PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - The Longplay

Enjoy!

PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - Part 4 of 4

It's now time to face Mizrabel and save Minnie!

Level 5: The Castle

The throwing objects here are candles...so pick up the candles when you see them.

The first section contains knights that throw maces like boomerangs as well as statues that will attack you when you least expect it. When you see the green statues in the background, just keep moving so they won't hit you.

The green blocks that crush you can also be dealt with by just keeping right on going. Some will drop, but some will not.

If you go to the right before the first set of green blocks and use the enemies to get on top of the wall, you'll find four candles and two Stars.

The green statue after the first set of green blocks has some rather odd timing, as he will swing at you before you get near him.

For the second set of green blocks, let the first block fall, go under it and stand under the second, wait for the third to go up before going under it standing under the fourth, let the fifth fall, then you're out.

For the third set of green blocks, trigger the first block, then run to the third block and stand under it to trigger the fourth. You'll be able to get out from here.

On the first fall-away platform, jump up and butt stomp to get rid of any projectiles.

You'll see a rolling ball. Go up and take out the knights with your candles, then go down the slope. Jump when you reach the bottom so you don't fall into the pool of purple acid and die. Duck into the gaps to avoid the rolling iron ball.

After making your way up, you'll see bubbles going in and out of the purple pools. Wait for them to go down before jumping over them. When you jump on the second fall-away block, stay on the left edge and jump when you're about to reach the bottom so you don't fall into the purple stuff again.

Be careful with the platforms above the purple pools, as they will drop down shortly after you stand on them. The skull bridge just moves up and down and will send you into the flight paths of the bats, but that's about it...and that's just the first section! You'll find the Indigo Gem at the exit.

The second section has you swimming against the current. Take the top route, then take the bottom.

The third section is a clock tower. You'll be taking platforms to the top and trying not to fall to the bottom (and not get hit by bats). The stationary gears will fall when you stand on them, while the spinning ones will not.

You'll also see crushers. Their crushing patterns will start as soon as they are on the screen, so you can somewhat mess with the crushers' timing.

The pendulum platform can be iffy. You want to land on the center, or you'll risk falling off the edge and going down.

The boss here is a rather large man who jumps around. He'll try to whack you with a sword and try to block you from stomping on him with his free arm. Get him to move close to you, and when he bares his teeth, that's your cue to butt bounce on his head. You'll want to land dead center on his head when you butt stomp him, or else you're going to take damage. You'll want to keep some distance on the off chance that he performs the jumping attack instead of the sword attack. If you go for the attack before he bares his teeth, he will raise his arm up to protect himself and you'll be knocked back a bit upon hitting the butt bounce.

Beating this guy gives you the Violet Gem...but now you have to face Mizrabel!

Once you make a bridge to the tower with the Rainbow Gems, you'll meet Mizrabel herself! She changes into another form that looks like the Wicked Queen from Snow White. To beat her, dodge the ghosts she shoots out and butt stomp her on the head. Thankfully, you can butt bounce on the ghosts repeatedly and move accordingly to keep from taking hits on the way down. If Mizrabel is close to you, jump butt stomp on the ghost shield and then go in for the kill. When you beat Mizrabel, she'll inexplicably change back to her original form. Mizrabel will have a change of heart and help you escape the castle when it's about to crumble. Of course, when you get out, it doesn't and there's nothing but fireworks.

The Castle of Illusion is gone, Mizrabel has a change of heart and Minnie and Mickey are reunited! You've won!

PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - Part 3 of 4

We go through a nice, short level in order to obtain the Yellow Gem, then we go all over the place in the study.

Level 3: The Storm

The music is pretty good here. Feels more like a stop-gap level, though. Nevertheless, it's pretty fun.

Drop down the first pit and go through the left wall. You'll find a bag of marbles as well as some white gems. From there, go up and follow the main path.

The bridges will fall away when you land on them, as well as some of the platforms on the pit walls. The fish will jump out of the water to dive into you.

After a while, you'll have to swim in water in some of the pits in order to make your way to the end of the first section. If you take the top path all the way to the end before doing that, you'll find two Stars.

For the second section, you're in some sort of temple. Make your way to the right end of the temple, and avoid the waterfalls so you don't get knocked into the bottomless pit. Take your time with the platforms, as some of them are just big enough for you to stand on and you can slide off if you move carelessly. As long as Mickey's foot lands on the platform on his way down, you'll be fine.

In the third section, you'll have to deal with water that rises and sinks every so often. You do not want to fall into it, as the water will eat away at your health. Just time your movement so that you can trek to the right when the water starts sinking.

The boss is an ancient statue that shoots out fish men. When the fish men jump out, hit them with a marble to send them flying into the statue, destroying whatever is at the bottom and lowering the head of the statue. Once you defeat the statue head, you'll get the Yellow Gem.

Level 4: The Library

You're back to apples for the throwing objects.

The red A's (which makes me think of The Scarlet Letter) jump over you when you get close enough. If you try to jump on them when you approach them, you will take damage. The maggots just move slowly back and forth.

When you enter the milk bottle, you'll enter a world of milk rivers, cakes and candy. Swedish Fish will jump in and out of the river, and the bridges will fall away as you put your weight on them much like those in the last level.

The floating cake platforms will help you get over the milk river. One misplaced jump will be instant death if you fall to the bottom.

The vanilla wafer platforms go in a circle. At least you can't drown in the milk river by simply standing on them.

