A heart-felt and beautiful remake of the 1990 SEGA classic: Mickey Mouse and the Castle of Illusion. I had high expectations for this modern reimagining of what is ultimately my favourite game of the Fourth Generation.

+Every level, every detail lovingly recreated and updated
+Stunning art and music design
+Smooth and responsive at 1080P/60FPS
+Full controller support
+Brilliant take on the old Mega Drive classic
+Two music schemes to choose from (original soundtrack or modern soundtrack)

-Does not include the original 1990 game that is included with the retail console version. It's sad to see it missing from the PC release.
-Three to eight hours to complete depending on how completely you explore each level

For Disney fans, platforming fans, and fans of whimsy, this game is a buy!

(Suitable for all ages and skill levels)

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~ DIFFICULTY ~
🔲My grandma could play it
🔲 Easy
✅ Normal
🔲 Hard
🔲 A challenge to be reckoned
🔲 In the heat of confrontation, treat your opponent with respect


~ GRAPHICS ~
🔲 MS Paint
🔲 Bad
🔲 Meh
🔲 Graphics don't matter for this game
🔲 Good (nothing special)
✅ An original artistic direction
🔲 Beautiful
🔲 Masterpiece


~ STORY ~
🔲 This game has no story
🔲 Basic element of the contractual requirements
✅ It's there for people who want it
🔲 Well written
🔲 Leading to more in-depth researches/thoughts
🔲 A model to get inspired by


~ LENGTH ~
🔲 Long enough for a cup of tea
✅ Short
🔲 Average
🔲 Long
🔲 To infinity and beyond


~ MUSIC ~
🔲 Just filling noises
🔲 Trivial and uneventful
✅ Good and fitting the game's artistic dispositions
🔲 Memorable
🔲 Transcending wispers of a forgotten world


~ INTEREST ~
🔲 I would rather watch paint dry
🔲 Hard to enjoy
🔲 Repetitive and/or uninspired
✅ A good moment
🔲 Sticking out of the pack
🔲 You will remember it long after


~ REPLAYABILITY ~
🔲 A one-time experience
✅ Only for achievements
🔲 If you wait a few months/years (or with mods)
🔲 Definitely
🔲 Infinitely replayable (or almost)


~ BUGS ~
✅ Never heard of
🔲 Minor bugs
🔲 Can get annoying
🔲 Impacts the player's experience
🔲 The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs


~ REQUIREMENTS ~
🔲 You can run it on a microwave
✅ Low
🔲 Average
🔲 High end
🔲 NASA computer


~ PRICE ~
🔲 Free
🔲 Underpriced
✅ Perfect Price
🔲 Could be cheaper
🔲 Overpriced
🔲 Complete waste of money


~ WORTH BUYING ~
🔲 No
🔲 If you have nothing else to play
✅ Wait for sale
🔲 Yes

Perhaps I'm just a cynical bigot blinded by nostalgia, but in my eyes Disney has lost quite a bit of its magic in recent years. Instead of the delightfully imaginative works of their glory years, we've been "treated" to an abundance of derivative shovel-ware and cash grabs, all relying on their branding and marketing instead of actual quality to make them a success. A remake of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive classic, Castle of Illusion could have very well been just another mediocre licensed game, but to my absolute surprise and delight it is anything but; a whimsical joy of a platformer that pays homage to Mickey's past, while bringing him into the modern day just as enjoyable as we remember him.

Opening like the typical fairy tale it is, Mickey and Minnie are just setting out for a picnic when the witch Mizrabel spies the pair and gets jealous, swooping in and kidnapping Minnie, with the goal of using the damsel's youth and beauty to rejuvenate herself from the old hag she is. Mickey will have none of this however, and thus enters the titular Castle of Illusion to obtain the seven magic gems, cross the rainbow bridge, and get his girl back!

Like the 1990 original, CoI is a basic platformer whose strength lies in its imaginative levels and environments. Each stage is unique and bustling with creativity, from a giant library full of bouncing letters and slinking bookworms, to a world made entirely out of sweets that has you swimming through jello and bouncing on cookies floating in a milkshake river. There are so many charming little touches in every location you traverse that I couldn't begin to name them all (and doubt I saw even half of them). Sega perfectly captured the happy-go-lucky mannerisms of Mickey, right down to the trademark hop in his step and chip of his voice, an attention to detail which extends to every secret area and extra path, and makes for an immensely enjoyable game. I gleefully made my way through every level never once tiring of the seemingly endless stream of fantastical places I was sent to, but alas every good thing must come to an end and CoI does so all too soon.

