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There’s no shortage of video games starring Disney’s ubiquitous character, Mickey Mouse. Still, many fans have a special place in their hearts for Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, a platforming adventure initially released in 1990 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.
Published and developed by Sega, the game follows Mickey as he sets out to rescue his gal Minnie Mouse from the evil clutches of a powerful witch named Mizrabel. Yeah I know, the plot is nothing to write home about, but the gameplay and level variety are quite enjoyable.
As Mickey travels room by room through the titular castle, each door uncovers new whimsical environments filled with intuitive platforming challenges and a wide array of enemies to defeat. Levels include an enchanted forest that gets spooky after dark, a library that leads to a land made of candy, and a clock tower complete with moving sprockets and pendulums.
Controls are more than serviceable with mostly tight responsiveness, though its a little more floaty feeling than many other platformers. The game is quite short but the densely packed levels give the adventure enough weight to stand strong among a sea of great Genesis titles. The graphics feature beautifully animated sprites that highly accurate to the source material. Levels are both eye catching and creatively designed, allowing players to fall into the cartoon world as much its 16-bit graphics would allow.
The game was popular enough to command 8-bit versions for Sega Master System and the handheld Game Gear. In 1998, it was bundled with Quackshot Starring Donald Duck for a Japanese exclusive Sega Saturn release. Then in 2019, fans were pleased to learn it was included as part of the game lineup on the successful Sega Genesis Mini console alongside a slew of other classics. Additionally, a 2.5D Castle of Illusion remake was released in 2013 to positive reception.
