 Magical Quest was originally released in the mid-90s for the Super NES. Like the original, this version begins after Mickey's dog, Pluto, is kidnapped by arch-nemesis Pete. Players then navigate Mickey (or Minnie) through six levels of fairly standard platform action.
Players begin the game by choosing either Mickey or Minnie. Minnie is new to this version of the game and has completely different graphics and animation from
Mickey but plays exactly the same. At first, Mickey has only a few moves. He can jump on most enemies to stun them, and pick up and throw blocks and stunned enemies. Since that's all he can do in the first level, it plays as a very standard platform game. Run from left to right, jump on platforms, defeat enemies -- you know the drill. The game starts to get interesting in each progressive level as Mickey gets a new costume.
Level 2 nets Mickey a Sorcerer's hat. (Pressing the 'L' button selects between hats, and the 'R' button switches Mickey to the selected hat.) As a Sorcerer, rather than picking up objects, the 'B' button shoots a blast of magical energy. Holding down 'B' charges a shot so it does more damage (useful against some of the bosses). These blasts also activate a few special objects in levels, like a magic carpet. A meter at the bottom of the screen shows how much magical energy Mickey has left, but frequent magic pickups mean the player will probably never run out. The Sorcerer costume also gives Mickey the ability to
remain underwater longer.
 In level 3, Mickey gets a Firefighter's hat. With it equipped,
the player can use the 'B' button to shoot a stream of water. Like with the sorcerer's magic, water is limited, but frequent pickups mean it isn't an issue. Besides being useful to fight fire-based enemies, blasts of water can push blocks and moving platforms. Sometimes the only way to progress is by pushing platforms into position to reach higher areas.
Level 4 sees Mickey receiving the last costume (and my favorite), the Climber's hat.
As Climber Mickey, the player uses the 'B' button to throw out a grapple. Much like the Bionic Arm in
Bionic Commando or the energy grapple from the Metroid series, the grapple lets Mickey swing across pits, climb to higher areas, and find hidden secrets. Unfortunately, the grapple is a bit limited because it only attaches to specific spots-blocks, platforms, and some (but not all) scenery.
While most levels are extremely linear (just scroll from left to right), as Mickey gets each new hat, the game gets a bit more complex and interesting. Later levels often require the player to switch hats several times to progress. Many levels also have hidden areas with
shops and extra heart containers (so Mickey can take more hits from enemies). The fourth section of each level is always a boss battle (Pete as a snake, a
hockey player, etc.). I had the most fun with these fights. Most of the bosses have a specific weakness (usually related to the most recent costume Mickey's received), and finding and exploiting that weakness in each boss is the high point of the game.
 Graphically,
Magical Quest looks like a pretty average Super NES game. The graphics are crisp, colorful, and clean looking. There are multiple scrolling
backgrounds and nicely drawn enemies and characters (Mickey and Minnie look and animate differently in each of their costumes). A few details stand
out -- like the giant tomatoes Mickey rides down a vine in level 2 or the huge bosses he fights, which often use "Mode 7" scaling and rotation effects. Technically, it's not as advanced as many GameBoy Advance games, but it still looks nice.
The sound isn't as good. The game's music has a decent Disney feel to
it and it's basically average for the GameBoy Advance, but not up to par compared to most console games. It serves its purpose fine, and I didn't find it grating, so it's not a big deal.
Besides Minnie, Magical Quest also has another new feature
that the Super NES game lacked: a two-player mode. The game has four
mini-games that are races between two players. Players pick the same
costume and use it to navigate a level specifically designed for that costume. The first to the finish line wins. These mini-games aren't anything special, but they do function with just one copy of the game (plus two GameBoy Advance systems and a game link cable), so they're a nice bonus.
 Magical Quest is far from the best platform game on the GameBoy Advance. It's short (probably 3-5 hours to complete the game), and players will want to own games like the
Super Mario Advance series, Kirby, and Klonoa, before even considering it. Still, the different powers Mickey gets from the costumes and the enjoyable boss battles make
Magical Quest a fun diversion.
Note: Magical Quest also has the ability to connect to the GameCube game
Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse. Doing so apparently lets players load items found in
Magical Quest into Magical Mirror.
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