Line #7 VideoGame/MauiMallardAndTheLostCityOfDread


1	[[quoteright:202:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/imagem_2022_12_11_121114354.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:202:The Lighthouse of Thieves]]
3	Following the release of ''VideoGame/DonaldInMauiMallard'' in 1995, there were plans to create a sequel titled ''Maui Mallard and the Lost City of Dread'' for the [=PlayStation=] and the Sega Saturn. It involved Maui Mallard and a friendly Muddrake called Mucky on a quest to prevent a mysterious villain from bathing in the Pool of Power found in the titular city. Stages would require switching between Maui and Mucky for puzzle solving like in ''VideoGame/TheLostVikings'' and its documents also mention vehicle stages that would have shaken things up.
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5	Unfortunately, on top of the original game's success already being hampered by indecisive businessmen, marketers and the development of ''VideoGame/TheLionKing'' games, the ''Maui'' developers had to convert much of the work for the sequel into the ''VideoGame/{{Hercules}}'' licensed game and could not gain support to return to the project afterwards.
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7	And so the SequelHook at the end of the first game never came true, and much less the plans for a ''third'' and final game called ''Maui Mallard 3: The Quackening''. The following information is gathered from [[https://vk.com/@maui_mallard-interview-with-jon-williams interviews with the developers]], design documents and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEto2oNsxvQ small prototype]] that were made available to the public over two decades after the original game's release.
8	----
9	!!This game would have contained examples of:
10	* ArbitrarySkepticism: In the game's script, a RunningGag is Maui doubting any fantastical legends he hears about despite everything that's going on around him. Come on, wasn't ''Donald in Maui Mallard'' supposed to be chapter ''35'' of his career?
11	* BigBad: The man who's after the Pool of Power remains anonymous throughout the story until he's revealed to be an evil incarnation of Maui himself. The script simply refers to him as "The Villain".
12	* {{Bookends}}: Evil Ninja Maui in the Temple of Truth was intended as the first properly challenging boss in the game, closing what is referred as either the prologue or stage 2 in the development files. It would be revealed as the BigBad in the end and faced in a grand final battle within the Temple of Deceit.
13	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: ''Donald in Maui Mallard'' ended with Herneae saying she'd take Maui on a journey he'd never forget... but neither she or anyone else from that game are even mentioned in the sequel.
14	* CelibateHero: PirateGirl [=LeCruel=] is lovestruck with Maui after he defeats her in a duel, but the protagonist is only ever interested in his current assignment.
15	* DanceBattler: The design documents make several vague mentions of Mucky using dances for elemental attacks that would aid Maui during puzzles and boss battles. Even the final battle would have involved this somehow.
16	* DarknessEqualsDeath: The Lost City of Dread is illuminated by the mystical Lighthouse of Thieves. In this stage, characters oscillate between being harmless villagers in the light and hostile demons in the darkness.
17	* DramaticUnmask:
18	** The final boss' identity is unknown throughout the game. He starts out as a cloaked sorcerer and destroying his cloak finally reveals him to be the EvilCounterpart to Maui seen early in the game.
19	** In the ending, it is revealed the the hooded Ninja Masters are children "played" by Huey, Dewey and Louie.
20	* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: One stage is set in a graveyard of airplanes filled with undead World War II soldiers.
21	* GimmickLevel: The design documents mention vehicle stages, mechanics that made use of [=3D=] space and even rotating level design. Incidentally, ''VideoGame/DonaldDuckNoMahouNoBoushi'' on the Super Famicom, which was released in 1995 like the first ''Maui Mallard'', did feature a rotating stage.
22	* MacGuffin: The goal of the story is the Pool of Power located in the Lost City of Dread that grants god-like power to whoever bathes in it. The Lantern of Kahn Kuhn is stolen and soon destroyed by the BigBad after he uses it to learn the location of the Lost City, but Maui is barely able to reconstruct the relic and project a map with an X mark over the Lighthouse of Thieves.
23	* NoodleIncident: It is said that Maui installed security systems in the Mojo Mansion after an "incident", not making clear if this is about the area's appearance in the first game or something else.
24	* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: One gag early on involves Mucky deploying a parachute upon falling from a great height but not having a second one for Maui, who fails to hold on to him. Maui collapses [[SoftWater into a lake small enough]] that Mucky still hears him hitting solid ground as it happens. Later, Maui attempts to chase the Villain into the portal to the Lost City but the man disables it just in time, leading to Maui running right off the side of the Lighthouse of Thieves and into hard rock far below. He once again survives with only comical injuries.
25	* {{Pirate}}: On the way to the Lighthouse of Thieves, Maui and Mucky attempt to sneak past a pirate village made up of many ships stacked on top of each other. They then get dragged into a bizarre and violent competition for leadership of the village. Yes, [[PiratesVersusNinjas Ninja Maui was meant to be playable]] at this point.
26	* SchmuckBait: The final stage would've ended with a set of two gates -- one leading into light and the other into darkness. [[NonstandardGameOver Choosing the first one]] leads Maui and Mucky into a luau where they are robbed of their memories and start merrily dancing around. [[ItsAWonderfulFailure A giant demon then casually]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt eats the Earth]], uses a comet [[BlackComedy like a toothpick]] and quips "Way to go, Maui". [[FissionMailed The stage would restart from the beginning after this.]]
27	* SequelHook: The game would end with the three Ninja Masters warping both Maui and Mucky away to inform them about "The Quackening". An interview reveals the final game in the trilogy was supposed to be a WholePlotReference to ''Film/HighlanderIITheQuickening'' involving [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne a war]] between alternate universe versions of Maui.
28	-->'''MAUI MALLARD 3:'''
29	-->'''THE QUACKENING'''
30	-->Prepare to face it.
31	* SequentialBoss: The FinalBoss would've featured the Villain as a robed sorcerer until he was revealed to be an Evil Maui spirit. He would then fight [[MirrorBoss with ninja skills similar to Maui's]] until finally diving into the Pool of Power and [[OneWingedAngel rising as a super spirit]] described as having a morphing body akin to the [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay T1000]].
32	* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The early stages involve Maui making his way across an ice maze filled with cavemen. His Ninja self would be more sure-footed on slippery surfaces, but also ineffective against the cavemen.
33	* TagAlongKid: A major feature of the sequel was the new sidekick Mucky, a Muddrake who admires Maui and tagged along as a second playable character who could help Maui progress through stages.
34	* TeamworkPuzzleGame: Players could switch to Mucky in certain levels to help Maui get past obstacles in a variety of ways if his Ninja transformation was unavailable.
35	* TokenHeroicOrc: In the first game, the Muddrakes were [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy a crazy warrior tribe]] who players could splatter into green goo without a care in the world. The sequel would have introduced a kid Muddrake named Mucky who happened to idolize Maui and made him the deuteragonist of the story.
36	* YouAreTooLate: The Villain sets up the portal to the Lost City right as Maui arrives at the Lighthouse of Thieves and disposes of the Dark Crystal artifact that powers the portal before the hero can follow him. After [=LeCruel=] tells Maui about a missing Light Crystal that can open an alternate path into the Lost City, the detective [[PlanBResolution makes a detour]] into the stomach of Moby Duck to find the thing.
37	* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The game's design documents describe multiple [=3D=] vehicle stages, such as a jeep chase scene on a mountain road where the player was required to perform stunts by cartoonishly bouncing off guardrails just right without breaking them.
38	* WillfullyWeak: The Villain arrives on the Pool of Power ahead of Maui and Mucky, [[HonorBeforeReason but first]] decides to fight them in his base form to prove his own abilities.

Context VideoGame / MauiMallardAndTheLostCityOfDread