Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion Review, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating
As regular readers of the site can no doubt attest, I have never been shy about expressing my love of Disney. So I freely admit that at least part of the enjoyment I derived from Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is a result of how it serves as a wonderful love letter to all things Disney, particularly in terms of the company’s storied video game past. Yet, even if one were to strip away all of PoI’s various Disney elements, what remains is a quality 2D action-adventure title of the highest level that recalls the best of the gaming’s past days. The nostalgia factor may be high in Power of Illusion, but even those who do not know their Ducktales on the NES from their Aladdin on the Genesis will find in the game a gorgeous and well-designed experience that should, in the best Disney tradition, bring smiles to the young and old alike.

Once again, all is not well in the Wasteland, that place that all things forgotten and Disney call home. This time around the problem comes from none other than the main antagonist of the classic SEGA Genesis Illusion series, Mizrabel the Evil Witch. Well known in her day for many struggles with Mickey (and later Donald) in the three games that compose the Illusion series, Mizrabel has long since been forgotten by the majority of people today and this in turn traps her in the Wasteland like so many once great Disney stars before her. Not one to take such an ignominious fate lying down, Mizrabel again calls upon the power of her once infamous Castle of Illusion to trap a wide array of Disney stars inside of it. Mizrabel plans to drain all the heart (the essence which lets individuals exit from the Wasteland at will) from these trapped characters, but once again she has failed to count on the pluck and determination of one particular mouse. Summoned back to the Wasteland by his brother Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and with his magic paintbrush in tow, Mickey sets out to defeat Mizrabel once and for all.

Neverland, Agrabah, and Atlantica serve as the three main locations in addition to the Castle of Illusion proper recreated in the game.

By all rights, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion should feel like a retread. After all, on the surface many of its story elements might sound familiar to fans of a certain series featuring keys as the main weapon and there is no question that an overlap exists. The presence of the “real” versions of Donald and Goofy (as opposed to their animatronic Wastelands counterparts) who quickly take up similar roles to the ones they usually play in the Kingdom Hearts series in particular helps to sell this feeling. However, Power of Illusion ultimately has enough unique elements to let it stand out from both its console counterparts and any other Disney game/series of recent years.

While not possessing the deepest plot I have ever seen in a video game, there is a surprisingly strong focus on the story side of things in Power of Illusion in the form of the various Disney luminaries Mickey will help rescue throughout his latest stay in the Castle of Illusion. Every character tends to have a lot to say and plenty of amusing and entertaining dialogue exchanges await players prepared to talk to every character a multitude of times. Admittedly, direct interactions basically follow the Kingdom Hearts model of limiting actual face-to-face time between most characters to Mickey (and eventually Donald and Goofy as well once they are rescued), which is something of a missed opportunity. Even with this (no doubt Disney-enforced) restriction, characterization is plentiful, with every individual having a lot to say over the course of at least several conversations and side-quests. Even some of the classic Disney villains can be recruited to the cause and their interactions with Mickey are a particular delight.

You could say I got really… Hooked on this game. I REGRET NOTHING!

In terms of gameplay, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion has all the right moves and then some. Something of a mix of styles between a classic 2D platformer and a Metroidvania game, PoI gives players a wide variety of abilities to call upon in the course of their quest to defeat Mizrabel. To begin with, there is the classic head-stomp but the developers at DreamRift have added a little twist to this familiar move. Mickey cannot simply jump on enemy heads without taking damage, but instead must press the jump button again to launch the actual attack. If timed correctly, Mickey is then launched back up into the air to a height he otherwise would not be able to achieve. It is a great system that really allows for some fun platforming and environmental puzzles while also forcing players to stay on their toes at all times. Mickey’s other main moves include a powerful spin-attack that can be performed both on the ground and in midair and his ever reliable magic paintbrush for taking out foes at a distance. Much like in the console EM games, the paintbrush has two settings, thinner and paint, but unlike in those games, both settings kill enemies outright. It is the rewards that differ, with paint handing out hearts to recharge health while thinner gives out the e-tickets that serve as the game’s main currency.

Beyond its role in direct combat, the game all but requires that players make extensive use of the paintbrush to both paint-in and erase various items and characters littered around levels. To effectively do so, players will need to make use of the stylus and the bottom touch screen (which also serves as a vital in-game map) but fortunately any time they touch that screen (or the X button) the game instantly pauses the action going on above. This makes starting up paintbrush related sequences relatively painless and I never found that messing around with this mechanic impeded play of the rest of the game. To be fair, I long since have mastered the art of playing the 3DS while keeping the stylus in the off fingers of my primary hand, so other players’ mileage may vary in this regard. I also could see some feeling that these painting sequences occur a bit too often or threaten to interrupt the flow of action, but I cannot see this complaint standing as a major impediment to enjoyment of the game.

This is one game where… Sea-ing is believing. YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Finally, players can eventually equip up to five sketches from a pool of eight and can then, provided they have enough paint, bring these sketches to life for a variety of effects. Sketches range from summoning characters like Scrooge and Goofy for an assist, to creating a treasure chest that randomly dispenses health power-ups and e-tickets, to creating a platform anywhere a player needs one. Sketches can be invaluable in the course of the game and especially in later levels when the difficulty level begins to rise significantly. All painting in the game involves playing a simple but well done mini-game where players must trace the outline of the item in question. Both accuracy and speed count and the better the player does, the better the final item is. So, if a player sketches a moving platform for instance but botches things up too badly, then half of the resulting platform may be occupied by spikes. Players can always erase the sketched item and try again, but keep in mind that paint and thinner reserves are not unlimited and will only recharge to half-full on their own.

