World Of Illusion

Written by Tom Clare in MegaDrive Game Reviews, Monday 14 August, 2006

Released: 1992
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: SEGA
Genre: 2D Platformer
Platform: Mega-Drive

It's almost become a custom these days in the gaming industry to see a blockbuster film hit the cinemas in all its glitzy glory, and then be quickly followed up by a lukewarm video game tie-in, that plays on its licence to sell rather than its quality. This got me thinking about Disney, who seem to have become entrenched in this all too-common situation of late; I racked my brains, trying to come up with one significant gaming release to come from the American giants in the past decade or so. I drew a complete blank.

But it wasn't always this way. Once upon a time, in a land not so very far-far away, Disney's games were much-admired, beautifully-crafted works of art, that demanded a place in any self-respecting gamer's collection. Where did it all go wrong then? Who knows... but that debate can wait for another time. In the late eighties and early nineties, SEGA and Disney could do no wrong; one-by-one the likes of Quackshot, Aladdin and The Lion King would roll straight from their creative conveyor-belts, and into the arms of grateful gamers young and old - and World Of Illusion represents the pinnacle of their excellence.

First released back in 1992 for the Sega Mega-Drive, World Of Illusion was a slice of pure platform-gaming magic. The oft-overlooked sequel to Castle Of Illusion, WOI begins as we see Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck practicing their magic skills at a backstage location, as they ready themselves for a magic-show performance. However, the pair then discover a mysterious portal. Being the ever-curious anthropomorphic wonders that they are, Mickey and Donald decide to see what lies within. The bad news for them (and good news for us) is, the two have been unwittingly transported into a bizarre world of magic, with their only hope of salvation being to conquer a range of hazardous levels and defeat the evil magician who had tricked them into going there in the first place.

It's everything the modern 3D Disney games are not; thoughtfully-designed, gorgeously-presented, jam-packed with originality and clever ideas, high levels of playability and virtually no gameplay flaws to speak of.

World Of Illusion is a 2D side-scrolling platform game and, depending on whether you play as Mickey or Donald, the path of your adventure will take a different path. Though their levels are different, the manner of control for the two is more or less than same - each has a 'dash' feature; an attack in the form of a swipe of their magic capes; jump; crouch; crawl and several combinations of the above. At various points throughout the game, it becomes essential to utilise every one of these abilities and thankfully the player is aided by near-perfect, wonderfully fluent controls; it's an absolute doddle to pick up and play - even the most inexperienced of gamers will have mastered it in five minutes flat. It's nice to see the developers had their priorities right in this case.

The level-design is on a par with fellow-platform classic of the time Sonic The Hedgehog. But whilst Sonic was designed first and foremost for speedy and exhilarating action, World Of Illusion goes at a more leisurely pace, showing off its innovations one at a time and building on a solid, simple foundation. Whilst the basic gameplay is very much your standard Mega-Drive platformer (defeating enemies, jumping over pitfalls, avoiding hazards), every area is totally individual in its appearance and quirks. Things kick-off in a forest with giant trees and beanstalks, and before you know it you're having to tread softly across brittle spider webs in a jewel mine. Before you can say 'Alakazam!', you're running across giant-sized table tops using staple guns as launch-pads to reach higher places, and rulers as a means of getting across gaps too large to jump. There's even a Hansel and Gretel themed Candyland level, where you can sink through flooring made of jelly!

Often though, it's the less conventional sections that make for the most memorable gameplay experiences. Again, there are too many examples to list here, but the best include a flying section on a magic-carpet, an underwater level which sees Mickey/Donald swimming inside a bubble, and my personal favourite, Mickey being launched into space on a champagne cork, prompting a short obstacle course that requires you having to steer him in between golden asteroids before he falls back to Earth once more. There are also a range of boss characters scattered about the game that highlight why the game is so good for youngsters - no boss is radically difficult, though most follow a certain attack pattern or routine that needs to be sussed out before they can be effectively tackled.

Visually, World Of Illusion is undoubtedly among the most impressive games of its generation. Not only are the levels vibrant, awash with colour and alive with activity, the character sprites are also superbly designed and detailed. When it's at its very best, WOI almost gives you the feeling that you are part of a cartoon; dictating the antics of those in the starring roles, with regularly amusing sprite animations, unusual (and varied) enemies and an undeniable urge to see what the game will throw at you next. Presentation-wise it's faultless, with a marvellous animated intro and some lovely-looking picture-book style animations in-between levels adding still further to the games considerable charm.

The music is also very pleasing - there are no orchestral symphonies of course, this is a Mega-Drive game after all and therefore 16-bit sound, but the jolly tunes and cute voicing (Mickey and Donald have limited speech used for occasional circumstances) are great and fit the various settings with aplomb; from the laid-back lilts of the beach level to the creepy, haunting jingle of the sunken ship section, it all makes for a rather theatrical, atmospheric feel.

So World Of Illusion looks a dream and plays more-or-less faultlessly. So where's the catch I hear you ask? Well, inevitably when it comes to making games designed predominately for the children's market, the chink in the armour is usually located in the longevity of the package. World Of Illusion is not a difficult game to finish, and given its infinite continues and even a password feature, most experienced gamers will plough through it in no time at all. However, the fact that there are two pleasingly different takes on the adventure from the point of Mickey and Donald is impressive, and even more so when you consider a third scenario in the form of the cooperative two-player setup. Children in particular will love this, as it encourages teamwork - Donald for instance is too fat to squeeze under certain crawl spaces, but with a helping hand from Mickey, he can be pulled through. Elsewhere, you need to jointly work a mine-cart, and use ropes to help pull each other up to hard-to-reach places. Top marks to the developers for this - they could have simply provided a scaled-down version of the one-player experience but it proves to be far more than that.

World Of Illusion probably just falls short of matching Sonic 2, as its long-term play is hampered rather significantly by the lack of high-score boards and difficulty settings. A 'Hard' setting would have been encouraging, as whilst the learning-curve and overall difficulty level of the adventure are fine for the youngsters, adults maybe disappointed at the ease with which they reach the end credits. I was surprised to see the Mega-Drive cartridge is relatively commonplace on eBay - costing between 50p and £1, which is something of a bargain despite its considerable age. Or, you could download the ROM and play the game on your PC (which isn't technically legal unless you own the original cartridge) - a nice way of playing it for free.

World Of Illusion is ultimately a great kids game because SEGA and Disney stuck by a golden rule that seems to have been forgotten of late - that just because a game is aimed at a younger market, doesn't mean that's an excuse to water-down the quality of the gameplay under the guise of making for a 'simpler playing experience'. The graphics are cute, but filled with charm and finesse; the music is twee, but well-arranged and well-suited to the environments; the gameplay is uncomplicated, but engaging and enjoyable. Yes, it is short, but you'll be hooked right to the end, wanting to see what this interactive film has in store for you next. It produces more ambition, originality and diversity in ten minutes than most games of this ilk do in their entirety. It's a real shame that it hasn't been re-released since - it could certainly teach some of the more recent GameBoy Advance platformers a thing or two. Perhaps one day SEGA will realise that World Of Illusion is worth a port to such a handheld system and maybe, just maybe, Disney will one day remember that all games with their name on it should have this kind of care and attention lavished upon it. A real retro classic.

Leave a Reply