NES Alphanumeric! #010: ADVENTURES IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM + BATTLETOADS
1I write young adult science fiction and fantasy stories (Novels: FAIR COIN, THE SILENCE OF SIX), and I love playing 8-bit Nintendo games. But it's hard to find time for both; over the years, I've collected more than 250 NES games, yet I still haven't played most of them for long—or even once!
POST-STREAM THOUGHTS: First, sorry about the technical difficulties midway through. I tweaked a setting I shouldn't have. Now, for the game...
Overall, pretty disappointing. As a fan of the Disney Afternoon Capcom games like DuckTales and Darkwing Duck, I had high expectations for this. The graphics and level design are pretty good, particularly in the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Caribbean levels, but the controls are not very good. I like the variety of game styles and challenges, but none of them are particularly fun, and though there are unlimited continues, Game Over is fairly punishing--kicking you back to the beginning of the level, which requires rote memorization and mastery of awkward jumping controls. The overworld map trivia/scavenger hunt is especially irritating.
I could see myself trying to play this again sometime, but I'd have to be in the right mood for it, and there are plenty of other games that are much more fun.