After two weeks of playing and reviewing Disney games, this will be the last one I will do, at least for a few weeks, so as not to get so saturated with games of this style, so today's review will be focused on Disney's main mascot in another conventional adventure game, but equally colorful and flashy as the previous ones I have talked about.
Today's Retro Review is about: Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse.
I found the premise of this game quite interesting, since Mickey is "transported" to the past and this is represented through old short films that the Disney mascot has starred in over the years since his first appearance on screen. As expected, when the "current" Mickey returns to the past (current with respect to the time in which this game was released), he will encounter his past counterparts as well as his old enemies, with whom he will have to fight. Each stage has an emblematic enemy from that short film. As you can see, the plot of this game could not be more interesting and it is quite entertaining to see how Mickey travels through all those moments that over the years made him the mascot of one of the most powerful companies in the world, which has a great control over the world's population and entertainment. A company which hides many secrets and little by little they will take control of the world... I'm kidding, aren't I? Yes yes, I'm kidding. Anyway, the story is fun, but simple, a very common aspect in this kind of games.
This is an aspect which so far has not disappointed me, Disney in their old video games (at least the few I've played) has known how to create a pretty good artistic style in their video games. This one in particular at an artistic level separates a little from the games I previously talked about and although I prefer the artistic and graphic style of those games, Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse stays between the line of "good artistic and visual style". In addition, the developers knew how to recreate quite effectively all those short films which function as stages through which Mickey will have to travel. In fact, I had to see a bit about some of those short films, since most of them were unknown to me, and I must admit that they did a pretty good and careful job.
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse as expected is a very colorful game, even that world where everything in black and white, has enough details on screen to make it striking, also, the detail that our Mickey keeps his colors in that "gray" world, makes it stand out and creates a very interesting contrast. Although this is a classic 2D platform game, there will be sections where the gameplay changes completely and we will have small 3D elements, which look good. In short, the visual and artistic section of this game is quite good, and this is something I expected from a Disney game, which have been characterized by their games (at least the old ones), always have an outstanding level in their art.
The sound aspect does not disappoint either, we will find very good melodies throughout this pixelated adventure. And is that something that stands out Disney in general, both in movies, series and video games, is that its level of musical composition is always something quite outstanding and appreciates the effort to create music so emblematic that today remains in the memory of people who grew up watching or playing these products. Therefore and in a few words, both the melodies of this game, as well as its sound effects, which is an aspect that is very important in a video game, although it is often not mentioned, is outstanding.
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse, like the previous Disney games that I have talked about these last two weeks, remains in the line of a conventional platform game, which does not innovate in anything regarding its mechanics, but still remains one of those games that although it is simple in terms of mechanics and gameplay, it is due to several factors (those mentioned above in this review) that make it a very entertaining title.
The attraction of this game, as I mentioned before, is to travel with Mickey through time, which is represented by old short films starring this character. The control over our character is very simple, just being able to run, jump and throw balls towards our enemies, so simple is the gameplay of this game, therefore it does not have a high difficulty level. In this aspect Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse is quite similar to games like Castle Of Illusions (although I personally prefer the latter mentioned). Mickey can eliminate his enemies with the classic "jump on them" or also by throwing those colored balls, which are limited and you have to know how to manage them. In general terms, this game is quite a continuist game with respect to platform games, but it is very entertaining.
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse is another of those games starring Disney's pet rat and although I personally liked the games that I previously reviewed, this one in particular is quite good, with an excellent artistic style and simple but fun and well done mechanics.
