I wasn’t
entirely thrilled with having to review another Mickey Mouse game, but,
well, we can’t possibly go any lower than we did last week.
This is
yet another game starring everyone’s favorite mouse (well, almost
everyone’s favorite, I personally would rank the Mickster behind Rizzo
from the Muppets and Speedy Gonzalez) by Capcom. This
time we have moved up to 16 bits, as this game was exclusive to the
Super Nintendo. Those of us that were gaming back in the day can vouch
for how big a jump that was.
Looking
at Mickey Mousecapade, which I reviewed a few weeks ago, it was pretty
clear to see it was a typical licensed game, a cheap cash in designed to
sell copies to unsuspecting kids or parents who
didn’t know any better. That was pretty common back in the
pre-internet, pre-streaming era. There really wasn’t any way to know if
a game was good without buying it, subscribing to a magazine or finding
it at your local video store. It still happens today,
but not nearly as frequently. It used to be so bad that you had to go
out of your way to avoid any licensed game, since the probability that
it was going to absolute garbage was very, very high. Fortunately, that
isn’t the case with Magical Quest.
Don’t get
me wrong, this game is nothing to write home about. It’s not a major
hidden gem or anything like that, but its a good solid playthrough that
will appeal to the younger audience its directed
at. Everything is quality here, from the graphics to the sound to the
controls. You play as Mickey, who has to traverse six unique levels to
rescue Pluto from the evil Pete. Nothing groundbreaking, but a hell of a
lo better than whatever was going on in
Mousecapade.
Mickey’s
primary attack is jumping on enemies. Jumping on them once stuns them,
while jumping on them again knocks them out. You can pick up stunned
enemies and throw them at other enemies and you can
also pick up and throw blocks. This is nice, as it gives you a variety
of ways to approach enemies. The level design does a good job
alternating between forcing you to attack with a a specific method at
some points while allowing you freedom to choose at
others. Mickey will also acquire three outfits: a magician’s suit
allowing him to throw projectiles, a firefighter’s uniform that allows
him to spray water and a mountain climbing suit with a grappling hook.
All of these serve a unique purpose and can also
be used to attack.
The
levels aren’t particularly long, but they do provide some nice variety
and are well paced. The first level serves as an introduction, and each
individual stage is set up to allow the player to learn
how the game works before throwing any real challenge at them. Each
stage gradually steps up the difficulty and throws more obstacles at the
player. In level three, for instance, you will have to use your fire
hose to push blocks and cool off burning platforms.
The challenge never really peaks and the game is relatively easy, but
come on, its Mickey Effen Mouse.
The
controls are tight, responsive and simple. That’s exactly what you want
to see in a game like this. The hit detection is a little wonky and
can be frustrating at times, but it isn’t gamebreaking.
You have a lot of control when you are in the air and you never have to
worry about BS like falling through platforms that you clearly land
on. You also don’t lose control when you jump on enemies, which is
nice. My one complaint is that Mickey walks pretty
slow and there isn’t any run button. It’s more annoying than
problematic though and the game is designed for a deliberate pace.
The
graphics are outstanding, everything is crisp and the pixel art is
really clean. The Mickey sprite is great and has tons of personality,
especially when he gets hit. The backgrounds are extremely
detailed and I especially liked the living trees in the dark forest
level. I wish the enemies were a little more varied, but the bosses
look great and even feature some mode 7 effects. I think the
presentation more so than the graphics are what stands out
here. Every level has a enemies, backgrounds, objects and sound that
fit together in a cohesive package. The music ranges from good to
downright beautiful and the quality is top notch for the SNES. The
impact of music can be hard to explain and sometimes
a track will just make you feel a certain way. When I got to the ice
level, I swear I felt like I smelled snow in the air despite the fact
that its the middle of August.
So, lets get down to it:
Could
your kids play this game?: Definitely. It’s easy to learn the controls,
the graphics are appealing and it isn’t punishingly difficult. There
is enough variety here to keep the youngins entertained
and there isn’t anything overly frustrating.
Would
your kids enjoy this game?: Probably. This probably hits the target
demographic closer than any game I have looked at so far. Even young
kids will find something to enjoy and Disney fans will
be in their glory.
Would
gamers enjoy it?: Maybe for a quick playthrough. There isn’t anything
wrong with Magical Quest, but it just doesn’t have much substance. It’s
very easy and very short (took me just under an hour)
with little to make it stand out from a gameplay perspective.
7/10
Play this if:
You are a big time Disney Fan
You need a quick playthrough
You are a young or inexperienced gamer looking for a reasonable challenge
Avoid If:
You are the type of gamer that thinks everything should be at least as hard as Dark Souls
You really hate Disney
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