The Genesis Classic returns in a beautiful HD remake, but does it still hold up today? Read our review below.

Castle of Illusion HD is a 2013 platformer adventure game starring Mickey Mouse as the main character. It is available on Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and PC via Steam.

Mickey in Toy Land.

Having not played the original, I was interested in picking this one up. After the recent slew of Mickey Mouse titles  and HD ports that had been release lately, it was only natural for game to come next. After spending time with this title from start to finish, I can see why it’s viewed as a “classic”, take that as you will.

THE GOOD:  Castle of Illusion is a remake of a classic 90s game, so it’s not very long, but the time you do spend playing, you instantly find your self having a fun time, that makes putting the controller down a hard thing to do. The gameplay is simple, get from point a to point b, as with most platformers. You jump and run your way across a 2.5 D side-scrolling world, that gets even prettier the further you progress.

The first act of the game.

Boss fights were fun and a bit challenging (especially the final boss),  but only enough to take a try or two in order to beat. There was plenty of space to explore within the worlds for extras such as a playing card and extra lives.

Mickey and the castle.

THE BAD: Things get frustrating more times than you’d like in a game. A lot of the platforming sometimes gets to the point where it completely pisses you off, especially when you die about 10 times on the same level within time span of 15-30 minutes.

An example of how you enter an act throughout each world.

THE UGLY: Cheap deaths are a major pain and a frequent occurrence.

Mickey preparing to take out two enemies.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Castle of Illusion is a prime example of how a classic gone HD should be. Fun, room to explore, and beautiful setting gives gamers a lot to look forward to, however frequent cheap deaths and and some frustrating game play will get to you.