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 As
any NES gamer knows, Capcom was one of the premier companies releasing
games for Nintendo throughout the entire run of the NES and one of their
notable series was their Disney games.
Most gamers admire DuckTales,
Rescue Rangers and Darkwing
Duck but you rarely come across praise for Adventures in the Magic
Kingdom. One reason this game is seldom
mentioned is because it’s the only one of the nine Capcom/Disney games
that isn’t based off of one of Disney’s popular cartoon characters. Instead the game tries to be a virtual
Disneyland by providing you with video game versions of five of the more
popular rides featured at Disney’s Magic Kingdom
theme park. Just the name of the
game caused me to pass it over many times at the store, something that I
imagine happened often when it was released in June of 1990.
The game itself is actually pretty original. You are a tourist who has come to the Magic Kingdom
for a day of fun but must save the day for Mickey by finding all six keys
that are hidden around the park so that he can unlock the Enchanted Castle and proceed with the daily
parade. You walk around the park and can choose which ride you would like
to go on, if you die you can either play that ride again or go try a
different ride at the park giving the game just the tiniest hint of Mega Man.
Some levels are straight platformers while others involve car
racing, space flight and mine car driving. The six rides features in the game are:
Autopia – A car racing
stage based on those old-fashioned cars that you “drive” around the park on
a guide rail.
Big
Thunder Mountain – You drive a mine-car down a mountain and
must avoid boulders and gates.
This one is based on one of the few roller coasters featured in Disneyland.
 Haunted
Mansion – This one is a
platforming stage in which you must make your way through a haunted
mansion throwing candles at bad guys and making tricky jumps across
floating chairs. It’s based on a
ride that takes you through a haunted mansion where little kids are
scared by ghosts in mirrors and things of that nature.
Pirates
of the Caribbean – Another platforming stage where you must
save six tourists who have been tied up and then light a signal fire to
be recued – all within three minutes!
Based on the in-door boat ride where you get to see lots of
pirates in action.
Space
Mountain
– A strange game where
you control a ship through space and must follow Mickey’s orders on when
to press each button in order for you to land the ship safely. Based on my favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom – an in the dark
rollercoaster.
There is also a sixth key that
must be retrieved by answering multiple choice trivia questions – some of
which are pretty tough. Overall
the game is better than the sum of its parts. All the stages are pretty mediocre (by
Capcom’s standards) but they add up to a pretty unique gaming experience.
Positives:
You are given many different
video game styles in one cartridge.
I like how you can walk around the park to get a sense of what the
layout at Disneyland is really
like. I could see parents buying
this for their kids in 1990 to hype them up for their big vacation. In my opinion the two platforming
stages fare the best as they are pretty challenging but control  decently well.
Glaring
Negatives:
Unfortunately none of the stages
are up to the standards of the other games in the Capcom/Disney marriage. The mine car stage can be quite
frustrating trying to find the right exit, the space stage is strange
since you are basically playing Simon Says and the racing stage is a
joke.
Graphics
and Sound: OK
The graphics aren’t as bright and fun as they typical Capcom/Disney
game but they got the job done.
They also aren’t very crisp and the main character looks like a
total dork! The sound is typical
for an NES game.
Gameplay
and Controls: Good
I don’t really have any complaints as far as the controls go in the
platforming stages but the car racing stage is pretty lame. The car doesn’t speed up very easily
but luckily the stage is so easy it doesn’t matter too much anyway.
Features:
A few
I like that you can pick your own order on the stages. You can also collect stars in the
levels that you can use to buy extra guys, invincibility or extra
energy. I never really needed
these though because I normally died by falling into pits. You also get unlimited continues, which
helps a bit.
 Fun?: For a little
while
This game is more fun than I thought it would be but still one of the
worst games in the Capcom/Disney library.
Challenge:
Pretty Easy
You won’t beat most of the stages the first time you play them but
with a little practice you will find each stage very beatable. You’ll probably be done with this game
within a day or two of play.
Replay: Not
really
Although it’s an interesting idea, it really isn’t fun enough to bring
you back very often.
2
Player: No
Not an option
Online
Manual?: Yes at Nintendo Age
They’ve got ‘em all at www.nintendoage.com
Bottom Line: Just go to Disneyland
I would recommend any other Capcom/Disney title over this one. That being said, it certainly is worth
a cheap pickup – especially if you are a fan of the other games in the
series. Of course, it goes without
saying that this game is a poor replication of Disneyland but I’ll
probably play it right before my next trip to the Magic Kingdom.
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