Developer: Hudson Soft Publisher: Hudson Soft Release: 03/22/96 Genre: Platformer
Milon’s Secret Castle is one of the worst NES games of all time. It tried many different things and failed at nearly all of them to create an inscrutable mess of a game. The only reason I played through it when I was young is because it was one of four games I had at the time. I should have just gone outside. With that in mind Hudson Soft did a complete 180 in creating its Super Famicom sequel. DoReMi Fantasy is an excellent game that takes everything its predecessor did wrong and puts it in an enjoyable platforming shell that is charming as hell and simply great.
DoReMi Fantasy never left Japan however there is a fan translation patch. It is not necessary honestly as the game is pretty intuitive on its own. The story sees Milon on a quest to rescue his fairy friend Alis from the demon Amon who has kidnapped her and stolen the music from the forest. Any further plot is negligible and the item descriptions either have diagrams or shown in use when you receive them. Anyone can jump in quickly.
Milon’s powers and move set are very similar to the NES game. Bubbles are still his primary weapon but he can only shoot forward. There is none of that diagonal nonsense that frustrated so, so many. Here bubbles trap enemies temporarily with any contact taking them out. You can also stomp on their heads which can also serve as a make shift platform. Many of the secondary items you could buy in the first game return or have similar counterparts. Fluffy shoes let you glide, spike shoes stick to ice to prevent sliding, and bubble gum saves you from death once. There is no life bar per se and with that no honeycombs. Instead clothes serve as your health. Collecting clothes changes your outfit from red to blue to green with hits degrading it one level. In essence you have a max of three “hit points”.
DoReMi Fantasy does away with the open castle structure of the first game for a Super Mario World style map. Each stage has numerous sub-levels that start out short but grow in length as you progress. You can revisit levels to collect power-ups and exit simply by pressing select. Milon is tasked with finding five musical notes in each world to power up a musical instrument needed in his quest. These are mandatory for progress and ordinarily this would be a frustrating annoyance. The game generously marks the levels that have these notes so you are not wondering blind. For the most part with a modicum of exploration you can find these easily. I would even say that most will come across them naturally due to the excellent level design.
The level design comes clearly from the school of Mario. With each world and musical instrument comes a new mechanic that is introduced. These are as simple as creating ladders or being able to push certain blocks. But their application is where the game shines. At first these mechanics are optional but slowly get interwoven into the stages of that world. The game slowly ramps up their usage to create fun playgrounds for you to explore. For Christ sake they even included the annoying invisible blocks from Milon’s first adventure and made them a fun mechanic! That Hudson were able to turn many of the first game’s failings into actual fun mechanics is astounding. Combine that with the diversity of the game’s eight worlds and you have a game that is easily one of the better platformers of that period.
Overall DoReMi Fantasy falls on the easy side. The game is overly generous with its clothes to the point of absurdity. Early on the levels are short and almost feel like vignettes. But as you progress they become longer and more daring. Enemies become more aggressive, their placement is more cunning and traps more frequent. While the game does not shower you with extra lives like the Mario games or Donkey Kong Country it is simple to build up a decent stock. The boss battles pose one of the most consistent challenges in the game as they go through multiple phases yet still remain accessible. The balancing act Hudson has managed with the difficulty curve is near perfect in my opinion and one of the reasons DoReMi Fantasy is so incredible.
In Closing
What a truly amazing game. DoReMi Fantasy is one of the best platformers for the SNES, period. I truly did not expect to like it so much considering how much I detest its predecessor. But Hudson dug deep and created a bona fide classic in my eyes. There were many fantastic Super Famicom imports that should have come to the US. DoReMi Fantasy is one of the best. No matter how you do it play this game!
