I played this game a lot as a kid, but in retrospect it's actually kind of bad and annoying... The graphics are nice, but all of the sprites are so large that it makes the game itself obnoxious to play since it's a pain to avoid colliding with various hitboxes.
The game is more interested in being visually interesting but it's fine.
Classic, classic example of a game being designed art first, gameplay distant second. Incredible visuals - truly looks like you're playing a cartoon - but it's instantly frustrating because the hitboxes for Mickey, the enemies, the hazards, the powerups, and everything else are just laid over all this elaborate animation without much consideration given to how that's actually going to play. And how it plays is bad! Levels are short, maddening gauntlets where you feel like you're just desperately trying to survive until the next screen. Not sure that's what they were going for with this ostensibly cute, fun retrospective of Mickey's history. It's a shame, though; it's a great concept and it looks spectacular! It's even got some convincing faux-3D in there. But it's not worth the struggle.
I recall really enjoying this game. I was a big Mickey fan as a kid and this covered a lot of his most famous cartoons.
This game is really fucking hard, especially the final boss, but I honest to god thoroughly enjoyed myself. Maybe after Battletoads two weeks ago I'm just numb.
Honestly though, the difficulty and sometimes enemy placement are the only real problems. I for one think the good far outweighs the bad here, it's wonderful to look at, it's super impressive for the time, runs really well, etc. It's just a fascinating game to me I suppose, and I had a good time in spite of the difficulty. If that kind of thing doesn't bother you too much, definitely try this one.
Honestly though, the difficulty and sometimes enemy placement are the only real problems. I for one think the good far outweighs the bad here, it's wonderful to look at, it's super impressive for the time, runs really well, etc. It's just a fascinating game to me I suppose, and I had a good time in spite of the difficulty. If that kind of thing doesn't bother you too much, definitely try this one.
I’m not sure “setting the bottom of your own tower on fire to kill the one mouse climbing up it to give you a thrashing” is the best strategy but I guess you know what you’re doing, Pete
Played this years ago, but played it again recently. Its a very challenging platformer. Mickey's hitbox is pretty jank on some versions but you get use to it after a playthrough or 2. I enjoyed it as much as I did originally.
Uma grande homenagem para o Personagem Mickey nos video games anos antes de Epic Mickey, usam dos mais famosos curtas do Ratinho para fazer as fases mais criativas da Geração 16Bits
Getting the game looking this good on the Mega Drive must've been actual witchcraft, especially when its this smooth. Unfortunately despite this visual flourish the gameplay is not as polished as you'd hope, especially coming off other SEGA Disney games like Castle of Illusion. You get hit from off-screen more than you'd like and collision detection can be pretty iffy to put it lightly. It's real rough around the edges but it sure is pretty to look at, its at least worth a save state play-through just to look at the pretty visuals.
The sprites and backgrounds are beautiful. The bland level design doesn't do either any favors.
I played this game a bunch when I was a kid and liked it quite a bit. Revisited as an adult... it's trash. Just boring, tedious, and oppressive level design. I beat it with save scumming but I didn't have a particularly good time doing so.
I played this game a bunch when I was a kid and liked it quite a bit. Revisited as an adult... it's trash. Just boring, tedious, and oppressive level design. I beat it with save scumming but I didn't have a particularly good time doing so.
I wish the level design was as good as the art style
the box art is trying so hard to make mickey look tough
These games are so cool, I wish I wasn't so awful at them.
This was sadly not a good programmed game.
It feels a bit clonky and you take hits from enemies I really want to know how they did this.
Beeing difficult is okay, but this game is more than only a bit unfair to the player.
It feels a bit clonky and you take hits from enemies I really want to know how they did this.
Beeing difficult is okay, but this game is more than only a bit unfair to the player.
Pros: Beautiful looking game, essentially hand-drawn 2D classic Disney animation. That's the star, for sure. But it also has a very fun gimmick that keeps you wanting to see what comes next, as each stage is a different Mickey cartoon short, starting with the oldest (Steamboat Willie), and ending with the newest (at the time, Prince and the Pauper). It's a great motivator to keep you trucking along to the closing credits. And, after you beat the game you're rewarded with a message of (spoilers, heh) there being a new Mickey Mouse short in development! That short ended up being Runaway Brain, a highly entertaining and well animated Mickey short where it begins with Mickey himself playing a video game (perhaps a small nod to Mania!)
