Disney Magical World 2 Review

Disney Magical World 2, much like the first game, has a variety of gameplay styles merged into one game loaded with Disney characters. There are action stages, there are rhythm-based dancing mini-games, there is a café you operate to earn money, and you’ll also do some fishing and farming (to acquire ingredients you’ll use in your café). You can even go swimming and surfing!

Disney Magical World 2 title screen for Nintendo 3DS.

Worlds

Much like the first game, Disney Magical World 2 has several worlds, each themed around a Disney movie or franchise. The Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh areas from the first game have returned. Cinderella no longer has her own world, but her dancing stages have returned at the Magic Castle. The new worlds are based on Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Lilo & Stitch, and Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs.

That’s a lot of Disney princesses in bright, cheery worlds. Some male players (and some females as well) may not find as much to like about that selection. Of course, anyone can enjoy any Disney movie or game, but these worlds definitely lean a bit more to the girly side.

The game could have used some darker, less cheery worlds to balance things out a bit. The first game had an Aladdin world and also a Pirates of the Caribbean world (as DLC). The sequel doesn’t really have any equivalent. Some worlds based on Pirates, The Nightmare Before Christmas, or even The Lion King, would have broadened the appeal of the sequel.

What’s New

While the first game let you decorate the upstairs of your café any way you wanted, the sequel goes one step further by giving you your own house! Decorate it however you like!

Mickey Mouse: Here we are... Your new home!

Magical dreams are perhaps the most notable addition to the game. By collecting dream puzzle pieces, you can unlock new dreams. You literally go to your house, lie in bed, and dream. These dreams are neon-filled, psychedelic playgrounds, complete with Disney characters.

There are presents scattered around, each leading to a different activity. For example, you may ride on a flying bench with Minnie Mouse, race in a go-kart with Wreck-It Ralph, or get into a flying bathtub with Jack Skellington. Each dream can be fun the first time you experience it, but they get boring on repeat visits. They do allow you to score a bunch of “nice” points though, which can be used to purchase new recipes from the fortune teller.

All sorts of crazy stuff in a magic dream in Disney Magical World 2.

Sitting in a tub with Jack Skellington.

Another addition is the ability to take screenshots at any time by pressing the L and R buttons at the same time. Just like in Animal Crossing: New Leaf! The screenshots are automatically saved to your memory card. It’s a very helpful feature, especially now that Miiverse is no longer around.

Café parties now include dances, where you (and café customers) can dance on-stage with Disney characters. Honestly, I didn’t care for the dancing much, but some people may enjoy it.

Gameplay variety

While the action quests, café management, farming, fishing, and ballroom dancing have all returned, there are new things to do as well. In particular, the Lilo & Stitch world (Hawaii) allows you to swim, surf, and even hula dance! You also swim in the Little Mermaid world, since you’ve basically been turned into a mermaid. And the Snow White world has some rhythm-based mini-games where you go mining with the dwarfs. There’s more variety this time around.

Mining in the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs world.

Surfing in Disney Magical World 2.

Problems

The game has one major flaw, that proved to be quite frustrating for me: Crashes. Quite often (usually when working in the café), the game would freeze and crash. I would have to start the game back up from the 3DS menu.

Because the game tends to save frequently, I generally didn’t lose much progress after a crash. But still, it’s quite infuriating when the game crashes over and over as it did for me at times. I’ve never had a game crash as much as Disney Magical World 2. I don’t know how Nintendo let this slip by.

A far less serious complaint I have is that some requests require you to wear specific items of clothing, which you may not like. For example, a boy may not enjoy having to wear a dress, or a girl may not enjoy wearing a beard. But of course, you can always change into another outfit once the request has been completed.

Overall

Disney Magical World 2 is more polished and streamlined than the first game. You can easily check the status of your crops and café stock, and it’s easier to see which ingredients you need for things you want to make. There are a ton of things to do, and you can do them at your own pace (at least once you’ve completed the tutorial).

