I’m talking about the oldest video game series you’ve never heard of. In this crazy multiverse met: Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Garfield and the troll Kuzya!
Games – The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle/Roger Rabbit/Mickey Mouse
Platforms – NES, FDS, Game Boy (1989)
It all started with the release of the game based on the cult film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” on the Famicom Disk System (FDS). It was the first (and only) Disney game for an add-on that supported floppy disks. Despite the fact that Robert Zemeckis’ film featured characters from almost all popular cartoon franchises, all rights to the film belonged to Touchstone Pictures, which in turn was a subsidiary of Disney. The Mouse Company used the Touchstone Pictures sign to distribute films made for a more mature audience.
A lot of games have been released based on the film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, and in my next article I will organize a large-scale retrospective on the series. But today I’m interested in the Japanese exclusive released by Kemco. Kemco had no chance of releasing this game in America, because the rights were divided between Buena Vista Software and LJN, and Capcom staked its claim on the Game Boy.
In terms of gameplay, Roger Rabbit was a typical action-puzzle game, of which there were many on the Famicom at the time. Roger rushes around the huge room collecting hearts to advance to the next level. The main feature of the game is the ability to run into doors that can teleport a rabbit over short distances.
Throughout the levels, as a rule, weapons and traps are scattered, with the help of which Roger can kill enemies. Due to the fact that enemies do not resurrect, a good tactic is to destroy all the reptiles at the beginning of each level. Around the middle of the game, levels appear with pipes that teleport the hare over long distances. They turned out to be an order of magnitude more difficult, because predicting the teleportation of Roger and enemies became more unpredictable. Roger Rabbit didn’t log in. The hits of multi-games – Mappy and Popeye – were much cooler. But what’s much more interesting is that this little game became the founder of a huge series and even acquired sequels, spin-offs and related projects.
The first step towards this crazy multiverse was the American release on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Kemco was able to pull off a clever trick and sign a contract with Disney’s competitor Warner Bros. This is how Roger Rabbit transformed into The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle. When porting, Kemco simply remade the enemy sprites to look like Looney Tunes characters. It turned out to be a rather strange effect, because Bugs Bunny has to run away from Sylvester the Cat… The final scene of the rescue of Jessica Rabbit was stupidly cut out. Kemco tried to save as much as possible on cartridges in order to recoup the expensive license.
The Japanese original was a success in terms of sales, but the American release was a real bomb. People were happy because it was the first Bugs Bunny game. The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle was a game of its time. It was released in 1989 and, with the help of a big name, was able to fill an empty niche. It is important to understand that the Tiny Toon Adventures series began its march only in 1991, and little gamers simply had no choice.
The next step for Kemco was the release of the game on Game Boy. Many elements of the game and even entire levels have been redone. But the most interesting was the Japanese release. Who Framed Roger Rabbit didn’t open in the Land of the Rising Sun, but Kemco maintained good relations with Disney Japan. Therefore, the series faced another transformation, and the mouse took the place of the rabbit. According to the old tradition in Mickey Mouse, sprites of Looney Tunes characters were replaced by Disney characters. This port managed to become one of the main hits of the Game Boy, which means that we will have to visit this crazy Kemco castle more than once.
Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2/Mickey Mouse II/Hugo
Platforms – Game Boy (1991)
An attempt to take the series to a new level. Kemco has done a truly great job. The levels have received an additional dimension, so finding a way out of the castle has become a truly difficult task. The place of hearts/carrots was taken by keys, which greatly changed the formula of the first part. Gamers need to carefully consider the route and methods of destroying enemies.
For the sake of variety, Kemco threw a whole bunch of different items into the game. For example, using a hammer you can clear the road from rubble. The local bestiary didn’t disappoint either. A whole crowd of various fantasy evil spirits awaits us, and each enemy has its own behavior pattern.
