SEGA News Bits: SEGA Removing Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse From Online Shops

On this SEGA News Bits, George and Barry react to the sudden announcement of the delisting of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse. Released in 2013, this remake of the classic SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive game received praise from fans and critics, and even was awarded an A- in our own SEGAbits review. We discuss why the game is being pulled, the platforms it can be found on, and share our thoughts on SEGA’s licensed games.

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Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is now backwards compatible on Xbox One

It seems like everyone is paying attention to Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse since it was announced that the game is to be delisted on digital marketplaces on September 2nd. Despite the fact that the game will soon be leaving online stores, it is now available on another major platform! Via Major Nelson comes the news that the Xbox 360 version of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is now backwards compatible on the Xbox One.

The game is currently $14.99 on the Xbox Marketplace. If Xbox isn’t your thing, or you want the game for less on another platform the Humble Bundle PC version is only $2.24, discounted from $14.99, and the PS3 version is only $3.74. It you want to learn more about the game to help in your decision on whether to purchase the game or not, check out our review in which we awarded Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse an A- and called it “A fantastic platformer!”.

SEGA Humble Bundle sale slashes 75% off some great games

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Open up your E-Wallets folks! There’s a big sale going on at Humble Bundle and SEGA is one of the main publishers, so get in on the big clearance ‘cuz everything must go! Although, technically it’s digital so it really doesn’t go anywhere. Just…data gets copied from a server and onto your computer but that data also stays at the server so it’s not like…..NEVERMIND! Anyway,here are some of the great SEGA deals going on:

And many many more! The sale ends soon, so come on down and take a gander.

Castle of Illusion HD free to Playstation Plus members starting tomorrow

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Castle of Illusion
is an HD ‘remake’ of the popular SEGA Genesis title Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse and if you haven’t picked this title up, you will soon be able to play it for free. US Playstation Plus subscribers will be able to download and play the game for free as long as they continue to pay for the service.

If you download the game before April 28th, you will also get a copy of the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive version for free as well (which used to be a pre-order bonus). The game will be added to Sony’s ‘Instant Collection’, meaning it will be free to download for a long time.

GamersGate having a huge SEGA PC sale

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If you are looking for some of SEGA’s PC games and want to get them for super cheap, check out the GamersGate SEGA sale. Not only do they have the newer, more often thought about releases but there are also some obscure games like Universe at War: Earth Assault and Space Siege.

Some hot picks: Jet Set Radio for $1.25, NiGHTS: Into Dreams… for $2.50, and Castle of Illusion for $5.10. Make sure you note, that the sale items in this link are the ones listed in red. Have fun gaming.

Review: Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (XBLA)

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Before Sonic the Hedgehog, there was Mickey Mouse. In November 1990, Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse released almost simultaneously in America, Europe, and Japan to the SEGA Genesis and Mega Drive consoles. At the time, the game was visually stunning, described in one video preview as “beautiful”, “brilliant” and continuing the tradition of Disney animation. On top of that, the platforming was brimming with inventive platforming elements accompanied by catchy, whimsical music. The game was great at the time, and replaying it in 2013 it is easy to see why it is deemed a platforming classic.

As far back as April of this year there were rumors that a remake was on the way, thanks to digital box art that had leaked. The idea of a Castle of Illusion remake really was an unexpected surprise. Sure the original is fantastic, but few fans were demanding a remake and even fewer fans ever expected SEGA to team with Disney to make it happen. But here we are, the summer is coming to an end, and we have a re-imagining of the SEGA classic. Was a remake really necessary, and does it maintain the magic that made the original so great?

Pre-order Castle of Illusion HD on PSN and get the original game for free

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SEGA has finally announced the released date for Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, it will be released worldwide on September 3rd, 2013 for PSN and September 4th on Xbox Live/PC digital download. The game will cost you $14.99.

But wait, if you pre-order the game via Playstation Network (USA only) from August 20th (in 3 days!) to September 2nd you will get the original SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive version for free, a free dynamic theme and three avatars. You don’t even have to wait, right when you pre-order you will be able to play the Genesis game. Pretty sweet deal.

So what platform are you getting this game on?

SEGA releases second Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse behind the scenes video


SEGA has released the second behind the scenes trailer for their upcoming HD remake of the Genesis/Mega Drive classic Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse. The first behind the scenes video discussed the classic title, while the second video mainly covers the remake, going into character, stage and sound design. The game is looking great, with a lot of fun little graphical and gameplay details. I especially liked the bit where the lamp switch doubles as a rope, and using it causes the light to turn on and off. After the break, check out a piece of promo art for the game.

Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse E3 trailer shows off SEGA’s re-imagining of a classic!


 
SEGA’s latest trailer for Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse shows off even more gameplay of the upcoming SEGA remake of the SEGA Genesis classic. This time, SEGA promises a mix of old and new, with recognizable layouts and brand new gimmicks. Check out that playing card vortex! Admittedly, the CG scenes aren’t all that great, but in the end it’s the gameplay that counts.

Stay tuned to SEGAbits for E3 coverage, we’ll make sure to give our gameplay impressions of Castle of Illusion and ask SEGA our burning questions.

Castle of Illusion: Behind the scenes trailer

Check out this cool,behind the scenes look at the remake of the classic Disney platformer Castle of Illusion. Hear both the original and new developers on what makes this game so special. The more I see of this, the more excited I am!

Castle of Illusion is available for download later this summer on X-Box LIVE, PSN and PC.

Banjo- Kazooie composer creating the soundtrack for Castle of Illusion HD

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SEGA and Disney are teaming up to bring Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse HD to all major platforms, the remake will even have a new soundtrack for what it seems. They are teaming up with Grant Kirkhope who is best known for his soundtrack in Rare games like Bajo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark and Golden Eye. Mr. Kirkhope tweeted the following a few days ago.

‘Should hopefully finish my final piece for “Castle of Illusion HD starring Mickey Mouse” tonight!!!’ – Via Grant Kirkhope’s twitter.

So new graphics, new box art and new soundtrack? Hows that for a remake?