NES Works #092: Mickey Mousecapade/ Joust/ Millipede/ DK Classics

Video Works by Jeremy Parish

Capcom kicks off one of the most important creative threads of the NES's history: Their collaboration with Disney, back in the days when Disney was simply an animation studio struggling to reinvent itself for a new era rather than an all-consuming media megalith. Ah, but this isn't really a Capcom Disney game, is it? Appearances (and packaging logos) can be deceptive... but the proof is in the gameplay, which is pretty uninspiring in this case.

Also this episode: A salvo of classic games from HAL and Nintendo. The former gives us acceptable ports of arcade masterpieces Joust and Millipede, while the latter simply slaps a new wrapper on two Famicom launch ROMs without bothering to tidy up those releases' shortcomings despite the availability of more advanced cartridge tech that could have made for, say, a proper conversion of Donkey Kong. For shame.

Production note: NES footage captured from @Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with @Retro Tink 5X (which accounts for the tearing and distortion in vertically scrolling sequences).

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