Sega's upcoming foray into LITTLE BABY CONSOLES, the Mega Drive (not Genesis) Mini, has scored a duology of top-tier Disney bangers with both Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and its sequel World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck added to its sterling line-up.
The excellent Castle of Illusion hasn't been seen since its extremely limited 2013 availability as a pre-order bonus for the PlayStation 3 version of its own remake. Missed that extremely small window? Too bad, you don't get to play it! World of Illusion, meanwhile, hasn't been re-released in any format - ever - since its late 1992 release. And that's a shame, because it's terrific fun.
The innovation presented in World of Illusion is on co-operative gameplay between Milquetoast Mouse and the much funnier and more appealing Donald Duck. It's a platform game, naturally, but because it's broadly designed around two characters, there's a lot of space to work with. This can make environments seem bland on single-player mode, but with two it's very welcome. There's a focus on the two pals assisting one another in navigating the mildly dangerous locales - for example, Mickey can easily crawl under a given obstacle while Donald's fat useless duck arse gets itself stuck. The Mickey player then approaches and holds the A button to pull Donald through. There's no real gameplay capacity to this, but it is amusing and involving.
It's a beautiful game too, with some of the best graphics on the system. There's a good reason to replay, too; while it's not always hugely enjoyable on single-player, both playable characters have their own exclusive extra levels to complement the co-op only stages that show up when you play with a pal.
If I can offer any criticism, it'd be that the game is simply too short and easy, but given that in this instance it's being presented alongside 39 other games, it becomes less of an issue. Indeed, the Mega Drive Mini is knocking it out of the park so far. And they've only revealed half of its games!