Disney's Epic Mickey - The Game That Could’ve Been

[@Patterrz]

The fact that this game exists and was released is kinda an achievement in itself

[@user-ju2ne8df3n]

Human_565 first

[@CrossBonez2980]

@@user-ju2ne8df3n WOW CONGRATULATIONS YOU GET NOTHING

[@lordpvt]

love this game

[@Yharon-vq7jw]

i have a game that you should play, and its called la mulana

[@sarthakarora3212]

No when kingdom hearts Mickey exists.

[@AesirSW]

It's kind of sad how they gave Oswald a brief return after Epic Mickey then he was gone again. At least he has marketable plushies now.

[@jeffjeff9037]

It's rumored that they're working on a show about him for Disney+

[@Dan-qy6zv]

@@jeffjeff9037 I need sources my dude! Where did you hear this?!

[@eko9554]

He’s also a meet and greet character at Disney California Adventure. Oswald is very an underrated character.

[@Tonini08]

I guess Oswald has a Gas Station at California Adventure. I also love Oswald’s cameos in the new Mickey Mouse shorts

[@suebob16]

Oswald is my user pic on Disney+. I do hope that more Oswald content comes to Disney+ or Disney Channel, or maybe have him as part of a future Mickey short for theaters.

[@SALTYTOAD000]

This game has such a charming art style it begs for a remaster.

[@kill3rs529]

Would prefer for a remake to fix some of the problems

[@SALTYTOAD000]

@@kill3rs529 Naaah they can do the same with a remaster, remake is overdoing it.

[@stanleysmooth]

if they can fix the camera issue, this game could work perfectly on switch.

[@SALTYTOAD000]

@@stanleysmooth I can't recall what the camera issues were, but I guess it used a automatic camera and not manual, which always sucks.

[@kill3rs529]

@Star Wolf 128 they wouldn't do kingdom hearts they've already remastered all of them

[@chebic5095]

I can’t entirely confirm the “Epic Mickey was released early” claim either but I heard that the Japanese version which released later both enabled you to skip projectors you’ve already completed and fixed the camera issues implying that Warren at minimum wanted to change things in retrospect

[@Mike14264]

Wow! Didn't know that!

[@SlayCap]

Warren had nothing to do with the Japanese version.

[@geekguru9847]

Can confirm both of those things regarding the Japanese release though the projectors part only applied to hub world projectors which was still huge for doing quests!

[@Mike14264]

@@geekguru9847 these really are the only ones you repeat super oftenly. I still think Tomorrow Square could've been a cool Hub Town.

[@LalitoTV]

@Turtle? Turtle well, it had, it's just that not many games used them... Or any at all besides skyward sword (and Mario kart, technically?) But hey! At least it meant devs still tried/were pressured into doing their best to push fully polished products

[@twomanyraptorsGAMING]

I honestly wish Disney would make more games like these. It doesn't have to be Epic Mickey related, but something that subverts with what you expect out of "Disney" content. Funny enough, I never played Epic Mickey, I only played Epic Mickey 2 (and that was recent, like earlier this year). But the idea of providing a more darker take on Disney IPs have always intrigued me, and sort of added more fuel to my personal desire to see Disney take their IPs to a much more "interesting" direction. Yes, Kingdom Hearts is one such example, and they are very enjoyable, but they feel more like a Final Fantasy game with a Disney skin (Which is very cool, don't get me wrong. I am quite a fan of "Final Fantasy-like" games). I would just like to see something that is more about the Disney IPs, but the same "epic-ness" you get with Kingdom Hearts and the same dark/mysterious undertones you get with Epic Mickey (maybe even darker, but that's just me). Either way, I hope in the near future Disney would try again at making stuff like this (or at least similar), but of course with better quality. Nice video Jirard!

[@spacefacegaming]

True love ur videos dude 👍

[@BrerOswald]

I'd recommend playing the first one. That second one misses the mark on what made the first game so great, that of course being the abundance of real world connections.

[@CaptainCat101]

Of course Kingdom Hearts is like Final Fantasy. Square (or Squareenix) makes both series, and is known for their RPGs

[@Nukatha]

I just wish Jirard had actually completed the game. It takes three (well, 2.7 or so) play-throughs to actually earn every pin.

[@defnotanaltt1036]

I loved Epic Mickey 2 and I will defend that game to death. I just love walking around the world and take in the scenery. I will try to get Epic Mickey 1 because it looks more morbid than number 2.

[@little.prince]

“It’s gotta be done by Yen Sid” *shows picture of Merlin* May he rest in peace

[@doomzilla3568]

This is a game that has one of the best concept of paying tribute to classic Disney history that sadly unable reached it's full potential. This series deserves much more love than it received back then. I miss classic Disney.

