The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse

Overview

The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (released in Japan as Mickey no Magical Adventure, which loosely translates to "The Magical Adventure of Mickey") is a side-scrolling platformer developed and originally published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992.

As one of several collaborations between Capcom and Disney, the game stars world-famous Disney mascot Mickey Mouse, who must use the power of three magical costumes to rescue his dog Pluto from the clutches of the evil Emperor Pete.

Magical Quest was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2002 as Disney's Magical Quest Starring Mickey and Minnie Mouse (which was released in Japan as Disney's Mickey to Minnie no Magical Quest, loosely translated to "Disney's Magical Quest of Mickey and Minnie"). This version adds Minnie Mouse as an alternate playable character, a save system, extra minigames (which include two-player modes via link cable), and connectivity bonuses accessed through the separate GameCube title Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse.

The original Magical Quest is the first in a trilogy of SNES platformers collectively titled "Disney's Magical Quest" and was followed by The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey and Minnie two years later. The third game was originally only released in Japan in 1995; it eventually received an international release on GBA as Disney's Magical Quest 3 Starring Mickey and Donald.

Story

Mickey is in the park playing catch with his dog Pluto and his friends Donald and Goofy on a beautiful day. When Pluto chases after an errant pitch, Mickey follows him straight over the edge of a steep cliff and lands in an unfamiliar fantasy world nestled among the clouds. He is soon greeted by a kindly old wizard who explains that Pluto has been kidnapped by the powerful Emperor Pete. Ignoring the wizard's warning to turn back, Mickey resolves to travel to Pete's castle and rescue Pluto. The wizard agrees to help by scattering items throughout Pete's kingdom which will aid Mickey in his quest.

Gameplay

Magical Quest follows the standard format of most 2D platforming games. Mickey is maneuvered with the D-pad and jumps with the B button by default; he can jump onto most enemies' heads to stun or damage them. The game does not feature a run button, but players can increase Mickey's speed and jumping distance by walking across a downward-sloped platform until he breaks into a run.

Pressing Y will cause Mickey to grab certain nearby objects. Pressing Y while holding something causes Mickey to throw the item; objects thrown in this way will usually spin along the ground until they bounce off a wall, giving Mickey the ability to attack enemies at range. After jumping onto their heads once to stun them, Mickey can also pick up certain smaller enemies to use as projectiles. However, Mickey cannot pick up objects while wearing a costume; instead, pressing Y with a costume equipped will activate the costume's special ability. Players can cycle between Mickey's available costumes with the L and R shoulder buttons before pressing A to confirm their selection.

The player begins the game with three Hearts representing Mickey's hit points, although choosing the "Easy" difficulty setting boosts Mickey's starting health to five Hearts. By collecting Big Heart health upgrades throughout each stage, Mickey's health meter can be increased to a maximum of ten Hearts.

Costumes

• Wizard: Mickey's first costume allows him to fire bolts of magic energy straight ahead, which can be charged before firing. However, each shot also consumes a portion of his suit's magic meter. The Wizard costume also allows Mickey to breathe underwater and ride magic carpets.

• Firefighter: Donning these boots and helmet gives Mickey a powerful firehose that extinguishes most flames on contact. The force of the water can even push certain blocks around to create new footholds. Similar to the Wizard suit, Mickey must replenish his limited water supply with items.

• Mountaineer: The final costume equips Mickey with a grappling hook that can attach to platforms and special grapple points, allowing players to scale dangerous cliffs and cross wide gaps. Unlike the other two costumes, the Mountaineer suit does not feature an energy meter and its special ability be used freely.

Items

• Coins: Mickey can collect Coins to buy items at General Stores hidden throughout Pete's kingdom.
• Small Heart: Restores one Heart.
• Big Heart: Adds an extra Heart to Mickey's health meter.
• Mickey Doll: Grants an extra life.
• Magic Lamp: Partially restores the Wizard's magic meter.
• Wizard Upgrade: Permanently cuts the Wizard's rate of magic consumption by half.
• Fire Hydrant: Partially refills the Firefighter's water supply.
• Firefighter Upgrade: Permanently cuts the Firefighter's rate of water consumption by half.
• Blueberries: Worth 200 points.
• Apple: Worth 500 points.

Stages

• Stage 1 - Treetops: Mickey climbs down a giant beanstalk surrounded by clouds to reach ground level. At the end of the stage, he fights a large serpent guarding the entrance to a forest.

• Stage 2 - Dark Forest: These woods are infested with Pete's minions, but Mickey's new Wizard costume makes short work of most foes. However, the giant spider boss also requires players to move quickly in order to avoid being knocked into a pit.

• Stage 3 - Fire Grotto: After descending deep into the earth, Firefighter Mickey must battle the flames to reach the stage's blazing boss.

• Stage 4 - Pete's Peak: Mountaineer Mickey boldly scales the narrow cliffs to reach the boss, an evil bird that can blow players away from its nest with powerful winds.

• Stage 5 - Snowy Valley: Slippery sleds allow Mickey to traverse this ice stage quickly, but its ice-skating walrus boss uses some smooth moves on a half-pipe to run circles around players.

• Stage 6 - Pete's Castle: The gigantic fortress of Emperor Pete features the toughest enemies and most dangerous hazards in the game. As the final boss, Pete towers over Mickey and uses several different magical attacks that can be difficult to avoid.