
1986 · Hudson Soft · Adventure · Metroidvania
BS Do-Re-Mi
Nintendo exclusive
Guide Milon through the four levels of Garland Castle in his quest to reach the top floor and vanquish the big boss! The journey is a difficult one though, because the castle is locked up tight and Milon doesn't have the keys. You will have to use your bubble attacks to fend off the castle baddies while busting up every block in sight trying to find all of the hidden treasure and other secrets throughout the game. Unlike most platformers, Milon's Secret Castle is less about defeating all of the enemies in an area, and more about scouring every bit of each room to find the secrets that lie within Garland Castle!
- Released
- 1 September 1986
- Platforms
- Game BoyNESNintendo 3DSWii
- Genres
- AdventureMetroidvaniaPlatformerPuzzle
- Developers
- Hudson Soft
- Publishers
- Hudson Soft
- Modes
- Single-player
- Perspective
- Side view
- Themes
- Action
- Country
- Japan
- Age ratings
- ESRB ECERO ACLASS_IND LPEGI 3
- Languages
- English
- Composers
- Takeaki Kunimoto
About
Milon's Secret Castle, known in Japan as Meikyū Kumikyoku: Milon no Daibōken (迷宮組曲 ミロンの大冒険, "The Maze Suite: Milon's Great Adventure"), is a 1986 action-adventure game released by Hudson Soft for the NES. A Game Boy version was released in 1993.
A sequel, DoReMi Fantasy, was released in 1996 for the Super Famicom.
Keywords
- digital distribution
- shopping
- virtual console
- cheat code
- wii virtual console
- nintendo 3ds virtual console
Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
The player controls Milon by running, jumping and shooting bubbles. The player starts out at the bottom floor of a four-story castle, named Castle Garland, and must navigate upward, searching the three main stories, the well, two side towers and the very top. If the player remains outside of the castle for too long, lightning bolts start falling from the sky. Each room of the castle contains many enemies and hidden items.
Milon's bubbles are both a weapon and a tool; throwing bubbles at soft blocks causes them to break apart and either create additional routes, reveal hidden shops, or expose specific items. The bubbles can also destroy the demons that inhabit the given rooms, though they will come back to life after several seconds. Each story can only be reached by defeating the first boss. Although seemingly basic, the only way the bosses can be reached is by finding a host of secrets, some of which require sheer luck or a helpful manual.
Story
The protagonist of the game is Milon, a boy who suffers from tone deafness. Milon lived in Hudson land, where its denizens communicate with each other using tone. Milon then decides to travel throughout the land of Hudson. Before leaving for his trip, Milon visits Queen Eliza who lives in Castle Garland.
However, when Milon arrives at castle Garland, the castle is already invaded by an evil wizard named Maharito (Warlord of the northern region in the English game manual) and his demonic army. They are terrorizing Hudson, seizing the people's instruments of music, and occupying the castle. In response to this situation, Milon decides to enter the castle to fight the invaders, rescue the queen, and return the musical instruments seized by the forces of Maharito from the people of Hudson.
Reception
Upon release in 1986, Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) magazine gave the original Famicom version a score of 29 out of 40. The Wii Virtual Console version released in 2007 later received a negative reception. GameSpot's reviewer Frank Provo described the game as one of the worst games, as he criticized the control scheme, giving it a "terrible" and score of 2.0/10. Power Unlimited gave the Game Boy version a score of 83%; they noted the game lacking originality, but they praised its gameplay and graphics.
Legacy
In 1996, a Super Famicom sequel to the game was released only in Japan, known as DoReMi Fantasy: Milon no Dokidoki Daibouken.
There are some references to Milon's Secret Castle in a few Hudson Soft games. Milon made a cameo appearance in the Sega Saturn game Saturn Bomberman, and in Star Soldier there are hidden Milon tiles that can only be uncovered and destroyed for a 40,000-point bonus when certain score conditions are met.
Releases by platformdates and regions as published
Editions and related releases
- Included in
- Hudson Best Collection Vol. 3: Action Collection
- Derivative works
- Milon no Hoshizora Shabon: Puzzle Kumikyoku
- Followed by
- DoReMi FantasyDoReMi Fantasy: Milon no Dokidoki Daibouken
- Ported as
- Milon's Secret Castle
- Built on it
- Milon's Secret Castle
Games like this
Timed Sega64Tails Adventure
1995 · Game Gear, Nintendo 3DS
Adventure · Metroidvania
Nintendo exclusive75Gargoyle's Quest II
1992 · Game Boy, NES +2
Adventure · Metroidvania
Nintendo exclusive68DK King of Swing
2005 · Game Boy Advance, Wii U
Platformer · Puzzle
PlayStation exclusive78LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
2009 · PlayStation Portable
Adventure · Platformer
Nintendo exclusive87Mega Man Xtreme 2
2001 · Game Boy Color, Nintendo 3DS
Adventure · Platformer
Nintendo exclusive31Pocky & Rocky with Becky
2001 · Game Boy Advance, Wii U
Adventure · Platformer
Nintendo exclusive70Donkey Kong Land
1995 · Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Adventure · Platformer
Nintendo exclusive75Semblance
2018 · Nintendo Switch, Windows +1
Adventure · Platformer
Collections1 collection
Platform libraries
- Satellaview broadcastsBroadcast game list
- Satellaview broadcastsBroadcast game list
Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.