[@thomasmalone8711]

Honestly I think this game could make an epic "pun intended" level for a Kingdom Hearts game. Imagine Sora finding the Cartoon Wasteland in Ansem's study and we get to see the results of Mickeys mistake in creating the Blot. Blot could serve as an awesome boss and it throws some shade on Mickey being this purely good character giving him some depth

[@TheLadyLiddell]

100% this game would make a perfect addition to Kingdom Hearts.

[@realkingofantarctica]

I think this game's existence is more entertaining to think about than actually playing the game.

[@sephirothone-wingedangel6484]

@Star Wolf 128 There actually was gonna be,but was ultimately canceled

[@idioticlight]

@Star Wolf 128 theres no mickey mouse movie!?

[@MyEcho4]

The game was still fun tho

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

@Star Wolf 128 Don't forget about 1995's Runaway Brain starring Mickey Mouse. Still a short film, but it gets so overlooked especially because A Goofy Movie also came out that year. (I think Runaway Brain played as a preview before A Goofy Movie. I swear I saw it before some kid's movie at the drive-in back in the day, but I never heard anyone talk about it so I thought it was a fever dream.)

[@Hellion47]

@@cannibalisticrequiem Good catch! I was gonna bring up Runaway Brain, it actually was the opening short for A Kid in King Arthur's Court.

[@Mike14264]

I feel like Epic Mickey could've benefited from being more open-ended, instead of just linear segments that lead to an open hub. In fact, maybe they could have more instances where Thinner leads to a good outcome! It's not the tools that make the man, it's his decisions. That could muddle up the specific line between good/paint and bad/thinner a lot more!

[@Gbrille]

Look up epic donald... they actually were working on doing exactly that!

[@badcreator7023]

Well they could not due to the power of the Wii, so they had to keep it more linear.

[@MarshtompGames]

"Theme song by Elite Ferrex" Okay. **sips water** "Arrangement by Grant Kirkhope" **spits water out**

[@MrKlausbaudelaire]

I loved the orchestral theme of that game, it was one of the very, veeery few games where the theme song made me forget to actualy play the game and keep listening to it xD

[@MarshtompGames]

@@MrKlausbaudelaire Buddy, I wasn't talking about the game there.

[@whateverkat8122]

@@MarshtompGames lmao

[@IbexGundyr]

Glad I’m not the only one who freaked out when I saw that. Our boy has friends in high places.

[@silvercrystal3]

'Sir, I'll give you a million dollars for that hat!'

[@dominickf6095]

"This is the most football talk you're going to get on my channel." *Scott the Woz laughs maniacally while his viewers storm Jirard's office with copies of Madden '08*

[@h3robug33]

Isn't that the guy that owns sonic jam?

[@dominickf6095]

@@h3robug33 but he never owned Sonic Spinball because it never happened

[@FelisImpurrator]

Sounds maddening.

[@LuckyRabbit234]

Regarding the sequel, there’s a part where you go through a ride depicting Mickey’s achievements throughout the first game, including the boss fights. If you fix the ride, the tour guide will state that Mickey redeemed each boss. If you destroy it, the tour guide will state that Mickey thinned out each boss.

[@mrchoochooguy4045]

Whaaa Please elaborate

[@MatthewCobalt]

@@mrchoochooguy4045 I'm guessing it was supposed to be more vague, but from how Jirard says it, it would seem as though it was morr concrete than it seemed.

[@SlayCap]

Mickey never redeemed any of the bosses except for Petetronic.

[@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney]

I'm sorry but the canonical ending for Epic Mickey 1 is really messed up. Like he just...didn't save ANYONE? He chose to commit mass genocide and watch his robotic friends suffer?! So f*cked up.

[@SlayCap]

@@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Actually, he did save Goofy, Daisy, and Donald. He also saved Petetronic but everything else is the Thinner path

[@dominicbestakablazeshimmer9258]

So... who else is here after losing thier minds at the announcement of Epic Mickey: Rebrushed?

[@BugsyFoga]

Who else here found out about Oswald when Epic Mickey came out ?

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

Me. When I first played Epic Mickey, I didn't even know who the fuck Oswald was. (This was back when I was pretty much a Disney fanboy.) It wasn't until I played the game that I realized who he was and I felt like shit for now knowing about him. The sad thing is...Disney has forgotten Oswald once more, but at least this time the people won't forget.

[@markgaterii5395]

@@dragonbornexpress5650 Well, he had a cameo in that new Mickey Mouse cartoon...where Mickey just throws him into the trash

[@RickachuCXVI]

@@markgaterii5395 the only time they've shown Oswald in a cartoon in more than 8 decades and it was to basically crap on him

[@oritheraboot4396]

I did when I beat the game and Yensid said they were brothers and I flipped out and lost my mind in amazement

[@littlemrh]

He actually became my favorite Disney character because of the Epic Mickey games and the videos called “The Epic Mickey files” (this was when I was younger when I did these so it’s just so nostalgic for me)

[@ArachneQueen]

Just a small fun fact: if you wear Oswald ears (which you can buy at Disneyland) many cast members will say "welcome home, Oswald!" To you. My husband very much loved it.

