M.C. Kids

M.C. Kids is a 1992 platform game developed and published by Virgin Interactive. It was initially released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in February 1992 in North America, and by Ocean Software in May 1993 in Europe. As a licensed product for the McDonald's fast food franchise, the game occasionally features the various logos and characters from McDonald's restaurant signage and television advertisements, for the purposes of plot advancement and power-ups. It stars two children who venture into the fantasy world of McDonaldland in order to return Ronald McDonald's magical bag, which has been stolen by the Hamburglar.

M.C. Kids was also released for the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS, though all of these home computer versions were only sold in Europe. Additionally, a different version of the game was released for the Game Boy, as McDonaldland. This version was released outside of Europe as Spot: The Cool Adventure, themed upon the Cool Spot franchise. Virgin Interactive would release another game based on the McDonald's franchise for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis called Global Gladiators that is more of a traditional side-scrolling action-adventure game.

Gameplay
The player can choose to play as one of the two "M.C. Kids". There is no difference between the two characters aside from their skin color and hair styles. Up to two players can play the game at once, and both characters can walk, jump, duck and pick up blocks to throw at enemies as they travel through the seven large worlds of the magical McDonaldland.

In a similar format as Super Mario Bros. 3 or StarTropics, the game has seven different worlds. Each one starts out with a visit to a McDonaldland character. However, unlike games such as Super Mario Bros. 3, simply defeating the various levels is not enough for success. McDonald's franchise imagery found in this game includes the various characters from restaurants and television, and McDonald's cards and golden arches — all of which are variously available for plot advancement and as power-ups.

Novel gameplay mechanics found in M.C. Kids include a spin device that turns the player upside down and reverses gravity, the ability to warp throughout the current level via a zipper, and a boat that can be both ridden and carried.

Plot
The story begins with the titular M.C. Kids, Mick and Mack, reading a book where Ronald McDonald was showing off his magical bag at a picnic in the meadow. Then suddenly, Hamburglar appears and steals Ronald's Magic Bag. Mick and Mack then search outside Ronald's clubhouse for four of the puzzle cards. After collecting four of the puzzle cards, Mick and Mack are told by Ronald that Hamburglar was sighted near Birdie's treehouse.

Upon arriving at Birdie's treehouse, the players search her house for five of her puzzle cards. After finding her puzzle cards, Mick and Mack are told that Hamburglar is sighted near the cliffs.

Following the directions given by Birdie, Mick and Mack arrive at Grimace's loft in the Highlands and search his house for three of his puzzle cards. After finding two more cards, Grimace lets them head down a path to the Professor's workshop.

When Mick and Mack reach the Professor's workshop, they find that he has invented something to help them in their quest. He has Mick and Mack find five of his puzzle cards.

Using the rocket that the Professor gave to them, Mick and Mack head to the moon to visit CosMc. They meet up with CosMc on the moon at his getaway where he tells him to find five of his puzzle cards. After collecting his cards, CosMc tells Mick and Mack to find an entrance to a volcano as Hamburglar might be hiding out there.

Mick and Mack brave the scary volcano in their efforts to find Hamburglar and the Magic Bag. When they find Hamburglar, he tells them that the Magic Bag escaped from him. Mick and Mack confronts the Magic Bag where it launches a tied flag, a magic wand, and a rabbit in a hat to attack. When the Magic Bag is defeated, Mick and Mack return the bag to Ronald.

Reception
In 2010, Nintendolife's retrogaming review scored M.C. Kids at 6 out of 10, finding it to have a "generally uneven difficulty level" but "colourful graphics, imaginative Sid and Marty Krofft-esque level and enemy design, innovative game physics, and exceptionally jocular score".