Castle of Illusion is a side-scrolling platformer in which the player takes control of Mickey Mouse as he goes inside the Castle of Illusion in order to rescue Minnie Mouse from an evil witch named Mizrabel, who wants to steal Minnie's youth. Upon meeting and conversing with the castle's true owner and king, Mickey is told that in order to defeat Mizrabel he must find the Seven Gems of the Rainbow. Majority of the seven gems are kept within various illusion-filled worlds, and are being guarded by Mizrabel's henchmen – which are known as the Masters of Illusion. Alongside the Masters of Illusion are bizarre creatures - such as enchanted mushrooms, toy soldiers, ball-juggling unicycle-riding clowns, and armored knights that Mickey must face. After thanking the castellan and hurrying into the castle hallway, Mickey begins to search through five doors that each lead to a different level. The levels are The Enchanted Forest, Toyland, The Storm, Dessert Factory, The Library, and finally, The Castle.
Gameplay
Mickey's main method of attack is to perform a 'bounce' whilst jumping, which can be used to defeat enemies, or to bounce upwards towards higher areas. Mickey can also collect projectiles such as apples and marbles to throw at his opponents. There are various items that earn bonus points, increase the player's health and grant extra tries. Every level ends in a boss battle against each Master of Illusion where Mickey can earn a gem, although the final two levels award a gem half-way through. After clearing all five levels, obtaining all gems will open up the route to the witch's tower. There, the player faces the final boss: a giant and youthful version of Mizrabel. There is also an easy mode available where players simply play through truncated versions of the first three levels, with no boss fights. The Master System and Game Gear versions of the game feature different game mechanics, enemies, items, levels and graphics.
Release
The game was also included on a cartridge entitled Disney Collection, bundled with QuackShot, in 1996. An emulated version of Castle of Illusion was also included in a bundle for those who preordered its remake on PSN; this bundle was offered again for PlayStation Plus subscribers in April 2014. An 8-bit version of the game was released in 1991 for the Master System and Game Gear.
Reception
At the time of the game's release, Mean Machines gave the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version of the game a positive review, awarding the game a score of 95%, specifically praising the games graphics and playability. Mega placed it at 21st spot in their 1992 list of top Mega Drive games of all time. According to GameSpot in 2010, "it wasn't just the levels that made this game so good. The music, the controls, and Mickey's superb animation all contributed to one of the very best Disney games that would heavily influence those to follow." ACE called the Game Gear version "basically an unadulterated Mario clone—and not a bad one at that", giving it a score of eight out of 10. Entertainment Weekly picked the game as the #19 greatest game available in 1991, saying: "Perfect for younger players, but challenging enough to satisfy adults, too. A superbly animated Mickey bops through three different worlds—the Enchanted Forest, Toyland, and the Dessert Factory—in a quest to save Minnie from the evil witch Mizrabel."
Legacy
A sequel, Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, was released for the Master System in 1992 and for the Game Gear in 1993. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck followed for the Genesis in 1992. In 1994, Legend of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse was released for the Game Gear, with a Master System port following in 1998 exclusively in Brazil. , developed by DreamRift, was released in November 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS and serves as a spiritual successor to Castle of Illusion. In it, Mizrabel from Castle of Illusion returns as the main villain, but redesigned to resemble Maleficent. The game is also included in the first volume of Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection for PC.
Remake
A remake of the game, developed by Sega Studios Australia, was released for the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and PC in September 2013. The game features 2.5D gameplay with 3D graphics and was developed under the supervision of the original game's director, Emiko Yamamoto, with a reimagined soundtrack by Grant Kirkhope. The original game was made available as a pre-order bonus for the PSN version.