When you reach the end of this section, you'll get the Green Gem. From here, go back and make your way up. After you swing to the left (and turn off the lights as you go), keep going left so you aren't dropped back down to the start. The blue books on the ceiling will crush you, but if you fall into the gap and duck down, you shouldn't have any problems.

You'll come across a tea cup. Jump in and swim to the end, avoiding the sugar cubes that block your path. You'll then be able to continue with the rest of the level. If you go up before going into the tea cup, you can replenish one of your hit points with a Star. When you leave the tea cup area, the Star will re-spawn.

Instead of going down the slope when you see the giant apple, go straight to the right instead to find a star. Keep going right and jump down when you see the books. There will be a passage leading to two stars and a bag of apples.

Go back to the slope. Since you're to the right of it on the way back, the apple will automatically roll down before you can come close to approaching it. Go down the slope and enter the tea cup. Again, make your way to the end. When you get out, go to the right.

The boss is a red dragon that flies around. Stay away from him and pelt him with apples. If he goes straight for you at platform level, butt stomp his head. As long as you're able to fight him from a distance, fighting him will be a bit easier.

When you beat the dragon, you'll get the Blue Gem.

PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - Part 2 of 4

Now that we've completed Practice Mode, it is now time for the real game.

Now it's time for the normal game. You'll need all seven gems to save Minnie and win the game this time, and you'll also have to defeat bosses and take on longer levels. This will be fun, however, so let's dig in.

On Normal Mode, you start with continues; on Hard, you don't have any at all.

Level 1: The Enchanted Forest

Mickey's main attack is the butt stomp. To perform it, simply jump, then either press the jump button again or press Down on the Control Pad to perform it. You have to use the Butt Stomp or else you'll take damage from jumping on an enemy. If you hold the button for the Butt Stomp down after jumping on an enemy, you'll bounce higher than you usually would; otherwise, it is a very low bounce.

The enemies here are very generic. The small moving trees will jump at you, but that's about all they can do. The mushrooms go back and forth, and the flowers will spit seeds at you that can also be destroyed with the butt stomp.

Jump into a swinging rope or chain and you can swing on it. If you run into enemies while swinging, you'll go straight through them and defeat them. Be careful when you jump, it is possible to simply drop down if you jump when the rope goes all the way to the side. To get more distance, you'll have to jump 

The apples act as throwing items for this level. This is an alternate attack you can use if you can't reach an enemy normally. They don't do as much damage as the butt stomp, but they still come in handy. The maximum you can carry is 30, and if you pick up any more after that, you'll get 1000 points.

The stars will refill one unit of Mickey's health. If your health is full when you pick them up, you'll score 1000 points instead. On Practice Mode, you'll have five hit points; on Normal, you'll have three; on Hard, you'll only have two.

The exit door will take you to the next section of a level. Just walk up to it and you'll enter. 

The second section starts as pleasantly as the first one. The leaf butterflies just fly forward in a zig-zag pattern. They're not that hard to deal with, as with much of the enemies early in the game.

The mouse ears icon give you an extra life (or try, as the game calls them).

Shortly after the beginning of the second section, you'll be dogged by a giant, rolling apple that acts as a boulder. To get past the big apple, hold Right for a second, then let go before the end so you can hide in the hole. 

The third section is a collection of spider webs and leaves. The leaves act as the platforms for this area. Some of them move when you land on them, so don't move off of them immediately when you land on one of them. You'll meet the spiders, but they just move up and down and get in the way. A butt stomp will take care of them.

In the fourth section, the forest gets dark. Butt stomp the ghosts to use them as platforms. You'll also meet the bats, which will fly at you if you're in the vicinity. You don't have to be that close to them in order for them to fly at you. Be sure you bounce off all the ghosts, as the high road is the only road and falling down will force you back to the start.

The small gems count as bonus points. You can get lives after collecting enough points (the first is at 40000 points, the rest are at every subsequent 50000 points) so they're worth getting.

The small brown bag gives you ten throwing items.

The boss is an enchanted tree. This boss is very simple. Just stay at the far left side of the screen, and jump over the face when it rolls towards you. When it smacks back into the tree and sends acorns down from the top of the screen, just stay at the far left. They'll never spawn there and they'll never reach you. Throw an apple at the face when it stops rolling. They do less damage, but you're far more likely to beat the boss without taking any damage this way. The pattern will then repeat endlessly from here.

After you beat the boss, you'll get the Red Gem, the first of the seven rainbow gems. You'll also get a technical bonus based on how much health you have at the end, as well as a secret bonus for all the secret stuff you found.

Level 2: Toyland

When you enter a new level, you'll lose all your throwing items and you'll have to find new ones. This time around, the throwing items are marbles.

The toy soldiers are easy to defeat. As for the jack-in-the-boxes, just wait for them to pop out before defeating them. Just make sure you're dead center when you butt bounce on them; otherwise, you're taking a hit.

The exit is to the right of the start in the first section, but you won't be able to enter it because the door has nothing in it. You'll have to make your way to the top and activate the exit to get to the next sections.

The planes move around in a zig-zag fashion like the leaf butterflies in the last level, but they're a bit faster. You can use them to get to higher areas

At the top of the first section, you'll find a key. When you grab it, all the stairs will change to steep slopes, allowing you to collect a bunch of white gems and go all the way back to the bottom in seconds so you can easily reach the now open exit.