Cons: Level design isn't the best, not the worst, but it has enough annoying moments... Hit detection also isn't great, and sometimes the extra frames of animation make that even more difficult, in a not-a-good way. The SNES version also is missing an entire stage, which is a bummer. And it's missing some effects that the other console versions contain. Also... this game has loading screens... On SNES... C'mon.
What it means to me: As a little baby (yeah, I'm goin' all the way back) Mickey Mouse was my first obsession, for some reason I just loved the little rodent, maybe it's what started my interest in cartoons and animation that I still have a passion for to this day. Anyway, this game was an easy sell, and it was an easy like.
Cons: Level design isn't the best, not the worst, but it has enough annoying moments... Hit detection also isn't great, and sometimes the extra frames of animation make that even more difficult, in a not-a-good way. The SNES version also is missing an entire stage, which is a bummer. And it's missing some effects that the other console versions contain. Also... this game has loading screens... On SNES... C'mon.
What it means to me: As a little baby (yeah, I'm goin' all the way back) Mickey Mouse was my first obsession, for some reason I just loved the little rodent, maybe it's what started my interest in cartoons and animation that I still have a passion for to this day. Anyway, this game was an easy sell, and it was an easy like.
The original Cuphead.
Honestly not bad aside from the difficulty. I don't know why people hate this game now.
Maybe the first game I ever remember playing. Renting a Sega Genesis (you could do that then!) and playing Steamboat Willie while dancing around the room because I had to pee so bad and didn't realize their was a pause function.
Não lembro de nada
you would assume this game would be a total pile of shit but its actually impressive how it isnt
the animation is fluid enough to look like animation was was pixelated then the other way around
the only real problem is it has that 1990s platformer syndrome where its fun, short, and hard as FUCK like INCREDIBLY unforgiving but that doesnt make it bad
the animation is fluid enough to look like animation was was pixelated then the other way around
the only real problem is it has that 1990s platformer syndrome where its fun, short, and hard as FUCK like INCREDIBLY unforgiving but that doesnt make it bad
A beleza e o estresse do jogo são diretamente proporcionais. Rayman iria aperfeiçoar esse pseudo-gênero de "platformer 2D muito lindo feito só para enganar crianças inocentes e traumatizá-las pelo resto da vida", mas Mickey Mania já é um ótimo representante. Não dá nem pra dizer que faltou atenção no level design, tem partes que parecem deliberadamente feitas para causar o máximo de dor e sofrimento.
Usei save states e rewind sem dó. Sem tempo, irmão.
Usei save states e rewind sem dó. Sem tempo, irmão.
Too damn hard, still good though.
playing this game is actual torture which is a shame because it looks gorgeous
Great graphics and solid gameplay although nothing amazing. Its fun for a little bit but has trouble keeping the player's attention. Worth a try but not a mandatory play.
Growing up, I watched just as many "classic" cartoons as I did new stuff. I was well fed on a diet of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, and of course there was plenty of Disney shorts on my plate, too. I occasionally throw on compilations of old Looney Tunes and Disney cartoons, and in particular I like checking out wartime shorts. It's interesting to go back and see how blatant the propagandizing was. You gotta buy war bonds, the most important thing is you buy war bonds... unless you're a Commie! Uh, also if you sign up for service in the military you will totally be able to afford a house and retire young, trust me on this.
Different times.
As a 7-year-old, the concept of a game that adapts Mickey Mouse's most famous cartoons was appealing to me because I was so into the material. As an adult who has a more "time capsule" approach to enjoying them, I think the way Traveller's Tales presents these olds cartoons is engaging and well executed, and I believe it holds up. Yeah, I said it. Ya'll out here giving this a 3.0 average, but I'm about to mess the whole thing up by bringing it to a 3.1!
Each level represents a different Mickey Mouse cartoon, starting with Steamboat Willy and ending with The Prince and the Pauper, which was (I believe) the most current Mickey Mouse featurette at the time. Gameplay is primarily focused on platforming, though it is often interspersed with set pieces that are used to convey key moments from each cartoon. One particular stand out is the moose chase sequence, which features Mickey running towards the screen and dodging obstacles, with the ground animating in such a way that it creates a convincing illusion of being a 3D cylindrical object. I swear to God I've seen this pop up in more than one Sonic ROM hack, of all things. For good reason too, because it is impressively done, but that's also something you could just expect from a Traveller's Tales game. Those guys knew how to push the Genesis' hardware, even if they weren't exactly the best at designing games that are actually fun to play. Thankfully, Mickey Mania's stage design, its set pieces, and its controls all feel satisfying to interact with, and there's a lot of charm in its visual and sound design. I do, however, find it a little weird that Traveller's Tales (whether by mandate or their own volition) mostly picked cartoons from the 1930s to adapt, and outside of a stray 40s featurette ("Lonesome Ghosts"), Mania totally skips over cartoons from the 1950s through 80s.
