#Castle of Illusion

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Oh No! 'Castle Of Illusion' SEGA Mega Drive

[yiippeeekaley]

Disney should do whatever you call this type of stuff more often. It's awesome

[princess-ibri]

I wanted to ask; do you also have a Story idea for the Witches from the two Disney games Enchanted journey and Castle of ilusion?

I do!

Here's for Zara from Enchanted Journey

(And something for the Princess of Gentlehaven)

And here's for Mizrabel from Castle of Illusion

[jayextee]

Castle of Illusion, starring Mickey Mouse (2013, Steam)

Remember when I reviewed Monster World IV, remake and then original, and ended up concluding that the older version was better? Anyway, Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse. Older version is better. End of review.

Nah, I wouldn't do that to ya. Probably about three people read my Tumbly reviews and by that very fact alone they're my best friends. If you're reading this, I mean you. I don't have many friends. The few I do have are special.

In lieu of fellow human meatbags to chat shit with, I've always had videogames though. By the release of the original Castle of Illusion back in 1990, I'd already played videogames for a good five years by my reckoning. I knew that I liked platform games. And I knew who Mickey Mouse was. And so, the title needed no real introduction. Here's a jumpy-jump game where you play as Mickey Mouse. It was very 'of its time', meant neither negatively nor affectionately.

2013's version is very of its time.

It's a pretty thing, that's for sure. Initially, I really enjoyed the little touches; instead of a small cutscene between levels where Mickey discovers the door to the next area, that plays out instead as a humble little hub area so you can do that same thing manually. And instead of experiencing the joy and wonder of a new area for yourself, there's a storybook-style narrator telling you what Mickey can see now; as if your eyes were lying to you.

Par for the course in the twentytens though, right in the middle of an era that decided gamers aren't smart enough to figure anything out for themselves so the film storytelling adage 'show, don't tell' went completely out of the window in favour of 'stop the show, grab their hand, point them in the right direction, shove 'em there forcibly'. I'm just being cynical, the narrator was kinda nice. Added a little then-modern twist to the familiar proceedings.

And they are familiar -- that's kinda what you want from a remake innit? I want to jaunt through a forest, leap some leaves, end up with it all getting spooky; and the game does this. Toy area with a climb to the top for a key, and then slide back down to the door as all the steps you ascended become slides? It's there. And yet, there are little ameliorations to remind you that this ain't yer dad's Mickey Mouse. Remember that rolling apple in the second part of the forest area? Of course you didn't, you blinked and missed it. But now it's a full-on Crash Bandicoot-style run into the camera with absolutely-missable gems!

Did I mention the gems?

Well, y'see, here's the thing. Between 1990 and 2013, expectations for platform games changed quite a bit. It's not good enough to simply get through the levels, now there's the expectation that you collect. Absolutely. Fucking. Everything. In order to unlock something or other. And this contemporary busywork is added to the remake, something I'm not entirely keen on -- I'll level with ya, I just wanted to see the ending and now I have I'm not going back for trinkets.

And why not? Game's not fun enough. I doubt the older version was either, it was a 'good-but-not-great' platformer that although pleasant enough to beat once or twice, didn't actually justify a replay. This'n feels the same, but they tried. And actually I wish they didn't, because some of those embellishments to the levels actually really piss me off -- remember when you got the rainbow gems at the end of the original, Mickey built a rainbow bridge out of them, then you went into the tower to fight Mizrabel at the end? Wouldn't it be great if you had to, manually, ascend that tower? With time-sensitive platforms and barely-visible rope swings and etcetera blah blah blah.

Well nah.

That visibility thing's a real problem, by the way - and one I constantly had toward the latter part of the game. The original, as 'good, but only good' as it was, knew how to telegraph most of the challenges to let the player know what was expected of them in the moment. It's good game design, Dave. The remake? Not so much. It's like the developers cared so much about making it look all modern (for 2013, I remind you -- although the art direction's still nice in my eyes) that they neglected to care sometimes about making it clear to look at.

Sounds like a nitpick gripe, actually hampered my enjoyment on a fundamental level. The apex of this would be the candy dragon boss in the sweets/cakes area, lobbing those macaroons at me in a pattern with absolutely no tells as to which of the three platforms any given projectile was aimed at. Now, it's the same pattern every time and learnable; but that most-cursed indie platformer dev credo of "learn by dying" wasn't really a thing back in 1990 and it shouldn't have been here. Especially given that for some reason the game kept the original's lives system. As well as, uselessly, its scoring system.