In the second section, just jump on the springs to get higher. If you land on the spring at the bottom soon after the start, don't press the jump button or else you won't get anywhere.

You'll have to break some blocks with your marbles in order to continue. You'll be able to find some power-ups behind some blocks.

The square checkerboard platforms go up and down and move in rather interesting patterns. If you're used to the platforms in Spring Yard Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog, you'll have an exact idea of how they move: the center always moves the opposite direction as the ones on the side.

At the end of the jack-in-the-box part of the second section, there is a false wall near some yellow blocks. Go through it and break the blocks with marbles to find a star.

Jump repeatedly to get out of the red gelatin. If you spend too much time in the gelatin, you will die.

If you have than less than the default starting power when you exit a section, your health will get a refill to that default value when you start the next one.

In the third section, you'll find icons with an up/down arrow. This not only turns the level upside down (and you with it), but it also destroys all enemies on the screen.

Jumping repeatedly makes you move faster, apparently.

The gold apples give you points.

The clowns on unicycles will throw a ball upwards, which will land on whatever is directly in front of it. If you butt stomp or throw a marble at the clown, the unicycle will survive and take out any enemies it touches as it keeps going.

The boss is a springy clown in a box. He jumps two or three times before shooting his arm forward. Duck under the arm, then jump on one of the springs he leaves behind and land on his head. If you take too long, the clown boss will eventually recover. Walk under him as he jumps, and don't let him back you into the corner.

When you beat the clown, you'll get the Orange Gem.

PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - Part 1 of 4

Donald Duck's Quackshot wasn't the only good Disney game for Sega.

The game starts with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in peaceful Vera City. Mizrabel the witch, who is jealous of Minnie's looks and popularity, kidnaps Minnie and takes her to the Castle of Illusion. Now Mickey must brave the challenges of the castle in order to get Minnie back.

Believe it or not, there is a Practice mode. Just select Practice for the difficulty, and there you go.

When you start the game, you'll have to find three gems that will make Mizrabel see the beauty in herself. You'll also see Mickey do a butt bounce on a few toy soldiers. This is Mickey's main attack . To perform it, simply jump, then either press the jump button again or press Down on the Control Pad to perform it. You have to use the Butt Stomp or else you'll take damage from jumping on an enemy. If you hold the button for the Butt Stomp down after jumping on an enemy, you'll bounce higher than you usually would; otherwise, it is a very low bounce.

Unlike the Master System version, you will have to do all the same stages in the same order no matter what, so you don't have a modicum of choice like you did on Master System.

When you start the game, you'll find out that Mizrabel is going to do some body switching in order to steal Minnie's looks and make the real Minnie evil and unattractive like her. You'll have to get the seven gems of the rainbow in order to defeat Mizrabel.

The first stage is the forest. The apples act as throwing items for this level. This is an alternate attack you can use if you can't reach an enemy normally. They don't do as much damage as the butt stomp, but they still come in handy. The maximum you can carry is 30, and if you pick up any more after that, you'll get 1000 points. When you reach the end, you'll get the red gem.

You get bonus points for clearing a stage. The clear bonus is simply for beating the stage, the technical bonus is for beating a stage while playing well, and the secret bonus is for finding all the secret areas in a stage.

The second stage is Toy Land. When you enter a new level, you'll lose all your throwing items and you'll have to find new ones. This time around, the throwing items are marbles. If you find a bag of marbles, you'll get ten marbles. The toy soldiers are easy to defeat. The planes move around in a zig-zag fashion and are a tad fast, but if you hit them when they fly low, they're not a problem. The clowns, when defeated, leave their unicycles behind. Wait for them to throw an object before hitting them, and avoid the unicycle afterwards. At the end of the second stage, you'll get the orange gem.

The stars will refill one unit of Mickey's health. If your health is full when you pick them up, you'll score 1000 points instead. On Practice Mode, you'll have five hit points; on Normal, you'll start with three; on Hard, you'll only start with two. The Mickey ears are extra tries; pick them up for an extra life. Extra tries are awarded at 40,000 and every subsequent 50,000 thereafter.

The third stage is the mountain, complete with a evening sky with storm clouds with a little bit of orange mixed in. This place is a bit of a maze, but there are some hidden walls that can lead to diamonds that give out a bunch of points. The mushrooms can easily be butt stomped, and the same can be said of the fish. Near the end, you'll fall into some water, where you'll have to go down into a passage that will suck you in and take you to the yellow gem, the third and last gem you'll need for Practice Mode.

When you beat Practice Mode, you'll give the three gems to Mizrabel and get Minnie back. Now the real game begins...

Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (GEN/MD) - The OST

Here it is: every track from the Genesis/Mega Drive version of Castle of Illusion.

HalfBlindGamer plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - Part 5 of 5

Can Mickey save Minnie? Find out today!

Level 5: The Castle

The throwing objects here are candles...so pick up the candles when you see them.

The first section contains knights that throw maces like boomerangs as well as statues that will attack you when you least expect it. When you see the green statues in the background, just keep moving so they won't hit you.

The green blocks that crush you can also be dealt with by just keeping right on going. Some will drop, but some will not.

The green statue after the first set of green blocks has some rather odd timing, as he will swing at you before you get near him.

On the first fall-away platform, jump up and butt stomp to get rid of any projectiles.

You'll see a rolling ball. Go up and take out the knights, then go down the slope. Jump when you reach the bottom so you don't fall into the pool of purple acid and die. Duck into the gaps to avoid the rolling iron ball.

