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Hardly the best or even one of the better of the Capcom games for the Nintendo, Adventures in the Magic Kingdom holds a special place in my gaming heart for a couple of reasons.

The first is because of its stellar soundtrack. Composed by Yoko Shimomura, who went on to orchestrate the scores to Super Mario RPG and Kingdom Hearts, this game has some of the catchiest, most memorable music on the NES. Especially the Autopia level, with its upbeat and fun-on-the-run vibrancy. But every piece of the music has its own distinctive mood that perfectly matches the scene. Whether it be an adventurous beat encouraging the exploration of a pirate-infested city in the Caribbean or a haunting repeated refrain echoing within a lonely dilapidated mansion. If you stop playing for a moment and truly give it a listen, you'll come to appreciate the diversity of the game's soundtrack.

The second, and most important, reason why this game means so much to me is because I played it nonstop as a kid during my many visits to relatives. You see, these relatives didn't have a wide selection of games to choose from - just Tetris, Dr. Mario, Wheel of Fortune, and this. So instead of making small talk with stinky perfumed old ladies on plastic-wrapped couches, I usually stuck my head in front of the tube and played this game to death. This was before I had ever gone to any of the Disney theme parks, so it was also kind of my way of coping with friends shoving in my face how great Disney World was.

It was only when I was older that I had the opportunity to visit Orlando and Disney, and I've been back many times since to make up for lost time. But, you might be asking, once you go and see everything, why ever go back? Well, the parks - I can't explain it. There is a certain "feel" to the place, from the rides to the restaurants - I don't know what it is - but it makes you a kid again and you fall in love all over. You can be any age and enjoy a day at the Magic Kingdom.

When recently I had the chance to buy a prototype of the game, I jumped at the chance. I had always wondered if there were extra levels never used in the game. Just by strolling around the world map, you will notice a number of unused attractions blended into the scenery. One of these attractions is at the very top of the map - it's a small world. It's not hard to imagine a level based on the colorful ride. If Capcom can make a level after a dark ride with little to no visual flair (Space Mountain), surely a more cosmetically attractive ride was possible. During the trivia game, one of the characters even refers to it's a small world by name and presupposes that you know where it's located. (For that matter, Tom Sawyer Island is also mentioned by a character during the trivia. Another missing level?)

You also notice that around Space Mountain is one other unused ride, called Astro-Jets, which I guess would have been too similar in space theme.

The last unused ride on the map was always a mystery to me as a kid. Using Anaheim's Disneyland layout as a guide, the placement of the brown-and-yellow building to the right of Pirates of Caribbean could mean that it's likely one of two attractions: either Swiss Family Treehouse or The Enchanted Tiki Room, both of which are directly to the right of Pirates, with The Tiki Room placed a little farther away.

Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed when I went to test the game out - the proto does not feature any new levels. The good news is that it does have several other changes.

The first thing I noticed of the prototype was the faster, sped up movement of the controls. At first I thought it was my imagination, but then I replayed the released version and found that to move slower and clumsier in comparison. I especially noticed this on the platform levels, like the Haunted Mansion. Those possessed flying chairs really move in the proto!

I also detected that the music plays at a quicker tempo, making the soundtrack actually more enjoyable to listen to.

But these are the generalities; let's break down the differences that you can see.

Adventures in the XXX Kingdom: Garbled Title Screen For some reason in the prototype version, the top portion of the castle graphic and the title's text are covered in x's. Do I sense some anti-Disney sentiment here?

The Eisner-Would-Have-Had-Multiple-Heart-Attacks Version: Missing Mainstreet Store Graphics Disney wouldn't be Disney without shops at every corner peddling everything from character autograph books to smoky turkey legs. Not so much in the prototype, as the graphics on top of Mainstreet's roofs have not yet been added.

Planet A From Outer Space: Letterless Planets In Space Mountain, the upper control panel where the letter of the current star you are on should be displayed is mysteriously blacked out in the proto. This "blacked out" spot is actually a black transparency, so the scrolling background comes through. I always founds it odd how Capcom named the planets after letters, but now I think I've found out that they didn't have the space for much else. And, yes, there is a pun in that last sentence.

Mickey Mouse's Missing Meteorite Missiles: Altered Graphics Also in Space Mountain, when you go to press A to blast a meteor, the released version's missiles are replaced with those dreaded x's, similar to the ones we saw earlier on the title screen, except in white. I suppose those graphic tiles were still under development.

Mr. Toad's Wild Toll Bridge: Different Bridge Graphic Autopia's drawbridge is changed (or warped?) from the released version. It looks ricketier this way.

Redhead Wenches Wrenched: Altered Maiden Graphic Fans of S&M torture, I am pleased to announce a different rope position around the tied-up maidens in Pirates of the Caribbean: in this version, the roped are draped vertically over the squirming victims' bodies. Pervert.

Starry Seal-Wrap: Not-Yet-Changed Star Icon In the released version, you might notice that the stars littered on the tracks of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad have different graphics than the ones you find in other levels. That's because those found on Big Thunder are worth 5 star points each instead of the normal 1. These special stars are distinguished from normal stars with a white square outline drawn around the icon. The prototype does not have this 5-star icon made yet, so it shows the graphic for a 1 star instead.

Big Thunder Drunken Train Derailment: Glitch and Secret Unused Track Now this is a fun one. In the prototype, there is a way to derail the mine cart in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so that you go straight down the course unharmed, right past the goal at the end. Eventually the terrain turns into scrolling zeroes that race along with the traveling train for a good 10-15 seconds. There is an end to this madness; the scenery does come back, as does a new hidden track, then ends just as quickly because it deadends. Still, wow, what a ride while it lasted. Ma, no more moonshine for this cowboy.