[@liroanimations5090]

I’ve noticed that many big KZbinr’s have been bringing back this game in discussions, and I’m so happy they are because I grew up with this game.

[@thewholecircus]

Yeah, I've seen a bunch of videos about this game.

[@ZephirumUpload]

Wouldn't surprise me if something's coming to the Switch or something, Maker is a Disney IP and a lot of gaming YT channels work under them for various reasons

[@thevferrari]

It could be because Jason Schreier's new book Press Reset was released about a month ago, and the first chapter is the story of Warren Spector, specifically surrounding this game.

[@firstmategiddy]

@@ZephirumUpload I don't know if Disney is working with a bunch of YTbers in order to say the game is mediocre at best. That's not the best marketing strategy.

[@emashane7035]

There was a rumor last year about a remake

[@StarMechV]

I'm glad you went over the history of the game. Many people get too fixated on those super-dark test drawings to notice that Epic Mickey still had a great premise; despite its flaws. I'd love for its setting to be reimagined or remade with better design and modern technology. I always felt the game felt like a lot of early platformers. In that, they had some jank, but you could see how kinks could be easily ironed out in a sequel. However, rather than fix their mistakes, Epic Mickey 2 suffered HEAVY executive meddling and rather than fixing the shortcomings, they kept the shortcomings and added MORE.

[@owenmenning3878]

I have such nostalgia for this game lol.

[@KairuHakubi]

i had nostalgia for it DURING playing it. and like, afterward. I've never had a game stick so weirdly in my brain. the early levels felt like a totally different game from the rest, i accidentally skipped a big chunk of the game just by exploring, i genuinely do not remember if this memory I have right now of a blocks-based area was that skipped part or a dream I had about it. Some games get called 'a fever dream' just because they're so incomprehensibly weird, but this one.. it felt incredibly old and clumsily rushed at the same time. I had NO idea what to do in the entire tomorrowland part, constantly lost, platforming was insane and everything was either dark and hard to see or blindingly colorful. figuring out whether i'd gotten everything in an area and would be allowed to come back or not threw me so hard, and then finally I just fucked up one thing at the end that made completion (in two playthroughs) impossible.. and i got so frustrated I didn't even finish that second play. And good lord what a terrible final boss battle.

[@gabrielperesbari2273]

Me too I wish I could play it again and I even have the comics of the 1st and 2nd game. Now I love more Oswald than Mickey

[@nimbus_0046]

Same

[@spencerhammer8194]

Dude same. I literally forgot this existed until today.

[@real-horse]

I know nothing about this game and have never played it but it is very nostalgic to me too just because the ads for it on disney channel

[@fedoraking3611]

When I asked my grandma if she knew oswald when this game came out. She laughed and said, "I may be old, but I'm not that old." I felt pretty embaresed for asking that.

[@vbph2011]

I'm so glad to see he's doing well enough health wise to do non New Game Plus videos.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

Honestly I wish that Kingdom Hearts would use Oswald as a villain. There's so much narrative potential here and Epic Mickey gives us a nice sample of that. I haven't played this game but I can just tell from the cutscenes that Oswald is filled with so much resentment and jealousy towards his younger brother, no, his REPLACEMENT that he would be a great foil towards Mickey, Sora and the others. We have here essentially a child who was told that he was meant to do so many great things and accomplish so much but through a cruel twist of fate he was replaced by someone else who got all the fame, glory and happiness that was STOLLEN from him! Like Henry Killinger said it's a classic Cain and Abel story. He could hook up with Pete and Maleficent and help them with whatever plans they've got cooking. Hell make him a Keyblade wielder, a secret apprentice of Master Xehanort as one of his 5000 back up plans or make him an apprentice of Luxu or the Foretellers or something like that. I would love it if that were to happen in the next arc of that series.

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

Honestly, yeah, far too much could be done. Oswald is probably boiling with over a century's worst of hatred and jealousy, which of course is understandable given he was Walt Disney's first creation, but was thrown into the trash after Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse. Honestly, he'd make an awesome Kingdom Hearts boss fight with his potential attacks and abilities referencing some of the old cartoons he starred in.

[@donovanfaust3227]

You did not just use Henry Killinger to make a point about a Disney game.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

@@donovanfaust3227 Minus the magic murder bag.

[@coreymyers5321]

I remember hearing about how a kid played this game to recover from surgery. Wish more games had that story.

[@maroonkennedy6213]

Aww how sweet

[@OverdriveGamesAnime]

Every game probably does have that story

[@Z0RD.]

@@OverdriveGamesAnime sonic 06?

