Disney's Magical Quest

Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck are playing catch in the park. When it is Goofy's turn to throw the ball, he accidentally throws it too far. Pluto runs off chasing the ball and Goofy runs after Pluto, leaving Mickey alone.[12] Mickey goes searching for his friends after a while, but falls down a cliff into a strange magical land. Later, Mickey meets an old wizard who tells Mickey that Pluto was taken by the Emperor Pete. Mickey sets out to find his friend and stop Pete's tyranny. He eventually rescues Pluto, but in that moment Mickey wakes up in his bed, revealing that the events of the game were just a dream, and Donald suggests they play another game of catch. Mickey happily agrees, and he, his friends and Pluto all live happily ever after.[6][13]

Mickey Mouse can wear four different outfits in The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse. Some outfits can be upgraded in the stores found throughout the game.

Mickey starts in his traditional clothing. It allows him to grab certain objects and spin-throw them. Mickey's first unlockable outfit, the magician outfit, is awarded to him in the beginning of the second level and allows Mickey to shoot magic blasts at enemies. The magic blasts fired are larger the longer they are charged. However, shooting magic drains Mickey's magic meter, which is refilled by collecting magical lamps. Additionally, Mickey can breathe underwater and control magic carpets with the magician outfit.

The firefighter uniform that Mickey finds in the third level allows him to spray water streams at enemies. In addition, the water stream can be used to put out fires, push blocks and form icicles. Similarly to the magician outfit, spraying water with the firefighter uniform drains Mickey's water meter which is refilled by collecting the fire hydrant item.

In the fourth level of the game Goofy gives Mickey the mountain-climbing gear, which allows Mickey to use a grappling hook to attach to certain objects. He can then hoist or swing himself up on top of them. Moreover, his grappling hook can be used to grab items. The grappling hook can also be used as a weapon to grab enemies and throw them.[6][12][14]

The game was remade for the Game Boy Advance in 2002 with the name Disney's Magical Quest Starring Mickey and Minnie. It was developed by Capcom and published by Nintendo. In the GBA version Minnie Mouse was added to the game as a playable character, though she is identical in gameplay to Mickey. Additionally, four minigames for both single-player and multiplayer were added to the remake. The multiplayer mini-games were played with the GBA link cable and only one cartridge was needed to play with a friend. Notably, the GBA port also introduced a save feature and could connect to Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse via the GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable.[15]

The Super NES version of The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse was generally well received by critics. Most reviewers praised the detailed and colourful graphics and animations in the game, with some reviewers even calling them some of the best on the system to date. The bosses and backgrounds were specifically praised for their appearance. The outfit system was also well received and many critics felt it added depth to the gameplay. The sound and music received mixed to positive ratings, as some thought the music loops were too short and that the sound wasn't up to par with the rest of the game, while some found the music and sound effects very suitable for a Disney cartoon game. A great deal of the criticism was attributed to the difficulty of the game. Many reviewers believed that the game was too easy and/or short, primarily due to the game's unlimited continues that allowed the player to replay a level until finished, which lead to them recommending the game only for younger children. To counter the game's relatively low difficulty, some reviewers felt that the game's difficulty option should be set to hard to enjoy the game fully.^[a] The Super NES version sold 1.2 million copies worldwide.[20]

The Game Boy Advance version of the game received mixed to positive reviews. Again, most critics liked the graphics of the game, although some thought that the GBA version had slightly worse graphics than the SNES version. The cropped backgrounds and smaller view area in comparison to the SNES version were noted. The game's length was also criticized, as the original SNES version was. Most critics considered the GBA-specific multiplayer mini-games to add little value to the game; the fact that the Game Boy Advance consoles must be turned off and on to change multiplayer game was also not well received. On the other hand, being able to play multiplayer with only one cartridge was held in high regard.^[b]

In 2009, GamesRadar ranked the game fifth on their list of the seven best Disney games, saying "This is another brilliant example of using a license properly, not falling back on it entirely. Mickey alone could have sold this game, but as was common in Capcom's early Disney games, the gameplay was fleshed out beyond contemporary offerings and would have proudly succeeded without the license at all."[21] IGN rated the game 23rd in its "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time". They praised the "spectacular" platforming and the costume-based action.[22]

Mickey and Minnie Mouse travel by bus to the circus at the edge of town where they are going to spend the day. When the bus arrives, a little late, Goofy appears and tells Mickey and Minnie that everyone in the circus tents has disappeared. Mickey and Minnie are surprised by Goofy's claim, but choose to go to the circus and see it with their own eyes. At the circus they realize that their friends Pluto and Donald are gone. Mickey and Minnie must now find out what is going on at the circus.[30]

Unlike the first game, Minnie Mouse also features as a playable character. In a single-player game the player can choose to play as either Mickey or Minnie, but the choice makes no difference to gameplay and is purely aesthetic.[31] Moreover, the game features two player cooperative gameplay, unlike the previous game where the players had to take turns. Another new feature is a password back-up, allowing the player(s) to continue where they stopped playing the game.[32]

The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie features four different outfits.

