MIXED BAG. PRESENTS
MAGICAL QUEST STARRING MICKEY MOUSE (SNES)!
Developer: CAPCOM
System: Super Nintendo (1992)
Genre: Platformer
In amping up myself to review Asura's Wrath (from Capcom & Cyber-Connect-2) , I've decided to finally do the review for the third game in my trio of favorite Disney-Capcom games. I love the Goof Troop SNES game and everyone loves the Aladdin SNES game, so there were some high expectations when I revisited Magical Quest with my good friend Corey Blouin. This was a game I had played as a rental as a kid and my memories of the rolling down a beanstalk on a giant tomato haven't exactly go away with years of FPS & RPGs.
How could a game like this have left itself imprinted in my memories? What does this game have that makes it standout? Is it the presentation, the gameplay, or the difficulty? Let's find out.
STORY
Time for an aside:In the first video of her kick-starter funded series, Anita Sarkeesian harped on games where, as the protagonist, the male protagonist has to save a female character from a villain and how, in her feminist opinion, this reduces the female to an object to be won. One of the best replies I've seen to her video was from Feminism Vs. Facts. The best point to take away, because I don't agree with all of his methods of criticism that can be antagonistic, involves his pointing out that Sarkeesian's analysis that I stated above is complete bullocks. If your girlfriend gets kidnapped, do you a) assume she's a grown adult who can look after herself or b) try to help her? The answer is b). Sarkeesian uses feminist analysis to argue that any story that involves a protagonist rescuing a "damsel in distress" turns the female into an object or "prize to be won" rather than someone the protagonist loves enough put themselves at risk. The problem with hardcore feminism is that often can't see the forest for the trees and searches for injustice in everything like a nutjob who sees Jesus in an oil stain.
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| PSEUDO-INTELLECTUAL SOAPBOX TIMES... |
Personally, I think this story mechanic is not some insidious patriarchal plot to undermine women's liberties but, instead, is just an easy way to get a player invested in the protagonist's quest that can be set up in ten seconds that really is just to get the player from the first level to the last level. Arguably, this is the weakest scenario for a protagonist because, rather than starting with the protagonist actively doing something, they're reacting to the actions of exterior forces (my characters are usually victims of circumstance in my story-- it's easy to establish a connection with a victim, because the emotional content of a dream is difficult to put down, but the emotional content of a tragedy is easy to relate). Wait... where was I? Oh right!
Anyway, the game involves Mickey trying to save Pluto after he has been kidnapped by an evil sorcerer King Pete. He fights his way to the castle with the help of a wizard and his friends, fighting evil monsters and bosses along the way, and ultimately triumphing over evil It all turns out to be a dream. No one complains about a protagonist trying to save his dog as being specist.
PRESENTATION
Dem 16-bit graphics! This game is beautiful. Look at the textures, the colors, the designs of the objects-- even the golden Mouse-Ears blocks-- that all manage to translate the history of Mickey Mouse and Disney design to a platformer that makes Super Mario World look lacking in depth of eye-candy. The iconic-art and gorgeous visuals create a completely tantalizing experience that proves that Disney and Iwerks knew what they were doing when they were designing these characters decades ago (heck, Disney is the foundation of manga/anime!),
And they didn't just nail the graphical design-- the sound design is superb! From the sound effects from every time Mickey jumps on some poor suckers head to the effect of shooting magic at a boss, every action in the game is satisfying. To top it all off, the soundtrack is one of the best on the SNES library. Unlike Aladdin, it has a completely original soundtrack that blends a digital orchestra into something that will have you pump to reach the next level. The soundtrack rivals A Link to the Past (there I said a crazy thing) in terms of it's sheer earcandy and whimsy.
P.S. This is stylistically the forbear of Mega Man 7 and Mega Man X's design. I love both of those games and I think a lot of people have forgotten titles like Magical Quest that were stepping stones in some of Capcom's most beloved titles. Heck, I've heard that Mega Man 7 included some work from a Disney employee on the Shade Man level.
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GAMEPLAY
This is "Disney's Mega Man". You platform, you pick-up and recharge new powers (Fire Fighter, Wizard, and Jack and the Beanstock), and you work your way to each boss. Yes, it's more linear than Mega Man, but the similarities between this title and Capcom's most iconic robot's series is completely inarguable. It makes itself stand out because it's like some kind of bizarre Super Mario Bros. 2 Doki Doki Panic hybrid. You hop on your enemies, pick them up, and throw them. You do the same thing with blocks and other objects. This combination makes it something completely unique amongst 2D platformers I've played.
And yet, that's not always a good thing; the platforming is floaty with a bit of crap detection when it comes to landing on platforms that can be the difference between life and death in this title. When combined with difficulty spikes in bosses that require a ridiculous number of hits and/or have almost inavoidable attacks, believe it or not, Mickey Mouse's Magical Quest can put you right on the road to Rage Quit town (I'm looking at you Walrus Eskimo Joe Pete boss).
PROS VS. CONS
+ This game captures the Disney style in a way that not only proves the iconic nature of the Disney designs that inspired both Western and Eastern cartoons & animation, but also manages to make itself one of the most attractive games on the SNES.
+ The 16-bit horns, drums, and flutes create a soundtrack that is on par with the best Mega Man games and even rubs shoulders with A Link to the Past for something wholly original and engrossing.
+ With a variety of ways to play the game through the various power-ups and secrets you can find, the game has a certain level of replay value despite its length.
- The platforming controls are almost good, but you can't always trust your footing. Furthermore, the level design can be quite torturous during a couple of levels where you'll end up just trying to dodge enemies and get to the end with your hearts, lives, and magic in tact for the boss waiting to stomp your lungs out-- speaking of which...
- It suffers from difficulty spikes that almost made me and Corey quit. This game has bosses that make the most devastating Robot Master from Mega Man look like a boss from a Kirby game.
CONCLUSION?
3/5.
3/5.
This was a tough cookie to crack. On one hand, nostalgia made this graphically and musically pleasing game a rewarding return on my efforts but, on the other hand, the difficult spikes and short length make this game go from fun to insufferable pretty quickly. The main reason I remember this game is a kid is the second level. If I managed to get past the first boss, Petey Snake, and managed to get down the beanstock, I would almost always lose the second boss. I nicknamed the second boss Scrote-bat because he pulls little testicle-shaped bats out of overalls and throws them at you and because he bullocks. The worst part? Compared to the Eskimo Boss, he is nothing.
Regardless of the game's spikes in difficulty, I would reccommend this game highly to anyone nostalgic for Disney or Capcom or SNES for that matter. If you can handle the difficulty spikes, which I did but only because I'd been on a Mega Man marathon for weeks before tackling this bad boy, this game is easily a 4/5 and well worth the price of admission.
Also, anyone want to explain to me why Epic Mickey had to suck so hard?