[@OverdriveGamesAnime]

@@Z0RD. i mean... i think a generous estimate is that 1 in 10,000 people... no... 1 in 100,000 people are recovering from surgery at any given time. The game sold over a million copies in total, so yeah. Some poor kid suffering unimaginable torture probably also was recovering from surgery.

[@vixenrevitup]

Animal Crossing is a game series with stories like this. There are testimonials about people playing it while they had depression (I actually played it a lot when I suffered medication-induced depression) and famous KZbinr Billiam played New Leaf as he battled cancer.

[@snb2ndchannel591]

I am super glad this games been getting more attention recently. Would love to see them visit this concept again in the future.

[@readyeddy1631]

In the right hands, this could have been an extremely memorable series but suffer due to story elements and trying to use a morality system. I would love to play a remaster of the two games and a third installment in the future.

[@TitanBoss]

This series was my childhood it's nice to see the youtubers are giving the series a spot light. It's also pretty funny Disney traded a Football guy for a cartoon rabbit and the guy was cool with it. And I would be so hyped for an movie or game. And a lot of the story for the Mad Doctor is explained in the second game.

[@clodcollecting51]

DUDE THE NOSTALGIA! My friend and I used to play Epic Mickey 2 all the time! It’s been 7 years... wow.

[@cadenseymour8805]

SAME! I had a friend a couple years older than me come over to my house every day and we would play for hours. I haven't seen him in a couple years, hope he's doing alright

[@gus_0065]

same, i can't believe another person in this world also grew up with that game.

[@clodcollecting51]

@@cadenseymour8805 yeah I would come over to my friend’s house everyday and play it, too! And I haven’t seen him for a few years either! But we’re the same age.

[@Achillestheteenvessel]

Me too!

[@VTriggered88]

I absolutely love this game. It has it's flaws for sure, but I still think the overall experience is worth it. Glad to see you finally play it on your channel, Jirard.

[@BugsyFoga]

I remember first seeing the teaser poster for Epic mickey at Walmart and thinking it was the most dark and EDGY thing I've seen from Disney.

[@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney]

@ZOAD TAUFIQUR I've never played KH2 but I've seen an image of an overlord looking Mickey. My Lord did he look edgy.

[@MrPoopchute22]

You think that's dark, watch Disney's mad doctor.

[@yoellopez4049]

Wow I was surprised to see you play this, I didn’t think that this game was popular enough to get an episode from the completionist. This game really got my imagination when I was a kid, I used to always draw the bosses and characters from this game. This game is also the reason why I like steampunk and robots so much today. I’m really great full that it exists because I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it.

[@kolbturtle]

I had a very similar experience I even made a clay model of the captain hook robot as a kid

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

yes this game was the shit when i was 9-12 years old

[@zodiackiller1360]

this game had so much potential i just wish this game was better

[@Snoop1000Skins]

This is one of those rare games for me where the world was so creative and engaging that I forgot the game’s problems AS I played it. Even as the Completionist is pointing out valid problems, I’m watching the footage and smiling because I remember that boss fight or zone or enemy and the engrossing feeling of being captivated by Epic Mickey’s world. It may have a sloppy skeleton, but the skin on top makes it one of my favorite games I’ve ever played. Here’s hoping we get a remake someday that polished the bad stuff and keeps the many, many things worth loving about this game.

[@questmustang2702]

The funny thing is me and my brother were just talking about this game last night after he told me he just purchased Cuphead and we started discussing how the old looking cartoon style works so well for a video game and epic mickey was one of the examples. I do wish they put a little more effort into this game but overall I have so much nostalgia for it.

[@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney]

Oh man, when I first received this game back in 2010 for Christmas I was so excited so I played it right away and... Well I was pretty creepy out by it as a kid. I had some nightmare fuel dreams about it so I asked my bro to help me out. So he and I played it that Christmas way up until late at night. Good times....for the most part-

[@Rayitolaser569]

@@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney i also got EM for christmas, still remember it.

[@JDaTopo]

15:56 Gremlin Village isn’t part of the tutorial, it’s just one of the adventure worlds you have to get through before reaching the hub. The tutorial was only Dark Beauty Castle.

[@joelugalde8843]

Hopefully the remaster will have a fast travel system, newer and reworked gameplay mechanics, and optional voice acting.

[@samroth9029]

i can’t express how much i want a full remaster of this game

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

Not a remaster. It deserves a proper remake: some of the mechanics and platforming could be improved, camera needs big fixes, and the morality system needs a complete revamp. However, aside from that, nothing else needs some major changes. A few tweaks, sure, but otherwise the game isn't too bad. However, the sequel is just...bad or painfully mediocre.

[@shawnheatherly]

I was so excited about this game, its concept art looked incredible and I was fascinated learning about Oswald, this forgotten mascot who easily could have been the face of Disney if things had played out differently. What we got is a game made with love but not a blast to play.

