Toss back another throwback.
Classic Disney titles are some of the most revered in the minds of players now grown up. The likes of Aladdin, The Lion King, and Disney's Adventures in the Magic Kingdom among them (even if maybe Magic Kingdom is just in my head) are adored for their combination of control and beauty… something few companies back in those days had a reputation for doing. Lately the development team over there seems to be finding their way back to its stride and trying to keep it going with a fully reimagined classic.
Castle of Illusion, if you ask Sega, isn't just a remake of an old game but a new take on classic ideas. Mickey is tasked with defeating Mizrabel in her castle, but with Mizrabel's abilities, Mickey can't tell easily what is real and what isn't. So, in order to defeat her, he's got to play her game… namely finding the door that leads to the exit and discovering the demon boss in charge of each floor.
This title is not like other recently re-released classics, or upgraded ports like Ducktales Remastered, but a ground-up revamping of one of the great side-scrolling adventures of the past with some gorgeously drawn backgrounds and animations.
I played the alpha build, so it's still somewhat early on (though I was told it was pretty much finished) but scheduled for a late Summer, early Fall release. I hope what I was playing was still a bit early, because while it looked nice enough, the handling of Mickey was more than acceptably slippery. I've been playing platforming games for most of my life, and I was sliding off platforms like Lindsay Lohan slides in and out of rehab. In short: it could use a tightening up. Taking a half-second or so to completely stop is just unacceptable.
Castle of Illusion is gunning for release this year on PSN, XBLA and PC. Should they tighten the controls well enough, it should be a great throwback for old Genesis fans.
