Gamer Tuesday

Pap the Disney Gamer's Highlights: The Weirdest Disney Games

I LOVE weird games. Yes, I like my platforming adventures, classic role playing games and even the occasional war game. But if a game is very unique, different, and wacky, I am there, day one. To me, they represent those rare gaming moments that take you to an event that you don't always get to partake in. I've played everything from games about fish men to games where you do some mundane tasks like pulling pants down, feeding the cat and poking chickens... in less than 5 seconds.

The Disney gaming universe is also filled with its share of weird games. Some are weird because they take a well known Disney franchise and places it in a concept that is very different and unexpected, others are weird because the license itself its weird. These are some of the weirdest games you may encounter when shopping around for games:

Think about it. The franchise stars kids and teenagers with really weird hair, they wear even weirder clothes, yield giant keys as weapons, fight off enemies that have no hearts, Mickey, Donald and Goofy often join the foray, and they get to travel to other Disney worlds where they must not utter the fact that they are from another universe. And in one of the games, you get to summon Bambi into battle! If you are not weirded out by that, then Kingdom Hearts is for you. But in all seriousness, the Kingdom Hearts franchise is actually one of the deepest and most popular RPGs of recent times, thanks to a story all about friendship and the magic of worlds. But when it was first announced, people thought it was one of the weirdest crossover titles they had ever seen. And yet, it all worked out, just like bacon and chocolate...
                                 

The Little Mermaid tells the story of a young mermaid whose only wish is to become human so she can win the heart of a beautiful prince. But in order to do so she sacrifices her voice to the sea witch Ursula, and must win his love before the sun sets on the third day. Tell me, did any of that make you think “PINBAAAAAALLL GAMEEEEEEEE”? Well, that is the basic premise behind the Little Mermaid Pinball Frenzy for the Game Boy Color. You have two pinball tables based on the two Little Mermaid movies, and you must score as many points as possible. It's not a bad game, nor is it very strange regardless of what my ramblings say. But considering that the Little Mermaid story is very romantic and about the frailties of life, it is weird that they made a pinball game out of the movies.
                                                    

3. Beauty and the Beast: Board Game Adventure (Game Boy Color)

Much like “The Little Mermaid Pinball Frenzy”, this game takes a romantic concept and turns it into a lighthearted game. The object of the game is to reach to the finish line of the board game. You will be playing as the characters from the movie. Each space you land on features a different mini-game, such as fighting off wolves as the Beast and juggling logs with Maurice. Again, it's not a surreal experience, but with the story being more dramatic than usual it is surprising to see a game like this was made.
                                   

4. Mickey's Speedway USA (Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color)

One day, Mickey Mouse decides to give Pluto a diamond studded dog collar, which catches the attention of the weasels. They kidnap him, forcing Mickey to call all of his friends up and go on a rescue mission...by participating in kart races...across the United States of America. Did I mention the game was developed by an English development house named Rare? All kidding aside, Mickey's Speedway USA is a fun kart racing game starring all of your favorite Mickey Mouse friends. It is very weird, however, how all these different elements came together to give life to this game. Definitely not the weirdest, but it is certainly a little screwy.
                                              

5. Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse (Super NES, Game Boy Advance)

   This Super NES classic is more charmingly whimsical than weird, but the story behind it is quite silly. One day while playing catch, Pluto goes over the hill and disappears. Mickey goes after him, and ends up in a different world filled with magic. The game's appeal is that Mickey can use different costumes to attack enemies and explore worlds. He can be a magician, a mountain climber and a fireman. Yes, a fireman! Seriously, how can you resist fireman Mickey?? Once again, it isn't really that weird, but it certainly is surreal to see Mickey defeating magical bats with his fire hose.
                              

Those are a sample of some weird Disney gaming moments. Not all of them are completely weird, but it shows that no matter the limitations, a developer will try and create a game out of anything Disney has to offer.

Now, if you excuse me, I have to go back and continue working on my own weird Disney game: It stars this weird Disney nerd who gets trapped by the Evil Queen from Snow White in an alternate universe where he must use a magic wand as his weapon, and he has to sing and dance in order to survive the hordes of the dancing mushrooms from Fantasia!

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