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Castle
of Illusion / Fushigi no Oshiro Daibōken
キャッスル・イリュージョン ／ ふしぎのお城大冒険
(1990) |
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Back
in the early days of the Mega Drive, there really wasn't
much going on in the cutesy platform game stakes.
The disappointing Alex
Kidd Tenkū Majō (1989) had been and gone, and besides
an excellent port of Daimakaimura
(Aug '89) there wasn't much of genuine interest until
the arrival of Sonic
in mid-1991. Well, not much, except for 'Castle of Mysteries
Great Adventure', a lovely little title starring Mickey
Mouse.
Known internationally as 'Castle of Illusion', this
is smooth, crisp, and immediately accessible action
platform game whose visuals were the talk of the town
in its day.
For good reason: the game's characters, backdrops and
set-pieces are meticulous and colourful, each level
is beautifully staged, and the musical score is a real
achievement, especially given how early this title came
out. Every sound channel is expertly used to churn out
a memorable score of infectiously melodious ballads.
The game sees Mickey work his way through this said
'Castle of Illusion', a mysterious mansion full of different
rooms. The problem is that behind each door, bizarre
dimensions await: haunted forests, toy rooms gone mad,
giant cups of coffee... The aim is to reach the very
top of this crazy mansion to face Mizrabel, an evil
witch that has taken that world-famous sex bomb Minnie
hostage. Why? It's not quite clear.
Who cares anyway, the game is a genuine pleasure to
play. The layout may seem a little basic and slow-paced
at times, but cranked up in 'Hard' mode it's a relatively
mean challenge: you start off with only 2 units of energy,
and power-ups are scarce.
If anything, Castle of Illusion remains surprisingly
enduring considering its age. There is a distinct simplicity
and 'artisan' feel to the backdrops and gameplay that
allow it to keep a very immediate appeal; much more
so than the god-awful follow-up Fantasia
(Nov 1991) and Donald Duck -starring QuackShot
(Dec 1991). |
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The
game was a massive success in its day, and was showered
with praise from both media and players alike. It made
a relatively smooth transition onto the Game Gear in
1991, in a simplified but still highly effective conversion.
The MD original was even re-released on the Sega
Saturn in 1998, in a dedicated 'Sega Ages' retrospective
pack that features both Mickey's Castle of Illusion
and Donald Duck's Quackshot.
Make no mistake: this is a Mega Drive classic. A humble,
timeless, simple and straitforward videogame that provides
plenty of thrills and spills, while honouring its namesake
well by staying firmly in the spirit of Disney: everything
is cute, nature is an enemy to be feared, and Mickey's
arse is a lethal weapon. |
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I
Love Mickey Mouse - Fushigi no Oshiro
Daibōken
アイラブミッキーマウス
ふしぎのお城大冒険
MEGA DRIVE |
DETAILS
| Format |
Mega
Drive |
| Released |
21
Nov 1990 |
| Publisher |
Sega |
| Product
ID |
G-4042 |
| Size
(cm) |
17.8
x 12.8 x 2.5 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.18 |
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A
beautiful little platformer,
full of flair and charm, with
excellent replay value and
a catchy soundtrack.
Great fun even if you don't
love Mickey Mouse.
Standard MD packaging, 4Mbit
cartridge, colour manual. |
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Mickey
Mouse no Castle Illusion
ミッキーマウスの
キャッスル・イリュージョン
GAME GEAR |
DETAILS
| Format |
Game
Gear |
| Released |
23
Mar 1991 |
| Publisher |
Sega |
| Product
ID |
G-3301 |
| Size
(cm) |
11
x 9.5 x 2 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.08 |
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One
of the earliest platform games
for the Game Gear, also one
of the best.
Layout is similar to the Mega
Drive original, with simplified
visuals and stages.
Standard GG cardboard packaging,
2Mbit cartridge, colour booklet. |
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I
Love Mickey Mouse - Fushigi no Oshiro
Daibōken
I Love Donald Duck - Georgia Oh no
Hihō
アイラブミッキーマウス ふしぎのお城大冒険
アイラブドナルドダック グルジア王の秘宝 |
DETAILS
| Format |
Sega
Saturn |
| Released |
15
Oct 1998 |
| Publisher |
Sega |
| Product
ID |
GS-9179 |
| Size
(cm) |
14.2
x 12.4 x 1 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.10 |
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Special
re-issue of Sega's first two
Disney platformers for the
MD:
-
Castle of Illusion (1990)
- QuackShot
(1991)
Marks the 13th and final release
of the Sega Saturn Sega
Ages series.
CD case, Sega Saturn CD-ROM
disc, colour booklet, spine
card. |
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