I did, when considered as a whole, enjoy more than I didn't. The game sees the original's 'good-not-great' and fails to raise with its 'okay-not-good-not-great'.

3/5

[castle-of-illusions]

Look~ I beat the game

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Saturn - SEGA AGES Volume 13 I Love Mickey Mouse: Fushigi no Oshiro Daibouken/I Love Donald Duck: Gurujia Ou no Hihou (Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse/Quack Shot starring Donald Duck)

Title: SEGA AGES Volume 13 I Love Mickey Mouse: Fushigi no Oshiro Daibouken/I Love Donald Duck: Gurujia Ou no Hihou / SEGA AGES アイラブ ミッキーマウス ふしぎのお城 大冒険 ／ アイラブ ドナルドダック グルジア王の秘宝

Developer/Publisher: Sega CS1

Release date: 15 October 1998

Catalogue No.: GS-9179

Genre: Compilation of 2 Action Platformers

Two classics from the Mega Drive come to the Saturn as part of the Saturn Sega Ages collection (this time as the Final Volume).

Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse was actually one of my first ever Mega Drive import games! I remember thinking that the cover art was miles beyond that of US or UK Mega Drive games. It was from this point that I fell in love with Japanese Mega Drive box art! Anyway, enough about that. Let’s talk about the two classics on this disc.

Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse was Sega’s first attempt at bringing the Disney license to the Mega Drive. Back then in 1990, this game looked amazing, far better than anything else available on any system at the time. However, this all changed once the Capcom Super Famicom Mickey Mouse game came around. Still, this title remains a classic and even now the visuals still look pretty decent. The sweet level particularly looks gorgeous. I’m also happy to say that the playability while simple has aged gracefully. Some older games are now a chore to play due to bad collision detection or just down right sluggish controls. Castle of Illusion on the other hand still feels tight and responsive like it did all those years ago. Killing enemies is done by the good old tried and tested method of jumping onto their head or in Mickey’s case, sitting on their head. Or if you collect enough apples you can throw them at the enemies instead.

Levels are pretty decent in size and varied enough to keep you interested until the end. The game is a little easy but what do you expect from a Disney-licensed game? A classic platformer from yesteryear that still holds its head up high.

Quack Shot starring Donald Duck was the 2nd Disney release for the Mega Drive and what better way to follow up a Mickey game than with a Donald Duck one. Again we get another platformer but this time we’ve also got some basic RPG-like elements thrown in. Graphically this is even better than Castle of Illusion thanks to the good use of colour and top-quality artwork. The basic idea of the game is to travel around the world collecting pieces of a map to find the lost treasure. Your quest takes you to such locations as Transylvania, Mexico, the US, and even a pirate ship! Donald has many obstacles that lie in his path that can only be removed by using the correct weapon or item. This is where the RPG element comes in. You see, you must complete one section before moving on to the next only to find that you need a certain item so off you go back to a previously visited area that now has an extra section opened up because you have previously collected something from another area that will allow you to progress on this area you have just visited. Understand? No? that’s ok, neither do I.

[gretel-will-appear]

i LOVE CASTLE OF ILLUSION i love it nobody loves ot more than i do i played it more than you

[disneyboot]

[tmmfmp]

Researching some games

Cuphead - Cuphead is a game that has a similar level design to the way I want my game to be. This is specifically about the run and gun levels as they are more platform than fighting. I want my levels to look similar construction wise as I'm not confident in platform design.

Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse 2013 remaster - This game has both a side scroller and 3rd person aspect to it. Although again I want to go for the level design, not the boss levels as there isn't much platforming in them. I like the idea of the flooding like there is in the sea monkey boss fight.

Geometry Dash - This game has wonderful level design. The level is entirely based around the beat of the music that the level is played with. I enjoy how the art style is incredibly simple but the game is still loved by many.

My Friend Pedro - I actually like the combat in this game more than the level design. The way you wipe out enemies is just so awesome. I might honestly add combat to this project because of this.

Thomas Was Alone - This game is incredibly strange. It has a super engaging story despite the only characters being different coloured squares. There is a narrator taking you through the story as you play. There is a character switching function in this one like my game Different Together although in this you switch character in order to progress the levels by completing little puzzles.

