I covered a lot of ground already, but I have a lot more to say than I thought, therefore I needed a Part 2. (Here's a link to Part 1.)
Let’s do this.
Collect Me This, Collect Me That
Hook, Aurora, Ariel, Mowgli. Characters of all origins and from very different worlds. |
However, more often than not, you’ll be sent on a collection quest where you have to gather, I dunno, three ropes or ten toffee apples or whatever. As much as I despise its interjections, I'll admit that the Golden Ticket's adventure trail comes in handy for those. Still, it’s bugging me how Disney characters will think of any excuse to send you on a quest to gather thirteen pangolins or twelve bats or whatever.
Seriously, look at this. Those are all things I was seeking at the same time at one point.
And since I took that screenshot, I accumulated MORE collection quests. |
Disneyland's Thousands of Secrets
But that’s not all. Throughout your journey on this neverending day at Disneyland, you’ll also be given magical items from time to time. The first is your trusty camera, which I’ve already discussed at length, but there are others, and since they are such an integral part of the “exploration” portion of the game, they all need their own paragraph.
The magic wand: You’re given an honest-to-Walt magic wand that can make items come to life. Why? Because, that’s why. It can interact with most objects around. Do you want to see parasols spinning on their own, trash cans dancing in place, manhole covers doing flips? No? Too bad, now you can. Playing with this item for long periods of time actually made me realize why this game needs so much memory and demands such long loading times: Dang near every single object has an animation that activates through an item in your inventory. It will even work on a few unique props in each area of the park!Please ignore the dancing trash cans.
There's nothing whimsical to see here!
...It's TRASH CANS!- The blaster: Given by Buzz, this thing has two functions. Like the wand, it can interact with objects, though in its case, all it can do is turn on any light fixtures for a few seconds. Its main use, however, is to play shooting games around the park; shoot at a target, and you’ll be taken to a mini-game.
- The fishing rod: You’re given this thing by Stinky Pete (who is a good guy here for some reason, which feels weird). Can you fish out items? Yes in a rare few quests, otherwise you can only grab fishes. That’s it. Kind of extraneous.
The conductor baton: An unofficial item (it’s not in your inventory) given by Prince Naveen, it allows the player character to enter music mini-games when they wave near playing bands around the park. Those mini-games were probably a lot easier to play with motion controls, as they were poorly adapted to mouse controls. I guess its limited use is why the baton isn’t registered in the inventory.I still haven't figured out how to best work
the controls to these mini-games. Something
was lost from Kinect to PC.- The megaphone: Given by Br’er Fox (a character I was surprised to see here alongside Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Bear, considering how badly the Disney company has tried to forget Song of the South). Much like the magic wand, it can interact with objects around, though not as many. Also like the wand, it will have an effect on a couple of unique props. It's also funny to see some mascots’ reaction to it… if they react at all.
The spyglass: Given by Aladdin, this object makes visible the half-invisible treasure chests you could see around the park, but couldn’t interact with until you used this item on them. Doesn’t do much else.No? I can't even shoot water at them?
Dang it.- The water squirter: Handed over by Donald Duck, this water gun with an unlimited tank will revive flowers and plants around the park. Aren’t sunflowers prettier when they’re open? And considering the sheer amount of plants in this open world, it’ll see use very frequently. I was disappointed to find out you can’t spray the mascots. I'd take any chance to be a jerk.
A different take on popping balloons. |
And while the game keeps track of the secrets you find in an area, it doesn't have a screen to tell you the progress you've made on secrets you've started but not obtained yet. Keep guessing on your own, kid! Also, not all objects you can interact with emit colored auras to say “Hey, you can use an item on this thing”; the light fixtures don’t, as an example. Thankfully, after you've interacted with an item covered by an aura once, that aura will disappear and won't return.
All of these objects will drop coins when you interact with them. However, coming back after a loading screen will also reset the objects’ money drops and animation states. The sunflowers you opened will be shut again. The problem would be solved if each secret could be interacted with only once, no matter how often the world loads. An “If interacted once = keep final state, cannot repeat” switch for every object, perhaps.
Rides and Attractions, Oh My!
*Grumble grumble* I wanted the front row seat... |
There’s another thing I forgot to mention so far: Rides and attractions. Rides can be found around the park and you’re encouraged to ride all of them. Well, all the ones that were made into the game – and even then, those that made it in aren’t worth it. It's also very sad to see so many places where there would be rides, and to which you're not allowed to go - the path is blocked. Attractions, however, are a whole other beast – those are mini-games arranged into story missions. Sometimes, a quest given by a park mascot will ask you to play through one or all of the missions in an attraction.
"HEEEEEERE'S... BRUCEY!" Did this game for kids, in a level based on Finding Nemo, just reference The Shining through the shark named after the animatronic from Jaws? ...Okay, I respect that. |
Okay, this fight was mostly quick-time events, but I'll be honest, it was pretty fun to watch. |
However, several missions will play one way: You’re flying around or floating or getting thrown and you move left, right (and sometimes up and down) to gather coins and avoid obstacles. This is most likely due to the original Kinect controls, where the kid could just move left/right (and maybe jump and duck) in front of their screen to control the character.
Dance! Dance! It's a Disney character's favorite activity! |
Why do I have a Weird Al song in my head as I'm playing the Jungle Cruise ride of Adventureland? |
And yeah, it’s made for children, but I promise that even good gamers will find a challenge in getting the platinum pin for any attraction – so imagine trying to get them for all 18 attractions!
As a last point I am adding, note that this isn’t solely a single-player game; it’s actually possible to bring a friend and play through the park and the attractions as two players. It’s also implied to make the attractions a lot easier to beat, especially for high scores. And as a bonus, through Steam Remote Play, two kids can play without being in the same room!
Final thoughts
This game’s alright. It’s for kids, I know I’m technically not in the target demographic. But I’m also of the strong belief that you can’t just put anything in front of kids, since they’ll absorb what they watch and play, so it’s important to give them good media that carries good life lessons and morals. Or, in the case of video games, good stuff in general. And this is pretty fine on its own.
Let me say it again, this game broke ground by being an open-world on the Kinect, an all-motion control interface. And yet, it all works. Or rather, since I haven’t tried the original version, I can say it (mostly) works on PC. It’s harmless enough, the child gets to interact with several famous characters of Disney’s history, there’s a large world to explore, thousands of secrets and interactions to have and loads of mini-games to partake in. It never ceases to amaze me just how much content this game has. Damn near everything will react to one or another of the items you add to your inventory, you can go on the rides, and the families wandering the park help make it feel like an actual park-going experience. With that said, so many things on the screen at once, all with their own animations, lead to atrociously long loading times.
Nope, still can't annoy the chipmunks. |
Add a little bit of magic to the world. |
I’m very happy I played this game. Even as an adult, I felt invested. Kids will love it, absolutely. Adults might enjoy it, as well, although it’s pretty obvious they’re not the target market. Harmless, cute and fun, that’s just what I felt I needed lately. If you do as well, it could be a game to check out.
Next week: Hopefully something else! In the meantime... well, I'm still stuck at home without work for two more weeks. I might binge-watch some Disney movies, this game has put me in the mood.
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