GRAPHICS SOUND CONTROL FRUSTRATION FUN FACTOR OVERALL

NES 1 Player Platformer Capcom was best known for its Mega Man series in the NES days, but the company was also famous for releasing the Disney line of NES games during the system’s golden years. Mickey Mousecapades was the company’s freshman outing in the world of Disney, and it shows. The story is virtually nonexistent, as it seems like Mickey and Minnie Mouse are out on the worst date ever. Apparently, though, the Evil Queen has captured Alice (from Alice in Wonderland), and Mickey and Minnie must save her (though this is not indicated until the end of the game). The pair must travel through various locals to defeat the Queen. Mickey Mousecapades’ is a basic platform hopping game where the player has to get from point A to point B while staying in one piece, while avoiding such things as irate pigs, possessed brooms, birds that use its droppings for a weapon, and other miscellaneous somethings. Instead of just controlling Mickey, however, players are also responsible for Minnie, who shadows Mickey’s movements ala Binary World. While neat in theory, Minnie is nothing but an extra character that gets in the way. The problems with the pair system are vexing enough to bring down the score. Minnie’s movements match Mickey’s fairly well, and she’s no slouch when it comes to catching up with him. However, for precise platform jumping in some areas, it is difficult to get Mickey and Minnie on the same platform at the same time. This exhibits itself as an annoying problem, since Mickey can’t leave a room without Minnie. Fortunately, Minnie can’t take damage from enemies, meaning there is no reason to worry about her well-being most of the time, though she can fall into holes, costing a life. There are a few items to aid the two in their quest. Cakes and red diamonds restore health, blue diamonds destroy all onscreen enemies, and stars can be collected early on to shoot at enemies (even Minnie can shoot stars if a second is collected, though she shoots at a slower pace). Even the fairy from Adventure Island shows up to grant invincibility (Hudson Soft assisted in the production of the game). One-ups are also scattered throughout the game in hidden locations. While the game is a standard platform game, Capcom attempted to add variety by having each level have a gimmick. For example, while the first level plays like an indoor, multi-directional platformer (a sort of funhouse), the second has a side-scrolling structure. There are invisible items that can be revealed by shooting them enough (though this is a double-edged sword, there are times when a creature is revealed that kidnaps Minnie, and you have to play a bonus game to get her back). These gimmicks don’t add much, however, and the third level should have been better planned. In this level, the player must select the right unmarked door to progress through a forest where the seasons change as you progress. Pick the wrong door, and it’s back to the beginning. The level designs are primitive and don’t add anything to the genre. In addition, they’re too short and easy to beat (even the third level isn’t that long). Even if the target audience was the younger set, there is no excuse for the fourth level, which is, really, four screens long. Despite the length of the game, though, there are no continues, and one-ups are tricky to come by, making the game frustrating in some parts. The enemies also hold the game back. While some of them have simple movements, there are a few that have movements that are actually very annoying, tossing a lot of strategy out the window. Boss battles don’t require much thought either, since it only involves a character throwing things across the screen; a stockpile of health is all that’s needed to win. The graphics are plain and full of glitches, even for an earlier NES game. While there are some well-drawn backgrounds, most of the scenery isn’t worthy of note. While Mickey and Minnie look fairly well drawn, they don’t have enough frames of animation. Most of the enemies are poorly drawn and have two frames of animation each, which makes them move sporadically in some cases. The bosses look plain and non-threatening, shattering the urgency of the situation. The graphics are functional, but not nearly as good as they should have been. Top the issue off with bouts of slowdown and gameplay-inhibiting flicker, and the end result shows a lack of effort that is inexcusable from the company that brought us Bionic Commando. The sound doesn’t fair any better. The music is expected bouncy tunes that, in addition to being flat and uninspiring, are grating after a while. The sound effects are sparse and annoying in some parts, but they tend do their job. The real problem is how the background music pushes its way to the foreground, while the sound effects are drowned out. Important audio clues can be missed because of this poorly mixed audio package. The boss theme will stick in the back of your mind, whether that’s a good thing or not. In addition to the problematic partner system, the controls aren’t as solid as they should be for such a simple game. The occasional platform can be missed, though this isn’t a major problem. Shooting enemies is difficult at some times as well. The controls are serving, but could have been tighter. This game was rented for me once when I was younger. I liked the game pretty well, though I’m not sure if I made it past the first level, or far into the second. The funhouse level was a little creepy, what with the walking brooms and such. The first level music is scarred into my brain forever. I bought the game in the fall of 2002 for a buck, and managed to make it to the last boss before I ran out of lives and patience. ......BOTTOM LINE: Mickey Mousecapades is, believe it or not, a fun game for a little while. The generic levels, buggy graphics, annoying enemies, and lack of length keep it from being a worthy game experience. Play it for a quick thrill, but not much more than that. -The Collector