Over the years, Mickey Mouse has become a celebrated character – and a huge part of Walt Disney’s lineage. Everywhere you go, there are mouse ears, cartoons and various other products that celebrate the beloved hero. And, for that matter, that includes video games. 2023 will likely be a big year for the mouse, thanks to releases like Disney Dreamlight Valley and
Disney Speedstorm, as he’ll likely be involved in some part. But, today, we’d like to look back at five of the hero’s best video game adventures, with an honorable mention for good measure. Now then, let’s celebrate all things Mickey!
Honorable Mention: Mickey’s Speedway USA
Though likely overshadowed at the time by other kart-racing games like Diddy Kong Racing and Mario Kart 64, Mickey’s Speedway USA wasn’t bad at all. It’s got lots of fun characters, some terrific track designs and fun for many players. Not to mention it serves as an interesting precursor for what’s to come with Speedstorm when it arrives this year. Go out and give it a spin!
5. Epic Mickey
This interesting experiment from Warren Spector and Junction Point, working alongside Disney Interactive, is still pretty good after all these years. It puts Mickey into the heart of a dangerous yet imaginative world, using the power of ink to get himself out of situations. It’s a beautiful game, and one with innovative gameplay. Surprisingly enough, it would inspire a sequel that followed years later – but, alas, we haven’t seen something this Epic since.
4. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
Though vastly different from the previous Castle of Illusion (which we’ll get to shortly), World of Illusion is nothing short of magic. You play as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck (or both, since the game has wonderful co-op), working your way through an imaginative world. This one has exquisite visuals and music, and is well worth experiencing. You can hunt down the original cartridge or enjoy it on the Sega Genesis Mini. Bring a second controller, though.
3. Mickey Mania
Presented by Sony Imagesoft and the developers at Travellers Tales (the Lego team), Mickey Mania is a glorious tour through the mouse’s infamous cartoons, stopping in all sorts of places with entertaining gameplay and a rich presentation. In fact, it’s almost like walking through the cartoons themselves, including the legendary Steamboat Willie. Well worth the rediscovery if you can hunt down a cartridge.
2. Kingdom Hearts
Though technically not a straight-up Mickey Mouse video game, the hero still plays a prominent part in this, one of Square Enix’s most iconic action-RPG games. He plays a member of royalty who lends a hand to your battle party, and he remains his usual, upbeat self throughout. You can re-experience this game as part of the classic Kingdom Hearts package for PS4/PS5, as well as via cloud on Nintendo Switch. Honestly, though, nothing beats the PS2 version.
1. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
Some may argue that Mickey made a definitive debut with Mickey Mousecapade on the NES, but we’re going with Castle of Illusion on this one. Simple compared to other games on the list, it’s still a remarkable game, with many thrilling worlds to conquer and lots of platforming fun. It was so good, Sega remade it later with a modern touch for Xbox and PlayStation consoles, as well as PC, and it hasn’t missed a beat. Oh, and we gotta give a shout out to the Master System/Game Gear versions as well. They’re great!
Want a new console to play some of these great Mickey Mouse games on? Because we’re giving one away!
