For the sake of fairness here I am going to keep this comparison discussion squarely in the 16-Bit era of gaming.  That means we won’t be comparing the Game Boy, Game Gear, Nintendo Entertainment System or Sega Master System versions of the Mickey Mouse games.  Sure, there were plenty on those platforms, most by Capcom and Sega, but I have to narrow this comparison down somehow so 16-Bit it is.  That still leaves more than a small handful of titles to compare on the Sega Genesis versus the Super Nintendo (carrying on the tradition set in our first issue).  The question is, who built the better mouse trap?

First up Capcom.  Capcom has been involved with Disney since the Nintendo Entertainment days where they created the iconic Ducktales game that has held gamers affection for decades now.  That is all I have to say about that since, well, Ducktales is not a Mickey Mouse game and that would derail this discussion quite early.  All of the games in this article have some similarities that will not be repeated with each description.  They are all 2D side scrolling action/platform/adventure titles that feature at least Mickey Mouse.  Some will feature other Disney characters though.

The main Mickey Mouse title that Capcom pushed on the Super Nintendo was The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse (which went onto have two sequels).  This series saw Mickey don many different outfits to take on various challenges he faced in the levels.  A firefighter outfit for the fire level that featured an appropriately “hot” Pete at the end.  That is the main antagonist here, Pete, who is supersized and super badass thanks to the power of video games.  The levels are sprawling affairs that require exploration and dedication to find all of their secrets.  This is not your typical action game that you simply plow through to see the ending.  There are characters that you can talk with to find out clues, earn new things that will help or just get made fun of in your quest.  The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse was only released on the Super Nintendo, the two sequels that Capcom created were only released in Japan.

The Great Circus Mystery starring Mickey and Minnie is quite similar to The Magical Quest, some play mechanics are back (probably uses the same engine).  The big difference between Great Circus Mystery and Magical Quest is that the former features much shorter, focused, action based levels.  There is not a lot of exploration and the bosses are not all Pete in disguise with new powers.  This is a great departure for fans expecting more of the same after playing Magical Quest two years prior.  Great Circus Mystery does not feel like a continuation of the sequels that followed Magical Quest either, instead Great Circus Mystery feels like several steps back for the Disney mouse in gaming.  The Great Circus Mystery was also released on the Sega Genesis. 

The Sega Genesis version of Great Circus Mystery is faster paced but slightly lacking in the color palette while the Super Nintendo version is more colorful, it is slower paced.  This simply means that in the Super Nintendo version Mickey and everyone else move slightly slower than and, not as crisp as the Sega Genesis version.

Now onto the Sega take on Mickey Mouse.  First up is Fantasia from 1991.  The first thing that will probably surprise most gamers is that Infogrames is the developer of this game, not Sega themselves.  This fact might be reason to have it removed from this list but well, this was common practice in the day so I will let it slide, after all Sega did publish it and market it as their game.  Fantasia is a tough, unforgiving, title that will probably turn off a lot of the younger players.  This uptick in the difficulty was probably to be expected though considering Sega skewed towards the older teenager/young adult marker while Nintendo skewed primarily to the pre-teen gamer.  Still, even more recent gamers, or retrogaming fans that have let their skills rust a bit, will see a lot of challenge, and frustration, with Fantasia.  The animation is great, seemingly a lot more than Capcom has been able to mix into their titles starring the famous mouse.

Sega also released a game called Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse (which received the remake treatment recently on iOS/Android and Windows computers).  What was interesting about Castle of Illusion was that Pete was not the main boss.  Instead Mickey is fighting for his love, Minnie Mouse, who has been kidnapped by an evil witch named Mizrabel.  The animation is somewhat lacking but it is competent and better than that of many other games from this era.  The bosses are unique and different which is great, take note Capcom and your team that did Magical Quest on Super Nintendo.

Next up is World of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck from 1992.  World of Illusion is one of those rarer 16-Bit titles that was super detailed, I called it the “Neo Geo look”.  Bricks in the background just look decrepit and worn, wood planks look weathered etc.  This is a look that is not seen all that often in modern gaming, let alone in retrogaming titles.  Line scrolls even make an appearance in the background of the underwater level lending quite the effect to the level, really helping set the mood.  The depth illusion is well done, objects in the foreground carry a lot more detail than those in the background, alluding to the fact that they are farther away.  This is prominent in the outside levels where the trees in the distance are obviously trees, but you can’t make out bark or anything like you can on the trees directly effecting Mickey and Donald.  Sega really put some money into the graphics in World of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.  The levels of World of Illusion are sometimes expansive while others are more straight forward action affairs. 

That leaves Sony Imagesoft in the single release category since they released a little title called Mickey Mania (SNES, Genesis and Sega CD).  This title followed Mickey through the ages of animation that he represents.  Starting out in the black and white era of Steamboat Willie on up to Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Mickey Mania followed Disney’s mouse through a “this is your life” in videogame form.  Why no one thought of this before is beyond me, and why this was not later ported to the Sony Playstation (I know, Imagesoft and Computer Entertainment were two different companies) is beyond me.  It just makes so much sense that this would have been ported to newer consoles, maybe it was a licensing limitation?

Sony Imagesoft only released one Mickey Mouse title but it was one amazing title that trumps the works of the others.  How can you pass up a “this is your life” game that focuses on Mickey Mouse?  There is so much heritage on display in this single game.  The Sega CD version features an exclusive level not available in the cartridge versions, along with the improved music that CD-ROM allows.

While Capcom and Sega both took a crack at Mickey Mouse games that featured sprawling levels, and games that featured more straight forward action based affairs, all of them had their own charm.  For me as a fan of the license and of quality gaming, I have to go with Mickey Mania by Sony Imagesoft.  Therefore, I have to give the leading nudge to Sony with Sega coming in a very, very, close second and Capcom nudged to third place by a very fine margin.  Had Capcom released the sequels to Magical Quest in North America they would probably have been able to pull at least second place, if not first.

Congrats Sony Imagesoft for giving gamers the best 16-Bit Mickey Mouse title in Mickey Mania.  Thank you.

Do you love 2D action platform games?  Check out these other articles too then!
5 Action Games that are not Mario
Leilani’s Island
Infernax
Castlevania: Spectral Interlude

Carl Williams

It is time gaming journalism takes its rightful place as proper sources and not fanboys giving free advertising. If you wish to support writers like Carl please use the links below. https://www.paypal.me/WCW https://www.patreon.com/CarlWilliams