Developer: Treasure Publisher: Sega Released: 1993 Genre: Platformer
Gunstar Heroes was an unexpected surprise from Sega and established Treasure as a name to follow. With that in mind however I do not think anyone expected their follow-up to be a licensed title, and a McDonald’s one at that. McDonald’s Treasureland Adventure is a solid platformer from Treasure that sidelines the bombastic action they are known for to focus on platforming. While it is a title aimed at casual gamers there are still some Treasure elements in there for the hardcore gamers. It will not surprise you with unique mechanics but McDonald’s Treasureland Adventure is better than it has any right to be.
One day while walking through a magical forest Ronald McDonald finds a piece of a treasure map. Out of curiosity Ronald decides to find the other three pieces to discover what treasure the map hides. While I like the game I do question if it was a licensed title to start. Outside of the McDonald’s family of characters it largely ignores its license. To some extent that is for the better; you get a pretty good platformer starring a goofy character that is better than the majority of the mascot trash released in that era.
Ronald has a simple set of mechanics. Star magic is your main weapon and starts out weak. By collecting power-ups you can increase its power and size. He also has a magic scarf that functions like a grappling hook. The scarf can grab hooks, slide down rope, and pull you to higher ledges. The scarf is heavily leaned on in the game’s many platforming scenarios and is an easy mechanic to fool around with. While the license might make you think you will collect fries and burgers instead you collect gold. Gold is currency to purchase jewels and rings to restore health, continues, balloons to save you from pits and extra lives. Jewels also serve as your health and are necessary to help Ronald’s friends. The game does a good job of giving you enough that you rarely need to grind for progress.
McDonald’s Treasureland Adventure consists of four stages. These stages are broken down into numerous sub-levels, often as many as seven or eight. Technically each stage is themed but they cover a lot of ground. Stage 1, from its color palette to its grassy terrain heavily resembles Sonic the Hedgehog. The following stage takes place on a train with its many varied train cars before delving in to the city streets. You’ll even explore a pirate ship and take off in to outer space!
The level design is pretty good overall. Because each stage has so many parts it allows for many varied platforming scenarios. It makes heavy use of the scarf to find secrets and such. But it never reaches the complexity of Treasure’s other titles like Dynamite Headdy. Even still they still throw in plenty of fun moments. Running down a slope while being chased by a giant fish is absurd yet somehow appropriate for a game starring Ronald McDonald. A short city street with a straight path takes longer than it should thanks to a sumo wrestler who stomps and alters the terrain. Throughout all this you are gaining tons of gold and items which make the game incredibly easy.
It should come as no surprise that McDonald’s Treasureland Adventure is easy. You have a generous eight jewels for health. Rings that replenish health are everywhere and unless you suck rarely will you ever not have full health. You earn more gold than you know what to do with quickly and with the number of shops you can practically buy your way to the end. What few enemies are present pose little threat. Only the boss battles present any sort of challenge. Speaking of which…
While the game is easy overall I do question who they were targeting with the boss battles. This is the one area where Treasure could not restrain themselves. Each boss battle follows a simple formula: follow their pattern until they try to steal one of your jewels. Let them, at which point they become vulnerable but also change their pattern. In any other game it would be a thrilling following the different mechanics. But for this title which is for a more casual gamer I can see how it would be frustrating. It does not help that every boss is a damage sponge which makes these encounters tedious. I appreciate the attempt at adding some flavor and challenge to the game but I feel in this case it is more frustrating that exciting.
In Conclusion
Difficulty and length aside it is startling to see a licensed game crafted with such care. The fact that you could replace Ronald with any other character and the game would still be great says it all. Once you get over the license (which isn’t even all that present throughout) McDonald’s Treasureland Adventure is an all around good platformer. I would say it is even better than most.
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