Castle of Illusion Longplay (Game Gear) [60 FPS]

Developed and published by Sega in 1991.
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Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse was originally released for Sega's 16-bit Mega Drive console in 1990 and I remember it was the pack-in title for consoles sold in the UK, at least before Sonic the Hedgehog was released.
With the 8-bit Master System console still available and Sega's mobile Game Gear platform recently released, there was still a market for games on these systems and Sega released an 8-bit version of Castle of Illusion a year later in 1991.
The game sees Mickey's girlfriend kidnapped and whisked away by the wicked witch, Mizrabel. Mickey sets off in hot pursuit, eventually arriving at the mysterious Castle of Illusion. To free Minnie, Mickey must first collect the seven gems of the Rainbow from several themed levels, before preparing for a showdown with Mizrabel herself.
As for the gameplay, it is a steadfastly "cutesy" platformer clearly designed to be family friendly, but this is by no means detrimental to the end product. Licensing Disney cartoon characters to feature in video games was a common trend during the 16-bit console era, and many of them were of very high quality.
Players are given the choice as to which stage they wish to tackle, so it's possible to leave a more difficult stage till later if desired. The levels themselves are divided into a series of interconnected rooms of varying size; the smallest rooms are typically a single screen's width is size, whereas larger rooms can scroll both horizontally.
As mentioned earlier, each level is based around a particular theme, such as a forest world, over-sized cakes and candy and even the inside of a giant clock-tower. Enemies and obstacles consistent with the level theme can be found within.
The enemies themselves can be defeated in traditional platforming game fashion by jumping on their heads, or to be more precise, by getting Mickey to perform a butt-slam on their heads - Mickey's buttocks must be as hard as concrete blocks...
In addition to butt-slams, Mickey can also pick up blocks and barrels and use them as ranged weapons by throwing them at opponents. To pick up a block, the player must push Mickey against the block until he grips it, at which point pressing one of the control buttons will grab it. Unfortunately, getting Mickey to grip the blocks can be quite awkward and you'll occasionally find he just continues running into the side of it; certain sections of the game require you to grab and throw blocks with precision timing and the fiddly mechanics can be somewhat frustrating.
Fortunately, the rest of the controls are decent and controlling Mickey is never too difficult. The only thing that takes some getting used to is the jump distance, which changes depending on how fast you were running before actually pressing the jump button; trying to leap across a wide gap without taking a sufficient run-up will see Mickey plummeting to his doom if you're not careful.
Fortunately, Mickey is quite a tough old mouse and is able to take a number of hits from enemies before losing a life. The amount of hit points remaining is indicated by the red stars shown in the bottom-left of the screen. Health can be regained by finding pieces of cake contained in bonus treasure chests scattered throughout the levels; a slice of cake restores a single health point, whilst a whole cake completely restores all health. Maximum health can be increased by finding star blocks, but these only appear on specific levels and can be easy to miss.
I was particularly impressed with the quality of the graphics and animation in this game, especially the main Mickey sprite. The attention to detail is particularly good and the designers managed to capture the essence of the cartoon character quite well.
The game features some simple but effective audio. Each level ha a background tune that fits in with the overall theme of the level, and there are plenty of cartoon-sounding effects when Mickey jumps or performs various actions.
I suppose that the main issue with the game is that it's not very long at all and can be beaten fairly quickly with practice. Even so, it's difficult not to be charmed by the overall presentation of the game and it's still a title that's easy to recommend, particularly to younger players.
#retrogaming

[@blaqpirate]

This game music been stuck in my head for 30 years. This was one of my favorite game gear games!

[@mordecai806]

years 90?

[@blaqpirate]

​​@@mordecai806ep, this game was released for the game gear in 1990! One of my first and favorite games I had at the wee age of 10!

[@stellaartois303]

My heads gonna explode with nostalgia 🤯😂🤣

[@cpman1987]

I had this game 25 years ago! How in the world could a young child figure out how to play this game?! It was super-duper difficult! I eventually beat it! Thanks Game Genie!! Awesome Walk-through 🎮 !! Great Memories!!

[@pe3117]

Mine too!!!! When I was a child I play it!!!! 🥺

[@TheInkPitOx]

Hearing the music during that "Once upon a mouse" sent me back to when I was ten.

[@ChillingCrowley]

What a trip down memory lane. It's impressive how the megadrive and master system versions were totally different and not just a port, same as the Sonic games. Sega were awesome in this era.

[@lo74960]

Mickey sur Game gear et cette musique de fin de jeu et 30 ans passée ça passe tellement vite

[@CA787]

I remember playing this on the game gear when I was like 4 and had no idea wtf I was doing lol

[@kannonkarter8541]

@Mekhi Beckett Yup, I have been using Instaflixxer for since december myself :D

[@cpman1987]

This game wasn't meant for children!! Unless they had the I.O. of 190!! I had this game back in 1995. Very hard to complete every single level!! But A Great Sega Game Gear Game!! I own it today, and now I'm 53 years old, and still playing it!!