For all its wonder and the many things it gets so very right, CoI is over in a heartbeat (around 2-3 hours to be exact). This short-live adventure seems to end even more abruptly, do to how easy it is to jump from one level to the next and how quickly and seamlessly they flow together. In a sense it's about as long as the average animated movie (which almost seems intentional, opening and ending with the camera panning out to a theater), but for a $15 game it had me wanting more.

I say that however with the caveat of wanting more because I loved my brief time with Mickey so much. Castle of Illusion is a pleasure and has given me hope that Disney is still capable of creating something with as much heart and wonder as what made them a household name in the first place. If Mickey Mouse has ever meant anything to you, you owe it to yourself to play this lively tribute that does as much for giving the icon a proper video game outing, as it does a starting point for what could (and hopefully does) come out in the near future. It's pure childish fun that capitalizes on its goal of being a lighthearted game that almost anyone can enjoy, recapturing the magic of yesteryear for the new and old generation alike.

You can read more of my writing on Kritiqal[kritiqal.com].

As a fan of the original Genesis/MegaDrive game, this was everything I wanted from a remake. Great gameplay and music, levels and bosses reworked enough to keep it fresh, and beautiful, fluid, cartoon-like graphics.

There are, however, issues with this game being a sloppy port stuck at 720p/30fps. Luckily the resolution and framerate have been fixed/hacked by the community. It's also been updated a couple times since I last played, so the issues might have been fixed by now. Regardless, the PC Gaming Wiki page should have any info you need to get it running right and it looks incredible at 1080p/60fps. As I recall you might want to force AA and AF through your video card for optimal visuals.
http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Castle_of_Illusion

Oh boy, let me tell you about the adventure my four-year-old daughter and I had while playing Castle of Illusion! This game was a total blast from start to finish.

First off, the graphics were stunning! The game looked like it was straight out of a cartoon. My daughter was completely mesmerized by the colorful world and the cute little characters running around. I gotta say, I was pretty impressed too!

The gameplay was a bit challenging, but not too difficult for my little one to handle. I loved how we had to jump over obstacles, defeat enemies, and collect gems to progress through the levels. My daughter especially enjoyed stomping on enemies with Mickey Mouse's big feet.

But let me tell you, the boss battles were no joke! My daughter and I had to work together to figure out the boss's weakness and defeat it. We high-fived each other every time we succeeded. It was such a great bonding moment for us.

Overall, Castle of Illusion was a fantastic game for both kids and adults. It had just the right amount of challenge and cuteness to keep us engaged. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a fun time with their little ones. Trust me, you won't regret it!

+ Every level has it's own unique style and features
+ Beautiful art style
+ Really enjoyable and imaginative platforming

+/- Very short, but satisfactory overall

Castle of Illusion will be removed/delisted from everywhere.

SEGA will loose the rights to the game, Disney owns Mickey Mouse, Contract ends after 3 Years.

<BUY NOW and KEEP IT FOREVER !!!>

My daughter demands me to play the final boss fight over and over again while she watches. I hated it at first, but now i mastered it and almost can do it with my eyes closed. It's a soothing and calm sensation. Maybe that's the "magic of love" that the game liked to tell me about.

My 4 years old daughter likes it so much and we play together. She has become so good, she manages to climb alone the last tower to the witch boss fight. Cool game when you have kids

The original Castle of Illusion was a sidescroller platformer for the Sega Genesis. It was released before Sonic and it helped establish the Genesis as a new superior console.

The game was recreated from the ground up. The stages now include 2.5d and 3d sections. In addition, they added collectables, like gems and cards, that unlock stages and skins for Mickey. However, you still have to beat the levels in a specific order so the amound of gems you collect doesn't matter much. In additon, since the game is targeted towards kids, it's extremely easy and short.

The music and the narration is great. It has that Disney fairytale feel.

The boss battles are reinovated. Even though the bosses are still beaten by jumping on them, the battles became more complex. The final battle against Miserabel was completely changed. I am not going to spoil anything but in my opinion it's the best and hardest part of the game.

The only negative part is that the game is extremely unstable. I only played for about 3 hours but I've seen a wide variety of glitches. In order to make it work somewhat consistently you have to run it in borderless window mode. However even in borderless, when you quit back to the title screen it will usually look all messed up and sometimes, once you launch the game for the second time it will freeze and won't work unless you reinstall it. One time the game worked but the lighting did't render properly and so the entire castle was pitch black. Thankfully I experienced no gameplay glitches, so if the game launches correctly it works fine.