Mickey Mouse hasn’t had an easy time of it in games of late. The Epic Mickey series showed so much promise but each entry disappointed, including the supposed successor to Castle of Illusion on the Nintendo 3DS; Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion. Luckily this trend stops here with the remake of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, a game initially released in 1990 on the Sega Mega Drive.
Comparisons to DuckTales Remastered will cross your mind since both are popular Disney titles that have been recently updated. The similarities end there though, while DuckTales mostly retained the same level designs and really focused on updating the graphics to match its cartoon counterpart, Castle of Illusion returns with with much more obvious changes. The game is rendered in 3D now and sometimes has you exploring around each area rather than just running left or right. Fans of the original will still recognise each level from its themes and the enemies residing in them but the layouts themselves have changed and the graphics breathe new life into them. Jumping from cookie to cookie in a sweet candy land looks even more delicious this time round.
The story of course remains the same, Minnie Mouse has been captured by the evil witch Mizrabel so Mickey Mouse must venture into the castle of illusion and collect seven gems to save her. While not as noticeable as in DuckTales, effort has again been put into the voice acting by giving Minnie and Mickey their distinctive voices. A great addition is the narrator who speaks over each level and makes good natured comments on your progression. The animation of Mickey and his enemies is lovely, I would have liked to see the story scenes at the beginning animated but instead the story is shown with static images. What stood out most to me was the soundtrack; it is beautiful and has a feel-good Disneyland vibe to it while still remaining similar enough to call back to the originals.
Gameplay is as basic as you’d expect from a platformer in the 90’s. Mickey can jump on enemies heads to defeat them or throw projectiles such as candles or apples. The levels and bosses are very easy until an odd difficulty spike on one level near the end. I couldn’t call it hard but having gotten used to very little challenge all the way along it was a surprise. There are collectables to find in each level and you can return to completed areas to find them afterwards. Statues unlock new outfits for Mickey and you can also collect chilli peppers, a throwback to Quackshot (the BEST classic Disney game, please remake this Disney).
If you know you’re not going to be moved by Disney then the gameplay on offer here won’t be enough to change your mind but Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is easy to recommend for fans of the original and younger players.
70/100
