The Duck and Mouse Universes in video games

[alquackskey]

I thought it might be interesting to open up a thread for people to discuss their experience with the Duck and Mouse Universes and characters in video games!

What are people's favourites or least favourites? Adaptations that were done well or done poorly?
Maybe even just appearances in games that you were happy with, or a reference that you enjoyed?

I think that Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers was actually a pretty solid game all around. It was a platformer with a fairly simple plot that borrowed heavily from Ducktales; Daisy has been kidnapped while reporting on Merlock, and now Donald and Gladstone are in a race to save her. Donald is helped by Gyro, who uses his Gyro Gamma Tubal Teleport system to help Donald travel through different worlds to reach Merlock and save Daisy.

It features both the Beagle Boys and Magica as bosses, and Humphrey the Bear appears in a chase sequence (Was removed from the PS2 version, sadly).
The game was actually dedicated to Carl Barks; the N64 and PC versions have a tribute to Barks, which I think is really sweet!


I know Donald can unlock costumes in it, but I can't remember any. I wonder if there were any good references in there?

All in all, it was a solid game... this musing is making me want to bust out the GBA version, which I never completed!

Does anyone have fond memories of that or any other such games?

[bats]

My favorite childhood Disney video game was Mickey Mouse for the Gameboy, a fun little twitch "puzzle" game more than a little bit inspired by the Lode Runner games where each level has Mickey navigating a big 2D room and using the various stairs, pipes, trampolines and limited weapons and power ups to collect the 8 keys and unlock the exit door without getting hit by any of the various patrolling enemies. Starts off pretty simple, but gets rather hectic towards the end.






Got a ton of sequels and spinoffs and whatnot, many not starring Disney characters, and is itself a sequel to a game retooled to star Bugs Bunny outside its native Japan, but this is the only one I played as a kid.

[That Duckfan]

Nov 3, 2020 22:34:46 GMT alquackskey said:

I thought it might be interesting to open up a thread for people to discuss their experience with the Duck and Mouse Universes and characters in video games!

What are people's favourites or least favourites? Adaptations that were done well or done poorly?
Maybe even just appearances in games that you were happy with, or a reference that you enjoyed?

I think that Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers was actually a pretty solid game all around. It was a platformer with a fairly simple plot that borrowed heavily from Ducktales; Daisy has been kidnapped while reporting on Merlock, and now Donald and Gladstone are in a race to save her. Donald is helped by Gyro, who uses his Gyro Gamma Tubal Teleport system to help Donald travel through different worlds to reach Merlock and save Daisy.

It features both the Beagle Boys and Magica as bosses, and Humphrey the Bear appears in a chase sequence (Was removed from the PS2 version, sadly).
The game was actually dedicated to Carl Barks; the N64 and PC versions have a tribute to Barks, which I think is really sweet!

I know Donald can unlock costumes in it, but I can't remember any. I wonder if there were any good references in there?

All in all, it was a solid game... this musing is making me want to bust out the GBA version, which I never completed!

Does anyone have fond memories of that or any other such games?

I loved Goin' Quackers as a kid! Played the PC game to bits. Later on, I got the PS2 version, which was wildly different and not as fun. The game was called Donald Duck: Quack Attack in my area.

[alquackskey]

Nov 4, 2020 1:11:02 GMT bats said:

My favorite childhood Disney video game was Mickey Mouse for the Gameboy, a fun little twitch "puzzle" game more than a little bit inspired by the Lode Runner games where each level has Mickey navigating a big 2D room and using the various stairs, pipes, trampolines and limited weapons and power ups to collect the 8 keys and unlock the exit door without getting hit by any of the various patrolling enemies. Starts off pretty simple, but gets rather hectic towards the end.






Got a ton of sequels and spinoffs and whatnot, many not starring Disney characters, and is itself a sequel to a game retooled to star Bugs Bunny outside its native Japan, but this is the only one I played as a kid.

So, I just looked into this game... It looks like a fun little platformer in general, but the amount of cameos is actually crazy!

