Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow

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Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow / Donald Starring in Maui Mallard
European Genesis cover
Developer(s) Eurocom
Publisher(s) Disney Interactive
Capcom (Jp)
Platform(s) Genesis/Mega Drive
Super NES
Game Boy
PC
Release date Genesis/Mega Drive:
EU August 12, 1995 (1995-08-12)
Super NES:
EU November 28, 1996 (1996-11-28)
US 1996 (1996)
JP December 20, 1996 (1996-12-20)
Game Boy:
1998 (1998)
PC:
September 30, 1996 (1996-09-30)
Genre(s) Platform game
Mode(s) Single player
Media 24-megabit cartridge (Mega Drive/Super NES)
CD-ROM (PC)
Input methods Game controller (Mega Drive/Super NES)

Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow, also known as Donald Starring in Maui Mallard in Europe, and Donald in Maui Mallard (ドナルドのマウイマラード Donarudo no Mauimarādo?) in Japan is a platform game, released in 1996 for the PC, Game Boy, Super NES(SNES) and Mega Drive/Genesis consoles. The game was developed by Eurocom and released by Disney Interactive. The game was one of the first games to be released under Disney Interactive. Though the end of the game informed the player to look forward to Maui's next adventure, there have been no other appearances of Maui or Cold Shadow in any medium.

[edit] Story

First level (Mega Drive version)
First level (Mega Drive version)

Maui Mallard is a "medium-boiled" detective visiting a tropical island when the mysterious Shabum Shabum idol goes missing. Shabum Shabum is considered the island's native guardian spirit, and unless the idol is recovered, the whole island will explode. Maui is put on the case, and his investigations lead him through a creepy mansion to a native village, where Maui is sacrificed and thrown into a volcano as a sacrifice to the native gods. Maui survives the volcano, and the islanders put him through the "test of duckhood", which Maui passes, gaining the natives' trust. The natives tell Maui that the only one who knows where Shabum Shabum is has died long since, and Maui goes through the land of the dead to escort his soul into rest. Ultimately, the location of Shabum Shabum is revealed, and Maui goes head-to-head with an evil sorcerer over the idol. Maui is triumphant, and as a sign of their gratitude, the islanders name their island after their hero, despite their misgivings that the name "Mallard" has little potential for attracting tourists.

[edit] Gameplay

Besides typical platform game gameplay (running around, jumping from platform to platform), one of the game's most distinctive gameplay features is allowing to switch the player character's form to suit one's needs. The player begins the game as Maui, whose only mean of self-defence is an insect-launching pistol that can launch several forms of bugs, some of them combined for greater effect. However, once the player reaches the second level, Maui transforms into Cold Shadow, his ninja alter ego, who defends himself with short-range attacks using a staff. Cold Shadow's staff is also primarily used to explore the level further, such as climbing a narrow tunnel. After the second level, the player can switch back and forth between Maui and Cold Shadow at will, provided he has enough ninja tokens for the transformation. The amount of ninja tokens Maui or Cold Shadow holds determines Cold Shadow's strength when played as him. Some levels of the game, however, prevent Maui from transforming at all, as Cold Shadow cannot bungee jump on vines, for example, which forces the player to use Maui throughout the level.

It should also be noted that the 1996 PC version was an upgrade of the Snes and Genesis versions. It had a fully orchestral version of composer Steve Duckworth's score rather than a midi style sound track, updated graphics and a few level enhancements (such as the mud plugs in Muddrake Mayhem).

[edit] External links

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