After making your way up, you'll see bubbles going in and out of the purple pools. Wait for them to go down before jumping over them. When you jump on the second fall-away block, jump when you're about to reach the bottom so you don't fall into the purple stuff again.

Be careful with the platforms above the purple pools, as they will drop down shortly after you stand on them. The skull bridge just moves up and down and will send you into the flight paths of the bats, but that's about it...and that's just the first section! You'll find the Indigo Gem at the exit.

The second section has you swimming against the current. Take the top route, then take the bottom.

The third section is a clock tower. You'll be taking platforms to the top and trying not to fall to the bottom (and not get hit by bats). The stationary gears will fall when you stand on them, while the spinning ones will not.

You'll also see crushers. Their crushing patterns will start as soon as they are on the screen, so you can somewhat mess with the crushers' timing.

The pendulum platform can be iffy. You want to land on the center, or you'll risk falling off the edge and going down.

The boss here is a rather large man who jumps around. He'll try to whack you with a sword and try to blcok you from stomping on him with his free arm. Get him to move close to you, and when he bares his teeth, that's your cue to butt bounce on his head. You'll want to land dead center on his head when you butt stomp him, or else you're going to take damage. You'll want to keep some distance on the off chance that he performs the jumping attack instead of the sword attack.

Beating this guy gives you the Violet Gem...but now you have to face Mizrabel!

Once you make a bridge to the tower with the Rainbow Gems, you'll meet Mizrabel herself! She changes into another form that looks like the Wicked Queen from Snow White. To beat her, dodge the ghosts she shoots out and butt stomp her on the head. If Mizrabel is close to you, jump butt stomp on the ghost shield and then go in for the kill. When you beat Mizrabel, she'll inexplicably change back to her original form. Mizrabel will have a change of heart and help you escape the castle when it's about to crumble. Of course, when you get out, it doesn't and there's nothing but fireworks.

The Castle of Illusion is gone, Mizrabel has a change of heart and Minnie and Mickey are reunited! You've won!

HalfBlindGamer plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - Part 4 of 5

Ah, this stage. As magical as it was on Master System, it looks really good here.

Level 4: The Library

You're back to apples for the throwing objects.

The red A's (which makes me think of The Scarlet Letter) jump over you when you get close enough. If you try to jump on them when you approach them, you will take damage. The maggots just move slowly back and forth.

When you enter the milk bottle, you'll enter a world of milk rivers, cakes and candy. Swedish Fish will jump in and out of the river, and the bridges will fall away as you put your weight on them much like those in the last level.

The floating cake platforms will help you get over the milk river. One misplaced jump will be instant death if you fall to the bottom.

The vanilla wafer platforms go in a circle.

When you reach the end of this section, you'll get the Green Gem. From here, go back and make your way up. After you swing to the left (and turn off the lights as you go), keep going left so you aren't dropped back down to the start. The blue books on the ceiling will crush you, but if you fall into the gap and duck down, you shouldn't have any problems.

You'll come across a tea cup. Jump in and swim to the end, avoiding the sugar cubes that block your path. You'll then be able to continue with the rest of the level.

Instead of going down the slope when you see the giant apple, go straight to the right instead to find a star. Keep going right and jump down when you see the books. There will be a passage leading to two stars and a bag of apples.

Go back to the slope. Since you're to the right of it on the way back, the apple will automatically roll down before you can come close to approaching it. Go down the slope and enter the tea cup. Again, make your way to the end. When you get out, go to the right.

The boss is a red dragon that flies around. Stay away from him and pelt him with apples. If he goes straight for you at platform level, butt stomp his head. As long as you're able to fight him from a distance, fighting him will be a bit easier.

When you beat the dragon, you'll get the Blue Gem.

Castle Of Illusion "Genesis Does" Commercial

Genesis indeed does.

HalfBlindGamer plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - Part 3 of 5

We go through a nice, short level in order to obtain the Yellow Gem...

Level 3: The Storm

Music is pretty good here. Feels more like a stop-gap level, though. Nevertheless, it's pretty fun.

Drop down the first pit and go through the left wall. You'll find a bag of marbles as well as some white gems. From there, go up and follow the main path.

The bridges will fall away when you land on them, as well as some of the platforms on the pit walls. The fish will jump out of the water to dive into you.

After a while, you'll have to swim in water in some of the pits in order to make your way to the end of the first section.

For the second section, you're in some sort of temple. Make your way to the right end of the temple, and avoid the waterfalls so you don't get knocked into the bottomless pit. Take your time with the platforms, as some of them are just big enough for you to stand on.

In the third section, you'll have to deal with water that rises and sinks every so often. You do not want to fall into it, as the water will eat away at your health. Just time your movement so that you can trek to the right when the water starts sinking.

The boss is an ancient statue that shoots out fish men. When the fish men jump out, hit them with a marble to send them flying into the statue, destroying whatever is at the bottom and lowering the head of the statue. Once you defeat the statue head, you'll get the Yellow Gem.

HalfBlindGamer plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - Part 2 of 5

...and now for Toyland! Compared to the Master System version, I really love what they're going for here. This is definitely one of the most early 1990s platforming levels of all time!

Level 2: Toyland

When you enter a new level, you'll lose all your throwing items and you'll have to find new ones. This time around, the throwing items are marbles.