[@theotherjared9824]

Little known fact about oswald: members of the crew on these cartoons were Hugh Harmon, Rudolph Ising and Isadore "Friz" Freleng. Those three broke off when the deal with Universal fell apart and shacked up with Leon Schlesinger to create their own shorts, dubbed "Looney Tunes."

[@AT7outof10]

Reminded of the interview where Nomura mentioned he wanted to add Oswald to Kingdom Hearts eventually; but Disney didn't want to for some reason.

[@OhNoBohNo]

You know what would have been wild? When it was clear the Epic Mick series was not gonna generate any more title, just finish out in the most bonkers fashion and tie it into Kingdom Hearts. Like, why not? Who says it COULDN'T be linked to a canon as buck wild and complicated as K.H.? Just lean into the madness.

[@greeneyesgaming2268]

Man I used to complete this game so many times, just because it was fun to me!!! I would love to see a remake of some sorts in the future but I don’t know if that’ll ever happen! 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@lucaslease4571]

Great job! I appreciate the in-depth history about the game and Disney in general. I really like the La Mulana music starting around 10:25 in the video.

[@cvanims]

This game is so aesthetically pleasing.

[@edeliteedelite1961]

Not when you're playing it.

[@mattappl3119]

I loved this game it was the first game I had that wasn't based on any movie or show, and I still remember the music making everything terrifying, nice work Jirard

[@SilverHamich]

While I've known about this game since probably around it's release I never had the chance to play the it since neither myself or anyone I knew had it, so seeing this was definitely pleasant. Also, the Castlevania: Lament of Innocence music at 18:30 is noticed and I absolutely love it's inclusion

[@HypeVoiceActing]

Epic Mickey is a game that I really want to love purely from a concept and presentation standpoint. You could tell that Warren Spector and his team has a real genuine love for Mickey, Oswald, and Disney in general. And you can feel that passion when you watch the cutscenes or look at all the details they put into this delightfully dreary world. But the gameplay itself is so boring and tedious that I can't bring myself to finish it. It wears out its welcome way too soon and it never does much or anything to really change things to keep the journey interesting.

[@moisturecookies]

if you tackle the second game, you should play it multiplayer for your own sanity

[@pinkwater4891]

Why?

[@pooppoopzoopzoop9935]

@@pinkwater4891 Oswald's ai is absolutely abysmal. I was lucky enough to play it with my sister, but when our second controller stopped working, the majority of the game was just fighting to get Oswald to do the DAMN TASK

[@mickeypuppit]

20:11 That was in rebrushed and it helped me out a lot.

[@terrafria]

This game super bummed me out when i got it years back, i had just moved to another state and was struggling with my depression so when my mother saw this at work (Poor woman worked at Walmart) she spent money we really could have used on other things on it and got it for me. I love Mickey and most Disney things, so she thought i would be a great gift to help lift my spirits. And then the camera in combat came in and.... Yeah, i couldn't play it, loved the art style wanted to but when you have to deal with those camera controls? It was more depressing.. I wanted to love it so much not just cause it was Mickey but because my mom went out of her way to get it for me.

[@MrCrininer]

Damn, that's a huge bummer. I hope you and your mother are doing better now!

[@Mqstodon]

I'd...struggle to believe this is real, in the first level the camera works perfectly fine and in combat in general

[@BradleyHall-th2xu]

THANK GOD we (probably) get to use the second analog stick in the remake. So many camera problems will be pretty much entirely fixed if Purple Lamp knows what they're doing.

[@MathieuLeblanc1991]

Trivia : The cutscenes for Epic Mickey 1 and 2 were done by the same studio that did the Castlevania series on Netflix. And the lack of voice acting was intentional according to Warren Spector, it was meant to be a tribute to games like Banjo Kazooie, due to negative feedback, they did full voice acting for the sequel

[@cattysplat]

The amount of dialog in banjo was pretty small, took place ingame and limited mostly to silly characters we had no prior knowledge of. Mickey and friends all had voices everyone already knows, why would they possibly think this was a good idea, by the looks of it there is also tons of dialog and cutscenes with just text. Maybe it makes sense from a technical limitations of the Wii but still, I can't imagine big Disney fans would have enjoyed reading text when everything Disney media is about is animation and sound.

[@pooppoopzoopzoop9935]

I actually preferred the lack of voice acting, I think it was really charming, and as a hobby game dev, I absolutely applaud that decision for the limited budget and small studio that it had.

[@alexh1323]

Thank You for finally covering this Jirard!!! I hope people understand why this deserves a remaster or even a remake!!!

[@DoctorTex]

“The sequel canonically takes place after the bad ending” Evidence to the contrary: Animatronic Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Petronic, Pete Pan-really, a true thinner path doesn’t seem viable. Perhaps a bit of mixed path, since one that DOES seem certain is Mickey using thinner on the Clock Tower, but that could possibly be attributed to him being a bit frightened fighting such a large contraption. I know I used thinner on it the first time since paint didn’t seem to do anything at first.

