Wow, it has been a long time since I didn't make a post, well, after days of constant test, college and typical laziness; I'm back.
One of the things that caught my eye during these days was how Disney is becoming a corporate predator after the release of the avengers, seeking their prey and buying them.
They also started to kick back into video games, this time focusing on more casual material and have Avalanche Studios as their only core gaming company
(Which I can't blame them, out of all the material that was made from Disney's gaming studios, this and the now-defunct Black Rock, were the ones that were making progress; How do you like that Warren Spector aka Deus Ex Creator? Can you explain to me what sort of drug you smoked to come up with Epic Mickey 2 instead of focusing development on the Spy Donald Duck game or the fucking Rockateer reboot?) and start to make remakes of old games during the 8-bit/16-bit era.
These Include the cult gem that is Ducktales for the NES (which by the way, is being made by the same studio that made Shantae, Contra 4, Mighty Switch Force and that sweet Batman: Brave and the Bold beat em' up) and Castle of Illusion HD
(Which I like to call Mickey Mania of Illusion, seeing how they added a fleeing sequence with bulldozer sized apples).
Disney made a lot of great decisions in gaming, joining up with huge game publishers to bring quality material that the gamer deserves!
Well, most of the times
And seeing how they are growing nowadays, appealing both the mature audiences with Lucasarts and movies like Iron Man 3; and the Kids with their sweet cartoons and movies (Yes, they need to work more with Disney XD, but hey at least, we still have Gravity Falls and there is the upcoming Wander over Yonder), so sit back as we look the top ten best Disney games.
Honorable Mentions:
Donald Duck: Goin' Qu@ckers!
Ok this game is a bit short, I agree and the graphics could have been better since it used the same graphical engine from Rayman 2 (a game that was a year old compared to this).
But it doesn't stop being a fun game, having a crash bandicoot-like gameplay and the switch of 3D and 2D scenarios, going Quackers is a game that made part of my childhood.
And one of the few games that I managed to complete for the PS1 when I first bought it (I didn't have the memory card, that thing was so fucking pricy when I lived in Latin America).
It's very colorful; it nicely homages Carl Barks, the creator of the Donald Duck comics and it's very easy to control and play it.
Though how easy the game can be is a problem, as Older gamers will feel bored quickly by how the game lacks challenge, buuuuuuuuuut, this game has a giant chicken as a boss, who doesn't want to relive Peter Griffin's fight with the giant chicken by using a cartoon duck as your character?
Just tell me.
'
Mickey's Speedway USA
Funny thing, Rare acutally developed a Disney game.
It was a Diddy Kong Racing rip-off but it was still fun, though having individual slots for Huey, Dewey and Louie was a bit exaggerated.
And in all honesty, only 10 characters for a racing game? *sigh* (
Why didn't they just pick up the devil from Fantasia as a character, imagine you having the ability to destroy everyone you see and force Minney Mouse to give you a BJ).
Each character has statics so you might want to pick strategically each character before running.
It's not a must-buy game but it's so fun to play this with your friends.
10.
Epic Mickey
Now that I blasted the living shit out of the sequel, I do have to admit the original game is actually a very good one; The paint and thinner concept is pretty damn interesting and actually works, the story is satisfying with the whole idea of a world full of scrapped characters led by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit giving the game a childish dark tone and the designs of the levels, characters and cutscenes are actually pretty great.
Though, let's not be too positive; the game lacks that offer it originally had by being more Deus Ex in terms of storyline and gaps, the lack of voice acting was dumb and the cameraman of this game controls the camera angles like footage of the cloverfield movie.
Though having some cons, Epic Mickey is still a great game to pick up for the Wii
9.
Bally Midway´s Tron
I'm not joking, this 1982 arcade game is one of the many gems in gaming, even having a spot on Screwattack's top 10 Best Movie Games and I can understand why.
I'm not sure if I call this a guilty pleasure or just a decently good game that hasn't aged in time, we are talking about a game that was made on Atari years, the same time where a a text-to-speak was considered a video game.
