is a 1988 platform video game produced by

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. At one time, the company had annual sales of 20 billion yen in ...

in association with the

McDonald's Corporation McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

for the

Family Computer The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the U ...

, based on the McDonaldland franchise.

Gameplay

Unlike the commonly compared '' M.C. Kids'', ''Donald Land'' is simply a platformer without any puzzle elements to it. The game centers on

Ronald McDonald Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, an ...

(often known in Japan as Donald McDonald). Most of Ronald's companions have been kidnapped and all the animals have turned

feral A feral (; ) animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in som ...

. His brainwashed companions will occasionally attack. Ronald can defend himself using apple bombs, thrown in a carefully calculated

parabola In mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is Reflection symmetry, mirror-symmetrical and is approximately U-shaped. It fits several superficially different Mathematics, mathematical descriptions, which can all be proved to define exactl ...

. Being hit by an enemy causes damage, which decreases Ronald's "Life" meter. During various parts of a stage, players have the opportunity to collect up to 100 hamburger icons throughout the game. This will result in gaining a bonus life along with the hamburger counter resetting itself to zero. It is also possible to play a mini-game challenge, to earn commodities that the player orders from McDonald's. as he attempts to bring peace to McDonaldland by making the player control the famous fast food clown. Ronald can replenish his life bar by finding heart icons that are scattered throughout the level; the maximum number of hits that he can withstand before dying is five. From the second stage onward, the levels become more demanding with emphasis on making jumps from platform to platform while avoid bottomless pits. Items also become more difficult to reach and falling into a pit results in instantly losing a life. An enemy appears in the second level that resembles

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" () is a fairy tale by Charles Perrault about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th-century European Fable, folk tales. It was later retold in the 19th-century by the Broth ...

, although she causes damage like a normal enemy and cannot be destroyed by the player's apple bombs. A few of the bosses look like unusual for the game's target demographic. The third boss looks like a giant mechanical dragon, while the boss of level 5 is a bone dragon and players encounter a disembodied head at the end of the eleventh level.

Characters

* Ronald (Donald) McDonald: The protagonist, who uses apple bombs as weapons. On the demo screen and the game's ending, Ronald is seen throwing soap bubbles into the air as entertainment. * Mayor McCheese: A character resembling a

cheeseburger A cheeseburger is a hamburger with one or more slices of melted cheese on top of the meat patty, added near the end of the cooking time. Cheeseburgers can include variations in structure, ingredients and composition. As with other hamburgers, ...

. As the mayor of Donald Land, he wishes Ronald good luck on his quest. * Birdie the Early Bird: A character resembling a breakfast meal (the "Morning Mac"). She is taken captive by a tribe of natives and Ronald must force its leader to surrender, freeing Birdie from her prison. * Fry Guys: Characters resembling a box of

French fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

. Three of them are held hostage by a large animated skeletal snake. * Grimace: One of Ronald's close friends, who is locked inside a jail cell by an evil red cyclops Grimace. * Captain Crook: A character who tried to steal Filet-O-Fish sandwiches from citizens of McDonaldland. He is cloned into an evil Captain Cook that attacks Ronald at the harbor, while the real Captain Cook is locked in a cage being guarded by an octopus. * Officer Big Mac (Police): Resembling a

Big Mac The Big Mac is a brand of hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced by a Greater Pittsburgh Region, Greater Pittsburgh area Franchising, franchisee in 1967 and expanded nationwide in 1968, and ...

in a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

's uniform, he is the

chief of police A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the command hierarchy, chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or somet ...

in the game. He is under attack by two bomb-throwing ghosts, forcing Ronald to save him. * Hamburglar: A burglar who loves to steal hamburgers. The Hamburglar appears on the final level and is taken away the instant Ronald arrives in the castle to save him from the room he is being held in. An evil Hamburglar then appears out of a nearby frame and attacks Ronald. His catchphrase is “Robble Robble…” *

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

: One of the two characters not saved by Ronald, he thanks him for saving McDonaldland. *

Uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an un ...

: The uncle of Donald's friend Grimace, his full name is Uncle O'Grimacey. He is the other character that is not saved by Ronald, appearing in the credits. *Gumon: He is the final boss of the game, resembling a violent clown with scary shadows for his background. Gumon is an original character to the game and does not appear in any other McDonald's merchandise.

References

External links

''Donald Land'' Instruction manual
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...

''Donald Land''
at NES Cart Database
''Donald Land''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald Land 1988 video games Data East video games Japan-exclusive video games McDonald's video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Single-player video games Advergames Video games scored by Shogo Sakai Video games about clowns Video games developed in Japan McDonald's advertising Works based on advertisements