[@cmrobbins88]

I could take an Epic Mickey remaster, OR a Mickey and Oswald feature release of this kind of tone and story.

[@cooperwolfe5478]

I’ve always thought that one idea that you could have is take the first game and make it into a Disney+ show. You would’ve to change aspects of the storyline but I think it can work.

[@whdphd7116]

This was one of my favorites as a kid, never expected this notification. Respect+

[@jeffreyshelton3073]

Childhood relived, 2024 are you picking it up it’s coming back

[@manixyz]

14:39 OH, that Klonoa music really hit me in the heart. I really hope you complete the Klonoa games someday. I love those games dearly, and want more people to know about them.

[@snowcardinal2632]

This game was a MASSIVE part of my childhood, which seems to be a rarity. I loved it so much I even themed my 11th birthday around it. It's really sad to see that no one really cares about this game, I feel like I'm the only one who ever truly adored it.

[@cooperwolfe5478]

I agree with you. The first Epic Mickey game is still my favorite video game of all time and I’ve always hoped it would get a third game.

[@kriscynical]

JIRARD. For someone who is so into Disney I'm really surprised that you glossed over the drama surrounding Oswald and Universal to the point of not even mentioning it at all! I'm sure you know about it. For everybody else: Walt didn't end the studio's relationship with Universal in order to retain the rights to Oswald. Universal ended the relationship and forcibly TOOK Oswald along with most of Walt's animators save for Ub Iwerks and COMPLETELY screwed him over. Mickey was created in secret while the studio had been working on Oswald shorts, to the point that they'd be working on a Mickey short but slap drawings of Oswald over top of their desks when Universal reps visited the studio. Universal had no idea Mickey even existed at that point. That's why Universal still held the rights to Oswald and Disney only just got them back in 2006.

[@dougtheghoul2845]

Thank you for this nice trivia bit

[@kriscynical]

@@dougtheghoul2845 You're welcome! 😊 I wrote papers on Walt Disney in both high school and college so I'm a well of useless but somewhat interesting trivia.😅

[@mrwavy2564]

“Mickey escapes through the mirror just as Dumbledore returns” I died

[@iamcre8ive]

Epic Mickey 2 for the PS3 was the first game I ever seriously played and beaten. I quickly fell in love with this wonderful and confusing world, characters, and story (at least on the pov of a 5 year old) just after playing the demo on the PS3 store (a demo that I would play an insane amount of times before getting the full game). I would get home from school hyped to get one step closer to beating the game with my dad, I would draw the characters all the time, have a hard time trying to understand what was being said on the games (English isn’t my first language), pretend that I was Mickey going on a crazy adventure, read the graphic novel non stop, and have nightmares with the games’s creepy bosses and general aesthetic. I loved everything about it, even with the language barrier I dig deep and watched countless gameplays of both games + Epic Mickey Castle of Illusion and fan content (I still wish I could play the original game and the Castle of Illusion version, but I never owned a Wii or a DS so yea :/). This game really meant and means the world to me, it’s bugs and inconsistencies didn’t bother me, I fell in love unconditionally. Of course now I’m able to have a more critical view, understand it’s flaws, story, and beauty even further. It breaks my heart to know about this tragic story of a game that had so much potential and love from millions of fans around the world. I still have hope or at least wish that in the future we have more Epic Mickey content. It’s unlikely, but it doesn’t hurt to keep on wishing, after all no request is too extreme when you wish upon a star, ain’t I right?

[@KeatonTerry28]

This game is one of the most nostalgic parts of my childhood. The locations, music, old cartoon references, and just overall atmosphere are just so unique that the clunky gameplay is irrelevant imo

[@TheTopHatGamer618]

This game is always a nice sense of nostalgia for me, as I was a big Disney history nut all through middle school (about the time the game came out) and I distinctly remember a piece of paper I would have in the game box itself telling myself where all of Animatronic Donald's parts were around Leota's Mansion, and I loved it to death. The one thing that always bugged me was the lack of multiple save files. If you completed the game once and wanted to go back to a section to try and do something differently, you would have had to play the game completely over again, which deterred me from playing it again for months at a time. To this day, I've never done a full Thinner route because I don't have the heart to see all of these characters in pain or in misery because of my actions. Amazing review, congrats on the completion!

[@benji777tm]

“Had some great platformers on the Super Nintendo…” Sega Genesis versions: Am I a joke to you?

[@striderskorpion]

Don't forget the NES games either.

[@samueld8413]

SNES Aladdin is better in nearly every way

[@striderskorpion]

You do know there are other good/great Disney platformers besides Aladdin, right? Also Genesis Aladdin > SNES Aladdin.

