Does anyone out there know that Capcom recently released a point-n-click adventurish game titled Disney’s Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse for the Nintendo Gamecube? It sure seems to be a well-kept industry secret, almost as though those responsible are afraid to admit that they published such an anachronism.

But wait, that intrepid group of reviewers at Gamespot seem to know about this title, let’s see what these spokespersons for the industry have to say, “Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse for the GameCube serves as a bullet-point list of reasons why adventure games are being ignored by the general public….For the most part, Magical Mirror is a very simple, straightforward point-and-click adventure game…there's no question that Disney's Magical Mirror was designed expressly for a younger audience. But while the game's simplistic puzzles will keep more mature gamers from enjoying it, the incredibly slow pacing and monotonous puzzles will override the Disney entertainment factor for the young as well.”  Well, golly gee, I really don’t know what to say in response here except to apologize to the Gamespot reviewer, “Dear Gamespot reviewer, I am truly sorry that Magical Mirror did not feature any bloody mouse decapitations, I also apologize that you, as an adult, found the game to be slow paced and monotonous, did it ever occur to you to that not every child likes to have his game character jump about the screen like some crazed, Ritalin-deprived game mascot?”

Now lest you begin to believe that the staff of Gamespot is somehow prejudiced against those nasty old boring point-and-click adventure games, lets be fair and point out some posts by actual parents who have played the game with their children (the following posts all appeared on the Electronics Boutique website). These customer reviews, as they are called, seem to be split down the middle, for every, “My 8 year old was bored fast. My five year old lasted about 15 minutes. Maybe the two year old will like it. The psuedo point and click controlling of Mickey is lame,” there is an opposite, “This game is great for kids. It is very funny and fun to watch.” But my favorite customer review is the following, “The younger gamers might get frustrated because they expect Mickey to move like Mario and he doesn't…Just a flawed game, that might provide some young ones with a few minutes of joy before they put it down and ask for Mario.” Now, we all like to believe that the kids are the problem with today’s society, but how would you like to have the person who wrote that customer review as your parent: “Jimmy, you can’t go to bed until you jump on your little brother’s head like Mario and don’t forget to eat your power-up before you brush your teeth.”

So how is Magical Mirror? Well, let me be wishy-washy here and admit that it’s not great, but it’s not bad either. Yet, it is ludicrous that these twitch-jockey reviewers should heap dung on a game intended for youngsters just because it has the audacity to be point-and-click and it is just as ludicrous that the companies that make such games allow themselves to be subjected to such insipid reviewing procedures. But enough of my trying to change the world in one day, let’s talk instead about all things Mickey Mouse.

Mickey has been tricked by a mischievous ghost to step through a magical mirror in his bedroom that then shatters, stranding him in an alternative universe that resembles his own house, except now many of his household items seem to have a life of their own! He can only return by recovering the broken mirror pieces that have been hidden about the house by the poltergeist and rebuilding the scattered magic mirror. To do so, the Mickster must solve numerous puzzles by using items from his inventory which in turn will unlock an animation that allow the game to open a new area for exploration. How Mickey still manages to get himself into these predicaments after seventy years is beyond me, but he still does.

The graphics and animations in this game are, as one would expect from a Disney/Capcom collaboration, simply wonderful. Mickey’s facial expressions are broadly portrayed allowing youngsters to immediately identify with his various emotional states. I was particularly impressed by a scene in which Mickey has been miniaturized and is later menaced by a rubber ducky that has dropped from above to attack. There is a temporary feeling of dread that leaves you laughing after your quick escape from the dreaded rubber ducky, but scenes like this have been realized to not scare the bejabbers out of younger players (the only reason I even mention this is because Gamespot makes a point of noting that the ghost in this game more resembles something from School House Rock than what supposedly a real ghost should look like. Right, lets make everything so realistic that it gives nightmares to youngsters). Yet, this is but one of numerous humorous scenarios scattered throughout the game.

Magical Mirror uses a simple point-and-click mouse glove icon that allows youngsters to take their time and thoroughly explore every area looking for stars, mirror shards and inventory items. The stars are needed to be able to activate specific objects that then in turn usually require you to solve a puzzle. The puzzles are a great introduction for youngsters to learn basic logic as simple inventory items – such as a remote control used to turn on a television set – are used as would be expected, but some of these puzzles are actually multi-tiered as solving one puzzle sometimes triggers another puzzle, a concept that I found interesting in a game geared towards younger children.

Overall, Magical Mirror is a little on the short side especially when balanced against the steep retail price of a Nintendo GameCube game ($49.99). Nor does there seem to be much replay value, though I do believe children in the 4-6 year-old age group would enjoy showing their parents and older siblings how they are able to solve puzzles and activate the splendid animations. I would not for a moment hesitate to recommend Magical Mirror to any parent if, for no other reason, to encourage companies like Capcom and Disney to publish more games of this sort that value our children’s intelligence over their dubious ‘ability’ to possess the quickest trigger finger in the schoolyard.
(There is also an option – that we have not tried - to link to a Game Boy Advance version of Magical Mirror that will add Minnie Mouse to the game)

Final Grade: B