory you have allows you to store bombs, potions, and fireballs.

The game has two endings. The easier way is to just run through all of the levels. Each level has a treasure hidden that can be a bit difficult to get, and finding all of these gives access to an extra level. But if you lose all of your lives and have to continue, the game will take all of your treasures away, and not allow you to get to the final level.