Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse received much fanfare for its smooth gameplay, beautiful graphics and polished feel during the Super Nintendo’s infancy. It was yet another Capcom smash. In ’94 the sequel The Great Circus Mystery added a 2-player mode with Minnie. The next year gamers in Japan were graced by the last in the trilogy — MICKEY & DONALD: MAGICAL ADVENTURE 3.
Today we examine the game that sadly never was in the US (though Capcom ported the trilogy to GBA in 2005).
If you liked the first two, this will be no different. You still get suits with different abilities as you advance through the game, it still employs the snatch-a-block-out-of-the-air-and-toss-it-at-the-baddie system, and it’s still all quite easy. A password system is included to make your life even easier. Animation, as always, is top-notch.
You won’t find anything new here, but perhaps that’s just as well.
The intro shows Mickey visiting Donald. Huey, Dewey and Louie, being bored, venture upstairs to the attic. There they find an ancient book, and, well, curiosity killed the cat, er, duck?
[What am I paying you again? Oh, that’s right. Nothing -Ed.]
And so you’re off with the choice of Mickey or Donald in the 1 player game, or 2 player game if you have a friend on hand. Mickey and Donald have different suits which is a plus. There are 7 stages, with multiple levels in each. Here’s a quick peek:
STAGE ONE
Looks-wise, not much has changed from the original in 1993… but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, ne?
The two blocks up top can be pulled an unlimited number of times.
Use your knight suit to eliminate the first boss, which shows off the system’s Mode 7.
STAGE TWO
Donald displays the power of this particular garment.
The poor chap hasn’t grown into it quite yet!
STAGE THREE
Mid-boss is “dying” to meet you. Sorry.
STAGE FOUR
This costume packs a mean wallop!
STAGE FIVE
The wavy blocks are a nice touch. The bubbles allow Mickey to catch his breath… so don’t stray far away from one!
STAGE SIX
I guess it’s a platforming rule to have at least one ice / snow level eh?
And you wonder why he carries such a big hammer…
STAGE SEVEN
This is just the opening, and already things are heating up!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
If you enjoyed Magical Quest, then you’ll like this one, too. The sequel, The Great Circus Mystery, was a tad disappointing, but this game delivers the goods. I like that Mickey and Donald have different suits with different powers. The visuals are lush and gorgeous. Typical Capcom quality soundtrack. And of course, the gameplay is super polished and fun, especially with a friend at the helm. It’s a shame this game never came out to American shores, but it’s understandable considering it came out in Japan December 1995 (a time where the 32-bit era was beginning its dominance of the market and 16-bit machines were quickly fading away). Thankfully, there isn’t much Japanese text to worry about here, and it’s completely playable without an ounce of Japanese knowledge. I still prefer Magical Quest but this is the sequel The Great Circus Mystery should have been.
In the simplest layman terms, it’s Mickey. It’s Capcom. It’s Mickey BY Capcom. It’s damn good.
Ah, the sixth and final Disney license developed by Capcom on the Nintendo 16-bit, and my favorite of the bunch =)
For the longest time it was the most I spent on a Super Famicart back when I imported Mickey & Donald: Magical Adventure 3 back in 2013 (though lately I’ve noticed copies on eBay sell for less than $40), that is until I imported Märchen Adventure Cotton 100% (another fun Success-developed/Datam Polystar-published collaboration aside from Keeper, sans ASCII’s involvement this time) this Summer
I like The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse but what I’ve always taken issue with is the way it ended; I felt personally that it undermined the buildup leading up to it (especially since there’s no hint or foreshadowing to the reveal of what the game actually is). It’s still good charming fun in its own right but I wish the ending was better (that, and I would’ve liked Pete’s Peak and Snowy Valley to not be so short compared to the other stages); though that’s just me.
I caught up with the first two games back in 2012, with The Great Circus Mystery starring Mickey & Minnie being the first game in the trilogy I played. Yeah, it lacks the sense of magic that the first game had, the title is wrong (the circus is only in the first stage, and the “mystery”–not so great, by the way–is revealed after the second stage), it IS essentially The Magical Quest again (albeit grounded to reality with a weaker buildup this time that enables up to two players to play), the soundtrack is inferior (it can’t touch Mari Yamaguchi’s music stylings of its predecessor), and honestly I can sympathize with people who have a problem with the middle chapter (even though I really liked it enough as its own thing). That said, I still find it fun to play, the colors are better-selected and animation real fluid, and I found its payoff to be more satisfying; again, though, that’s just me. To each their own.
Mickey & Donald: Magical Adventure 3 I found to be the best of both worlds. With a buildup equally as good as its payoff, really fun controls and new magical abilities, it was a good return to form to the first entry in terms that the magic was back. =D The soundtrack was delightfully atmospheric, the areas were really fun (like the forest and the underwater segment), the narrative element inbetween stages was welcome and appropriate given it transpires inside a storybook, and it was so good to finally get a chance to play as Donald Duck in a Disney platformer by Capcom. A real shame it never reached Western shores during its heyday. Last year while my SFC collecting was put on hold I imported the Game Boy Advance port, and while I don’t like that the sound quality is tinny and that the screen is cropped, I did actually find it to be a decent port. Gameplay was still good, the polish was still there, and color-wise it’s really faithful to the SFC original (except for the underwater start of the fifth stage: how do they go from elegant turquoise to dark green? That change just boggles my mind; it’s just one moment, though). Great charming fun on the SFC!
I just want to say, keep up the great work! =)