The toy soldiers are easy to defeat. As for the jack-in-the-boxes, just wait for them to pop out before defeating them.

The exit is to the right of the start in the first section, but you won't be able to enter it because the door has nothing in it. You'll have to make your way to the top and activate the exit to get to the next sections.

The planes move around in a zig-zag fashion like the leaf butterflies in the last level, but they're a bit faster.

At the top of the first section, you'll find a key. When you grab it, all the stairs will change to steep slopes, allowing you to collect a bunch of white gems and go all the way back to the bottom in seconds so you can easily reach the now open exit.

In the second section, just jump on the springs to get higher. When you land on the spring, don't press the jump button or else you won't get anywhere.

You'll have to break some blocks with your marbles in order to continue. You'll be able to find some power-ups behind some blocks.

The square checkerboard platforms go up and down and move in rather interesting patterns. If you're used to the platforms in Spring Yard Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog, you'll have an exact idea of how they move: the center always moves the opposite direction as the ones on the side.

At the end of the jack-in-the-box part of the second section, there is a false wall near some yellow blocks. Go through it and break the blocks with marbles to find a star.

Jump repeatedly to get out of the red gelatin.

In the third section, you'll find icons with an up/down arrow. This not only turns the level upside down (and you with it), but it also destroys all enemies on the screen.

The gold apples give you points.

The clowns on unicycles will throw a ball upwards, which will land on whatever is directly in front of it. If you butt stomp or throw a marble at the clown, the unicycle will survive and take out any enemies it touches as it keeps going.

The boss is a springy jack-in-a-box. He jumps two or three times before shooting his arm forward. Duck under the arm, then jump on one of the springs he leaves behind and land on his head. Walk under him as he jumps, and don't let him back you into the corner.

When you beat the clown, you'll get the Orange Gem.

HalfBlindGamer plays Castle of Illusion for Genesis/Mega Drive - Part 1 of 5

Donald Duck's Quackshot wasn't the only good Disney game for Sega.

Also, I made this blog series as the videos were uploaded in 2013, but somehow, this one also got unaccounted for until recently. So here it is.

The game starts with Mickey and Minnie Mouse in peaceful Vera City. Mizrabel the witch, who is jealous of Minnie's looks and popularity, kidnaps Minnie and takes her to the Castle of Illusion. Now Mickey must brave the challenges of the castle in order to get Minnie back.

When you start the game, you'll find out that Mizrabel is going to do some body switching in order to steal Minnie's looks and make the real Minnie evil and unattractive like her. You'll have to get the seven gems of the rainbow in order to defeat Mizrabel.

When you enter the castle, you'll enter the first room.

Level 1: The Enchanted Forest

Mickey's main attack is the butt stomp. To perform it, simply jump, then either press the jump button again or press Down on the Control Pad to perform it. You have to use the Butt Stomp or else you'll take damage from jumping on an enemy. If you hold the button for the Butt Stomp down after jumping on an enemy, you'll bounce higher than you usually would; otherwise, it is a very low bounce.

The enemies here are very generic. The small moving trees will jump at you, but that's about all they can do. The mushrooms go back and forth, and the flowers will spit seeds at you that can also be destroyed with the butt stomp.

Jump into a swinging rope or chain and you can swing on it. If you run into enemies while swinging, you'll go straight through them and defeat them.

The apples act as throwing items for this level. This is an alternate attack you can use if you can't reach an enemy normally. They don't do as much damage as the butt stomp, but they still come in handy. The maximum you can carry is 30, and if you pick up any more after that, you'll get 1000 points.

The stars will refill one unit of Mickey's health. If your health is full when you pick them up, you'll score 1000 points instead.

The exit door will take you to the next section of a level. Just walk up to it and you'll enter.

The second section starts as pleasantly as the first one. The leaf butterflies just fly forward in a zig-zag pattern. They're not that hard to deal with, as with much of the enemies early in the game.

The mouse ears icon give you an extra life (or try, as the game calls them).

Shortly after the beginning of the second section, you'll be dogged by giant, rolling apples that act as boulders. 

The third section is a collection of spider webs and leaves. The leaves act as the platforms for this area. Some of them move when you land on them, so don't move off of them immediately when you land on one of them. You'll meet the spiders, but they just move up and down and get in the way. A butt stomp will take care of them.

In the fourth section, the forest gets dark. Butt stomp the ghosts to use them as platforms. You'll also meet the bats, which will fly at you if you're in the vicinity. You don't have to be that close to them in order for them to fly at you.

The small gems count as bonus points. You can get lives after collecting enough points (the first is at 40000 points, the rest are at every subsequent 50000 points) so they're worth getting.

The small brown bag gives you ten throwing items.

The boss is an enchanted tree. This boss is very simple. Just stay at the far left side of the screen, and jump over the face when it rolls towards you. When it smacks back into the tree and sends acorns down from the top of the screen, just stay at the far left. They'll never spawn there and they'll never reach you. Throw an apple at the face. They do less damage, but you're far more likely to beat the boss without taking any damage this way. The pattern will then repeat endlessly from here.

After you beat the boss, you'll get the Red Gem, the first of the seven rainbow gems. You'll also get a technical bonus based on how much health you have at the end, as well as a secret bonus for all the secret stuff you found.

PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (SMS) - The Longplay

Enjoy!

PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (SMS) - Part 4 of 4

It's the final challenge! Let's beat Mizrabel and save Minnie!