Similar to the first game in the series, the default outfit allows Mickey and Minnie to grab certain objects, including some enemies, and spin them away. The first unlockable outfit, the sweeper outfit, allows Mickey and Minnie to suck up certain enemies with their vacuum cleaner. If an enemy is sucked up using the vacuum cleaner outfit, the enemy turns into a coin. Using the vacuum cleaner consumes battery power which can be refilled by collecting the extra battery item.

The second unlockable outfit, the safari suit, allows Mickey and Minnie to climb walls as well as swing from special circular blocks. The third and final unlockable outfit, the cowboy outfit, includes a hobby horse and a pop-gun. The hobby horse grants Mickey and Minnie a higher jump and the pop-gun allows Mickey and Minnie to damage enemies by firing corks at them. Firing a cork decreases the power meter which can be refilled by collecting cork gun items. Additionally, the hobby horse allows Mickey and Minnie to use the move Desperado Dash, which sends them flying through the air but drains the power meter slightly.[30][33]

The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie was re-released in 2003 under the title Disney's Magical Quest 2 Starring Mickey & Minnie. The password feature in the original game was replaced with a save feature in the remake. No mini-games were added to this version, but the main adventure could be played by two players using the GBA link cable.[34]

The SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive and GBA version of The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie received mixed to positive reviews. As with the previous game in the series, the easy difficulty and length of the game were criticized while the colourful graphics, outfit system and music received mostly praise. The new co-operative gameplay feature was considered to be one of the game's greatest strengths. On the negative side, some critics noted that The Great Circus Mystery was very similar to the previous game. Much like the first game in the series, the game was mostly recommended for younger players. The GBA version was criticized for not pushing the system's limits and for not providing any new features beside link cable support. Since the SNES version was introduced closely to Mickey Mania, another SNES video game with Mickey Mouse in the title role, both games were compared to each other to a certain extent.^[c]

On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the game a 26 out of 40.[37] Next Generation reviewed the Genesis version of the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "compared to Sony Imagesoft's Mickey Mania, The Great Circus Mystery is just a great big disappointment".[39]

While hiding in the attic from their uncle Donald Duck, Donald's triplet nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, discover an old book. The book, soon revealed to be magical, transports the triplets to Storybook Land. In Storybook Land Huey, Dewey and Louie are captured by King Pete, who plans to take over the real world. Mickey and Donald are told what happened by the fairy of Storybook Land and therefore decide to enter the book in order to find the duckling brothers and stop Pete once more.[45][46]

The game is quite similar to Disney's Magical Quest 2, though with some new features. There is a cartridge save feature instead of the password system in the previous game. Additionally, some of Mickey and Donald's outfits of the same type has different strengths and weaknesses.[47] By finding secret doors scattered through the levels, bonus rooms can be found. These allow the player to pick a playing card, and if they guess correctly an award is given.[46]

The Game Boy Advance version allows two players to play together with a GBA link cable cooperatively as well as in some competitive mini-games.[41]

As stated, some outfits feature different abilities depending on whether Mickey or Donald is wearing them. Some outfits can be upgraded in stores found throughout the game.

As with the two previous games in the series, the default outfit allows Mickey and Donald to grab certain enemies and blocks and spin them away.[44] The first unlockable costume for Mickey is a medieval knight's armour, including a shield and a lance with a boxing glove on the end. Due to its weight the armour sinks in water, but the shield can protect Mickey from attacks and the lance allows him to attack in four different directions. Donald uses a wooden barrel as armour, a metal bowl for a helmet and wields a hammer as his weapon. Unlike Mickey's armour the barrel allows Donald to float in water and he can also duck into the barrel for cover and roll around, both of which can also be used as a platform for Mickey to stand on in 2-player mode.[41] Donald swings his hammer in an arc.[45] Both costumes have a bar that charges over time, increasing the damage of their next attack.

The second unlockable costume is the lumberjack climbing gear. It can be used to catch enemies and throw them and climb trees.[44] The final outfit is a magician outfit. It allows Mickey and Donald to cast spells with which they can find secret areas and avoid traps. Donald's costume, in which he holds a magical lamp, can summon a genie hand which can be used as a platform for Mickey to stand on in 2-player mode.[41]

The Game Boy Advance version of Disney's Magical Quest 3 Starring Mickey & Donald received mixed to positive reviews. As with the other games in the series, the graphics and animations were praised while the length and easy difficulty was criticized. The new outfit system with different outfits for Mickey and Donald was well received by critics, and alongside the cooperative-gameplay feature many critics found it added a new dimension to the game.^[d]