10 Best Disney Licensed Video Games

For generations, common gamer law has dictated that licensed games are never good. The majority of games made particularly to promote a certain brand, product, show, or film are middling at best and outright awful at worst.

However, while the majority of licensed games stink, some of them manage to be surprisingly good times.

Many games based on Disney properties, for instance, aren’t anything special, but a select few of them have managed to stand the test of time.

While none of these games were the stars of their respective generations, the combination of beloved characters and fun gameplay has given them a spot in our fondest memories.

10 DuckTales

Woo-Hoo

The DuckTales TV series was the crown jewel of the Disney afternoon lineup, so it went without saying that the game needed to be of a similar caliber.

The DuckTales game for the NES had quite a pedigree behind it, with development handled by the team that put together Mega Man at Capcom.

It was a simple, yet intuitive platformer, with Uncle Scrooge’s signature cane bounce ability being used for both traversal and combat.

The game is still beloved to this day, thanks in large part to its excellent music. The theme for the moon level still regularly appears on classic gaming music lists.

9 Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse

That Mouse Can Jump

Mickey Mouse was always a bit of a blank slate character in his old cartoons. If he needed any special skills for whatever shenanigans he was engaged with, they’d manifest as necessary.

Apparently, in the specific case of Minnie being kidnapped by a witch, he becomes quite a proficient jumper.

Castle of Illusion on the Sega Genesis was a pleasantly floaty platformer, with Mickey using his bouncy jumping skills to navigate a variety of colorful worlds.

The game received a full 3D remake in 2013 with an expanded castle hub world to explore.

8 Goof Troop

And We Always Stick Together

The Super Nintedo had quite a few excellent co-op games like Kirby Super Star and Sunset Riders. One classic co-op experience you might not have expected, though, was the tie-in to Goof Troop.

Rather than an action game, Goof Troop was a puzzle-adventure game, kind of like A Link to the Past without sword combat.

Players team up as Goofy and Max to solve puzzles, avoid enemies, and navigate traps.

It was pretty easy for players to accidentally mess each other up, so it actually required a good amount of coordination to play.

7 Mickey’s Speedway USA

A Rare Racing Classic

Mario Kart 64 was, of course, the definitive kart racing game for the Nintendo 64. However, there were other aspirants to the 64-bit kart racing throne, two of which were developed by Rare: Diddy Kong Racing and Mickey’s Speedway USA.

Mickey’s Speedway USA was an old-school kart racing game, with the usual boosters, items, and character variety you’d expect from such a thing.

The Grand Prix adventure took you across 20 tracks, all themed after famous US cities and landmarks.

Fun Fact, this was one of the few non-Pokémon games with Transfer Pak support. If you plugged in Mickey’s Racing Adventure for the Game Boy Color, you unlocked Huey.

6 Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers

It’s Always Fun To Torment Donald Duck

For about as long as Disney characters have existed, there has been a single universal truth: it’s hilarious to throw Donald Duck into dangerous situations.

This was the defining design of Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers (Quack Attack in the PAL territories) for the Dreamcast, N64, and PS1.

This Ubisoft game was powered by the same engine that brought us Rayman 2, which lent itself well to 3D platforming.

The game played similarly to Crash Bandicoot, consisting mostly of platforming challenges and running away from stuff. It wasn’t groundbreaking, but it was fun for a weekend Blockbuster rental.

5 ToonTown

Survived Beyond Disney’s Expectations

If you grew up in the early 2000s, there’s a strong chance you saw at least one ad for Disney’s ToonTown Online on TV.

This MMORPG was Disney’s first big attempt at a long-term online game. Despite the cartoony premise, it was actually surprisingly deep, with item-based combat and an emphasis on team strategy.

There were also plenty of shenanigans to get up to, such as playing mini-games on the playground and making your own house.

The original servers are long gone, but the game lives on thanks to the ToonTown Rewritten fan project.

4 Tron 2.0

The Official Sequel Before Tron: Legacy

The official theatrical sequel to 1982’s Tron is 2010’s Tron: Legacy. However, before Tron: Legacy came out, there was actually an alternate sequel, returning us to the ENCOM mainframe: Tron 2.0.

This game was primarily a first-person shooter, arming you with the classic Identity Disc alongside an arsenal of digital firearms.

In addition to the exploring and shooting segments, the game features some classic Tron staples, particularly Light Cycle battles.

Despite being over 20 years old, you can actually still buy and play this game on Steam.

3 Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure

Pro Skater With Disney Characters

In the early 2000s, everyone knew and loved Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, with the fourth installment released in 2002. Disney, ever the trend-chasers, sought to capitalize on the fad with Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure.

This game utilizes the exact same engine and gameplay as Pro Skater 4. The obvious difference is that you play with characters and on maps from Toy Story, Tarzan, and The Lion King.

It’s still that same Pro Skater gameplay you love with some simplifications for less experienced players.

It even has its own create-a-skater function, though every create-a-skater has their face frozen in a mildly unsettling doll-like grin.

2 The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge

Devil May Cry For Kids

By late 2005, Devil May Cry had already instilled the hack-and-slash character-action paradigm in the gaming public.

New games in this burgeoning genre swiftly began to crop up, though a rather unexpected one was The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge.

A very late-stage tie-in to the classic Tim Burton film, Oogie’s Revenge was also developed by Capcom, utilizing a simplified hack ‘n slash combat and exploration formula.

It was an odd choice for sure, and not without its jank, but thanks to the aesthetic and awesome soundtrack, it comes together in the end.

1 Epic Mickey

Fun To Play, Conceptually Interesting

A good few years into the Nintendo Wii’s lifespan, Disney began teasing what would be its most ambitious gaming project, Epic Mickey.

The game places Mickey in a wasteland of abandoned Disney toons, where he can revitalize and destroy with the power of paint and thinner, respectively.

The original concept was much darker than what we got, with Mickey becoming outright villainous if he used too much thinner. This was toned down to keep Mickey’s image consistent, however.

Despite the usual Wii waggling jank, it was a pretty entertaining adventure platformer. The 2024 remake removed the motion control stuff, so it’s much easier to play now.