[@christopherballero866]

Camera control is essential for making a good game cuz if camera control is bad it's really hard for the game to be playable. This is also the case if the controller is difficult to use. The idea of telling Disney what to do is not something Disney would go for; obey the mouse

[@IvanTube0]

the old title was epic mickey - canonically bad

[@LightningSword13]

Yup, saw that too. Couldn’t escape my notifications

[@cuddlecreeper8]

yeah, probably changed because it's wrong.

[@300IQPrower]

@@cuddlecreeper8 nah. Its right. Not terrible but certainly not good. Also its a pun on the morality mechanics and deep dive into disney’s now entirely abandoned characters

[@cuddlecreeper8]

@@300IQPrower What I was saying is the Bad Ending is not the canon ending, which The Completionist seems to believe that is is, but multiple things in the second game disprove that.

[@SlayCap]

@@cuddlecreeper8 Actually, the canon path seems to be the Neutral. Not Paint. Several things that prove this.

[@pxlz0729]

Honestly I always thought that this wasn’t a real game, I played it when I was little, but I thought that I like made it up or something. The whole experience was like fever dream

[@baddragonite]

This game always reminded me of the Steamboat Willy level in Kingdom Hearts 2

[@HitnRunTony]

I never played this when it came out originally, but I’m glad I have a chance now with the new Rebrushed version and I hope they fixed some of the issues.

[@nickthedreamer4434]

Epic Mickey was one of my favorites growing up. I absolutely fell in love with the story and the concept and the music and I still do to this day. After the second ones fell short, I put together what I thought was a fun concept for a possible 3rd that would take place in a land based on EPCOT called EMPTE (which, like EPCOT, would have been an anagram...but I could never find something clever enough to work) and it would have been the home to even more forgotten characters such as the Dreamfinder (who would have been in a very similar position of power that Oswald was in the Wasteland).

[@ianeons9278]

Epic Mickey predicted Bendy, FNAF, and Cuphead. It truly was ahead of its time.

[@stanleysmooth]

Holy shit yes I have wanted this episode for so long

[@tehfreemanz]

Oh my gosh, the moment the La~Mulana music kicks in! Great video, I've been wondering a lot about what ever happened to this game and I really appreciated the deep dive!

[@FirstNameBasis_]

What a damn minute. I haven't watched in a while, this new intro is fucking sick. XD

[@billymanziel5666]

Why have you abandoned Jirard

[@Drexxl]

A detail I love about this game is that it was actually both translated and dubbed into many different languages, including swedish, my mother tongue. Sweden and many other countries are usually considered to small to be worth localizing too, but this game I could understand to the fullest and not have to rely on my 7 year old brains broken english.

[@alouette200]

I might have watched the new intro a couple dozens of times and I'm still overjoyed everytime I get to hear it again. Such a masterful work of art.

[@virtualgumbo]

I've said this before but I'll say it again: keeping the "Yeah!" bit in all of your intros just feels right, Keep it up boyo.

[@norbertgiron-godoy3408]

Can we please start a petition for a third entry and re-release of the two first ones. Since before these games, I remember reading about Oswald and he has been my favorite Disney character ever since. #DisneyBrothersRedemption

[@buster3041]

For the supposed "play style matters" thing warren kept going on about, that he sort of neglected in the game, I suggest this as an interesting idea that is a little "darker" than what was given the final product but no "darker" than anything you wouldn't find in a Disney film. Now, if i'm not mistaken, no one but Oswald and the mad doctor knew mickey caused the thinner disaster and i'd change that. Have 3 groups of toons that mickey has to engage with when he enters and traverses the wasteland: Group A) are the inhabitants that have decided to work with the blotlings and beetleworx either due to "joining the winning side" like the mad doctor/ some of captain hooks' crew did or out of rage against mickey because they believe he purposefully caused the thinner disaster. Group B) are just your typical freedom fighters out to protect the world and it's inhabitants from the oppression of the blotlings and beetleworx. Group C) are a group that see both the blotlings/beetleworx and mickey as a threat. They think mickey caused the thinner disaster on purpose like group a but are still on the good side. They just want mickey and the product of his meddling gone. So group a = bad guys group b = good guys group c = good guys that see group a and mickey as bad guys In groups a & c there are some members that can be persuaded to see mickey as an ally ONLY after you've regained their trust and proven that (for group c) you're not a threat to the wasteland and (for group a) that you didn't purposefully ruin the wasteland and truly intend to fix it. Now if you choose to be bad and use thinner on everything you'll burn bridges with group b and completely ruin any chances of persuading members of groups a & c seeing you as an ally there to help. The game would become much harder and eventually the goal will be to just get out of the wasteland and unfortunately leave things as they are since by that point you've made too many enemies. Either this can be the punishment for choosing the thinner path and you're stuck with that choice or you can get one last alternative to try to fix things. Have mickey at some point dawn a disguise where he goes by the name "Mortimer Mouse" as an homage to his early concept name but don't give him the official Mortimer mouse design. Given him a new one. But if calling him a mouse still seems too obvious then just call him "Mortimer mole" or "Mortimer moose" or something. Anyway, at the start of the game, you'd have a freedom fighter helping you in some stages but naturally as you use more and more thinner they help less and less until you're completely on you're own like in the official game.

