Castle of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse: Sneak Peek Hands-on

August 30, 2013 Patrick Hickey Jr. Video Games 0

The 1990 Sega Genesis classic “Castle of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse” is getting a 3D makeover on the PC, Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network this September and from our early hands-on, Mickey is at his near side-scrolling best.

The story itself needs no introduction. Minnie Mouse is kidnapped by the evil witch Mizrabel, who wants the sweetie pie’s youth. It’s up to Mickey to then obtain seven gems that will allow him to build a bridge to get to the castle tower where Minnie is being held captive.

Sure, it’s not something you’d see in a Fallout game, but the story was written in 1990, calm down. Regardless of the simplicity of the story, the gameplay holds up just fine. Traditional and old-school, the side-scrolling adventure will take you back to your youth when games like this flooded the marketplace. Even younger gamers, who have only briefly experienced older Mario and Donkey Kong Country titles, will find this title a refreshing addition to the genre.

That being said, if you grew up on the original version of “Castle of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse,” this prettier version won’t do you wrong either. The enhanced graphics, narration, great boss battles and adorable cut-scenes add a level of replayability that will entice veteran games all over again. The added coat of paint also plays a huge role in introducing the game to children who never experienced it the first time.

While the graphics, voiceovers and 2.5D elements make the game feel fresh and new, the controls, at times, are finicky and not as responsive as you’d like. Enemies in close proximity to Mickey are often more difficult than they should be and bounce-jumping, the game’s big gameplay element, is also sometimes a pain. The controls take a little more getting used to than many older gamers would like, mainly because this game was originally meant to be played on a D-Pad- not an analog stick.

But regardless of the control issues, “Castle of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse” on the PC, XBLA and PSN appears to be a fruitful and fun new-look at a classic that can be quite addictive. Simply put, if you have a kiddo in your home who has Mickey Mouse Club on DVR, this game has the goods to quickly become one of their favorites.

The new and improved version of “Castle of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse” is set for a September 3 release on the PC, Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. Those who pre-order the game before September 2 will also get the original version.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14318 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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