Clock Tower

The screw platforms are conveyor belts. You can tell which direction they will move you by looking at them.

The nuts are in stacks of four. You can take them out with butt stomps.

The white gear enemies either move up and down or follow the floors. A butt bounce will take them out.

Shortly after the beginning, you will see the Purple Gem. To get to it, make your way to the left and make sure you land dead center on the pendulum platform that swings back and forth to ensure you land on it. Climb up the ladder to the left, wait for the gear to pass by the top of the ladder, then butt bounce it and head right.

The green platforms move on tracks, much like the platforms in the first Wily stage and Crash Man's stage from Mega Man 2. Shortly after the first set of green platforms, don't take the ladder up; instead, go further to the right and climb the ladder that goes down. Get the big coin as well as the flashing star to bring your maximum Power to five points (which is as high as it can go), then jump to the left to get the Blue Gem. You'll be back close to the start, but retracing your steps should be easy. When you do that, go up the ladder you skipped before.

Grab the screw, and throw it at the gear enemy after making your way to the left a little bit, or else it will re-spawn. From there, duck down until you reach the next screw, pick it up, and throw it at the next gear enemy. Climb up the ladder to the left.

There will be a piece of cake in a chest as well as another screw to pick up. Throw it at the clock enemy at the right, then wait for the green platform to show up and get on when it does. Ride the green platforms all the way to the right. When you see the third flying robot, jump to the right off the metal stationary platform and not the green one that moves. Butt bounce off the flying clock robot and you'll be able to fight a cuckoo clock enemy (with a butt bounce) and climb down another ladder.

From here, you'll be riding another pendulum platforms. Remember to land dead center. There will be another cake piece to the right past the cuckoo clock. Take it if you need it, then go back to the ladder that was nearby and go down. Wait for the gear enemy to move to the right before grabbing the screw, and throw the screw at it. Drop down, and stay to the right if you need another piece of cake in a chest.

The boss here is a grandfather clock. Avoid the gear enemies and wait for the clock face to stop and dive down before butt bouncing it to do some damage. You'll get the Blue Gem.

After completing five stages with all seven gems, another ladder will pop up at the castle. Go up, and the seven gems will create a rainbow bridge. It's time for the final battle...but you gotta get there first!

You'll end up at the portcullis at the bottom of the castle. Go up to it and press Up to enter. Welcome to the final level.

Mizrabel's Lair

You're going to the left at the start. Jump over the knight armor, (it comes back together when butt bounced), and get close to the Thwomp-like weight so that it drops down and slowly rises back up, allowing you to move past it. Jump the gap, and when you get the next weight to drop down, tap the jump button at the gap to get past the weight. Take down the spider and grab the barrel, and place it on the lone gray block on the right of the set of gray blocks ahead. Stand on the barrel, and you can grab and throw the two gray blocks that are in your way. Go up the ladder.

In the next section, take out the spider if you need to and take the lantern with you. Take it with you and avoid the weights. Remember, as long as you hold the lantern, you'll be able to see; if you throw it away, the room gets dark again. There are two chests at the end; the first is a mimic, and you will want to move away when it shakes and butt bounce it when it gets close to defeat it. The other chest contains a piece of cake.

Don't know what's going on over there at 6:31. That's actually the video doing that, not YouTube. Didn't know about that until I did the blog guide. Oh, well, you're not missing much there.

Climb up the ladder, get on the platform, then climb up and get the contents of the two chests. Butt bounce at least one of the gray blocks on the way back to the right. Get on the platform again, move ahead of it again, and this time drop down where the gap you made so that you can duck down on the platform and get to the ladder that you will immediately see. Climb up that ladder.

Get the big coin in the chest, then take the key and drop back down. Take out the spider if you need to, and throw the key at the keyhole to the left. Make sure not to touch the sea of brown liquid at the bottom of the room; it hurts. Climb up the ladder.

Take out the mimic, then avoid being crushed by the weight. You'll be back close to where that key way. Butt stomp the two gray blocks as well as the third one a little to the right of those, then go down and break the chest to find a piece of cake if you need it. Destroy all the gray blocks to the right, then make your way back up to get to the door. If you don't break all those blocks above the key, you'll have to take the long way back, and that's not fun.

When you go through the door behind the second keyhole, it's auto-scrolling time again. Bounce off the ghosts with your butt bounce to use them as stepping stones. Duck down and let the screen scrolling push over the narrow gap, then throw the gray blocks in your way forward immediately. Immediately use the ghosts to the right as stepping stones with the butt bounce, and watch out for the seahorses when you are in the water. The chest here contains a piece of cake.

From here, quickly grab and throw away the gray block, then break both chests with the butt bounce. Grab the barrel and take it to the right so you can go up the wall, as you won't be able to get past this point without it (and all the while, the stage is still scrolling!). Jump the gaps, and break the chest nearby for a big coin before going in the door.

From here, there's no auto-scrolling. Go to the right past the walking armor and up the ladder, then go to the left for a piece of cake. There are two chest. Break them for coins, then go down the second ladder of the four that you see as all the rest of them lead to dead ends. Grab the lantern, and drop it below the gap above you. From there, drop the lantern at the edge, and use it to leap to the ladder to the right to avoid the mimic. Climb up the ladder, and position yourself so that the ghosts don't hit you and knock you off the ladder. There is a piece of cake in the chest on the way up, but the ghosts make it less than worthwhile to go for. At the top of the ladder, go into the middle door.