[@AwesomeNick94]

Whoever picked out the music for this episode went with some great deep cuts

[@tinalevesque5772]

If it's the slow piano/organ music is from a ps2 castlevania game. The other organ song is from donkey Kong 2

[@jessehcreative]

I was hyped for this game. Got the paintbrush nunchuck and everything. Two months in, I got bored and sold it all.

[@ArrowJones_PI]

I requested this game YEARS ago! I'm so happy you're finally completing it! This game is genuinely beautiful!

[@FrostTheHobidon]

I’m glad Oswald and Ortensia are back with Disney.

[@xominousowlx6959]

YES! EPIC MICKEY IS MY CHILDHOOD!!!

[@supersoniccajun]

Is that a new intro i see? And Grant Kerkope arranging?! Nice dude!!

[@mammon8683]

100 %: Introduction To Animatt. 50: % This game used to be my childhood! 10 %: Oh hey I remember Oswald..kinda? Truly missed opportunity to have AniMatt collab with you In this one knowing Is one of the OG People who knows the lore of Epic Mickey out everyone In the whole wide world! Also Oswald deserves his own comeback again somewhere in Kingdom Hearts 4, or at least his own animated series closer to The Wonderful World Of Micky Mouse outside of just small cameos.

[@upcomingmocha]

Actually Oswald is supposed to get a series on Disney plus someday

[@ianeons9278]

If Shenmue can get a sequel after 18 years, who said Epic Mickey can’t. The problem however is that Disney would have to approve of the developer, which would be difficult.

[@TheNoMoreGamer]

"First Original Character" Everyone forgets Julius the Cat...

[@tubbo_beloved4652]

I mean- Disney has been known to forget about some of the very first characters

[@slane2735]

I loved this game. It was so dark for a kids game and as a kid it shaped me in such a cool way. Bendy ink machine is basically budget this game but horror

[@tannerprice2018]

We totally should’ve gotten those things from the early concept art to give this game much more of an edge.

[@sandwich_bubbles47]

Epic Mickey is the first game I’ve ever played! So obviously, I’m gonna be a bit biased, though I still agree with pretty much everything you said. (It’s so strange though, I never struggled with the camera until very recently...) It makes me SO happy to see a ton of people talking about Epic Mickey lately!!! I really hope Disney picks up on this and makes a GOOD remaster that keeps that eerie, dark feeling. 25:25 okay whoa whoa whoa, only certain bad endings are canon. Most obviously Captain Hook. Unless you know something I don’t. The animatronic pals are all built. Horace still has his detective agency. Small Pete seems to have good relations to the Gremlins, and Petetronic is still alive

[@dylansurendranath3091]

The first Epic Mickey game is one of my favourite games of all time! I'm really happy to see you complete this game, Jirard!

[@rickydavis4325]

13:02 "Except for the opening narration and ending cutscenes, no one says anything" Jirard, believe me when I say this: In an Epic Mickey game, the LAST THING YOU WANT is for the game to be fully voice acted. I speak from experience.

[@Guywithachair]

Who else is nostalgic for this. Because I am

[@shizuwolf]

Yo

[@gameshock2916]

Hey Jirard, are you ever going to complete Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two? It was released 2 years after Epic Mickey 1, was released on all platforms, includes voice acting, has drop-in & drop-out co-op, and the HD version that was released on Xbox 360 & PS3 has 50 trophies/achievements to get. So if you plan on beating Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two, good luck with that.

[@1BlueYoshi]

I had no idea that the bad ending was the canonical one. That’s really messed up haha

[@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney]

Yep. Mickey commits mass genocide in wasteland and leaves his mechanical friends to rot and suffer. This is the canonical ending...yikes!

[@SlayCap]

@@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Mickey did redeem the mechanical friends

[@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney]

@@SlayCap Oh really? Thank god then!

[@thajocoth]

Having played it myself, I think your rating is pretty generous. It's one of the very very few games that I started and never finished. I can count the titles in that category on one hand.

[@eelmail]

I’ve been waiting for this ever since the game case was in the background of the Super Mario Galaxy episode! This is my absolute favorite game of all time!

[@RegrettableDeed]

Oh hell yes!! Love the new intro!! After the 400 game special, I wasnt expecting another episode so quick.

[@CaptainCat101]

I'm biased: THIS IS MY THIRD FAVORITE VIDEO GAME OF ALL TIME! And Oswald is my favorite Disney character.

[@Memelord2020]

This game is getting a remake in 2024