Epic Mickey

[HaiImNate]

When you think of the name Mickey Mouse, I personally think of that cheery mouse that starred in a myriad of Disney Cartoons that I watched when I was younger and that I still watch today. Mickey has not only been accentuated in cartoons but has been a semi-major character in games such as Kingdom Hearts, Sports games, and more. The last game spotlighting Mickey was Disney’s Magical Mirror for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002. Finally in 2010 he is the new protagonist of the new game starring him- Disney’s Epic Mickey.

Console: Wii
Release Date: 09/30/10 (NA); 09/25/10 (EU)
Publisher: Disney Interctive Studios
Developer: Junction Point Studios
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E

Mickey is back in a more strange and far-out adventure than ever before! In past games Mickey has starred in, he has been on the side of good and righteous, but as players examine (Disney’s) Epic Mickey what side is he really on? This new adventure will be an adventure like none other, and the world of Disney will be seen in a totally different way.

A sleeping Mickey is dreaming of past adventures when he suddenly wakes up from a noise. He looks around conspicuously, and that is when he notices a magical mirror. He then curiously walks through mirror that made the noise and enters Yen Sid's workshop where he discovers a model that Yen Sid created. This model world is a peaceful land where forgotten Disney Characters live in peace and tranquility. After completing his model, Yen Sid enters it. Interested to see what Yen Sid is up to, Mickey tip toes over to the model and seeing the Paintbrush picks it up; he just wants to be an artist like Yen Sid.

Using the brush, Mickey accidentally creates a shadow Blot. The Blot gets bigger and bigger and Mickey starts to panic! Mickey then sees a paint thinner, and he throws it on the blot before it gets out of control. After using it, the Shadow Blot shrinks but the masterpiece Yen Sid created is now ruined. Hearing noises Yen Sid comes to see what happened, but Mickey hurriedly flees, and Yen Sid comes back to find his beautiful world destroyed.

Don't do it Mickey!

A few months have passed, and Mickey’s life is back to normal. Everything is peaceful until one day the Shadow Blot comes out of the mirror and drags Mickey back to the depressing world. It is now up to Mickey to return the world back to its original state!

The paint brush and thinner are the player's sword and dagger in Epic Mickey. The paint brush is used to revitalize and repair objects while the thinner is used to erase things that physically need to be erased. These tools are also used to fight enemies. The paint brush turns enemies to good allies whereas the thinner will remove enemies. Each enemy is unique, and these tools will be used in different ways to complete certain missions throughout the adventure. To operate the paintbrush, just point the Wii Remote at the object, and then press ‘B’ on the Wii Remote. To use thinner point at the object, and press the ‘Z’ button on the Nunchuck.

Tada! Just like magic!

Epic Mickey has a big morality factor. This means that the actions players do throughout the adventure will affect the perception of how other characters look at Mickey throughout the game. For example, if players decide to help out Clarabelle deliver a pie to Horace, then Horace will give something in return which can aid Mickey. The more good deeds that are accomplished, the more people will view Mickey as a hero. On the other hand, failing missions means no help which means a longer and tougher adventure.

A unique feature of the game is the introduction of Projector Screens. Passing through them allows Mickey travel from place to place. When Mickey enters these screens, he traverses 2D side-scrolling levels based on his classic cartoon shorts such as “Steamboat Willy”, “Fantasia”, “Clock Cleaners, and more. These levels are usually short and allows players to collect clips. Collected clips are stored in the gallery where they can be view later in the Extras section of the title screen. They are fun, short, and a good way to get around.

A cool world you will go through.

Wasteland is the land where forgotten Disney characters are left behind. This is the world that Mickey, has screwed up. Players will meet many older Disney characters such as Clarabelle, Lil Pete, Mortimer, Horace, Oswald, and more. Oswald is a character that despises you at first just because you took his spot. He was the first main character in the Disney cartoons but was quickly discarded once Mickey was created. Now he lives in Wasteland trying to live the life he wished he had. There are evidences of this too; players see a statue of Walt and Oswald as well as a non-working robotic Goofy that Oswald has built. Oswald doesn’t take a liking to Mickey at first but after some time he just might learn to put up with him.