As patrolling enemies, you have Stromboli (Pinocchio), a Card Soldier (Alice in Wonderland), The Evil Queen in her Old Crone form (Snow White), possibly one of Maleficent's goons (Sleeping Beauty), either Trigger or Nutsy (Robin Hood) and Peg-Leg Pete. There are some I didn't recognize, not sure if they were also classic characters that I can't make out or if they're original for this game.

And the main villain/final boss is... the Horned King (Black Cauldron). I have no idea where they got the idea for this, but I love it!

It'd be interesting to try to work this one into the comics canon... 

(Also, side note, how are you including video/pictures? I tried in my opening post but it wouldn't let me.)

[alquackskey]

Nov 4, 2020 15:06:09 GMT That Duckfan said:

Nov 3, 2020 22:34:46 GMT alquackskey said:

I thought it might be interesting to open up a thread for people to discuss their experience with the Duck and Mouse Universes and characters in video games!

What are people's favourites or least favourites? Adaptations that were done well or done poorly?
Maybe even just appearances in games that you were happy with, or a reference that you enjoyed?

I think that Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers was actually a pretty solid game all around. It was a platformer with a fairly simple plot that borrowed heavily from Ducktales; Daisy has been kidnapped while reporting on Merlock, and now Donald and Gladstone are in a race to save her. Donald is helped by Gyro, who uses his Gyro Gamma Tubal Teleport system to help Donald travel through different worlds to reach Merlock and save Daisy.

It features both the Beagle Boys and Magica as bosses, and Humphrey the Bear appears in a chase sequence (Was removed from the PS2 version, sadly).
The game was actually dedicated to Carl Barks; the N64 and PC versions have a tribute to Barks, which I think is really sweet!

I know Donald can unlock costumes in it, but I can't remember any. I wonder if there were any good references in there?

All in all, it was a solid game... this musing is making me want to bust out the GBA version, which I never completed!

Does anyone have fond memories of that or any other such games?

I loved Goin' Quackers as a kid! Played the PC game to bits. Later on, I got the PS2 version, which was wildly different and not as fun. The game was called Donald Duck: Quack Attack in my area.

I'm definitely considering picking up the N64 version (Which is apparently the same as the PC version); I had the PS2 version and I loved it, so I'm imagining I'd love that version even more!
It's called Quack Attack where I'm from, too; I'm just used to having to use the American versions of game names in conversation 

[bats]

Nov 4, 2020 21:47:37 GMT alquackskey said:

(Also, side note, how are you including video/pictures? I tried in my opening post but it wouldn't let me.)

The Disney wiki says it also uses two of the trees from Babes in Toyland as enemies. That robot on stage 2 also reminds me quite a bit of Mickey's Mechanical Man.

To include pictures and video you just need to click on the buttons in the top row of the main post window:

[alquackskey]

Nov 4, 2020 23:18:10 GMT bats said:

Nov 4, 2020 21:47:37 GMT alquackskey said:

(Also, side note, how are you including video/pictures? I tried in my opening post but it wouldn't let me.)

The Disney wiki says it also uses two of the trees from Babes in Toyland as enemies. That robot on stage 2 also reminds me quite a bit of Mickey's Mechanical Man.

To include pictures and video you just need to click on the buttons in the top row of the main post window:

Ahh, okay, thanks!

I've never seen Babes in Toyland, so that reference was lost on me... I looked them up, and yeah, they're definitely the same.
It's certainly an odd one to include, but hey, the more the merrier!

[bats]

Another childhood favorite here, Adventures in The Magic Kingdom:




I didn't have this one myself, not having an NES, but a friend had it so I played it a decent amount there. As the name implies, it's set in Disneyland, where you play as a kid walking around trying to collect the six keys to the castle by completing mini games based on different Disneyland attractions. There's a Space Mountain level where you control a spaceship by... well, just hitting the buttons the game tells you to within a strict time limit, really; an Autopia one that's a pretty shameless ripoff of the classic arcade game Bump n Jump where you drive a jumping car through a top-down course filled with obstacles; a Thunder Mountain one where you switch lanes for a train to make it avoid obstacles that are so impossible to see coming the game is mostly just trial and error until you learn the course; a Pirates of the Caribbean one where you explore a 2D platforming level to rescue the 6 abducted maidens from the patrolling pirates; a Haunted Mansion one where you similarly navigate a 2D platforming level, but this time armed with limited weapons and with no other goal other than reaching the end; and finally a surprisingly difficult Disney trivia game. You also get to walk around the park itself, though there's nothing to do there other than entering the different attractions, so it's really just an interactive menu. It's not all that "based on the duck and mouse universe" I guess, but Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Pete do show up in menus and cutscenes.