This game has also earned a reputation for being hard, and while I certainly would've agreed when I was a child, nowadays I think it's just challenging enough to be engaging without being needlessly difficult. At least until the last level. Pete's castle is a mess, man. Sloppy enemy placement and extremely tight platforming pretty much ruin any momentum the rest of the game builds, and the final boss somehow manages to feel bullshit and boring simultaneously, but I feel like the pacing up to that point is solid. That said, it's no cakewalk like Magical Quest, Great Circus Mystery, or the Illusion series. Mickey Mania is one of those games that beat me down as a kid, but I can come back to it endlessly as an adult. Truly it is a Timeless adventure. Or maybe I'm a sicko. I don't know, I feel at this point it really could be either or.
Obviously, I think this is a game well worth checking out, though I do question whether having played this a ridiculous amount in the 90s plays a factor in how much I enjoy it now. I am also unsure how much mileage someone would get out of this game if they don't have any familiarity or appreciation for the cartoons the game is referencing. Maybe that's just me putting a big fat asterisk on a game I'm giving a 4.5/5 so I can avoid any backlash over undue praise, but it's that kind of next level thinking that's going to get my head put in a cryogenic capsule so my genius can be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
Different times.
As a 7-year-old, the concept of a game that adapts Mickey Mouse's most famous cartoons was appealing to me because I was so into the material. As an adult who has a more "time capsule" approach to enjoying them, I think the way Traveller's Tales presents these olds cartoons is engaging and well executed, and I believe it holds up. Yeah, I said it. Ya'll out here giving this a 3.0 average, but I'm about to mess the whole thing up by bringing it to a 3.1!
Each level represents a different Mickey Mouse cartoon, starting with Steamboat Willy and ending with The Prince and the Pauper, which was (I believe) the most current Mickey Mouse featurette at the time. Gameplay is primarily focused on platforming, though it is often interspersed with set pieces that are used to convey key moments from each cartoon. One particular stand out is the moose chase sequence, which features Mickey running towards the screen and dodging obstacles, with the ground animating in such a way that it creates a convincing illusion of being a 3D cylindrical object. I swear to God I've seen this pop up in more than one Sonic ROM hack, of all things. For good reason too, because it is impressively done, but that's also something you could just expect from a Traveller's Tales game. Those guys knew how to push the Genesis' hardware, even if they weren't exactly the best at designing games that are actually fun to play. Thankfully, Mickey Mania's stage design, its set pieces, and its controls all feel satisfying to interact with, and there's a lot of charm in its visual and sound design. I do, however, find it a little weird that Traveller's Tales (whether by mandate or their own volition) mostly picked cartoons from the 1930s to adapt, and outside of a stray 40s featurette ("Lonesome Ghosts"), Mania totally skips over cartoons from the 1950s through 80s.
This game has also earned a reputation for being hard, and while I certainly would've agreed when I was a child, nowadays I think it's just challenging enough to be engaging without being needlessly difficult. At least until the last level. Pete's castle is a mess, man. Sloppy enemy placement and extremely tight platforming pretty much ruin any momentum the rest of the game builds, and the final boss somehow manages to feel bullshit and boring simultaneously, but I feel like the pacing up to that point is solid. That said, it's no cakewalk like Magical Quest, Great Circus Mystery, or the Illusion series. Mickey Mania is one of those games that beat me down as a kid, but I can come back to it endlessly as an adult. Truly it is a Timeless adventure. Or maybe I'm a sicko. I don't know, I feel at this point it really could be either or.
Obviously, I think this is a game well worth checking out, though I do question whether having played this a ridiculous amount in the 90s plays a factor in how much I enjoy it now. I am also unsure how much mileage someone would get out of this game if they don't have any familiarity or appreciation for the cartoons the game is referencing. Maybe that's just me putting a big fat asterisk on a game I'm giving a 4.5/5 so I can avoid any backlash over undue praise, but it's that kind of next level thinking that's going to get my head put in a cryogenic capsule so my genius can be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
So the game is unfairly difficult and kinda shit. But I love the game so...
That moose level blew my mind so hard...
of my first games when i was like 5
"one of the greatest, most inventive and well animated games for the sega genesis ever made" -a certain un-named mickey maniac