According to the old tradition, the enemies received a reskin in Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle, which greatly spoils the atmosphere of the game. But for the sake of Hugo, the developers didn’t bother. Yes, Kemco remembered that the Game Boy was released in Europe, so the troll Kuzya went to defend the honor of one sixth of the land.
Overall, I had mixed feelings about the game. Despite its scale, Crazy Castle 2 has become more stuffy and sluggish. But it is worth noting that the game fits almost perfectly into the Game Boy format. The perfect toilet timekiller.
Of course, Crazy Castle 2 was a huge success, but it was far from the triumph of the first part. The episode numbering on this game is completely broken. Warner Bros did not renew the license, and Bugs Bunny left Kemco Mad Castle for 7 years.
At the peak of success
Kid Klown in Night Mayor World/Mickey Mouse III: Yume Fuusen
Platforms – NES (1992)
In 1992, Kemco had another chance to release a big Mickey Mouse game. Everything worked out thanks to the cooperation of the Japanese branch of Disney with Kemco. Tokyo Disneyland is a real money-making machine. The related products not only brought in huge profits, but also increased the park’s popularity among children.
Therefore, the release of the game was a logical step for the Japanese bosses of Disney. Disney headquarters, two years earlier, also had a similar idea. Adventures in the Magic Kingdom was a good game for its time, but it was far from such hits as Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers and DuckTales, so they decided not to continue the experiment.
But let’s return to the Land of the Rising Sun. This time Kemco decided to create a traditional platformer. Kemco was able to create a truly strange and unique gaming world. The game turned out to be very psychedelic, and some of the bosses scared me as a child… But I just loved this game. The main gameplay idea was balloons. With their help, Mickey can plan and make mega jumps. To complete the game, it is very important for gamers to master the element of air. This mechanic reminded me of DuckTales.
According to old tradition, the way to the West was closed for Kemco. At that time, the most brutal war for the license for Disney characters was going on between Nintendo and Sega. Therefore, the American version was called Kid Klown in Night Mayor World. Baby Clown became Kemco’s mascot and was associated with the company for a long time. The American version received its original story, a new theme song and a series of visual changes.
What’s surprising is that this game received two sequels from different studios. Disney continued to create Mickey Mouse games at Disneyland, and Kemco began developing the Kid Klown franchise. At the same time, cooperation between the companies remained on the Game Boy.
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase
Platforms – SNES, GBA (1994)
Official sequel to Kid Klown in Night https://casinogriffon.co.uk/ Mayor World. The Kemco company chose the strangest possible path for the development of the series; it created a runner. The runner genre itself originated in the early 80s (Antarctic Adventure, Penguin Adventure), and experienced a rebirth in the mid-90s. The culprit of this event was, oddly enough, Sonic. The arcade hit SegaSonic the Hedgehog is remembered for its unusual way of controlling it using a trackball. Kemco decided to do the same thing on a different platform… without the trackball!
Only the result was controversial. But first the good stuff. Kid Klown in Crazy Chase has a lot of fun mini-games and bonus levels. The game has excellent graphics and countless animations of the main clown. Kid Klown is constantly falling, people are setting him on fire, trying to cut him up and blow him up… Kid Klown in Crazy Chase is created for people who hate clowns.
The biggest disadvantage of the game was the prohibitive complexity and crooked controls. Kid Klown in Crazy Chase requires precision from the gamer, but poor camera angles and drifts kill all the fun from the gameplay. Collecting card suits was a terrible decision. If we don’t collect 4 suit artifacts, we’ll have to start the whole level over again. The gameplay becomes boring already at the third level, the game practically does not provide new mechanics as you progress.
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase wasn’t a hit, but it managed to gather a good fan base, especially among Japanese audiences. In 2002, the game had a remake on the GBA, but for some reason Kemco forgot about the native market. Kemco was able to improve the controls and reworked a number of levels, not forgetting about new unique content. The remake got some of its features straight from the sequel, but not everything was perfect. Graphics suffered greatly, and the GBA’s low resolution exacerbated camera problems. In Kid Klown in Crazy Chase, the camera became more laggy and jerky, but I still liked this version better.