There are plenty of small villains to battle against, but there are not many boss fights throughout Epic Mickey. There are roughly five boss fights at the most. Additionally, with the exception for the fights at the end, they don’t last too long.

The boss!

Mickey has one main ally throughout his adventure in Epic Mickey. His name is Gus and he and his “gremlin” friends will help Mickey out. Of course, Mickey does have to help them with some tasks. It is important to help them because they can do many useful things throughout the adventure. Gus teaches Mickey how to use the paintbrush and thinner, and he will help him in various tasks throughout Epic Mickey.

The graphics are fabulous throughout the game. Everything actually looks like it has been painted. It is beautiful and very creative. Some people say this game lacks innovation, but it has very good creativity and captures the Disney feel to it. The characters have nice costumes to match the surroundings and they are each different. The setting is also unique, and it really feels like playing through an old Disney cartoons as players travel through some worlds.

Beautiful concept art.

The music follows a particular Disney theme and after a while it just gets redundant. Though there is some background music in levels that are different and are nice to listen to as you travel through that world. As Mickey travel to worlds and relive cartoons like “Steamboat Willy”, players will hear reminiscent Disney music which is nice. There are quite a few sound effects in this game. Some are funny and some can give a better understanding of the world of Wasteland even more. Mickey makes sound effects sometimes and things in the background or important objects make noises as well. Also, the paint or thinner will make noises when using them.

Besides the beginning of the adventure when Yen Sid is narrating, there is really no voice acting in Epic Mickey. Players read words on the screen when characters are talking and that’s about it. That or hearing sound effects from specific characters.

Chatting with Gus

Even after defeating the final boss, there are many side quests to do through the world of Wasteland. There are film reels, concept arts, and many more items to collect. Players have also probably missed things such as pins, money, and more goodies so it is always fun to go back and get those. There is also an Extras section where concept arts, movies, cartoons and the credits can be viewed. In concept art players can view the various art that producers, developers, designers created. In movies players can view reminiscent cutscenes and clips of their adventure through Wasteland. There are also two cartoons to find and unlock in the game which can be viewed here. In credits players simply just watch the credits of Epic Mickey seeing who did what and such. The more things that have been unlocked in the journey, the more things that can be viewed in the Extras section.

Criminals are not taken lightly in Wasteland.

Epic Mickey is definitely a creative game. Players are physically altering the world using the power of paint and thinner. The same tools used to reshape the world are also used to battle enemies just using this. The storyline is fabulous and the gameplay is superb. The game will probably provide around 15-20 hours if everything is fully collected and completed. Playing the game and viewing the Extras section will have players oohing and awing for hours. I really enjoyed playing this game and it definitely had me amazed because there were some lofty expectations after viewing this at E3. (Disney's) Epic Mickey is definitely one of the best Wii games of 2010 and I give it an 8/10.

Epic Mickey gets an 8/10.

[Shido]

Sister got this game and it seems pretty cool, I'll probably check it out later.

[DoctorPhil]

Nice review. I like the character designs for this game, they're pretty interesting. But I don't feel like reading a lot >.>
Edit: I meant in the game, not your review lol

[volkenza]

Nice review

[CircusHead]

Yeah, an 8/10 suits this game. It wasn't worth the hype. It was OK, imo. Excellent review.

[Skuntank]

I didn't like the control scheme that much, but it had a lot of heart behind it. I really enjoyed the cartoon cutscenes, I just wish they made the game in that style. It did have Petey, which was a big plus to me.

The bosses were really awesome though. I think it does deserve a 8/10.

[Xeire]

I give it

9/10

[CraigLand]

Although I was hoping for a more darker story that I expected from the original concept art, it does seem enjoyable enough. I still need to pick this game up and play it.

[gasten]

the game was awfull i was way too hyped for it
6/10

[InsomniacMan]

Epic Mickey was a great addition to my Wii games.