From here, break the gray blocks with the butt bounce, and you'll eventually find a hole in the floor. Drop down, then grab the barrel to trigger a boss fight. Jump up and toss the barrel at the dragon's head, and pay attention to the dragon so you are not hit by the blue fireballs it spits out. This one will take a bit of practice, but if you can get the barrel to the right-hand wall, you can make it so that you can move around without getting hit a whole lot and you can nimbly get up to the platform and throw the barrel at the dragon's head without taking a lot of damage. It has a little bit of a rhythm to it, and if you lose your rhythm, you can throw the barrel all the way to the right and try again.

After you defeat the dragon, it's time to face Mizrabel herself. The chest on the way to the right gives you a piece of cake, which is all you get for healing. After that, it's Mizrabel time.

From here, immediately grab the lantern and throw it at Mizrabel in mid-air. As you do this, pay close attention to the rocks she creates, as they bounce around the room in 45-degree angles and can hurt you if you're not careful. When you throw the lantern, be ready to grab it again so you can continue to see inside the room. It is possible to defeat the rocks bouncing around with a butt bounce, but she'll create another one as soon as you do. Be accurate with your throws, watch out for the rocks, and always grab the lantern as soon as possible so you can see where you're going, and after some practice, you'll be able to beat Mizrabel! Congratulations! You just beat Castle of Illusion for the Sega Master System! Minnie is saved, and Mizrabel will never mess with Vera City again! You did it!

PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (SMS) - Part 3 of 4

We complete the bigger, fuller versions of the levels from Practice Mode, but there's more to come...!

Dessert World

Just like in Practice Mode, this is an auto-scroller at the start.

Speaking of Practice Mode, the extra life at the beginning is still there, so go get it.

The chocolate chips are just standard enemies, while gumdrops move up and down in mid-air to act as platforms. You will want to throw the cupcakes that act as the rocks for this area forward to get them out of your way.

The cake platform with the pink top acts as a platform. Be sure to take it when you see it at the end of the first section.

The second section doesn't have auto-scrolling, but it does have doughnut boulders that chase you after the start. From here, you can drop down and use the platforms to get over the sea of milk. You can swim in the milk, and you can use the Swedish Fish enemies to get back on the platforms if you need to.

Get close, but not too close, to get the chocolate chips in the ceiling to come down. When you drop down to the next area, use the barrel to go up the ladder to the right, and avoid the doughnut boulders. This lets you get a hidden extra life, a whole cake and three big coins. At this point in the game, the small coins are worth 500 points and the big coins are worth 2,000 points.

After this is the boss. Wait for the boss to punch the wall so blocks come down, then get behind the boss and wait. Throw the block that is left from the wall punch at the boss' face, then get behind the boss. At this point, the pattern repeats itself, and you'll get the Yellow Gem in no time.

After the first three levels are done, you'll be able to climb the ladder upwards. Instead of meeting Mizrabel right then and there, you get two more stages.

Desk World

The toy planes return and re-spawn when defeated, and the caterpillars move back and forth. The red A's move back and forth and split into three smaller A's when butt bounced, but they can be hard to hit post-split. Some of the move back and forth, while others jump back and forth and tend to get in the way.

Avoid the first ladder you see as you go to the right and take the next set after that. Don't forget the piece of cake on the far right if you need to. Avoid the A as you go up, then go right, go up the next ladder and duck down in the pits to avoid the toy planes.

Go down the ladder at the end. Go right if you need the whole cake as well as the coin, but don't go too far right or else you'll drop back down to the beginning. Go left and jump on the right end of the spoon so you can get launched up. Butt bounce the air to find two big coins, then climb down the ladder and enter the teacup.

Throw the chests at the sugar cubes that bounce up and down. The final chest here will give you an extra life. Making it all the way to the right takes you to the next area.

Get on the platform carried by the bee that is to your left and jump right up to the nearby ladder. Go up, and open the two chests here to get two more big coins. Go back down and make your way left, and use the planes to get a boost if you absolutely needs to. Go up the ladder on the far left, and use the barrel to climb up the next ladder. To the left is the Yellow-Green Gem. DO NOT MISS IT.

Go to the right and avoid the planes, and tap the jump button at the left of the gap leading to the "notes room." Slowly move right and butt bounce the circles on the notes that drop down. Take the barrel before dropping down and use it to get to the ladder to the left. You'll find a small coin, and if you go to the right, you'll find a big coin and a whole cake below the ladder underneath. Go back to the left, and climb down to reach the boss and get a piece of cake before the battle.

The boss here is a giant book. The book shoots out "A" and "B" platform. Butt bounce off of them and land on the front of the book boss to hit it. If you can time your jumps right, you'll be getting the Green Gem in four hits.

VCDECIDE - Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, Master System vs. Genesis/Mega Drive

Now to watch these two versions back to back...

PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (SMS) - Part 2 of 4

Now that we've gotten the Practice Mode out of the way, it's time to take on the game for real!

Normal Mode

This time around, you're finally looking for all seven rainbow gems, and you will be facing bosses.

Forest

This time around, the stage is a little more complex, as you will be going underground to get through the level. Be sure to butt bounce around as you explore the top to find some things. Do this in the underground maze, as you can find a lot of big coins as well as an extra life.

Small coins are worth 100 points, while big ones are worth 1,000. 10,000 points will net you an extra life.