As a video game it's really nothing special, with poorly designed levels that often feel like knockoffs of other, better games, but it really nails the atmosphere and the feeling of really being in Disneyland, so it really appealed to those of us that didn't get a chance to visit the actual place until we were adults. Wish it had a Jungle Cruise level though.

[alquackskey]

Nov 5, 2020 12:20:26 GMT bats said:

Another childhood favorite here, Adventures in The Magic Kingdom:




I didn't have this one myself, not having an NES, but a friend had it so I played it a decent amount there. As the name implies, it's set in Disneyland, where you play as a kid walking around trying to collect the six keys to the castle by completing mini games based on different Disneyland attractions. There's a Space Mountain level where you control a spaceship by... well, just hitting the buttons the game tells you to within a strict time limit, really; an Autopia one that's a pretty shameless ripoff of the classic arcade game Bump n Jump where you drive a jumping car through a top-down course filled with obstacles; a Thunder Mountain one where you switch lanes for a train to make it avoid obstacles that are so impossible to see coming the game is mostly just trial and error until you learn the course; a Pirates of the Caribbean one where you explore a 2D platforming level to rescue the 6 abducted maidens from the patrolling pirates; a Haunted Mansion one where you similarly navigate a 2D platforming level, but this time armed with limited weapons and with no other goal other than reaching the end; and finally a surprisingly difficult Disney trivia game. You also get to walk around the park itself, though there's nothing to do there other than entering the different attractions, so it's really just an interactive menu. It's not all that "based on the duck and mouse universe" I guess, but Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Pete do show up in menus and cutscenes.



As a video game it's really nothing special, with poorly designed levels that often feel like knockoffs of other, better games, but it really nails the atmosphere and the feeling of really being in Disneyland, so it really appealed to those of us that didn't get a chance to visit the actual place until we were adults. Wish it had a Jungle Cruise level though.

It's certainly a neat game, one I'd never heard of! The Haunted Mansion level looks like a lot of fun!
You're right about the trivia questions, too; I think it's interesting that they actually put effort into the wrong answers. Usually these games have the right answer and just a few variations on the name, so seeing answers of similar significance was pretty interesting!

[alquackskey]

So, update on Donald Duck Advance; I've completed it 100% (It literally only took a day... short game) and it was a lot better than I had remembered.

Here's some gameplay footage (They don't go for 100% but it's still pretty clear)


It removes most of the bosses (The only boss in the game is Merlock) (46:41 in the video), and makes some... interesting changes to the chase levels.
The chaser in Duckie Forest is still Humphrey, and Merlock's Temple still has a boulder.

Duckburg (18:29 in the video) has... a squirrel. It has Donald chasing a squirrel, and you die if the squirrel is away from you for too long. Is it a vague reference to his history with Chip and Dale? I honestly have no idea. I can imagine that the Beagle Boys' truck was too much, but... a squirrel?!
As for Magica De Spell's Manor (28:21 in the video)... there's a ghost chasing Donald. A ghost that, to me, looks uncomfortable similar to Uncle Scrooge. The jacket is a bit off, but he has the same top hat and similar whiskers... he doesn't have glasses, but they'd be hard to include on these sprites anyway.


The game in general is actually pretty solid; a little on the easy side, but the artwork is beautiful and the music is a lot of fun to listen to.
The only real complaint I have is going for 100%...

