One of my first games on Mega Drive was the mythical Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse. Released in 1990, yes, a year before Sonic the Hedgehog, It was one of the Disney games that SEGA consoles had exclusively (it also came out on Master System and Game Gear, with a special batch on Saturn).
To the joy of many, in 2013 SEGA launched its homonymous remake, but this joy would not last long, since in 2016 it would begin its withdrawal from digital stores, joining a saddest list. The curious? That at the end of August 2018 it was added to the great list of Xbox One backward compatible devices. And since I got home sick these days, I’ve wanted to replay it since Xbox Series S.
A facelift, but respecting its essence
As much affection as we can have for the 1990 classic (among which I include myself), its incorporation into the library of SEGA Mega Drive Mini, where there was also another mythical like is World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
This made Castle of Illusion, el remake de 2013, I started with an input inconvenience, as it fairly respected the essence of the original, very simple as far as the platform is concerned: to eliminate the enemies we could jump over them (if we kept the button pressed, we bounced higher) or use the Attack button with balls (which varied according to the world) of limited ammunition.
Nor is it that I needed more to amuseHowever, improvements were needed at the playable level compared to the 1990 game, such as being able to see beyond what we had on our feet or our head. By cons, it did implement 3D sections, although not all of them shone equally, especially those that offered freedom of exploration without sticking to the scroll side of 2D platforms.
His problem is that there the control was not completely polished, mainly because it did not offer a very successful sense of depth, such as not properly marking Mickey’s shadow, which caused that calculating certain jumps was a trial and error test until calculating the distance; a problem that we did not have in the classic sections, although there the gameplay could have been more polished, without that feeling of skating, at times.
The story put us on the task of rescuing Minnie from the hands of the evil Mizrabel, whom she led to her “castle of illusion.” For this you had to get seven diamonds to reach the tower where Mickey’s partner was imprisoned.
All of this resulted in a completely new section of Castle of Illusion, with a 3D castle that was opening up in our path and from which to manage the different sections of each world, to repeat them at will with the desire to achieve 100% gems, cards and chili peppers from Donald Duck, translating these two latest items in more outfits for Mickey himself … wink at Quackshot.
Castle of Illusion, a remake for the nostalgic
Graphically I still find it a delightBoth because of Mickey’s own nice animations, as well as the countless details that populate each scene, playing very well with the planes, especially those that cover (or deform) the Disney mascot. SEGA Studios Australia did a good job redesigning, the vast majority of settings being very recognizable.
There were changes, of course, when introducing sections in 3D, playing well with perspective in the face of some secrets or with some challenges, looking like a different game at times. Although where won hands down was in the renewed duels against the multiple bosses, that in the original they were simpletons to rage.
A good example of this we have in the first world tree, which in the 1990 game was limited to rolling with a trunk in the same direction, to retrace its steps, hit the tree and several acorns fell to the ground. In the remake the trunk changes the height or even the trajectory, with a final surprise so that we don’t relax the first time we fight him. And like that boss, they have all gained various attack patterns that vary as their life runs out.
This update of 2013 could not avoid, in any case, that it continued to be a short adventure, around 2 ~ 3 hours of play, depending on the rush / skill. But yes that increased its dose of replayability for the completists, that in some phases it was not so easy to obtain all the gems, much less the cards or chili peppers, that some were very hidden. And the reward was worth it.
Without being a masterpiece, the new Castle of Illusion did the classic justiceThat is why his disappearance four years ago continues to hurt us. Will he ever come back like he did Ducktales Remastered or how will you do next Scott Pilgrim?