The once-frustrating dances from the first game seem much easier this time, and the action stages seem easier as well. The game is a lot of fun, and despite its flaws, it’s better than the first game. On a scale of 1-10, I give Disney Magical World 2 a solid 8.

Note for readers of this blog

Even though I never fully completed my item collections, I no longer intend to pursue the few elusive items remaining. I’m not even sure if I could acquire everything without some AR cards or QR codes that I may have missed. Although I did remember to get Minnie’s birthday item last November 18th.

Minnie gives me a spotted room light.

This marks the official end of this blog, although I will be back again if they make part 3 on Nintendo Switch. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that one.

If you’d like to read the full DMW2 blog, you can start from the first entry.

Want to buy Disney Magical World 2?

Halloween Season

The Halloween season is now upon us once again in Disney Magical World 2. You can find seasonal decorations around town, and Halloween items are back in stock at the shops.

Halloween decorations on Castle Street in Disney Magical World 2 for Nintendo 3DS.Halloween decorations at the Magic Castle in Disney Magical World 2 for Nintendo 3DS.

I found that the souvenir cart had this swirly vortex balloon for sale. I apparently missed out on it last year somehow. Oops. Well, better late than never!

Hannah, selling a swirly vortex balloon: This one, right?Some holiday-based favors will also be available. Sally asked me for a roly-poly potato, and in return, she gave me a pumpkin king portrait. This is also something I missed last year.

What You Were Asked For: Roly-Poly Potato x 1. What You Will get: Pumpkin King Portrait x 1.This brought my completion percentage up to 104.89%. I’m still missing some items, including Minnie’s special item that’s only available on November 18th. Last year, Mickey gave me his item on that day, but Minnie didn’t have a favor for me. If I remember, I’ll try again this year.

But as for the other items I’m still missing, I’m not so sure about how to get them. There’s a collection list at GameFAQs, but it’s based on the Japanese version. Not everything seems to be the same in the American version, and it seems that some of the QR/AR codes are for Japan only? I may not be able to complete my collection in this game.

In Castleton, I noticed that Goofy’s garden has one big, ugly carrot growing in it. 😛 I just enjoy walking behind objects and characters, so that they’re right in front of the camera and nearly fill up the view. 😛

A person wearing a carrot suit blocks the screen.Just a reminder that Miiverse is closing down on November 7th. So if you want any high-quality screenshots without the Disney copyright watermark in the corner, take them before then. For more info on using Miiverse to take screenshots, see this guide.

See you next time!

Birthday Party

While going through my collection list to see what I was still missing, I discovered that there were still quite a few accessories I needed from Clarice’s style shop inside Daisy’s boutique! I had forgotten that I didn’t already make all of her stuff…particularly the items that require magic crayons. That’s because I ran out of magic crayons when I was making accessories at the time, and I forgot to return later on. Oops.

Well, I started making all the ones I didn’t already have in my collection, including these Donald character shades.

The Donald character shades in Disney Magical World 2.

July 31st was my character’s birthday, and Mickey threw a birthday party for me! The whole gang was there.

Mickey Mouse, at my birthday party: Happy birthday!Minnie Mouse even gave me a kiss! I don’t normally enjoy kisses from rodents, but she apparently kissed me from across the table (somehow). So it wasn’t too bad. 😛

Minnie Mouse: MWAH! That's a birthday kiss just for you!Once everyone wished me a happy birthday, Mickey gave me a present: It was this mini Mickey hat. Make sure to speak to Mickey on your character’s birthday to receive this for yourself!

The mini Mickey hat you receive on your character's birthday in Disney Magical World 2 for Nintendo 3DS.
Wait, how come Mickey was the only one who brought a gift? 😛

As the party wrapped up, we took a commemorative photo to remember the occasion by. I made sure to use my favorite pose. 😉

A commemorative photo taken at my birthday party in Disney Magical World 2 for Nintendo 3DS.

In case you’re wondering, my completion percentage is now up to 104.79%.

Halloween season in the game starts on September 9th. It seems that I still need a couple of Halloween items, so I’ll have to keep my eyes out for them. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and I’ll see you in the fall with my next update. 🙂