Mickey’s Great Adventure in Tokyo Disneyland
Platforms – SNES (1994)
Mickey’s Great Adventure is the true successor to Mickey Mouse III: Yume Fuusen, only Kemco had nothing to do with it. The finest hour of the Japanese office of Disney came precisely in the 16-bit era. Hits such as Disney’s Magical Quest 3: Mickey and Donald’s Magical Adventure and Donald Duck no Mahou no Boushi became real hits on the Super Famicom, so a sequel to Mickey Mouse III was not long in coming.
Despite the fact that the game had a different publisher and developer, Mickey’s Great Adventure in Tokyo Disneyland was advertised as a full-fledged replacement for Mickey Mouse III. Graphic Research studio developed Kemco mechanics. Mickey continued his journey to becoming an avatar, and in this part he learned to master the element of water.
The most interesting thing is that the main mechanic of Mickey’s Great Adventure is flight. However, flying is not easy for Mickey. In the game you need to accurately calculate inertia and timings. I really liked this approach. Graphic Research has given gamers a cheating ability, but mastering it requires practice and patience.
Graphic Research’s biggest move in the sequel was to change the visual style of the series. All the 8-bit madness has disappeared somewhere. The game has a very neat and sleek style in the best Disney traditions. Mickey’s Great Adventure looks great, especially since it was only released in Japan, but I still miss the craziness of the first game. Bosses were a separate pain. We spend most of the passage fighting with Pete, but we didn’t get any huge, wonderful monsters.
Since the action takes place in Disneyland, familiar locations from Adventures in the Magic Kingdom and Chip ‘n Dale 2 await us. I liked that Graphic Research did not copy Capcom and was able to come up with new designs and unique mechanics for old locations. My favorite part was the ending at Cinderella’s Castle – a great callback to Mickey Mouse III with the traditional dragon boss.
Mickey’s Great Adventure – a big, great adventure with your favorite Disney characters. Graphic Research studio could not fully understand Mickey Mouse III, but at the same time tried to create a separate work, without being restrained by artificial boundaries.
Tokyo Disneyland: Mickey no Cinderella Shiro Mystery Tour
Platforms – Game Boy (1995)
Back to basics! The series is still led by Graphic Research, but this time we’ll get an 8-bit game again. The Game Boy platform imposes serious restrictions on developers, so only one location awaits us – Cinderella’s castle… But what a! The castle has a whole bunch of different secrets and alternative moves.
The game has many different mechanics, enemies and interesting game situations without any discounts on portability. I liked the part where we have to run away from the boss, as well as the level with traps in the spirit of Castlevania Adventure. Tokyo Disneyland has so much alternate content that it’s worth playing through the game at least twice.
Visually the game became closer to Mickey Mouse III, the developers were able to find a middle ground between the Disney style and the madness of Kemco. The flight mechanics have been greatly simplified, but for a portable game this is even good. It’s a shame that NES support ended when Tokyo Disneyland came out. After all, this game deserves to be called the fourth part of Mickey Mouse.
For Graphic Research, the Mickey series was the pinnacle of creativity. The studio has always created very small, strange games aimed at a purely Japanese audience. Among the famous series I can mention the pinballs Play de Oboeru Series and From TV Animation One Piece. The studio was closed in 2003, but most of the employees founded Seekz, which made mobile games until 2016. The future of the studio is currently unclear.
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase 2: Love Love Hani Soudatsusen
Platforms – PlayStation (1996)
The next part of the adventures of a small clown was released exclusively in the Japanese region. That’s why the game title has the number 2 in it. Kemco knew well what Sony fans needed… Of course, a colorful cartoon screensaver! Cartoons have become the main advantage of Kid Klown in Crazy Chase 2. I really liked this funny little animation that reveals the details of the life of space clowns… Not to be confused with “Killer Klowns from Outer Space”, we have a childish and kind game here!
