Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo
If you’ve ever wanted to play a licensed game that combines elements of Gran Turismo and Boulder Dash than I have a game for you. Mickey’s Racing adventure is just about as complicated as a Game Boy Color racing game aimed at kids can be. I can use all my favorite descriptors for this one. Depth! Overworld! Collectibles! Stat increases! And while it’s not a perfect game by any means, it’s still impressive.
Racing!
Disney was always a bit immune to the licensed game curse. Some of the best games of the 80s and early 90s starred Disney characters. So it should be no surprise that when they license a racing game they are going to put a little effort into it. Of course it was also made by Rare during their heyday so it’s no surprise I enjoyed it. The game has the typical setup of Pete doing something bad and Mickey saving the day by racing. It starts out in a hub world, and to get to the race tracks you have to find coins for the train. There is also money to be found to upgrade your racers and buy items. I was surprised by just how much there is to find scattered about. Pluto has a dig ability which lets him turn the whole world into dirt looking for hidden goodies. Rare really loved putting collectibles in their games.
Hub world!
There are also minigames that end up taking as long to play as the races themselves. Pluto follows along a parallel path where he has to play a game similar to Boulder Dash in which he digs in the dirt looking for bones while avoiding Butch the dog. Some of these levels are downright punishing and I almost gave up on the whole thing a few times. There are also sliding puzzles which I can’t stand. I will admit that I cheated on one by filming it getting mixed up and then watching it in reverse. I have no shame! There’s also also a train game that plays similar to the Intellivision classic Loco-Motion. Ask your grandparents about that one.
Loco-Motion!
Oh yeah and there’s also racing! If I seem to be ignoring the main draw it’s only because it’s the least surprising part. It’s some good Game Boy racing which is mostly about knowing when to turn. You need to learn the tracks to get good at it which is alright because even losing earns money to buy upgrades with. It has both road and water races which get challenging near the end. I felt accomplished when I was done.
Boulder Dash!
So it sounds like I am gushing a little, but this game was a pleasant surprise. It’s my first true console game that I have reviewed, and it’s going to go fairly high. It’s interesting to see how a game made for a handheld compares to one built for the arcades. It breaks my heart but I have to put it above Metro-Cross. The deeper gameplay makes it more memorable. So now I finally have a top 10. I need to hurry up and play 10 more games so I can have a bottom 10. Every good list needs one of those
1. Galaga
2. Pac-Mania
3. Mickey’s Racing Adventure
4. Metro-Cross
5. Gaplus
6. Dragon Spirit
7. Baraduke
8. The Legend of “Valkyrie”
9. Galaxian
10. Gyruss (2600)
Next time: A simpler racing game with a more complicated title.
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