Mickey's Adventure in Numberland

Name: Mickey's Adventure in Numberland
Year: 1994
Publisher: Hi-Tech Expressions
Developer: Beam Software
Genre: Educational
Hours Played: Countless
Beaten: Yes, Many Times

Near the end of the NES's life, Hi-Tech Expressions released two Mickey Mouse themed educational games.  The second game, Mickey's Adventure in Numberland, came out one year after it's predecessor (Mickey's Safari in Letterland), and it shows.  The two games play very similarly, but Numberland builds upon the the first game in many ways.

The game begins with a map with four areas: City, Museum, Observatory, and Factory.  Each area has two levels (although you're returned to the map screen each time you clear one, meaning you need to visit each area twice).  Clear all four, and you open up the final area, Pete's Hideout.  Gone is the world-spanning safari theme of the last game; here, the levels have a very urban feel, and Mickey is dressed in sportswear.  He even has a basketball he fiddles with during his idle animations.

Your objective in each level is to collect a specific number.  Incorrect numbers are sprinkled throughout the level, and Mickey shakes his head disapprovingly if you try to grab the wrong one.  There's bubblegum to collect that you can shoot at the enemies, and you actually have a life meter this time around, making the stakes a little higher (for a game aimed at very young children).  The coolest thing in the levels are the blackboards; they cycle through numbers, and if you land on them when they're displaying the number you're looking for, you get a bonus point.  It's completely optional, but it actually involves a little skill (something rarely seen in edutainment titles).

All in all, Mickey's Adventure in Numberland feels a lot more like a bonafide platformer then it's predecessor.  Sure, it's easy, and a seasoned gamer can beat it in about ten to fifteen minutes, but at least it requires a little skilll, especially when you crank up the difficulty and go for all the bonuses.  The downside to this game is that I'm not sure it really succeeds at being that educational.  There's a single digit addition or subtraction problem at the end of each stage, but the game does nothing to teach you how to work the problem.  Sesame Street: Countdown may be a terrible game, but at least you have to collect the right number of items, instead of just the number.

Graphics & Animation: 3 (Good)
The graphics here are big and colorful.  Your child will instantly recognize Mickey, Donald, and Pete.  Mickey himself has a lot of different animations, including playing with a basketball while waiting for you to hit a button.

Music & Sounds: 4 (Excellent)
Mickey talks!  I said this with the last game, but it still applies here: this was very impressive for the time, and still holds up pretty well today.  Sound bites take up a ton of cartridge space, but they managed to squeeze quite a few clips in.

Controls & Level Design: 2 (Average)
The addition of an attack (and the ability to take damage) add a lot more depth to this outing.  The levels here are longer, but shorter; sadly, gone are the secret passages of the first game's Egypt levels.  You still have to explore the levels pretty thoroughly to find everything, though.

Story & Presentation: 3 (Good)
The story and presentation is the one clear step up in this game.  We now get an opening cut scene showing Pete stealing all the letters, and Mickey and Donald pop up with full screen portraits to give messages to the player.

Length & Replayability: 3 (Average)
This game is shorter then it's predecessor, but I feel like it will entertain you for a little longer.  The levels are longer and more interesting (even though there's only ten of them as opposed to the last game's twenty-six), and there's still three levels of difficulty.  I can also see an older sibling playing this game through at least once (I certainly did with my little brother's copy, back in the day), whereas Letterland would bore any older kid pretty quickly.

Total: 16 (Good)