DAY 122 / GAME 122
Castle of Illusion
The Sega Genesis features a whole slew of fantastic games based on Disney properties. Aladdin, Lion King, Quackshot, Fantasia and Mickey Mania to name a few. But one of the first of the lot was a game with a unique story not based on any prior film or show, Castle of Illusion, starring Mickey Mouse.
Released in 1992, a year after I had first got my Genesis, Castle of Illusion was one of the first few games I ever owned for a console. It was good timing too, I mean, what could be geared better to a 12 year old who already loved classic Mickey cartoons? Actually, considering it was developed by a Japanese branch of Sega, I'm impressed at how well the captured this particular American property.
Castle of Illusion turned out fantastic. The artwork was translated nicely onto the 16-bit platform. Opting for a dithering process to accomplish a wider range of colours for better shading and lighting effects, it certainly looks 'of it's time' and still make for really nice art overall. The animation and character design is faithful and fluid. All the wait cycles, jumps, swings and throws feel like old Mickey cartoons. The characters are all on model and definately hold true to the Disney style. Put it all together and you end up with this amazing package that really feels like perhaps it was overseen by a creative influence at Disney, though I can't find anything that suggests that was the case.
Castle of Illusion follows the story of Mickey Mouse after the evil witch Mizrabel snatches up Minnie and takes her to the Castle of Illusion. Mickey pursues her, ending up in the castle where he needs to capture each of the seven magical gems in order to create a rainbow bridge to reach Minnie Mouse and save her from the witch's grasp. Inside the castle there are 7 different doors with a different magical world behind each. The levels vary from the Forest of Illusion, ancient ruins, a milk-river sweets land, a toy-soldier miniature world and others. The music was great and helped sell the atmosphere that was created within this terrific game. Another piece that was surprising well suited for a Disney game considering it was made overseas.
The whole game was terrific. It featured some fantastic art, animation and music. It played well and featured responsive controls and a nice unique take on the Mario-esque side-scrolling platformer. It's nice to see that it has recently seen some love by developers in the form of a fresh new 2.5D remake on the current gen systems. (Xbox 360 and PS3.) As well as a successor in the form of Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for the 3DS which takes Mickey back to the original Castle of Illusion, featuring similar looking levels and music. Considering this is one of the earliest console games I've ever played, it sure held up well as far as I'm concerned.
Castle of Illusion
The Sega Genesis features a whole slew of fantastic games based on Disney properties. Aladdin, Lion King, Quackshot, Fantasia and Mickey Mania to name a few. But one of the first of the lot was a game with a unique story not based on any prior film or show, Castle of Illusion, starring Mickey Mouse. Castle of Illusion turned out fantastic. The artwork was translated nicely onto the 16-bit platform. Opting for a dithering process to accomplish a wider range of colours for better shading and lighting effects, it certainly looks 'of it's time' and still make for really nice art overall. The animation and character design is faithful and fluid. All the wait cycles, jumps, swings and throws feel like old Mickey cartoons. The characters are all on model and definately hold true to the Disney style. Put it all together and you end up with this amazing package that really feels like perhaps it was overseen by a creative influence at Disney, though I can't find anything that suggests that was the case. Castle of Illusion follows the story of Mickey Mouse after the evil witch Mizrabel snatches up Minnie and takes her to the Castle of Illusion. Mickey pursues her, ending up in the castle where he needs to capture each of the seven magical gems in order to create a rainbow bridge to reach Minnie Mouse and save her from the witch's grasp. Inside the castle there are 7 different doors with a different magical world behind each. The levels vary from the Forest of Illusion, ancient ruins, a milk-river sweets land, a toy-soldier miniature world and others. The music was great and helped sell the atmosphere that was created within this terrific game. Another piece that was surprising well suited for a Disney game considering it was made overseas.
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