Lost Classics: Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow (SNES, Mega Drive, Windows, Game Boy)

Last week’s Lost Classic was based on a Disney license, so here is another one. Maui Mallard was one of the last good platformers of the 16-bit era. As it was released during the final days of the era, it was largely ignored on the SNES and Game Boy and the Genesis version only saw a European release.

Playing as Donald Duck, you take control of his alter ego, the ‘Medium-boiled’ detective Maui Mallard as he searches a tropical island in an attempt to find a mysterious statue before the island explodes. As Maui Mallard, Donald wields a gun. However, after collecting Ninja Tokens, he can turn into his alter-alter ego, the ninja Cold Shadow. As Cold Shadow, he wields a number of staff-based attacks which are upgradable. The game has a good variety of environments, as well as animation that’s on par with other Disney releases. It’s a Disney game, so it isn’t too difficult as it’s geared towards the young ones. Since this game carries a license, there is little chance of this showing up on Virtual Console, so be prepared to do some hunting for the cartridge.