You see, each level has stars to be collected. If you collect every star, you get a card for the gallery, which is a jumbled up picture.
The problem mainly comes from the enemies; when you kill them, they release three stars, which only spawn once. If you fail to collect them for any reason, you have to restart the level; dying doesn't reset them.
This can be a real pain; there are enemies that are close to walls (so if you don't hit them at the right time, the stars go out of your range) or enemies that are difficult to land on properly (The birds in both Duckie Forest and Duckburg are like this), all of which can ruin an otherwise perfect run of a level. It makes for a very frustrating challenge at times.
The reward for this frustration is...

A picture of Daisy. That's it.

Great game, and admittedly 100% isn't even that hard, but it's definitely somewhat underwhelming.

[bats]

Nov 6, 2020 11:59:50 GMT alquackskey said:

You're right about the trivia questions, too; I think it's interesting that they actually put effort into the wrong answers. Usually these games have the right answer and just a few variations on the name, so seeing answers of similar significance was pretty interesting!

Here's the full set of trivia questions:


Most of them shouldn't be TOO difficult for anyone here, but a lot of them are pretty hardcore for a young kid in the early 90s.

[bats]

Here's one I didn't play a a kid, but had in my late teens on one of those not-overly-legal pirate plug-and-play consoles you could get everywhere in the early 2000s: Mickey Mouse: Adventure in Wonderland



As both the title and the box art implies, it's a Mickey/Alice crossover where Mickey and Minnie travel through Wonderland, fighting its inhabitants in their search for Alice. It's not just Wonderland either, one of the levels send them off to Neverland to fight Captain Hook as well. The game is fairly unique in that it has you controlling both Mickey and Minnie at the same time, which can both help you (since only Mickey can take damage from enemy attacks) and hinder you (since you need to make sure both characters clear any difficult jumps you encounter.

Pretty fun stuff, one of the better licensed games of its time and clearly made by people with a lot of love for Disney.

[alquackskey]

Nov 6, 2020 17:08:49 GMT bats said:

Nov 6, 2020 11:59:50 GMT alquackskey said:

You're right about the trivia questions, too; I think it's interesting that they actually put effort into the wrong answers. Usually these games have the right answer and just a few variations on the name, so seeing answers of similar significance was pretty interesting!

Here's the full set of trivia questions:


Most of them shouldn't be TOO difficult for anyone here, but a lot of them are pretty hardcore for a young kid in the early 90s.

Dang, some of those are actually pretty tricky. Maybe it's because I know next to nothing about Disney World, which makes some of them pretty rough.
I love that they refer to Warner Brothers multiple times to trip people up... We need a new Roger Rabbit film.

[alquackskey]

Nov 6, 2020 18:00:48 GMT bats said:

Here's one I didn't play a a kid, but had in my late teens on one of those not-overly-legal pirate plug-and-play consoles you could get everywhere in the early 2000s: Mickey Mouse: Adventure in Wonderland



As both the title and the box art implies, it's a Mickey/Alice crossover where Mickey and Minnie travel through Wonderland, fighting its inhabitants in their search for Alice. It's not just Wonderland either, one of the levels send them off to Neverland to fight Captain Hook as well. The game is fairly unique in that it has you controlling both Mickey and Minnie at the same time, which can both help you (since only Mickey can take damage from enemy attacks) and hinder you (since you need to make sure both characters clear any difficult jumps you encounter.

Pretty fun stuff, one of the better licensed games of its time and clearly made by people with a lot of love for Disney.

That's crazy!
For once, it's one I've actually played; the localized version, Mickey Mousecapade. I had no idea that the Japanese release was so different!
I'm not sure which one I prefer; on the one hand, the American version is much more varied with its crossover elements, which is always fun.
On the other, I really like the idea of it having an actual consistent theme... when you think about it, you could technically squeeze the Japanese version into canon, even if you'd have to take some liberties and do it very loosely!

[bats]

Nov 6, 2020 22:46:56 GMT alquackskey said:

I'm not sure which one I prefer; on the one hand, the American version is much more varied with its crossover elements, which is always fun.

Is it? I've only played the Japanese version, but I was under the impression the American version just replaced the Alice stuff with generic enemies.

The original isn't all Alice though - I mentioned Captain Hook is a boss, and those are clearly the brooms from Fantasia at the 2 minute mark. And is that Dr. Dawson at the 15 minute mark?