Mia's Big Adventure Collection is a series of edutainment PC/Macintosh point-and-click adventure games released by Kutoka Interactive from 1999 to 2007.
The main character of the games is Mia, a young mouse living in a Mouse World contained within a typical suburban house in a neighborhood. The plots of the games often find Mia journeying both inside and outside the house in order to solve various problems that arise within, be it from a problem involving her family and friends or from other influences. The player leads Mia through the various sections of the house in search of ways to earn or find Sparklies (small jewels that serve as the currency in this world) or other sorts of Plot Coupons, often through Alphabet Soup Cans. She is joined by a large cast of characters, such as her beloved grandmother Mimi, a songbird named Betty, and timid boy genius mouse Marty.
At their core, the games in this series are Point And Click Games, though in a different take on the genre, the player doesn't have complete controls over Mia's actions. Mia is prone to wandering around and sometimes ignoring what the player directs her to do, giving off the impression that she is her own person in her own plane of existence who takes directions from the player. Most of the games have a specific educational theme (such as reading, math, and science) with a number of mini-games revolving around the subject. There is also a Gaiden Game in the form of a print shop studio.
Games in the series include:
- Mia's Reading Adventure: The Search for Grandma's Remedy: Mia's grandmother has taken ill after eating something nasty, and the Sparklies needed to get the remedy have been stolen by the sneaky Romaine Rat. Mia and the player must search the house for more. Released in 1999.
- Mia's Science Adventure: Romaine's New Hat: Mia borrows her mother's hat without asking, and before she knows it, the hat has disappeared down the sewers and fallen into the hands of Romaine Rat. Mia and the player need to find enough Sparklies to buy it back from Romaine. Released in 2000.
- Mia's Math Adventure: Just In Time: The house everyone lives in burns to the ground, and it's decided that the best way to deal with this is to build a time machine and prevent the fire from happening. Mia and the player go off in search of parts for the time machine. Released in 2001.
- Click & Create with Mia: A Complete Creativity Studio: A print shop Gaiden Game of the series. Released in 2002.
- Mia's Language Adventure: The Kidnap Caper: Mia's grandmother disappears after winning first place in an art showcase, and evidence points to her being kidnapped. It's up to Mia and the player to solve the mystery. Released in 2003.
- Mia's Reading Adventure: The Bugaboo Bugs: Mia's house has become infested by the rowdy Bugaboos, and if they don't keep quiet, they run the risk of all small residents of the house (mice included) being evicted from the premises. Mia and the player must calm the bugs down. Released in
2007.
The games won many awards over their run, received an obscure French-animated Animated Adaptation, and is notable by some for being easily found in Goodwill thrift stores, as PeanutButterGamer will attest to.
Tropes found in this series include:
- Alphabet Soup Cans: Par for the course with edutainment games, and this series is no different. Many of the things the player requires, such as Sparklies, are locked behind these.
- Animate Inanimate Object: A number of NPCs, especially in the first game which has such characters as a talking ink can and a dragon bookend set.
- Big Bad: Romaine serves as this in many of the games.
- Digitized Sprites: The majority of the graphics are pre-rendered CGI sprites, in the vein of games like Donkey Kong Country. The cutscenes are full CGI.
- Edutainment Game
- Gaiden Game: Click & Create with Mia, a print-shop studio.
- Invisible Parents: Mia's parents do exist, but they may as well not since they seldom appear or play major roles in the story. Mia seems to live with her grandmother anyway.
- Kid Hero: Mia herself.
- Mouse World: The setting of the games is within one of these inside and around a two story house.
- Plot Coupon: Many are included, but of note are tiny jewels known as Sparklies that seem to serve as the currency the mice use.
- Point-and-Click Game: The primary genre of the series.
- Recurring Extra: Scary the Spider serves as this throughout the series, occasionally having a bigger role like hiding important plot coupons or introducing the first game.
- Rhymes on a Dime: There is a dragon bookend in Grandma's Remedy that speaks this way.
- Would Hurt a Child: Romaine actually beats Mia up and steals her Sparklies in Grandma's Remedy.
