Pap the
Disney Gamer's Highlights: The
Magical Quest Starring Mickey
Mouse
System:
Super Nintendo Entertainment
System (1992), Game Boy Advance
(2002)
Developed by: Capcom

Ah, Capcom. You
make my job so easy. In fear of
sounding like a broken record,
Capcom has produced some amazing
games featuring the Disney name,
creating some of the most
beloved gaming memories ever.
Today's game is one of my
personal favorites from their
lineup, and one of the best
Mickey Mouse games ever made:
The Magical Quest for the Super
Nintendo Entertainment System,
released in North America in
December of 1992.
Before I move on
with the game, let's talk about
Mickey Mouse. Unlike any other
cartoon character from his era,
Mickey Mouse has become a
worldwide icon that defines a
culture people either really
love or hate. This is because he
is a very diverse character,
allowing him to be in any role
without losing any of his charm
and personality. On film this
has been captured greatly,
thanks to his countless shorts
and movies like 'Fantasia' and
'Fun and Fancy Free.'

Video game
designers have taken notice of
this, creating Mickey Mouse
games where he can be whatever
he needs to be in any random
universe and still be Mickey
Mouse. Kingdom Hearts, Epic
Mickey, Mickey Mania, the list
goes on. Magical Quest is a
great example of mentality at
work.
In The Magical
Quest, players take control of
Mickey Mouse as he is plunged
into a fantastical world in
search of Pluto, who has been
kidnapped by the evil Emperor
Pete. Throughout his adventures
he will meet a friendly wizard
who will give him special
outfits that give him powers, as
well as his pal Goofy. It's a
very simple story that anyone
can understand and enjoy. Best
of all, it does feel like a
classic Disney story.

The Magical
Quest is a 2D platformer akin to
games like Super Mario Bros. For
the most part, it is rather
straightforward, save for one
thing. Remember what I said
about a wizard giving Mickey
special outfits? This is the
main appeal of the game. Mickey
can don these outfits that will
give him powers in order to help
him navigate the world. The
first and standard outfit is the
wizard outfit. Mickey is able to
shoot blasts of magic out of his
fingers. A magic blast can be
charged in order to deliver a
stronger attack. The second
outfit is the fireman outfit.
When wearing it, Mickey gains a
water hose that allows him to
shoot water at hot platforms or
fiery obstacles. Finally,
there's the mountain hiker
outfit. This outfit gives Mickey
the ability to climb platforms
using a special grabbing arm.
It should be
noted that the wizard and
fireman outfits use magical
energy. That means that if your
energy meter runs out you won't
be able to use these attacks
unless you find more refills. It
is important to conserve your
energy, because later on you
will face these larger than life
bosses that will provide a great
deal of challenge.

A common problem
some gamers have with The
Magical Quest is that it has a
slow pace, especially when
compared to other platformers of
the era like Sonic the Hedgehog
and Super Mario World. In my
case, I never noticed this. In
fact, the slower pace works as
an advantage for some as it
allows players to be challenged
without being beaten by the
game. In other words, The
Magical Quest offers a
commendable level of challenge
where you will work hard to
complete it, but you won't feel
discouraged when you fail.
One thing I love
about The Magical Quest is that
it does feel like a magical,
Disney game. This is thanks to
the great presentation. The
graphics are very warm and
colorful, giving it a look that
resembles the hand painted
backgrounds of classic Mickey
Mouse shorts. Mickey himself is
not as animated as in other
games, but still conveys a lot
of personality. Every time he
changes into an outfit, a
curtain appears in order to
protect his modesty. Whenever he
is attacked by an enemy, he
shakes his head. It's these
little touches that give the
game an endearing personality.
The game's soundtrack is made up
of original songs, meaning no
classic Disney songs are
present. However, the soundtrack
does have a Disney quality to it
that makes it more magical.

The Magical
Quest was re-released in August
of 2002 for the Game Boy
Advance. This time, Minnie Mouse
joins in the fun as an alternate
playable character. She too dons
the same outfits as Mickey does.
The port also includes a
multiplayer mode as well as a
save feature.
Regardless of
whether you played this on the
Super NES or the Game Boy
Advance, The Magical Quest is a
fine Disney game. The usage of
outfits give the game a lot of
variety and flavor, and the
level of challenge is appealing
towards both gamers and Disney
fans. Mickey may have starred in
bigger, more ambitious games
after The Magical Quest, but
this is easily one of the best
he has ever appeared in.