The game is consisted of 3 minigames; With the most fun of them all being, you guessed it, the light cycle bettle, imagine a lethal version of snake where you must eliminate players by having them meet head-to-head with a wall made of photons.
If you ever find this in an arcade or an old hotel (since buying cabinets are way too pricy), don't let this game fill with spider web and give it a try
(and possibly enter the grid, unfortunately, since no one entered there for a huge fucking time, you'll be forced to go to the Tron Evolution universe, BUT, look on the bright side, there are Daft Punk NPCs) or just buy it at the Xbox Live Arcade and en.
8.
Donald Duck: Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow
"Gais, Disney is kiddie, all they do is do stuff for kids, why not have blood once in a while; Now, excuse me I have to watch One Piece"
Fine, say whatever you want about disney but never say Maui Mallard is easy or that it sucks.
Maui Mallard is the Demon Souls of the 16-bit era, being developed by Virgin Interactive, the game puts you in the role of Donald Duck in the Maui Mallard attire which in turn has you go through the Cold Shadow attire.
Yeah...
The game has a great soundtrack, challenging gameplay for the more mature, the ability for Maui to change personas when he needs to (though some leves are restricted to just Maui) and there's a PC version for hipsters that think TV is too mainstream and spend hours watching Glee on Netflix on a really small computer screen.
Now if they only make a sequel....
7.
Tron Evolution
Again, I love the movie Tron and I also respected Disney's hardcore gaming move with the purchase of the Turok rights and the development of games like Epic Mickey and Pure.
Propaganda's 1st game Turok was an ok game but failed to meet the expectations of its audience, not to mention, it failed at delivering the same experience from the N64 games.
But this game on the other hand is pretty awesome, it has some very stunning visuals, a badass lightcycle race, an okayish online and the voice acting of both Olivia Wilde and Bruce Boxleitner as respectively Quorra and Tron.
There is the HD version and the Nintendo versions of this game, overall I choose the HD version, the Nintendo version is okay, but it doesn't bring the true tron experience as the Propaganda version of the game.
6.
Split/Second
Probably the most badass car game I've ever played in my life, with explosions that come out of a Michael Bay movie (aka Transformers moneyshot), the style of a new Fast and Furious movie, the gameplay of a Need for Speed game and probably one of the best looking visuals I´ve ever seen in a car game (and this game is years old).
It's a really entertaining game that should be added to your library, and when you take a first glimpse of the gameplay, you instantly see that they've put a lot of effort to it.
It's entertaining to play in single player, it's entertaining to play in split screen and it's especially satisfying when you get your hands at the online mode.
Black Rock, you died too quickly as Disney was too blind to see your potential instead focusing on the smartphone apps market and licensing, your visions in car simulators can top that of EA and Codemasters; I hope someday we get our hands at your Crazy Taxi reboot by one of your studios, goodbye.
5.
Mickey Mania
When it comes to Mickey Mouse games, most of the people I know choose the Illusion series, Epic Mickey or the Magical Quest games; Well, they obviously never saw Mickey Mania; Made by the sexy warbeast by the name of David Jaffe, the creator of the God of War and Twisted Metal franchises, this game is such a great tribute to the Mickey Mouse mythos and has you travel along the movies that the mouse appears (Heck, they even included Steamboat Willie as the 1st stage).
It's a simple platform, no huge game changing power-ups or gapping ways, but dammit, it's so hard when you try to play it, you have no idea how the 2nd level takes time.
The graphics are beautiful and you can see how they used the animation skills that were previously used in the Virgin developed Disney games and the music can get stuck in your head for a bit (Right now, I'm humming the stair escape sequence from the 2nd level).
Bottom line, it's a great homage and though not as advanced and full of mechanics like the previous games, it's quite fast compared to its predecessors.
4.
