VS.
Hello readers, once again. It's your friendly neighborhood SeriousGamer. Okay, that was just corny, and I'm not even talking about a Spider-Man game. Well, not yet anyway. There's still plenty of year left, and even if I don't get it, I'll probably still talk about it. But I digress.
This post actually involves two games, both of which I won for this contest. These rank at number 1 and number 11, if my count is right. Care to take a case at which Castle of Illusion I entered first?
Castle of Illusion actually holds a lot of fond memories for me, because it was among some of the first Sega Genesis games we owned. My mom always loved this game, even if she wasn't all that good. Just keeping it real, folks. Just keeping it real. Persistence actually did pay off though. Anyway, once I was able to take the controller by the hand, I decided to have a go at it. I had to use my old Game Genie to win it the first time, so I guess that tells you all about how good I was.
Fast forward about 2 decades or so, and I get word that they're remaking this game on the PS3, in full 3D. Naturally, I got to wondering what it might look like, sound like, etc. Well, after getting my hands on my sis's PS3 and a decent connection, I downloaded it earlier this year.
Ok, I just gave away the answer to the question.
So, which castle did I like better?
First off, if you never played this game, I'll give you some info on it. Basically, you play Mickey Mouse on a quest to rescue Minnie Mouse (I see a strange correlation between another character whose name also begins with M) after she is kidnapped by Mizrabel, a wicked witch who decided not to age gracefully. She wants to be young again, so she kidnaps Minnie to steal her youth. To stop Mizrabel, Mickey must brave the weird and wacky rooms in her Castle of Illusion to recover seven gems to gain entry to the castle tower where the inevitable showdown awaits.
The plot is really the same for both games. After all, how much can you change when you remake a title? (Actually, you can change a lot)
So, now we get to pit these two titles each other.
In terms of graphics, I've got to hand it to the PS3 version. Let's face it, it's just a fact. The PS3 version looks way, way better than the old 16-bit days. But do looks alone make a better game?
Sound, I think I'm going to have to give it to the old Genesis title. The music from that game, to my ears, really stands the test of time. The PS3 title takes that old music, but somehow it just doesn't seem as catchy as it did.
I'll also say that the Genesis game is just barely easier than the PS3 game. Don't get me wrong. The PS3 game is easy to pick up, but they also manage to throw in a few wrenches into the works, especially during boss battles. I lost more lives against Mizrabel in the PS3 game than I ever did with the Genesis title. Besides, on the Genesis, it feels more like riding a bicycle - once you pick it up, it never really leaves you. A few times, it felt more like I got thrown off the bike with the PS3.
And on a more superficial note, I found the cutscenes in the PS3 game a bit annoying, which ties into the difficulty. You lose a life, which forces you to repeat the cutscene, which grows more annoying when you keep losing. Hearing Minnie say for the umpteenth time, "Oh, Mickey, I'm scared" really got on my nerves.
Now, did I hate the PS3 game? I can answer with a resounding no. I think they took a great game from the Genesis days and did all they could to pay homage to it. I might even play it again sometime. But to me, there is only one true classic Castle of Illusion, and that was for the good ol' Sega Genesis.
But that's enough about my thoughts on this game. Which version did you like better?
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