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

Legend of Illusion
Platform: Sega Master System
Released in 1998.. wait, really? Ohhh kay.
Directed by Katsuhiro Hasegawa and Hisayoshi Yoshida
Developed by Aspect
Published by Tec Toy
Released Only in Brazil
NEVER BEEN RE-RELEASED

Feeling cramped yet?

Legend of Illusion is an extremely lazy port of the 1995 Game Gear game, which itself is so far and away the weakest of the 8-bit Illusion trilogy. That marvelous engine from the first two games is gone. This time, Mickey can throw.. uh.. bubbles. I didn’t even realize that was what I was throwing until I trapped a fire sprite in a bubble. Before that, I assumed I was throwing rocks. They look like rocks, and 99% of enemies aren’t caught in bubbles by them like the fire sprites are. What was even the point of making them bubbles in the first place? Just call them rocks! Like the rocks I want to throw at Legend of Illusion. It could very well be the blandest Disney game ever made. No butt stomping. No clever level design. The big set pieces all fall flat. The last couple bosses are spongier than frozen pancakes. Granted, I haven’t had a frozen pancake in a half-decade now, but I’m guessing there hasn’t been some kind of innovation in frozen pancake technology since my Celiac diagnosis. Either way, Legend of Illusion is one bland-ass platforming game.

This made me sit up in my chair. Hey, a section where you reflect light to illuminate a hidden platform. That’s a great gimmick for a stage. But then I quickly sat back down, because this is literally the only part where you do it. I think there might be one other, but if I’m right, it’s not necessary to finish the stage.

The stages in Legend of Illusion are short and unremarkable. Whereas the last game feels like the designers wanted at least one clever set piece for each of the fourteen stages, Legend of Illusion feels like a game made by a design team that kept checking their watches. Nothing happens! This doesn’t do a single clever level design bit. Oh, and you’re dressed like Robin Hood for no reason. The big innovation is that now you can grab a rock mid-jump. Oooh. There’s like two things in the entire game that justify this, including the simple last boss fight. Pete throws bombs at you that you have to grab and throw back at him. Like the Mouser fight in Super Mario 2, only not as fun. They set up a gigantic hedge maze, but then it’s a short stage with no actual maze element to it. Um, what? How on Earth do you set up a hedge maze and then have no maze? I really get the impression that nobody wanted to make this. Forget Tec Toy. This should have been published by AT&T because they phoned this sh*t in.

At one point, you create music note platforms to hop across. This is as big a set piece as the game does. Most exciting ten seconds of my gaming life.

This isn’t the most in-depth review, because there’s so little game here. There’s one section where Mickey majestically runs across a landscape that changes colors before fighting a giant caterpillar. Except the landscape in question is completely flat and usually only has one enemy at a time. There’s a shmup section where you ride a dragonfly that feels like a proof of concept for a toddler’s first space shooter. None of the whimsical personality from Land of Illusion carries over. Enemies just sort of linger. Legend of Illusion is exactly what you’d expect to happen when you subcontract out the sequel to two all-time classic games: a game with no passion. Everything likable from 8-bit Castle of Illusion and Land of Illusion? Missing in action, and replaced by very childish point-A to point-B platforming as told by a completely uninterested studio. Why did Sega even bother?

Okay, this is REALLY strange. After you beat the first of two final bosses, you’re placed in this short waterfall stage that has no enemies, where you have to collect all the gems. You can just bolt for the exit, but the ending slightly changes if you get every treasure in this stage. It’s not ENTIRELY toothless as there’s a handful of spikes. I think this is supposed to feel like a bonus stage before the final boss. And honestly, it’s the best stage in the entire game.

Granted, making a sequel to games considered all-time greats is a tall task. But even pretending that the first two games don’t exist, Legend of Illusion is so unambitious that I can’t imagine anyone would be pleased with it. Levels just end with no pomp and circumstance. There’s no clever stage puzzles at all. In fact, there’s nothing even slightly complex in the entire game. Every time I thought a stage was set to be some kind of twisty-turny labyrinth, nope, it just ends. Set pieces are constantly teased and never paid off. What’s left is a game so bland that it can only anger fans of the original two. Like it or not, as the sequel to two sublime platforming experiences, this is going to be compared to them. And it’s one of the biggest letdowns I’ve ever played. The only legendary thing about Legend of Illusion is how lazy it is. In the annals of half-assed sequels, the third 8-bit Illusion game is god tier lazy.
Verdict: NO!