Similar Aesthetic

Assassin's Creed Valhalla - All time favorite Assassin's Creed game as it contains my favorite mythology. I love the way they designed the environment, animals and characters. They made the most accurate Viking representation I have ever seen especially with the oaths and honour themes through it. They spell Freyja's name wrong though.

God Of War - God Of War is a bit all over the place. For some reason, the mythology used changes. It is originally Greek Mythology and then switches to Norse which makes absolutely no sense. The games aren't very engaging to me and I don't like this take on Norse Mythology.

Apotheon - This seems to be a side scroller game based heavily upon Greek Mythology. Its art style makes it seem as though you are traveling across wonderful pieces of art from the time of the mythology being widely appreciated. I absolutely love how they styled this game and will try to take inspiration from it.

Devil May Cry - Devil May Cry is my all time favorite game (if my blog profile picture didn't give it away.) This game series actually takes inspiration from various mythologies for the enemies. It also seems to sort of have its own religion incorporated into it, through the worship of Sparda as he served as the feudal lord of Fortuna.

Metal: Hellsinger - This game seems incredibly loosely tied to Christianity because of the Heaven and Hell references throughout. It features combat against angels and demons with one direct real enemy, the Red Judge. This is a music based game where you fight demons and angels to the beat in order to try and get back what was stolen from The Unknown (the protagonist of the game.)

[lexie-squirrel]

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[retro-game-station]

Castle of illusion starring mickey mouse - Mega Drive Longplay

[princess-ibri]

How would you incorporate Mizrabel from the Castle of Illusion games into the Disneyverse?

Ok, I've been thinking on this for weeks now trying to figure out a good idea for this, i've thought out soooo many different things xD And I think I finally got one that I like:

Link to the fairytale mentioned in this so it makes sense if you don't already know it

Oh also Trigger Warning for Body Horror. Thats a first for this blog I think xD

Mizrabel is originally the adopted daughter in the Nordic faitytale Tatterhood. The child taken in by the childless king and queen, who only serves the purpose of befriending a wise woman's daughter so that the wise woman can tell the queen how to gain two biological daughters, who go one to be the actual main characters of the faitytale, and then the adopted one is never heard from again. I've ways wondered what happened to that poor girl...

And what happened was that, her heart broken by grief over her adopted mother basically abandoning her once her own twins were born, the young adopted princess Mirja goes back to the wise woman herself, demanding she be given something that will make her beautiful, powerful, noticed, loved.

The wise woman warns her of the dangers of such a request. Her mother asked for a child of her own, disregarding the one she had, and for the greed in her heart she did not follow the wise woman's rules and gained more then she asked for, and did not appreciate what she gained besides.

For the Queen ate, not one, but both of the magical flowers she had grown with the wise woman's guidance. She was warned to eat only one, but she hungered to ensure the spell would take, and so gained one beautiful daugher--and one wild one.

But the cast off princess doesn't care about the warning. For she wants to be More than both of the children the queen has gained combined.

The wise woman sighs, seeing the heartache of her child's friend, and gives her a seed to take and plant, which over the next year will grow into an apple tree that will bear a single fruit, a black apple that shines with all the colors of the rainbow. If she takes one bite of it, she will outshine both the children the queen carries, both in beauty and power.

But, like her adopted mother before her, Mirja does not heed the rules. Fearful that one bite will not be enough, she eats the full apple.

Her bones begin to crack, her skin to melt and merge. She has gained the ability to shift forms, to become anyone and anything. But she cannot yet fully control it, and horrified by the mass of shifting flesh she has become , she flees into the mountains.

There, she meets the witches and troll-folk of the mountain, who teach her greater magics, and she becomes a fearsome sorceress. Finally, after seven years she returns to her old home with her troll and witch companions to wreck havok on her mother's new daughters.

She did not count on the wild one being so fiercly protective of her beautiful sister.

Defeated by young Tatterhood, bound within the mountain, the witch-princess, now having cast off her old name for the name of Mizrabel--for so young Tatterhood taunted that she was--lives in lonely seclusion in the mountains, biding her time, learning deeper lore and magic that will allow her to escape and fulfill her obsesseion of outshining every princess in the lands of the EverRealm.

[kurhl]

Estrelando o adorado Mickey Mouse.

[castle-of-illusions]

ugh the candyland dolphins are SO annoying