Otherwise, we have before us the same Kid Klown in Crazy Chase, only ugly 3D models have taken the place of nice sprites. Most of the worlds, traps and mini-games come straight from the first part. Kemco is mired in self-copying and laziness. But there were still positive moments. Kemco chose a better camera angle, and the controls became much more comfortable.
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase 2 took a step towards platformers – the hero can turn around normally, and jumps can now be accurately controlled. Kemco stopped “strangling” gamers by forcing them to replay the same levels. Overall, Kid Klown in Crazy Chase 2 is a fun little game with nice music and beautiful screensavers.
The Bombing Islands/Charlie Blast’s Territory
Platforms – PlayStation, Nintendo 64 (1997)
In 1988, a small game about a cheerful miner called Bombuzal was released on computers. The essence of the game was the correct placement of bombs – we must clear the minefield and at the same time survive. The puzzle was a success, and in 1992 Kemco became the publisher for the SNES version. It was the Bombuzal concept that served as the basis for the new part of Kid Klown.
Kemco has rebuilt the formula by crossing the gameplay of Bombuzal with Sokoban. Kemco put a lot of effort into the controls, allowing us to rotate the camera in different directions. As in Bombuzal, we can optionally enable a top view, which gives a better viewing angle. It’s a pity that the clown cannot walk in this mode – this small detail could make the passage much easier..
Screensavers and music were a separate pain. The soundtrack turned out to be unmemorable, and the screensavers lost their fairy-tale charm. However, I can’t bring myself to accuse Kemco of laziness. Each new gameplay mechanic is introduced to us through a video. An intelligible video guide from the developers!
Suddenly, in 1999, this game dropped onto the Nintendo 64. Realtime Associates was responsible for the development. For an unknown reason, the studio decided to change the main character. The new version was called Charlie Blast’s Territory and was sold at launch at a reduced price. The fact is that the Nintendo 64 used cartridges instead of CDs. The cost of producing cartridges was significantly more expensive. In order to somehow reduce costs, Nintendo actively promoted games made for cartridges with a small amount of memory. Therefore, even a small studio could release its game on the Nintendo 64.
Surprisingly, Realtime Associates did not make a direct port. Charlie, unlike the little clown, can jump. This feature makes the hero much more mobile and lively. However, I didn’t like the reaction-based puzzles. The game has become too difficult, and the icy level was made by real sadists. Music suffered the most, and video guides were simply cut out..
The beginning of the end
The Real Ghostbusters/Mickey Mouse IV: Mahō no Labyrinth/Garfield Labyrinth
Platforms – Game Boy (1993)
Let’s return to the main line. Kemco decided to experiment on a large scale, and now we have a completely different game in front of us. The basic concept remains the same: collect stars, escape from enemies and look for a way out of the castle… But now the main character has learned to jump, use equipment and even destroy some blocks like a Lode Runner.
I liked the updated formula, Kemco tried to take the series to a new level and was not afraid of changes. The gameplay has become much more complex and thoughtful. We have much more opportunities to complete levels. Perhaps the main disadvantage of this game is that it is not Crazy Castle. A possible reason for this was the lack of a license for Looney Tunes characters.
Extreme Ghostbusters now had to take the rap for Bugs Bunny. It was the American version that became the main one, so the main character can break blocks using a proton pack, and at some levels a familiar theme plays. The Japanese and European versions were less fortunate. So Mickey and Garfield have to wield a jackhammer..
Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands!/Mickey Mouse V: Mahō no Stick
Platforms – Game Boy (1993)
Apparently at some point Kemco realized that they had taken a wrong turn, so in the fifth part we will return to the roots of the series. The developers rolled back some of the changes and deprived Mickey Mouse of a number of abilities. However, he can still jump, and this feature fits very well into the classic formula.