[@illkid86]

​@cpman1987 the game gear outdated but I cherish it my all time favorite handheld

[@pe3117]

When I was a child I play it in my Game Gear....what a memory!!!! 😭

[@teabagNBG]

this was sooo hard as a kid... i miss these days LOL

[@sarnobat2000]

The stage with the moving screen must have been my earliest memory of anxiety.

[@malcolmar]

What a great game. I loved it when the 8-bit Game Gear games where not down just down graded ports of their 16-bit counterparts but their own unique experiences. Thank you for sharing.

[@Jussy833]

Aaah, the memories!

[@sternpio]

I died in the castle and I had to start from the very beginning 😭 I nearly broke my Game Gear 😂

[@shirazulchowdhury24]

This was my first game on the gamegear!!! Never completed it!! Lol. I think I got to the witch but never beat her! Man it still looks good...just how I remember it.❤❤❤

[@GuyRification]

Oh the memories. My first game cart!

[@somegreatdj]

This game was a looming cloud over my head for so many years, thanks for sharing the light at the end of the tunnel. Cheers! :)

[@MB-gl5eh]

I still have this game and my game gear still works 😊

[@ChillingCrowley]

How's the screen holding up? I sold mine about 15yrs ago kind of regret it although it's easy to emulate I guess

[@p6mkq]

27:30 As a kid this stage REALLY SCARED ME.

[@neobluemage]

The first game I ever completed as a kid (i think i was 5-6 yrs old) This along with Psychic World on the Game Gear. Thanks Dad. 💙

[@grimgroove]

Great game this, such wonderful memories. Played this until I dropped, but never got passed one of the ghost jumps (30:30) at the final level as a kid.

[@BobbyManford]

I remember playing this when I was about 12yrs old and thinking the graphics were amazing 😂😂

[@BIGNOIDS]

They were for it's time tbf.

[@Jwm367t]

for an 8 bit game they are possibly the best

[@ChillingCrowley]

They really were for the master system. Lucky dime caper, sonic and asterix the gaul were great platformers with impressive graphics for the console they were running on

[@mariowario5945]

I played this on the real gg, and didnt know what most enemies were supposed to be because of the bad screen

[@ernandalcolmo7250]

Games were more fun when controller had less buttons. Back in the day: Fun Right now: Press A To jump; Press B to throw; Jump on an enemy to kill it; Press L+B+down to dive and so on.

[@michaelbennett6550]

Was a great game this was and was a part of my childhood 👍

[@arnauddeconti7271]

cette musique me fout la chair de poule.... j'en ai passé des heures sur ce jeu !

[@turntablethomas2584]

For being Disney side-scrollers, these Mickey Mouse games are on par with Super Mario they’re that good

[@skilldren]

Back when extra lives were called 'tries'

[@shaunj66]

This was a requirement by Disney who didn't want the idea of lives/death to be in the game

[@doomer8348]

@@shaunj66 Interesting, where did you read this?

[@anthonys9058]

God knows how many batteries I went through playing this one... Never finished it either

[@TheInkPitOx]

You should've gotten the potato

[@MrNogarelli]

So much better than the Mega Drive (Genesis) version

[@yop506]

Nop

[@gargervon8697]

Never had a Game Gear as a child, but I remember playing this game at Perkins back when they would let kids borrow a Game Boy or Game Gear while they waited for their food to come.

[@officegossip]

Damn what kinda restaurant does that!

[@gargervon8697]

@@officegossip It didn't last very long, much to my dismay back then. XD I'm sure a fair number of them "grew legs and walked away," if you know what I mean, and imagine the expense.

[@mordecai806]

melhor musica dos anos 90!

[@ABTFFanboy]

My favorite game all time ofc.

[@alexettor]

Meraviglioso! E quanto tempo per finirlo! ❤️

[@thelegendtl]

I just got a game gear with this game. It’s pretty cool!

[@kaneda4102]

The best version right here

[@nickbaker4063]

The graphics are stunning

[@blossom6309]

My favorite game

[@WildWazz]

Nostalgia

[@bluecoolboy4755]

16:16 ( The " A " looks like an Among Us crewmate ) Me : Uh Oh..........

[@pontredreal01]

Nostalgia :'(

[@ste118]

You don't know a lot of secret places and treasures :)

[@p6mkq]

Still, he still finished the game smoothly.

