Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (Sega Master System Review)

Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
Platform: Sega Master System
Released in 1992
Directed by Yoshio Yoshida
Developed by Sega
NEVER BEEN RE-RELEASED

Now HERE’S a game that understands the need for set pieces.

Jeez, and I thought the 8-bit Castle of Illusion was a great game. Land of Illusion does for it what Super Mario 3 did for Nintendo’s flagship franchise. Folks, this is one of the absolute best 2D platformers I’ve ever played. I’d go so far as to call it the best 8-bit children’s action game I’ve reviewed so far at Indie Gamer Chick. Like the other Illusion games, it’s clearly aimed at a younger audience, but even experienced gamers will be able to appreciate the variety of set-pieces and truly innovative ideas that still feel fresh over thirty-years later. I’m dead serious when I say this is one of a handful of 8-bit games that should be shown in game design school.

It helps that many of the enemies were given personalities. Like this fire sprite that leaves a trail of permanent flames in its wake. At one point, it reaches the edge of the water, where it wobbles trying to keep its footing. Then it plunges to its death. But it’s an adorable death, and death isn’t sad if it’s adorable. That’s just math!

The engine from the 8-bit Castle of Illusion is completely retained for Land of Illusion. I worried that this would give the game the feel of an expansion pack, but that’s not the case at all. At fourteen levels, it’s a much bigger game, and there’s a lot more to do. Mickey acquires two major powers along the way. Early in the game, you gain the ability to shrink in size. Later, you gain the ability to scale up vertical walls. You also get the ability to go back and play previous stages and quit them once you’ve found what you wanted. Okay, so it’s silly Land of Illusion sets that up as a big deal, but it does pay it off. Whenever you have to return to a previous stage, the thing you’re doing it for always happens early in the level you’re replaying. If you’re going to have backtracking, do it that way.

Okay, so it repeats the toy level, BUT, at least it feels different.

I’ve never seen set pieces like the ones in Land of Illusion. It has an auto-scrolling section that is so inspired. There’s buttons all over the floor, and when you stand on them, the scrolling reverses direction. The object is to grab the key at one end of the room and then make your way back to the start, to the left of you. When you’re not standing on a button, the auto-scrolling goes right. So, to get back to the start, you have to go from button to button, which are perfectly spaced-out in order to allow the auto-scrolling to return you to the start with little wiggle room for error. Sometimes you have to use the key to weigh the button down while you clear out the pathway. It’s so exciting and the single best use of auto-scrolling I can recall, but that tracks with the entire Land of Illusion experience. One moment, you’re dodging tornadoes, and the next you’re using them to get past a huge gap. Land of Illusion takes every platforming trope and twists it ever so slightly. But, as is often the case with gaming, those small twists yield big gameplay results.

This boss was the only part in the game that I felt stunk. Land of Illusion is one of those games where you have to pop-up for air when you swim. While the level design leading up to this fight did a really good job as far as that trope goes, the boss fight didn’t work for me. The problem is you’re moving significantly slower, but the crab’s vulnerability window isn’t adjusted for that. When you get to this, remember that you can duck his tornadoes, even carrying the reusable barrel. Actually, the bosses in general aren’t very thrilling to do battle with. They’re not bad by any means, but a few are so meek they don’t even feel like rewards for completing a stage, like how the best easy boss battles should feel.

Twisting established platform conventions is important, but if the gameplay were no fun, it wouldn’t matter. The core gameplay from the 8-bit Castle of Illusion is fully retained here. Combat can be done via a butt-stomp, or you can pick up rocks and throw them at enemies. It controls like a dream, and even things like skidding when you land off a jump doesn’t bother me. The first level is perfectly tailored to helping you adjust to the jump. Thanks to those fine-tuned controls, you can appreciate how well done the level design is. Even if the stage seems like it’s about to do some kind of “been there, done that” platforming cliché, there will still be some grand set-piece that stands out. The final stage is a door maze castle. God, that’s been done to death. Okay, well, what if the stage is mirrored, with an upside down section that you still traverse with normal gravity? They really went all-out with Land of Illusion.

A few of the stages have a maze-like design, but each feels different from the previous one.

It’s such a shame that Land of Illusion on the Sega Master System didn’t get a US release. Sure, it’s on Game Gear too, but that was a relatively expensive piece of hardware. With the 8-bit console era wrapping up, this feels exactly like the type of farewell that SMS owners deserved. I imagine many early adopters of Sega hardware stared longingly as NES owners got their DuckTales and Rescue Rangers. Now, maybe they already could claim to have the superior 8-bit Disney platformer in Castle of Illusion. Certainly a case could be made for any of those three games. Had American kids gotten Land of Illusion, the debate would have been over. THIS is the best 8-bit Disney game, and actually, it’s not even close.

Now World of Illusion being bad is especially inexcusable. Castle of Illusion’s 8-bit version was a masterpiece. They topped it many times over in the sequel.

To put it into perspective, I think if Land of Illusion had gotten a global release in 1992, the question would be “Super Mario Bros. 3 or Land of Illusion?” It’s that good. Mario 3 might win based on the size and scope, but Mario 3 has a lot of downtime too. I’m not a big fan of its desert or ice worlds. Land of Illusion is non-stop fun, and it’s a better game for all ages, whereas I think Mario 3’s later stages might be too intense for younger, inexperienced kids. Land of Illusion would make an excellent “first complex game” for a kid. You can’t fault Sega for transitioning full-time to the Genesis in North America, but Land of Illusion should have been released to the Master System, if for no other reason, as a thank you to the fans that kept the platform afloat. The only question I have left is “why isn’t this called a killer app for Game Gear?” I’d much rather play this than the 8-bit Sonic games. Seriously people, this is a great game. If a collection of the Illusion games comes out without the 8-bit titles, I’m giving it a NO! on principle.
Verdict: YES!