reviews

Game: M.C. Kids
Platform: NES
Year Released: 1992



In this day and age, fast-food related video games are pretty much regarded as a joke, and rightfully so. Burger King released a trio of Xbox 360 games a little while back, and while many gamers picked up the $3 games, they were usually only good as a novelty item. However, games with food tie-ins have been around for many generations of gaming, and once upon a time, they were actually taken a little more seriously.

M.C. Kids is just one of these games. The title is a full-blown NES platformer with a story that centers around Ronald McDonald and his friends. As one of two playable characters, Mick or Mack, you have to travel though many various levels to help Ronald find his magical bag, which was stolen by the Hamburglar, naturally. This may seem like one random Throwback Thursday choice, but the truth is, I enjoyed this game quite a lot when I was younger, and I know I wasn’t the only one.

As far as platformers go, M.C. Kids is a little shallow, but that doesn’t mean that there is no fun to be had. The inspiration for the game clearly comes from the Super Mario Bros. trilogy, with SMB3 being released only two years before this game. No, it doesn’t come close to matching the platforming perfection of its muse, but there is enough content in the game to make it worth playing.



M.C. Kids consists of seven worlds, and each world is home to either Ronald himself or one of his cohorts. The two playable characters are virtually identical with the exception of skin color. The reason for having two characters is because the game has an enjoyable two-player mode in which each player picks either Mick or Mack. Like most video games, M.C. Kids is best played with a friend.

Despite its appearance, M.C. Kids seems a little too advanced for young children to get very far in. A little research confirmed that this was indeed the case, and one of the reasons the game didn’t do very well when it was released. Personally, I’d rather have a game that holds up over the years than one that I’m going to grow out of in a year or two, and I’m glad that I found this game to still be entertaining.

Graphically, M.C. Kids seems weak even compared to other 8-bit games. Levels are not incredibly detailed, and most of the outdoor environments just consist of wide-open spaces with a few scattered enemies, blocks, poles, and platforms to move around on. The point of each level is to find cards in each level that will eventually let you advance to the next world while trying not to get destroyed by enemies like flowers or snails. Why would these things be enemies in the world of Ronald McDonald? I’d rather not know, as he is one very strange man.



Look, I know that when people hear that McDonald's made a video game that their first thought isn't a relatively fun platformer. Most people probably would see it as some kind of abbreviated and crappy advertisement for the fast-food chain masking as a game. However, despite the source material, this can still be considered a real video game, and is much better than some of the selections that era had to offer (remember Captain Planet? I’d rather not).

Overall, it’s not the most memorable game ever made, but it can be pretty fun. Unfortunately, it is overshadowed by all of the superior platformers that the Nintendo Entertainment System brought us; why play this when you’ve got Super Mario Bros. 3? However, if you’ve memorized every Mario game inside and out and are looking for a new old-school fix, picking this game up on the cheap definitely wouldn’t be the worst move you could make. Don’t be afraid to grab a friend and take a journey through the magical world of Ronald McDonald.

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