Kemco has finally made the perfect Crazy Castle. Without a doubt, of all the games in the main line, it is the fifth part that is my favorite. The design of enemies and traps is very high quality, and the levels are well thought out and detailed. Past games often stifled gamers with excessive scale.
The main innovation was the magic wand. At the beginning of the game it is practically useless and looks like a vestige that slows down the gameplay. But, with each defeated boss, we get a new spell that greatly changes the usual gameplay. At the same time, Kemco was able to maintain a balance – the game remains Crazy Castle even at later levels.
The bosses in Mickey Mouse V turned out quite good, especially compared to the previous parts. The main disadvantage was the need to go into the menu to use items. However, this is only a minor inconvenience in a good game.
Mickey Mouse V was released exclusively in Japan, but in 1998 the game received an updated version called Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands, which was released worldwide. It’s funny that this was the first Mickey Mouse in the Crazy Castle game to be released in Europe and America. The main innovation of Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands is support for the Super Game Boy add-on. It could be used to run the colorized version on the SNES. However, Kemco didn’t bother, only the splash screens were colored, and the levels remained virtually unchanged.
Card castle
Subsequent games practically did not develop the series, so I see no point in analyzing them in detail. In 1997, it was unexpectedly released exclusively for the Japanese market Go! Go! Kid! Soreyuke!! Kid: Go! Go! Kid. This game became another link between the Kid Klown and Crazy Castle series. Another story from the life of space clowns awaits us. It’s funny that the main clown castle, which we will explore, is strongly reminiscent of St. Basil’s Cathedral in its architecture..
Kemco continued to return to its roots, and we are waiting for a stupid set of new levels for Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2. So the main character again forgot how to jump, and some levels and mechanics degraded to the level of the first part… The developers didn’t even try to come up with something and stupidly inserted sprites made back in 1991 into the game. Almost the entire legacy of the series was forgotten.
Surprisingly, in 1999 this game had a remake for the Game Boy Color (GBC) called… Bugs Bunny: Crazy Castle 3! In his darkest hour, Bugs Bunny finally returned to the series. But, apart from the new hype color graphics, the game has undergone virtually no changes.
Fun fact. Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands, released a year earlier, did not receive full GBC support. Games made for the Super Game Boy will not run correctly in color mode on the GBC.
Bugs Bunny in Crazy Castle 4 was released for GBC in 2000. And it was again an ordinary, uninspired set of levels for Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2. As many as 100 levels with minimal differences… Only for true Kemco fans.
The last full-fledged game in the series was Woody Woodpecker in Crazy Castle 5, released for the Game Boy Advance. Woody Woodpecker in action! By 2002, Kemco itself was tired of making games about the Mad Castle, so the Australian studio Tantalus Interactive was responsible for development. The new team understood that the series needed development, so running and platform elements were added. Woody can use his nose like a magic wand from Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands and destroy some blocks.
Alas, all these innovations could not save the series. Tantalus Interactive broke something that already worked well. The game has terrible hitboxes and controls. I just didn’t feel the character. Woody Woodpecker moves much slower than Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, so he has to run constantly. Add to this disgusting graphics with annoying music and you have the worst part of the series.
Heritage
In 2004, a Java port of the first part of the series was released with a minimum number of changes. This was the last official attempt to revive the series. Today there is a pirate port on Android called Crazy Funny Castle. Who needs it in the era of emulators is absolutely unclear.
Today Kemco exists and thrives. In 2007, the company found a goldmine – old-school JRPGs for smartphones. Kemco makes a whole bunch of identical, poorly made games and even has its own fan base. Conveyor production with minimal investment bears fruit, but no one remembers the Mad Castle..
In the preview of the article, I lied a little about the unknown nature of this series. Of course, I saw the legendary video from AVGN… But the Crazy Castle series goes far beyond the scope of its video, it had its ups and downs, acquired many branches and related series. Perhaps in the future I will also remember about Kemco and the Top Gear series of games. And that’s all for today!