Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse

Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse
North American cover art
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Distributor(s)	Disney Interactive Studios
Platform(s)	Nintendo GameCube
Release date(s)	JP August 9, 2002 NA August 13, 2002 EU September 13, 2002 AUS September 19, 2002[1]
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ELSPA: 3+ ESRB: E
Media/distribution	1 × Nintendo optical disc

Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse (known in Japan as: Mickey Mouse no Fushigi no Kagami ミッキーマウスの不思議な鏡) is a 2002 Disney adventure video game developed by Capcom, published by Nintendo and distributed by: Disney Interactive Studios for the Nintendo GameCube.

Gameplay

The game uses a simple point-and-click mechanic which involves using a cursor to guide Mickey Mouse to various locations. Mickey will react to what the player does and what he encounters in the game by expressing curiosity, getting mad, falling down, running away, standing his ground, or other actions. At certain points, the player is able to have Mickey perform a special move that generally involves having him stomp on an onscreen enemy.

Mini-games, such as having Mickey fly an airplane or ski down a mountain, are available throughout the game. Special souvenirs may be uncovered as well, which are displayed in Mickey's room at the end of the game, such as Pluto's collar or Minnie's bow.

Plot

One night, a mischievous ghost traps a sleep-walking Mickey Mouse inside a magic mirror. Stuck in an alternate universe that strangely resembles his own house, Mickey yearns to get back through the mirror to his own house and his own bed. The player must direct Mickey to outwit enemies and pull gags in order to get past enemies and the aforementioned ghost and recover the broken mirror pieces he needs to go home again.

Development

At Nintendo's Space World 2001 show, where it was just beginning to show more Nintendo Gamecube titles, A Disney title was announced which showed some screenshots of this game, which was assumed to be a platformer like much the vein of Disney's Magical Quest on the Super Nintendo. But when Nintendo finally announced the product at the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo, This was proved that it was a completely different game, instead.

This game's plot was based on "Thru the Mirror", a 1936 Mickey Mouse cartoon. The opening sequence also plays out similar to the beginning of the cartoon, even perfectly replicating Mickey's "walk through the mirror" animation. One part later in the game, where Mickey grows to a tremendous size then shrinks to a minuscule size, was also replicated exactly as in the cartoon.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	48.3%[2]
Metacritic	50 out of 100[3]
Review scores
Publication	Score
GameSpot	4.6 out of 10[4]
GameSpy	[5]
IGN	4.8 out of 10[6]

The game was generally given poor review scores. For the most part, the player is given no instructions and cut scenes are limited to watching Mickey get chased or falling through to the next area. The game was also criticized because the controls are unreasonably unresponsive as Mickey will just wander off on his own even if players tell him otherwise.

See also

• Disney's Hide and Sneak
• List of Disney video games by genre

References

1. ^ "Disney's Magical Mirror: Starring Mickey Mouse". Nintendo Australia. Archived from the original on 2002-12-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20021206052027/http://nintendo.com.au/gamecube/games/magicalmirror.php. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
2. ^ "Aggregate score at GameRankings". Game Rankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/516696.asp. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
3. ^ "Aggregate score at Metacritic". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/cube/disneysmagicalmirror. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
4. ^ Ryan Davis (August 21, 2002). "Review at GameSpot". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/disneysmagicalmirrorsmm/review.html. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
5. ^ Shane Satterfield (September 5, 2002). "Review at GameSpy". GameSpy. http://cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/disneys-magical-mirror-starring-mickey-mouse/595892p1.html. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
6. ^ Fran Mirabella III (September 11, 2002). "Review at IGN". IGN. http://cube.ign.com/articles/370/370655p1.html. Retrieved 2008-08-30.