[@ladyspace849]

That's what I've thought but still he he didn't die as much as I would now

[@garfieldlazylasagna1234]

ima get this game when I buy a game gear

[@dvdvideo5013]

It is played on Genesis Plus GX emulator. He also turned on Game Gear Extended Screen. Game Gear Extended Screen means 256×192 SMS mode

[@gone5266]

Castle of Illusion is for Master System, Game Gear, Sega Mega Drive / Genesis, PS3, and IOS Android.

[@geomarioproducoes7370]

O que è clássico não pode ser esquecido ✌😀✌

[@evandrolima2328]

Joguei muito na minha influência belos tempos

[@TheInkPitOx]

I had this as a kid. The remake is good but nothing compared to the original.

[@GuilhermeSouza-lw5kz]

Sensacional. Lindo jogo.

[@paddyoconnor5362]

Wicked game! Had the mega drive version but this looks really nice.never had the chance to play on a game gear but am I right in thinking that it has the same capability as the master system ? Great vid :)

[@rat9625]

I want to say this version has the same rom as the master system

[@cpman1987]

@@rat9625 This definitely is NOT the Sega Game Gear version!! Because on that system the graphics were all "grainy" and Pixelalted!! This version whatever it is, is super enhanced with the graphics and movement of Mickey!👌 Damn!!! Walt Disney Inc. is rich!! I wish I had bought some Disney stock back in 1991, when Disney licensed this to Sega!! Damn I'd be rich as "Scrooge McDuck" today! Ha,Ha,Ha!! Great Game though!!

[@dvdvideo5013]

It is recorded on Genesis Plus GX emulator using RetroArch. He used Game Gear Extended Screen ON/OFF option

[@donlogan428]

​@@cpman1987 This is the game gear because I had it and it's the same

[@ladyspace849]

​@@cpman1987first I thought that it's exactly the same as in the game gear version but then I remembered that I didn't see any seahorses in the last level and thought it might be something else...

[@robertojuarez959]

I have a question, how many versions did this game have and which was the first or what was inspired by the 2013 game🤔😅🤨😮⁉️

[@_Majoras]

the game gear version is more colorful than the master system

[@FrozenRemix1]

a solid platformer.

[@officegossip]

I never got past the donut and sweets stage. The game didn’t allow you to continue past a certain point on easy mode and I found the game to be too hard as it was lol

[@gone5266]

You have 4 lives in the Master System and Game Gear version of Castle of Illusion.

[@sidsydney5328]

Thank you Bro but you recorded this a few attempts to early.

[@ot7976]

I remember thinking thr grwphics on this were great.

[@AL82RetrogamingLongplays]

Castle of Illusion Longplay (Game Gear) [60 FPS]: A cute and simple platform game starring Disney's famous mouse! Read the video description for my review!

[@sebastianajila1558]

que le hicieron a mi muchacho

[@badmrfrosty09]

Wish I knew how to make this play full screen on my actual Game Gear

[@gone5266]

Castle of Illusion Master System Version Gameplay

[@blossom6309]

I wish there desert in game enemies be lion mummy bat snake elephant cobra rhino boss desert statue lion

[@dagfredriksen9571]

Man I think I remember that on 2:36 you could get over that wall. An extra life perhaps? cant remember, but pretty sure there was something there =)

[@ste118]

Yeah, I don't remember too...maybe a shortcut. There were a lot of tricks in this game :)

[@gone5266]

Castle of Illusion Longplay (Sega Master System) 50fps

[@gone5266]

The Master System version of Castle of Illusion on 60FPS.

[@swaruphajajula1486]

supergame

[@ColossalCrib]

I remember playing this on my friends Game Gear. .amazing game

[@guilhermeamoliveira]

Primeiro jogo q dei final, joguei no master system 2

[@ste118]

Can somebody tell me how can I play it now? please!!

[@NathanSifu]

Or An emulator perhaps

[@earlduran6419]

The ending wasn't canon enough.

[@asushuracan5501]

always thought the 8 bit version had more charm than the 16 bit version.also the 8 bit version had longer stages than the 16 bit and also seemed more of a challenge.the re make was god awful with the narrator telling the story and just some of the animation just sucked as it was trying to be too much like a cartoon as well as a game,so sorry this version stands out as the maybe not the best graphical version but as far as gameplay and charm the 8bit version is the best version and my mum also got it for me with her birthday money because she knew i wanted it,you got to love mums.

[@yop506]

no, one thing is charm and that you take care of it and another is what is the true best version .sp,md

[@gone5266]

Power Hearts ❤️❤️❤️

[@julietteboa2627]

. Wat is dat

[@poltergeist8014]

A game.

[@CivilServiceScribe]

Oh my goodness me, the music from the second level with the ladders and toy planes! This, alongside Sonic and Ax Battler, was my most played Game Gear game. Oh my! The jumping capital letters on the pencil case level - I hated those! What an absolutely superb game.