Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion Preview

But how epic is Epic Mickey if it fits in a normal-size pocket?

There are some moments when I have to play a game I'm generally not hyped about. Then there are times when I get to play exactly what I want to play and actually get to play it. One of those games is Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for 3DS, which I travelled a total of 5000 miles just to play and tell you all about. Travel is hard, but worth the trouble!

Power of Illusion is a classically styled side-scroller by Warren Spector and the team of DreamRift and Junction Point, inspired by the classic Castle of Illusion from back in the Sega Genesis days. Mizrabel is back, and not only in control of the Castle of Illusion once again, but Minnie has inexplicably disappeared into the world of Wasteland. Of course, it's Mickey's job to bring her back, and to do it he'll need the two elements of great animation: paint and thinner—paint to bring things into the Wasteland and thinner to remove them from the Wasteland. And in classic fashion, Mickey's boppin' heads 2D Gangnam-style.


The two stages that were available, the Aladdin stages in particular, stood out as classic stages; I didn't even have to replay the classic Genesis version of Aladdin to recall the similarities, it leapt off the screen and lodged into my head. In fact, the whole game is designed to reflect not only classic Disney films (with Peter Pan, Aladdin, and Alice in Wonderland just to get the ball rolling), but classic video game history as well, both rejected and forgotten.

Using the touchscreen is both uncomplicated and essential, similar to Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (which was kickass, by the way, those of you that might've missed it), where the puzzle aspects doesn't impede on the action gameplay at all. Puzzles are handled on the bottom screen and pause the action up top, and a player can swap back and forth at will.


In theory, there are multiple pathways to get through every stage and reach every plateau, so there's some cool speedrun potential for anyone looking to blow through it as quickly as possible. I don't recommend that, though, as the whole thing's so pretty on the 3DS screen—why rush?

The game comes out November 18th of this year, and I have to admit, I'm getting damn excited about it. As much as I love my portable consoles, it's sometimes hard to get excited about a portable game, but I've found something to light that fire under my butt! The 3DS is shaping up well after its rocky start, don't cha think?