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In the beginning of the 90s there is propably no studio that is looking
for new franchises more desperately then Sega
Not only does the studio have to sell games, they have to convince the customer to buy
their hardware as well, the 8-Bit console Master System
and the 16-Bit Console Mega Drive
What worked so flawlessly for Nintendo with successfull franchises
like super Mario Brother or Legend of Zelda
is proving to be quite difficult to repeat
their original characters like Alex Kidd,
Wonder Boy or Opa Opa
refuse to garner broad success despite their influence
in various media
As a result, Sega decides to adept the popular Disney license
Their most talented designers are assembled and tasked to create
a game
"Castle of Illusion" for the Sega Mega Drive becomes the front runner
of the 16-Bit technology
The title hasn't aged particularly well
state-of-the-art animations from back then feel clunky now
and the game plays unwieldy
Regardless the title
is an accomplishment for its time
and defines a sterile style
that many platformers would adept
Whenever creativity
and originality where needed
developers would alternatively chose the Micky Mouse formula
Tired level themes like "toy"
or "sweets" would become the home for countless of failed platforming heroes
and are even used in platformers today, now that even the Mario-creators
have used up all their ideas after 20 years
Mostly the title is interesting
for the use of many design elements that would later
define the popular sonic series
Times have been more gentle
to the 8-Bit version of the game
that feels a lot more playable from todays perspecive then its elaborate 16-Bit brother
maybe that is one of the reasons
for why the game had two sequels in the same engine
Land of Illusion was an exclusive release for the dated 8-Bit console
and turned
into a system reference
From subtle adventure elements
to hidden upgrades
and secret passageways
the quality of the gaem comes surprisingly close to the ultimate "Super Mario Bros 3"
"Legend of Illusion"
was chronologically the last Disney title
and was released 1995
for the Master System
To put that into perspective:
Sonys Playstation
had been released the previous year
The game is merely a conservative
rehash of known elements
The second 16-Bit project would chose a different direction
instead of Mickey Mouse its the turn of Donald Duck
probably inspired by the success of "Duck Tales"
as it shares a lot of similarities with it
On the first look the game merely cashes in on the popularity
of the "Indiana Jones" theme, Donald travels around the world
looking for treasure in mysterious temples
With more carefull consideration the game is revealed to be a very
carefull adaption of the source material however
its themes seem to be inspired by the popular work of Carl Barks
which were in turn one of the inspiration for Indiana Jones to begin with
Adventure elements
and playfull design
the game remains a system highlight until today
The graphical
and musical versitility
has rarely been matched on the system
the game mechanics are entertaining
Unlike the slightly bland Master System Donald duck titles
Quackshot
uses its license to the fullest
and managed
to become one of the most memorable Disney titles
After both projects had been successfull
the developers decided to combine the themes
and so the final entry
would feature
both protagonists at once
"World of Illusion"
is filled with creative ideas
and marks the highlight
of Segas work with the Disney license
Groundbreaking Coop-elements
or enjoyable "Alice in Wonderland" elements made sure the title remains in memory
even today
At this time Sega has already invented Sonic
and would focus their efforts
on their own franchise from now
But "World of Illusion" is a worthy consclusion for an era
when the japanese developer
still had to find its own identity