Goof Troop
If you have a still functioning SNES do me a favour and buy this game, also force your friend into playing it (and if he doesn't like it, smack that son of a bitch in the mouth 'cause he deserves it); Mixing the puzzle elements and gameplay from a Link to The Past with the item picking from Super Mario Bros. 2, this SNES gem is meant to be played at a party along with those sweet, sweet arcade cabinets.
You and your friend require the abilities of Max and Goofy as they must save Pegleg Pete and his son PJ from nasty pirates which can be defeaten by throwing jars, hookshoting, bell clanking or even tossing them into the water (You can obviously see the word Nintendo written all over the game).
It's sort of short, the puzzles can be a little too easy sometimes and your friend can be an asshole most of the times, but it doesn't stop Goof Troop from being a nostalgic experience and also a hidden gem in the SNES library; It's a great co-op game and deserves more recognition.
3.
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
You aren't a disney fan if you never heard of this game; Sure, the story looks like it came out of a fanfiction in the vein of My Immortal and has a more confusing story than the Room but you can't argue that this game's gameplay is what makes this franchise a beast.
Having one of the best camera angles on a hack n slash game, the great one-button combat that this game features that can out top that of the Batman Arkham games and how it actually managed to mix the Final Fantasy series with Disney (Let's not forget that kickass battle Hercules had with that FF guy), Kingdom Hearts has every right to be respected in the gaming industry.
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix is probably the best; having a more vast combat system compared to the 1st game, some features that weren't implented in KHII such as the Roxas battle or the Ventus battle, the addition of more worlds including a Pirates of the Caribbean one, the epic boss battles and how they added a little crown to Sora's Head (Remember what Homer J. Simpson said once: it's good to work with a tiny hat) makes Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, the best game this franchise has to offer.
You know what they say; the more, the better; a phrase that perfectly fits its vast improvement over the 1st one and Chain of Memories (Pfft, those Children and their demonic card games)
2.
Ducktales
This is inevitable, if I didn't put this I would have ended up like Kennedy or chased down like a Lisa Foiles on life.
Every knows what Ducktales for the NES is, and is probably a cult classic in gaming by even gaining a HD remake for current gen systems.
Being very open to the player in terms of level design and level select; Having one of the best soundtracks in NES History and having the most lethal weapon any game could ever have: a cane, the game remains simple yet both challenging and entertaining at the same time.
While kids these days spam with C4s in Battlefield, back in the days we spammed Scrooge's cane moonjump; while kids these days needed tutorials to do stuff, we had to find the secret places by ourselves and with our friend Nintendo Power and if we wanted to kick a guy's ass, we didn't use cheat codes or bonuses, we used Game Genie.
Ducktales is one of Capcom's main classics in their library, but I bet people forgot...
1.
Aladdin
This game is simply put wonderful.
Both versions give entire different experiences, and they both feel right, like a true arabian nights experience; Each have great graphics with the Genesis being Celshaded, Simple gameplay that can be learned in your first gameplay and unforgettable level experiences.
While the SNES version was developed by Capcom with Shinji Mikami working on it; The Genesis version was made by the studio of Earthworm Jim.
Both games are used as sources of conflict between Sega and Nintendo fans on which of these are the best version of an Aladdin game.
It's hard to choose between either of them in my opinion, the capcom game is an amazing platformer with scenes from the movie and an awesome genie level while the Genesis version has a clash system before games like Guilty Gear and handdrawn graphics.
But if I can choose one, it has to be the Genesis version, it was the first game I played for the Genesis and not to mention it had a lot more stuff than the SNES version, sure the SNES version isn't bad, but you can see it was very simplistic.
The genesis version on the other hand: offered more challenges, music from the movie, a beautiful artstyle and character design, actual usefulness of Abu and not to mention, Real men use Schmitars, not jumping, Schmitars.
Other Honorable Mentions:
Magical Quest Series, Darkwing Duck, Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers, Roger Rabbit for the Gameboy, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Land of Illusion, World of Illusion, Ducktales 2, Adventures in the Magical Kingdom and The Haunted Mansion for the PS2.
See You, Space Cowboy...
