Donald Land

Released only for the Famicom in Japan, Donaldland sees Ronald McDonald attempting to stop a takeover of the McUniverse by evil forces. It was the first McDonald's video game released.

Overview

Title screen.
Title screen.

Donaldland is a Famicom platformer released only in Japan by Data East in 1988. It stars Ronald McDonald as he attempts to rescue his friends across a number of stages. It is unknown why it was not released elsewhere.

The actual Famicom cartridge of the game is fairly rare and its release also predates the more well-known M.C. Kids.

Story

When the Gumon Family takes over McDonaldland and captures Ronald's friends including Grimace, Birdie, the Fry Guys, and others, it's up to the jolly clown himself to put an end to their vile machinations and eat hamburgers across numerous locales leading up to the final castle headquarters of the Gumon Family.

Gameplay

No supersizing available.
No supersizing available.

Donaldland is a typical NES platformer, with Ronald having the ability to throw apple bombs and also vault himself off of them with the right amount of skill.

Ronald can also power himself up by eating at McDonald's restaurants after every stage of the game. He can buy various McDonald's food items with burger icons he collects in stages, which give him chances to play a bonus minigame to earn extra lives, a bomb doubler, and health.

Stages

HOME TOWN WORLD

The calm in Home Town World.
The calm in Home Town World.

Mayor McCheese bids Ronald good luck before setting out on his adventure in this once peaceful town run amuck with agents of darkness like crazy cats, crime dons, and jack 'o lanterns. A foul avian creature is the stage's boss, which is the first true test of Ronald's bomb-throwing abilities.

LAKE SIDE WORLD

Lake Side World is home to ancient, sentient trees that will wake up and snarl at Ronald should he step on top of them. Surely the cause of their distress is the cannon fire and crying children he must avoid or destroy. A mysterious lizard is the boss.

FOREST WORLD

High above in the treetops of McDonaldland, Ronald must choose his steps carefully to avoid plunging to his death in the waiting abyss below. Inchworms and native bushmen don't make his ordeal any less perilous. On top of all of this, he must face a demonic tree face at the end. His reward, however, is the rescue of his friend Birdie.

SKY WORLD

Fire-breathing hell.
Fire-breathing hell.

Floating amongst the clouds on a big red balloon, Ronald must fight his own mind for fear of being convinced he is in heaven itself. Cherubs, solar gods, and other divine beings want him out of their home, unfortunately for our clown hero. A huge firedrake is the surprising real estate owner of this pleasure paradise.

OASIS WORLD

In this desert town sanctuary, Ronald must fight Jawas and birds that poop purple ghosts in the scorching heat. He takes solace in a shady building only to find it inhabited by a reanimated bone wyrm -- and once it is defeated, frees his friends the Fry Guys.

CAVE WORLD

Deep underground, Ronald must contend with falling stalactites, overgrown prehistoric insects, and undead skeletons who seem to be more than pleased hurling their skulls to inflict mortal distress upon Ronald's own. It is here that Ronald finds a secret clown funhouse that proves without a doubt the guilt of the Gumon clown criminals. Filled with slippery ice, rare penguins, and ice block hurling social workers, they pale in comparison to the fanged and clawed Demon Grimace that awaits him at the end. His doppelganger defeated, Ronald is able to free the real Grimace from captivity.

POND WORLD

Pond World is filled with creatures that have never been seen by any inhabitant of McDonaldland. He must avoid getting eaten alive by humongous alligator-like beasts, cats that seem to like to do nothing but float and dance, and a sentient fanged plant that is their unholy matriarch and primordial goddess.

HARBOR WORLD

A very poor town layout.
A very poor town layout.

Harbor World was once a bustling port that traded hamburgers across the vast expanse of McDonaldland, but now it is home to pirates and man-eating fish. It is also perhaps the shortest stage Ronald encounters in his journey. A blue-faced clone of Captain Crook fights Ronald at the end.

OCEAN WORLD

Not the most intelligent of octopi.
Not the most intelligent of octopi.

In Ocean World, Ronald must hold his breath and swim underwater while avoiding hungry jellyfish and sharks while keeping away from the deadly cannon fire of pirates. Strangely, at the ocean's bottom he finds the wreck of a once worthy sea vessel that is filled with air and home to the legendary Kraken himself. By blowing this tentacled freak into calamari, he is then finally able to save the real Captain Crook from certain morselhood.

GHOST TOWN WORLD

No one in McDonaldland knows if Ghost Town World is real or just a spooky illusion. Witches fly overhead in the pale moonlight, sometimes stopping in their broom-riding tracks to merely stare at Ronald without providing any greater obstacle. Two dual spirits of souls long departed try to haunt Ronald away at the stage's finale. Perhaps the scariest of all, after exorcising the souls Officer Big Mac pops out of nowhere and thanks Ronald for being rescued.

DARK FOREST WORLD

Dark Forest World is located on the border of the Gumon Family's headquarters. Crying women and smiling bubbles are an eerie reminder of the greater evil within. The final guardian that stands between Ronald and his ultimate goal is a huge melted face that represents the warping effects of the choatic mindset.

CASTLE WORLD

Ronald's final showdown takes place in this satanic castle full of the undead. He must battle previous bosses including the dual spirits and the bone wyrm before squaring off against the Shadow Id of the Hamburglar and ultimately, the head of the Gumon clown crime syndicate.