The underground area is a bit of a maze, but thankfully it is nothing too difficult.

The spiders will drop down when you are directly under them, and you can but bounce from there. The pillbugs are fairly slow and can be defeated easily. The butterflies will camouflage themselves on the walls, and you will have to wait for them to reveal themselves before you can butt bounce on them to defeat them.

The bats can be used as platforms to get over bottomless pit. All you have to do is butt bounce off them.

A whole cake will restore two units of Power.

The bees will fly towards you, while the worms will ride the leaf platforms. The leaf platforms feel somewhat sticky, and you seem to stick to them when you get onto them or come close to doing so. This makes platforming on the leaf platforms a little tricky. For the second worm platform, you will want to grab the apple and throw it at the worm in order to safely jump onto the moving platform.

The boss here is a tree. Avoid the leaves that it shoots at you and butt bounce dead center on the top of its head. When it turns into a tornado, jump clear over it, then avoid the leaves and butt bounce it again once it stops moving. When the leaves start moving to the left, that is your cue to jump and butt bounce. After four hits, you will get the Red Gem.

Toy Land

The start of this area is just like in Practice Mode. However, this is a ladder to the far left, and you will have to deal with toy planes. Butt bouncing the planes will just stun them; you will need to grab the remote in the room and throw it to the ground to get rid of all the toy planes. If you can make it to the top, you will be able to get a flashing star which will add one hit to your maximum Power. Now you can ride the steam that comes from the toy train.

Instead of a chest with a cake, there will be another barrel. Toss it at the chess knight to go up, then take care of the next chess knight and place the next barrel you see on the nearby button to keep the door open.

The barrel here can be used to keep the bubbles that come out of the pipes in the steps from hitting you. Grab that barrel, take it up the stairs, then throw it to the wall. Jump on the barrel, get over the wall, get the cake if you need it, and throw the blue ball at the clown that is making balls rain down. There will be another clown after this; go in deep and butt bounce him before he can attack.

Go down the ladder. Go to the right first to get a coin and full health. Go left on the slope and jump early if you need a coin, then take the low road. The first two blocks are solid; jump over the next two to the ladder or else you will be falling into a nearby area that will force you to climb up and start the process of getting to the ladder all over again. This part is easy if you know what to do.

When you make it to the ladder, go down, grab the ball and throw it at the monkey. Go down the next ladder. The two green guys floating up and down can be butt bounced and used as platforms. Take the right path first and use the barrel to get an extra life and a big coin, then go left with the two green guys. Destroy the clown, then destroy the ball on the box. This activates a spring board. Press and hold the jump button as the platform goes up to get the maximum distance and grab a ladder. Grab the ladder on the right.

Go up, take out the remote to kill the toy car, go up again, grab the key after getting rid of the blue balls, then drop down and take it to the door with the keyhole. It's boss time.

The boss here is a toy monkey. Do not get too close or else you will take damage. When it lands, butt bounce on the head and avoid the balls that drop down. After four hits, you'll get the Yellow Gem.

PrinceWatercress plays Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (SMS) - Part 1 of 4

Castle of Illusion is the kind of Sega-Disney title that works well on both 8-bit and 16-bit. It may not be like it's 16-bit brother on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, but it's a wonderful adventure in its own right.

Welcome to Vera City, where life is joyful, and everyone lives in peace. All but one, that is. One who is jealous of Minnie's beauty and popularity - the witch Mizrabel, who one day came on her broom and swept Minnie away. Mickey was taken by surprise. He did the only thing he could. He chased after the witch Mizrabel all the way to the Castle of Illusion...

To enter a door, walk up to a door, come to a complete stop and press Up in front of the door.

Left and Right let you move around. Pressing 2 lets you jump, and pressing 1 while in mid-air lets you perform a butt bounce. If you are not performing a butt bounce, you will not hurt the enemy.

If you walk up to an item such as a block or chest and keep holding the Control Pad towards it, Mickey may stand still and put his hands on it. From there, if you press 1, you can pick it up, and you can press 1 again to throw it.

From left to right on the bottom of the screen, you have your Power (which acts as your health), the number or lives that you have (or tries, as the game calls them), your current score and the amount of time you have to get through the stage.

Practice Mode

Here, you'll be looking for three gems which, when put together, will allow Mizrabel to see her inner beauty and leave poor Minnie alone.

The stages here are really easy.

In the first stage (the one on the left), you can butt bounce on the tree enemies as well as the flowers. The flowers spit out two projectiles, but other than that, they're not so hard. The Red Gem is at the end.

In the second stage (the one in the middle), you'll be doing a bit of platforming. Take the ball and throw it at the clown, then take the barrel to the right of the train and use it as a way to get onto the steam clouds the train produces. Ride one to the red platforms to the right, then climb up. You can break the chest to get some cake and refill some of your Power if you have to, then go to the right for the Orange Gem. Butt bounce on the chess knight that bounces around to defeat it

In the third stage (the one on the right), you'll be auto-scrolling in Candy Land. If you can hit the chest at the start, you can get a 1-Up, which is signified by a pair of Mickey Mouse ears. Be careful on slopes, because you will move faster on those. After some basic platforming, you'll get the Yellow Gem.

After completing all three stages, go up to the ladder that shows up and you will be able to get Mizrabel to admire her reflection in the gems and get Minnie back and leave Vera City in exchange for the gems. Now it's time to go to Normal Mode...