Back in the Super Nintendo era, I didn't have the pleasure of playing Magical Quest because I was going though a phase where Mickey Mouse was simply the farthest thing from "cool" that I could possibly imagine. Thanks to the GBA, I finally have a good opportunity to correct that situation.

Magical Quest is a solid platformer at its heart. There's a basic storyline (Mickey's dog, Pluto, was dog-napped by Pete) to get things moving, but once they do it's mostly jumping, grabbing, stomping, tomato riding, swimming, magic using, and platforming action.

The graphics have struck me as above average so far (nice artwork), and there hasn't been any slow down or frame dropping yet. You can play as Mickey or Minnie, but the difference between them is purely cosmetic. The port from TV to GBA screen dimensions doesn't seem to have caused any significant harm to the gameplay either. Sound and music are surprisingly good through the GBA's external speaker, but headphones don't seem to provide a significantly better aural experience as they do in some GBA games.

A key aspect of the gameplay is the ability to change clothes. You start with the classic Mickey garb which allows for normal movement and the grabbing and throwing of items. At the start of level two, a wizard (that you meet in level one) gives you a wizard's costume that allows you to breath for extended periods underwater while casting magical bolts. There are two more costumes to obtain. Control is very responsive (almost too responsive) and limited to just the A and B buttons (and the D-pad of course) when you're not switching costumes. My primary fear for this game is that its (apparently) six stages won't be long enough to satisfy my desire to continue playing it. Keep an eye out for the full review soon.

Note: This game can link up to the GameCube so that the new Mickey game, Magical Mirror, can use the save data from the GBA game. Read my impressions of Magical Mirror for more information on how it uses the save data from the GBA game.