Disney released the original Magical Quest on the SNES some years ago and the mixture of platform action, puzzle solving and exploration made it a hit at the time. Since the advent of the Gameboy Advance we've seen the original game and a second version starring Minnie as well as Mickey released, both of which have been snatched off the shelves by platform-game lovers everywhere. This time it's the turn of Mickey and Donald to venture into a bizarre storybook landscape on yet another journey into a crazy world. I'm pleased to say that Disney's Magical Quest 3 Starring Mickey & Donald doesn't just hold up well against the previous titles, but could even surpass them.

The Disney characters return to Storybook Land to rescue Huey, Dewey and Louie who have been captured by the evil King Pete and sucked into the pages of the magical book. The Fairy of Storybook Land explains to Donald and Mickey when they come searching for the youngsters that King Pete took over the land while she was asleep and now he wants to conquer the outside world too. She asks Mickey and Donald to help, who are both glad to oblige.

There are multiplayer options, but the main game allows you to choose either Mickey or Donald, each having different powers. The game that follows is essential a side-scrolling platformer but with all the trimmings you'd expect and some lovely touches besides. Controlling your character is nice and simple at first, being a case of running left and right, jumping on top of boxes and platforms and bouncing off the heads of enemies to stun them. You can also pick up certain coloured boxes and spin them at your enemies, or pick up stunned bad guys to fling them at those still attacking you. This is a lot of fun and the controls respond very well; in fact, if you're not used to sensitive controls you may even find yourself overshooting slightly on some jumps or ambushes.

The controls do get a little more complicated as you progress through the levels though, as you are given different costumes that perform different actions. Knowing what each outfit can do is essential for progressing through the game, as is changing between them as certain situations arise. For example, when you get a suit of armour if you don't learn how to use its shield to defend yourself, then you may end up being pushed into a river by a frog blowing jets of water at you. Similarly, if you don't master the woodcutter's outfit you're not going to be able to turn opponents into spinning tops to wipe out others, or be able to climb trees. The other outfit is a magician's suit, which casts spells and transforms things. However, for extra variety each costume does different things depending on which character you play and also looks a bit different. For example, the Knight's outfit allows Mickey to not just shield himself, but wipe out adversaries with a large boxing glove on the end of a spring, while in the hands of Donald it looks more like a barrel into which he can duck when enemies go by, or use a massive wooden hammer to knock them out.

This variety provides no end of novelty and is a great feature in an already diverse game. Other variations come in the form of King Pete's henchmen, who stroll, fly, swim, roll, pop and slither at you. You need to have your wits about you too, because each attacks in a different manner and sometimes in a surprising fashion. While Pete's henchmen usually lunge at you with their rapiers, you'll also find bizarre plants in the forest level, which pop and send sticky spores into the air. The more of these you collect, the heavier you become, severely restricting your movement until you shake them off. This assortment extends also to the end of level bosses, some of which dive bomb you from above, sling giant eggs at you, bounce heavily around the sceeen and otherwise attack. All this diversity means you're not going to clear a level on your first try but all are broken down into about three areas and allow you to save your game regularly. In the meantime, you'll find yourself insanely hammering the control pad and buttons as you attempt to master each devious section.

Although the enemies are tough you do get quite a bit of help. Collecting and breaking open various boxes supplies you with some useful items, such as gold to spend at magical shops hidden about each area, hearts to boost your life meter, extra lives and so on. Also there are mini-levels in each area, including hidden rooms with extra bounty and a card game where you earn items until the card with King Pete pops up. However, you're not going to find all this stuff without a good deal of exploring and experimenting. Quite often you'll see a box at the top of the screen and wonder how to get to it, only to find a route to it behind or ahead of you, or perhaps the means to reach it, such as trampoline pumpkins that you can pick up and carry. Also, a useful technique is to stab the A button when you land on an enemy's head, which launches you much further upwards than your standard jump. It's great fun!

As if the gameplay isn't good already, your jaw will be dropping at some of the stunning visuals. First of all you have the bold and superbly animated main characters, Mickey and Donald, both instantly recognisable particularly when they pull the expressions we've come to know and love from the cartoons we've seen since childhood, regardless of their diminutive size on an already small screen. This does also apply to the antagonists patrolling each area too, portrayed with a great deal of humour and originality. One great example is the pesky crows that hide in scarecrows and then proceed to chase after you on stilts with their heads poking out of the scarecrow's coat. You also have dangerous corn-on-the-cobs, exploding fungi, leaping piranhas, shining armoured dogs, evil sorcerers and knaves with underarm rocket launchers. Besides these you have cracking end of level bosses, such as a giant pig in a basket that eventually ends up trying to belly flop you into extinction with an evil expression on its face the whole time, and an enormous bad tempered chicken who literally spits feathers at you.

The striking manner in which they all of these characters are presented means there's no danger of them getting lost among the other onscreen beauties. The landscapes and surroundings are masterfully done and also come in many forms. The very first level is a great sign of things to come, with foregrounds showing such detail as brickwork (some of which you can destroy and find secret areas in), statues, barricades and even the fruit and veg of a harvest festival. As the game scrolls along there is another layer in the background that's slightly less detailed but still quite breathtaking nonetheless and adds a great feeling of depth. This is particularly well done in the forest level, where looking into the background gives a real impression of running through a deeply wooded area, while still providing such lovely detail on the vine entangled trunks growing from a slippery and very organic looking moss on the ground.

It's a shame this abundance doesn't also apply to the sound. That's not to say it isn't well done though; the theme music changes from level to level and varies depending on the action onscreen, plus there are some lovely pops, bangs, crashes and clangs. The meaty thwacks do help the impression made when another guard is tossed violently through the air by Mickey's boxing glove but once you've heard it over and over the novelty palls a little. It's always hard to judge sound on the Gameboy Advance, as the poor audio hardware does let the side down a lot of the time, but I did get the impression that more effort had been spent on the graphics and the gameplay. Not that I can really complain, as both of those excel anyway and sound is quite often a secondary consideration when you have such a playable game in your hands.

As if this immensely addictive game isn't already superb solo, you also have some fab multiplayer action to keep you playing even longer. First of all, you can play each main level co-operatively, one playing as the mouse and the other as the duck. Besides covering each others' backs you also have other abilities, such as being able to throw your chum high in the air when needed, riding on Donald's barrel in watery areas or elevated by his magical fire hand in others. You also have party games that are opened as you acquire each of the three costumes in the main game. The Knight's game involves breaking blocks before they hit the ground, the Woodcutter's is the first to reach the top of the tree and the Magician's is the first to collect enough items to turn into a frog. They are all immensely entertaining and really add value to a game that as a single player affair already represents great value for money. The only drawback is that you need two cartridges to play these but if you show your Gameboy playing chums what they're missing I'm sure they'll rush out and buy a copy for themselves.

I expect many gamers will overlook Disney's Magical Quest 3 Starring Mickey & Donald when patrolling the shelves of their local game store, passing it off as perhaps a title aimed at children or another attempt on the part of Disney to cash in on well known names and characters. While both may be true to a certain extent, nobody can deny the immense playability and fun to be had from this title. The sheer scope and variety of the characters, puzzles, layouts, bosses and landscapes is of a standard that deserves to have the Disney seal of quality stamped on it. Not only are platform fans going to love this but advocates of other genres will surely be absorbed by the entertaining gameplay too.

Reviewed by Dave Wynn for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).