Nintendo Power magazine April issue #277 has announced the 2D action-adventure platformer Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is coming exclusively to Nintendo 3DS in Fall 2012.
In development at DreamRift (of Monster Tale fame) it’s a direct sequel to 1990’s Sega Mega Drive/Genesis side-scroller “Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse”, instead of a portable port of Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Two. But both games will be released at the same time.
Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is said to be controlled using the 3DS’ stylus. You’ll either erase objects in the levels with paint thinner, or draw items to life… You can tap random item icons in the stages to then trace/paint them, which will result in bringing items to life, such as: cliffs, cannons, and floating platforms. But be warned, if you don’t trace/paint the items well, they’ll not come to life as flawlessly as they should. For example: A perfectly painted canon will only damage Mickey’s enemies, but a poorly drawn painting can result in a canon that also explodes into Mickey, damaging our hero.
Being a true 16-bit retro game, like its predecessor “Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse”, the Power of Illusion features hand-drawn sprites that move over scrolling parallax background just like the original game did! These graphics are said to look stunning in the 3DS’ 3D mode.
Levels are based on animated Disney adventures, anything from “Sleeping Beauty” to “Tangled” and more. The game’s first screenshot also shows a level starring Scrooge McDuck from DuckTales. Peter Pan has also been reported, as you’ll be fighting and/or befriending illusion/clones of famous Disney characters, including many returning from the original game.
Via About.com
To give you an idea of what the “Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse” sequel will look and play like, here’s the TV commercial for Disney’s Castle of Illusion for Sega Genesis.