Few names are bigger than Mickey Mouse, and bringing a faithful rendition of such a well-known character to a console that was facing a seemingly insurmountable battle against Nintendo was a daunting task. Of course, more bits don’t necessarily equate to better games, particularly those that have the burden of doing justice to such a highly regarded brand. The plot was right out of a Disney cartoon, and the union of Mickey Mouse and the new 16-bit hardware sounded like a perfect match. Mickey pursues the witch to her castle, where he must brave multiple stages of danger to collect the magic gems he needs to create a rainbow bridge to Minnie’s tower prison. It shares the tale of an evil witch named Mizrabel, who kidnaps (mousenaps?) Minnie Mouse out of jealousy of her beauty and popularity.

A Classic Game Takes FormĬastle of Illusion arrived early into the Genesis’ lifespan, when Sega was still trying to carve out an identity for the fledgling machine. Today’s powerful home machines make this an easy feat, but at the turn of the ‘90s, when the Genesis was still in its infancy and most consoles paled in horsepower to arcade boards and home computers, it was a much harder vision to realize. That devotion is the key element and the secret to its enduring favor among Sega fans. What makes Castle of Illusion so memorable is how faithfully it recreated the personality of its source material. There’s a certain element to Disney productions that makes them timeless, even when technology has advanced and consumer tastes have shifted. The first game in the beloved Illusion series, Castle of Illusion, is widely hailed as a Genesis classic, and fans still regard its unique blend of Disney charm, simple gameplay, and beautiful presentation as one of the prime examples of platforming excellence of the era.Īs polished as the fluid and tight gameplay, excellent visuals, and enjoyable music of Castle of Illusion were, its charm extends beyond that. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Quackshot Starring Donald Duck, were the high point of pre- Sonic 16-bit platforming, and they were followed up by the co-op dazzler World of Illusion. Long before furry mascots flooded Sega’s 16-bit console, there was a mouse and a duck, and they starred in two of the most wonderful platformer’s in the system’s library. For many gamers who grew up with the Genesis, some of their fondest memories with the console came from the series of early Disney games published by Sega.

Illusion games 2017