Adventures In The Magic Kingdom Review

Adventures in the Magic Kingdom is the newest Disney-based game from Capcom. Last year’s DuckTales was a universal hit among children and adults and I was very excited to see the company release two more Disney games this summer, this and Chip ’N Dale Rescue Rangers. While Magic Kingdom has a great premise, and even does several things right, it will surely not be as fondly remembered as some of the other Capcom classics.

In this game you are exploring a very condensed Disney theme park. Your quest is to locate the six silver keys, which have been lost, so Mickey Mouse can begin the parade. You’ll quickly learn that this is a game probably designed for a 6-10 age range, however I was not completely disappointed. Your character, a young man in a cowboy style outfit, walks though the Magic Kingdom in an overhead perspective, similar to Dragon Warrior. There are only five attractions that you can visit, but in traditional Capcom glory, any order you choose. When you get through the stage, you receive a key. The sixth key is obtained by answering a handful of Disney trivia questions in the park.

Space Mountain is a probably my least favorite, as it bares little resemblance to the ride. You simply must hit the corresponding button to turn your ship and A or B to fire at asteroids. It requires quick hand/eye coordination, but is extremely boring. Autopia is an entertaining top-down racer where you must complete the race without crashing or going off the course. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has you racing downward through old rail tracks. You must successful reach the correct gate without taking too much damage from falling rocks. Both of these racers control well and are pretty fun, but extremely short as these can be finished in 2 or 3 minutes.

The other two attractions are action-platformers and are what make this game worth playing. In Pirates of the Caribbean, your character must rescue six kidnapped women from the ruthless pirates. You need to avoid the enemies and their cannon-fire, all while making some very difficult jumps across the water. You start off weaponless, but eventually you gain a candle that can be used to throw at the enemies. This stage is fairly challenging and has a respectable length and a fun objective. It took me many times to complete it. The atmosphere is cool – lots of burning buildings, pirate treasure, and a variety of buccaneers – both lively and undead. The character models are large and well-animated. 

The Haunted Mansion is easily my favorite attraction, and I would love to see an entire game based on this theme. The action is nearly identical to Pirates, only here you start off with the candle weapon. The environment truly captures of the mood of the mansion and this level is quite eerie. It is filled with lots of ghouls, tombstones, phantom books, and possessed furniture. Like Pirates, this one is tough, and I felt quite rewarded when I defeated the boss (the only boss fight in this game).

Adventures in the Magic Kingdom truly could have been a great game had there been 10 attractions rather than only 5. Had they designed some more action stages all with the Disney theme, this game could have been a hit. Instead I’d call it a ‘must-rent.’ Throughout the game the music is enjoyable, but the only track that really stands out is in the Mansion. The visuals are pleasant, and the design of the theme park is pretty cool, it’s just a shame that it’s so small.  There is no 2-player option and no choice to change your character, which is a shame since it seems like Capcom had full access to all that the Disney property has to offer. There’s just not enough content here to justify a purchase, even though it looks and sounds the part.

Aaron Conwell

Aaron got his NES in 1991 and has loved and collected video games ever since. In addition to gaming, he enjoys Stephen King novels, Twins Baseball, and his cats.