Moment to moment, Power of Illusion tends to hew closer to its platforming roots and indeed the game is even divided up into a series of distinct levels (each then further divided up into two sections; this divide also serves as the only checkpoint during a level) that are accessed via a world map as opposed to a single unbroken world. However, the game’s Metroidvania side comes to the forefront between levels where players will be able to approach the various Disney characters they have rescued to undertake a wide variety of sidequests. To do this players must return to the game’s central hub, dubbed The Fortress, and travel to the room that serves as the home of a given character and/or set of characters. Each room starts out looking fairly shabby, but as the player completes sidequests for the occupants of a room or spends stars awarded for completing levels, these rooms will improve until they eventually duplicate a classic locale from a given character’s respective world. In turn, these improvements unlock even more sidequests and it is not unusual for each room to present players with anywhere from three to six sidequests each. With over 25 rooms altogether in the fortress, the side content really adds up.

I just wanted to say to DreamRift… Fangs for everything. Oooooh Yeaaaaaaah!

Sidequests are especially worth completing because they hand out some of the best stat increases (like lengthening the paint/thinner bars or letting Mickey shoot faster) along with the majority of the equip-able sketches. There are two in-game stores where players can purchase other useful upgrades to health, attack strength, and how much paint or thinner is used when attacking or painting. As previously stated, the difficulty of later levels is not insignificant and many all but demand players make at least some investments towards these upgrades. Fortunately, e-tickets tend to be liberally scattered throughout levels and sidequests can also be a great source for extra spending money as well. Keep in mind though that even with a fully powered up Mickey, Power of Illusion never becomes a cakewalk and at least some skill will be needed to reach the best optional content.

The one downside to sidequests in Illusion is that many of them revolve around backtracking to previously completed levels to find whatever individual item or personage the requester is in need of. And since PoI only has twelve levels altogether, this means players interested in completing every sidequest in the game should expect to play through any give level multiple times. To be fair, levels in Illusion are massive affairs, with each section of a given level tending to have multiple side paths and plenty of hidden nooks and crannies. Additionally, the levels do change up some during subsequent play-throughs, with new obstacles and enemy types/placements regularly being introduced to increase the challenge of completing a level on the second or third go around. Overall, a straight run-through of Power of Illusion sans sidequests will run most players around five to six hours with double that time for those who want to complete everything the game has to offer.

OK no more puns. I promise… Witch game are we talking about again?

One factor that will contribute greatly to the desire to see everything Power of Illusion has up its sleeves is the truly remarkable level of production values the game brings to the table. Visually, this game is like a Disney cartoon come to life and everything from the environments to the characters are a delight to behold. There is one word in particular for graphics like these and that word is “painstaking.” It is clear that a lot of time and effort was put into getting the visuals of the game right down to even the smallest detail. Speaking of details, there are some particularly amusing ones for long-time gamers who have played past Disney-based games. Take Uncle Scrooge for example. Earlier I mentioned players could summon him via the sketch system and when this is done, Scrooge arrives on the scene using his cane as a pogo stick à la a certain famous game from Capcom. Everything from the pose to the animations of this attack perfectly duplicates the way Scrooge would pogo in the NES Ducktales games and the same is true for all the other characters who get to go back into action in PoI, both good and bad, that also have 8-bit & 16-bit titles in their past. Aurally, the game does not feature the full voice acting of Epic Mickey 2, opting instead for brief voice clips, but it makes up for this with a full orchestra performing its excellent score that consists of original tunes. Most of these pieces at least recall elements of classic Disney music, but not without the slavish recreation that can lead to the overly repetitious music that has been featured at times in titles like Kingdom Hearts.

It has been a good year for the 3DS in general. Games like Code of Princess, Resident Evil: Revelations, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and New Super Mario Bros. 2 all stand as examples of a system truly coming into its own. Additionally, at least one high-profile title (WayForward’s Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?!) awaits release later this week, but even so I feel confident in proclaiming that Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is my favorite game for the system this year and high up on my all-time list as well. DreamRift set out to pay tribute to the much beloved Illusion series with PoI, while also making a game capable of standing as a quality title in its own right and they have succeeded in doing just that in a truly definitive manner.

Both friends and enemies aplenty await you in the dreaded Castle of Illusion.

The combination of amazing production values, strong writing, and expertly designed gameplay has led to a title that feels familiar yet fresh at the same time. While I might wish the game featured more levels, what is present is both substantive and of an incredibly high level of quality. Combine that with perfect controls the equal to a 2D Mario game and what is left is a potent package that should have little trouble justifying its price tag for those who buy the game. Whatever the future may hold for the Epic Mickey series, its handheld side has staked its claim with quality and style to spare. Here is hoping that this is not the last time DreamRift takes players on an adventure into the Wasteland in the years come.

A review copy of this game was provided by the publisher on 3DS for the purposes of this review. The reviewer spent approximately 15 hours playing the game.

Also, feel free to follow the reviewer on Twitter @bigred_13 please if you feel so inclined.

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion Review

By Shaun K.

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is my favorite game for the 3DS.