So I've just come back from Disneyland Paris. It was fantastic and awesome! Even if it was a bit cold too. Anyway, whilst travelling to Mickey Mouse Land I was playing some retro (shock!) Disney games on the way which I never had the chance to play before. One of the games I played which has received quite well was Mickey Mania for the SNES. I've mentioned this in my top 5 Disney games blog, but it did seem Disney had contracts with multiple companies until they eventually had their own game development studio. Mickey Mania was actually developed by Sony of all companies. So what did I make of this particular adventure starring the main Disney mouse (and trust me, there were quite a few in the 90s) well let's read on and find out!
It's a 2D platformer, as you'd expect from a mascot character starring in a video game in the 90s, and you play as the mouse himself. I have to admit the main reason I decided to try this particular Mickey game over others was the fact that the levels take place in various famous shorts starring the mouse over his incredible career; from the first level which sees Mickey platforming through the black and white docks of his first short of Steamboat Willie right up to his most recent short and story at the time, The Prince and The Pauper. I haven't seen all of the shorts which Mickey stars in throughout the game, but the shorts I have watched seemed to have been nailed in the game; the presentation looks ace and captures the feel of the short very well. The first level of Steamboat Willie especially looks fantastic and is a great introduction to the game. The level itself is in monochrome and even contains other characters found in the classic animation such as retro Mickey himself in his trademark pose of whistling on the boat, to Mickey's arch nemesis, Pete! Pete is of course complete in his monochrome attire just like the retro Mickey. The game has done a fantastic job of converting the famous episode of the mouse into video game form.
Mickey also controls very well too, which is essential to the foundation to a solid platformer. Mickey feels pretty light and has quite a high jump, but at the same time is responsive and handles the way you'd expect. The animation on the mouse looks great too; in fact combining the way Mickey moves and the sublime art and presentation within the game it would of been one of the best looking platformers back in the day of the SNES. Levels not only look the part but play well and are differentiated well too. No one level feels the same. Different gameplay mechanics are brought into the various levels to keep them from getting stale. For example fast moving sections which require the player to react fast (similar to the mine cart stages in Donkey Kong Country). Nothing too mind-blowing for the time, its all mechanics which have been used in past 2D platformers but they do help keep the player invested in Mickey's quest. Even though the game looks like a cute cartoon starring one of the most child-friendly mascots of all time, don't be fooled. The game is pretty difficult. You'll find yourself dying quite a bit until eventually you learn the level and its obstacles. The game never feels unfair though, as I mentioned earlier control is tight and the levels aren't really full of bad mechanics such as tons of bottomless pits or one hit kill scenarios. Usually, when Mickey loses a life it is down to the player.
So yeah! I was glad I gave this particular Mickey game a go because it turned out to be a very good one. There were quite a few Mickey games scattered across the SNES and Mega Drive library back in the day. It was great to find a great game starring the famous mouse and I would happily play it again. Castle of Illusion, which is often cited as the one of the mouse's best works, still plays that little bit better (especially the remake), but for me this would definitely be my second choice of Mickey game to play right now.
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