About Mickey's Safari in Letterland

NES-M8-USA Developed by Beam Software and published by Hi-Tech Expressions in 1993-03
1 player only

Play the anthropomorphic Mickey Mouse as he travels to Letterland and 'hunts' letters in this platform game. The letters are needed for Ludwig von Drake's museum where Goofy and Mickey are currently employed. Goofy chauffeurs Mickey between the 6 regions with different terrains in Letterland; Snowy mountains and icy surfaces in Yukon, cliffs, water, and tropical beaches in Caribbean, swamp and water in Swamp, water and forest in Forest, water and jungle in Jungle, and desert and pyramid interiors in Pyramid. Each Every level has 3 letters of a single 3 letter word, each hidden in a letter diamond, that Mickey optionally must find and 'capture' in a butterfly net. If he finds all 3, he will spell the world after the level ends while an illustration of the word is shown (hat, leg, arm, etc...). Mickey can say all 26 letters, laugh, and exclaim "oh boy" in synthesized speech that actually sounds like Mickey. The level ends when Mickey nets the stone slab containing an ancient fossilized letter. Goofy also operates a Rube Goldberg type of machine that cleans and preserves the fossils before Mickey puts them in the museum display. This is also part of the game, the player must match the letter to it place in the display. There are 26 levels in expert mode, 4 or 5 per region, one for each letter of the English alphabet. Beating the game treats the player to an 8-bit instrumental rendition of The Alphabet Song (Mozart's Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star).

It is impossible to die but Mickey will show comical discomfort at contacting enemies or falling long distances. This is an extremely easy aimed at people who are not yet or are still learning the English alphabet. However, finding all the letters for the bonus words involves more advanced exploration and problem solving skills. A few letters are in places where they player may not be able to return to once they pass a certain point in the level and so careful planning is required to achieve this goal.

The mushrooms and hippos from Disney's movie Fantasia and Monkeys from the movie Junglebook, make cameos.

All the creatures listed are passive or inconsiderate to Mickey's presence, though all can be made useful. The living snowman and the anthropomorphic mushrooms are the only fantastically presented creatures.

Hint, swing the net just before hitting the ground to avoid 'hurting' Mickey.
Hint, contacting a creature or a corner of a surface tosses Mickey into the air with the height depending on several factors.
Hint, every level has an animal or apparatus that will cause Mickey to jump extra high if the jump button is held.
If you press Select on the map screen you can enter a mode where Mickey says the letter the player points to when they press a button. Pressing select again returns to the map screen. This might be in the instruction book but can still be consider a secret since people just learning their alpha bet would not be expected to read the instruction book.
Someone should verify the details of the hidden mode as stated in the instruction booklet.

The game displays a copyright of 1990 but was not published until 1993-03.