| Donald Land | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Data East[2] |
| Publisher(s) | Data East[1] |
| Director(s) | Hiromichi Nakamoto[3] |
| Producer(s) | Tokinori Kaneyasu[3] |
| Designer(s) | Seiichi Ishii[3] |
| Composer(s) | Shōgo Sakai[3] |
| Platform(s) | Family Computer[1] |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Donald Land (ドナルドランド)[4] is a 1988 platform video game produced by Data East in association with the McDonald's Corporation for the Family Computer, based on the McDonaldland franchise.[5][6]
Unlike the commonly compared M.C. Kids, Donald Land is simply a platformer without any puzzle elements to it.[7] The game centers on Ronald McDonald (often known in Japan as Donald McDonald). Most of Ronald's companions have been kidnapped and all the animals have turned feral. His brainwashed companions will occasionally attack. Ronald can defend himself using apple bombs, thrown in a carefully calculated parabola.[8] Being hit by an enemy causes damage, which decreases Ronald's "Life" meter. During various parts of a stage, players have the opportunity to collect up to 100 hamburger icons throughout the game. This will result in gaining a bonus life along with the hamburger counter resetting itself to zero. It is also possible to play a mini-game challenge, to earn commodities that the player orders from McDonald's.[3] as he attempts to bring peace to McDonaldland by making the player control the famous fast food clown.[3]
Ronald can replenish his life bar by finding heart icons that are scattered throughout the level; the maximum number of hits that he can withstand before dying is five.[9] From the second stage onward, the levels become more demanding with emphasis on making jumps from platform to platform while avoid bottomless pits. Items also become more difficult to reach and falling into a pit results in instantly losing a life. An enemy appears in the second level that resembles Little Red Riding Hood, although she causes damage like a normal enemy and cannot be destroyed by the player's apple bombs.[10] A few of the bosses look like something out of a horror film instead of a kid-friendly 2D platforming action game. The third boss looks like a giant mechanical dragon, while the boss of level 5 is a bone dragon and players encounter a disembodied head at the end of the eleventh level.[11]