By Toxic Tommy

Scrooge McDuck atributes his great wealth to his Lucky Dime, so he gives Huey, Dewey, and Louie their own Lucky Dimes. But sinister Magica De Spell has her evil eyes on some ten-penny luck too, so she snatches all the Dimes -- and she kidnaps the boys for good measure. It's Donald Duck to the rescue!

Donald Duck is a cute-looking hop and bop adventure that's much tougher than you might imagine. Whatever you do, don't write off this cart as a "kiddie" game because of the ducky Disney characters. Right off the bat, the graphics will catch your eye. All the main characters, Donald, Uncle Scrooge, Magica, and the Boys, look like they just stepped out of the cartoon. The animation's sharp, too. Donald's got some great moves and cartoon classic expressions.

Your quest covers seven lenghty rounds around the world, and you pick every round you play. Magica's holding the Boys in Canada, North America, and South America, but the Dimes are hidden on a Pacific island, in Egypt, and in Antarctica. Your final fight occurs in Magica's Castle in Central Europe.

Donald's foes are literally too numerous to list. It's the most masive menagerie ever packed into an SMS cart. The goony gang includes Mushrooms, Spiders, Bees, Stone Jugs, Tiki Gods, Ant Lions, Piranhas, Seals, Sawfish, Flying Forks, Mummy Ducks, and Skeletons. Bosses include a Bear and his bee, a rampaging Lion, and two Aztec statues come to life. Magica also sicks her three pet crowns on you, too!

You'll run into tough sometimes inspired tricks and traps. For example, inside the Antarctic ice cavern, you stand on a mound of ice cubes and try to avoid dripping lava until it melts a path through the cubes. In the Egyptian pyramid you must traverse a treacherous sandy gauntlet of Ant Lion nests as scorpions fall from the ceiling. Every area is packed with duck-roasting dangers!

However, Donald's no sitting duck. His main fighting technique is to jump on his foes with his big webbed feet. He can also pick up a mallet to swing and some frisbees to fling, but precise jumping and of course, timely ducking are the main moves Donald must master.

Donald Duck should wing its way into the top flock of Master System games. You'll spend days in this web-footed wonderland, but remember, Donald Duck is a tough old bird. Don't quack-up!

Protips:

• If you're in a hurry in the Canadian Forest, skip across the tree branches. There are few problems up there.
• When Skeletos toss their bones, make Donald duck (what else?).
• In South American Mountains, jump on the clubs the little pigs toss. Sometimes you get power-ups.
• Frisbees are best against the Tiki Gods.
• Crush the Ice Crow's ice cube and when he drops down to build another one, jump him!
• Inside the Pyramid step on secret "S" stones to open secret rooms containing mucho power-up items.
• Don't bother to snatch more than one weapon icon at a time.
• Five Stars mean instant temporary invinvibility. Choose the time wisely.

Rating: Graphics: Hot, Sound: Great, Gameplay: Great, Funfactor: Great, Challenge: Great.

By Andromeda

The most popular new kid...er...hog on the block this year is Sonic. More than a few gamers have seen it fit to hedge their bets with the Genesis version of this smoking title. Now the SMS gamers are going to get their shot at the whole hog.

The name of the game's the same, ans so is the sotry line. Sonic's a happy go-lucky forest dude with an attitute until an evil scientist, Dr. Robotnick, turns all of Sonic's animal buddies into mechanical monsters. Now Sonic's going to use his super speed (and we really mean super-sonic speed) to whiz through multiple levels of one-player vertically and horizontally scrolling action.

Unfortunately for Sonic the evil doctor has filled Sonic's world with wild and weird obstacles -- from spike-laden chasms to heart-stopping cliffs. The land is also populated by an army of bionic creatures, all eager to pull the plug on Sonic. Unfortunate for Sonic, but totally cool for you! It's the wacky obstacles combined with Sonic's ability to race, roll, and rock like you've never seen a vid-kid do that make this title a finger-busting blast.

The good news for SMS gamers is that Sonic has been translated to perfection for the Master System. Sizzling graphics, super 8-bit speed, sharp gameplay, and siniester foes make Sonic sing... and you will too! Check out the next issue of GamePro for more on what looks to be the SMS game of the year.

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