Pap the
Disney Gamer's Highlights: Castle
of Illusion Starring Mickey
Mouse
Developed by:
Sega
System:
Sega Genesis

For many, the
golden age of Disney-based video
games lied in the 80s and 90s,
when some of the best and
critically acclaimed Disney
titles were released. It was an
era in which countless game
developers threw their hat into
the ring and decided to develop
a Disney based game of their
own. Some met mixed results,
like Capcom's Mickey Mousecapade,
others gained a strong
following, like Kingdom Hearts.
But they all tried their hardest
to bring the magic of Disney to
a new method of storytelling,
and would contribute greatly to
both Disney and video game
history. One of the most beloved
games is Castle of Illusion
Starring Mickey Mouse, released
for the Sega Genesis in 1990,
and was developed by Sega.
The story behind
Castle of Illusion is that
Mickey and Minnie are the
citizens of an enchanted land
named Vera City. One day, while
Mickey and Minnie were prancing
in the forest, a jealous witch
named Mizrabel (which bears a
striking resemblance to the Old
Hag from Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs) kidnaps Minnie
in order to steal her youth and
takes her to her castle. Mickey,
being the brave hero that he is,
chases after the witch and goes
through the many worlds hidden
within the castle.

To most people,
Castle of Illusion looks like a
standard video game platformer
featuring Mickey Mouse. And for
the most part, it is. Yet, many
fans will attest to the quality
of the game. Years earlier, fans
had to endure the low quality of
Mickey Mousecapade, despite its
fun premise. Castle of Illusion
has been highly polished so the
game could be enjoyed without
any frustrations related to poor
game design. Mickey controls
very smoothly, using apples and
marbles to fend off enemies.
The endless
praise doesn't end there.
Critics who reviewed the game
when it was originally released
were also very impressed with
the game's visual presentation.
It is a given that any Disney
game must live up to the visual
artristy the company is known
for, and even though later games
would be able to closely mimic
the look and feel of hand drawn
animation, Castle of Illusion is
very colorful and animated
smoothly.

The levels
themselves have also received
warm comments from players. Even
though they resemble the efforts
of Nintendo's various Mario
games, there is a charm to them
that lends to the magic of the
game. Mickey travels through toy
lands, forests, dark towers and
more in his journey to find his
sweetheart Minnie. The music
also does a great job at
conveying the atmosphere the
levels present throughout.
Such is Castle
of Illusion's legacy that two
follow up games, Land of
Illusion and World of Illusion,
were released, with the former
featuring Donald Duck as
Mickey's partner. In addition,
an Epic Mickey spin off, titled
Power of Illusion, will be
released soon for the 3DS.

Often,
simplicity is the key to
creating something everyone
loves. Castle of Illusion's
gameplay was very simple. Yet,
everything about it portrayed
the kind of polish and attention
to detail Disney is known for as
seen through the eyes of Sega.
Castle of Illusion was the game
many tried to imitate, and would
become the stepping stone for
many greater Disney games to
follow.