World of Illusion



World of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck is the 1992 sequel to Castle of Illusion developed once again by Sega. It featured the titular duo being trapped in a magical world and their attempt to escape.

The story begins with Mickey and Donald practicing for their upcoming magic show. Donald accidentally stumbles into a mysterious box and proceeds to investigate further despite Mickey's reservations. The two step into the box and find themselves sucked into a strange land. An evil wizard informs them they have fallen into his trap and must learn a few new tricks if they are to stand a chance of finding and defeating him. And so the duo battle their way through Disney inspired landscapes to try and find a way home.

Gameplay was similar to the Castle of Illusion but without throwing projectiles and featuring co-operative play, more levels, better sound and graphics. Able to play as either Mickey or Donald solo, the game was actually slightly different depending on what character the player chose to control (Donald's solo levels are a bit harder than Mickey's solo levels). It even had unique co-op sections (2-player mode only).

This Game Provides Examples Of:

 * Baleful Polymorph: Mickey and Donald's only means of attack.
 * Big No: When you fall down a Bottomless Pit.
 * Co-Op Multiplayer: A lot of novel ideas in this area for the time. When playing together, co-operation was required to squeeze through trees, lower ropes after giving the other player a helping hand up, and timing jumps to move a see-saw cart through a mining cavern.
 * Exactly What It Says on the Tin: When Donald enters the world inside a book, he finds enemies made out of their name's letters.
 * Friend or Foe: Players can attack each other in Co-Op, causing Mickey and Donald to get hilariously stunned.
 * Level Ate: The giant cookie box level.
 * Magical Land
 * Magical Mystery Doors: Donald has to go through a maze in his version of the final level.
 * Non-Lethal KO: Mickey and Donald don't kill their enemies. They simply turn them into more harmless forms with a wave of their magical cloaks.
 * Oxygenated Underwater Bubbles: Mickey and Donald travel underwater inside one during the underwater level.
 * Secret Test of Character: The duo are apparently being tested by the wizard who summoned them. Over the course of their journey, they learn new magic, and he seems quite happy to have been defeated.
 * Shout-Out: Filled with a variety of Disney locations, characters and music.
 * The opening has the dark music from Sleeping Beauty when they discover the magic box.
 * The Caterpillar from Alice In Wonderland can be seen in the foreground on the first level.
 * The "Heigh-Ho" theme music from Snow White whilst going through spider filled cavern. Also with all the glittering gems in the background it's probably based on the mine the dwarves work in.
 * You fight a shark in a sunken ship wreck much like The Little Mermaid.
 * Once you jump out of the fishbowl you can see a familiar fish inside it, Cleo.
 * Madam Mim is the boss of the Cookie Box level.
 * An entire level is pretty much dominated by Alice In Wonderland references, from the level design and music to the playing card guards and the strange Mad Hatter statues heads chasing you.
 * Stage Magicians: What our heroes were practicing for before being trapped in another land.
 * Stealth Mentor: It seems the wizard who brought them to his world wanted them to become better magicians than even himself.
 * Super Drowning Skills: You die (sorry, lose a try) if you fall into water during most areas that contain it.
 * Super Not-Drowning Skills: The characters learn a spell to create an air bubble around them so avoid this during the Underwater level. However, when they are out of the water, falling into water still kills them.
 * Trapped in Another World
 * Under the Sea: A level takes place in what turns out to be a gigantic fish bowl.
 * Vile Villain Saccharine Show: The Final Boss,, is significantly darker than the rest of the game.