2012 has been the year of sequels that I thought would never happen.

First Kid Icarus: Uprising, and now, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, which is a direct sequel to Sega’s Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse. While Kid Icarus was a whole new experience, Epic Mickey stays very much true to its 2D side-scrolling roots, with a bit of its modern namesake thrown in.

The nods to the original games are strong: The jumping/bonking sound effects, the little mushroom enemies, certain animations, the cheery music from the original game’s first level…. The developers were fans of the 1990 classic, and it shows. This game took me back to a much younger age, happy with my Genesis.

That’s not to say that it plays exactly like Castle of Illusion. There’s some Epic Mickey influence as well, most notably the magical paintbrush with its ability to create and destroy the environment. It’s not as heavy as in the console Epic Mickey games, but what it does is clever and well used. But basic drawing talent is needed in order to make properly functioning items. At least there’s no time limit or enemies attacking you while you’re trying Read the rest of this entry

Those of you that know me know that I have held a long-maintained respect for Disney animation and the theme parks. That, and I think John Lasseter (Pixar, bringing Miyazaki films to the states, and influence on current Disney animation, and yes, this particular game) has been amazing for modern Disney.

And I grew up playing Mickey Mouse. From Sorcerer’s Apprentice on the Atari 2600, to Mickey Mousecapade on the NES to my personal favorite, Castle of Illusion on the Genesis (there’s a cameo nod to one of these in Epic Mickey). Mickey Mouse was more a 8-bit and 16-bit hero back in the day, and his games were good. It’s no wonder younger gamers forgot that, as for the most part, the company’s video game fare for the last decade has been primarily quick and dirty “Disney Channel” cash-ins.

When Warren Spector started talking about this game, he kept going on how much of a big Mickey/Disney fan he is. It’s natural to always want to see if someone is a legit fan, or merely a fanboy, so I started reading his interviews, and watching his videos. I listened to what he had to say. Read the rest of this entry