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| I am sure Disney can get their name in that title a few more times. |
Dear Internet,
It is
time to tackle "Epic Mickey 2" after having finished the first one. Unlike the original which was only developed
for the Wii after having both a PS3 and Xbox 360 version being scrapped, the
sequel was released for all major consoles.
Since the initial release of version on the Wii, Wii U, PS3, and Xbox
360, "Epic Mickey 2" has since been released on the Playstation Vita
and just ported for the PC this month.
In fact, by sheer coincidence today is the day that "Epic Mickey
2" is being released exclusively on Nintendo consoles in Japan. The version that I am playing for this review
is one for the Wii U. This means that I
will have to address the gamepad control being used in the game at one point or
another.
The
game follows pretty much right where the first game left off. The denizens of the Wasteland have found
peace through the eradication of the Shadow Blot. Everything seems on the up and up until an
earthquake rocks their peaceful lives. During
the confusion, the Mad Doctor appears and claims that he has turned over a new
leaf. He claims, through the power of
song, that he wants to redeem himself for his misdeeds and wishes to help solve
the riddle as to why earthquakes are occurring.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit believes the Mad Doctor to be genuine while Gus
the gremlin and Ortensia the cat do not believe his words. Gus and Ortensia call for help to Mickey in
hopes that he can come back to the Wasteland and aid the forgotten cartoons. Mickey hears them and figures out a way to
return to the Wasteland to help.
Together with Oswald at his side, the mouse sets off on an adventure to
prevent the Wasteland from crumbling apart again.
The
game's world is vastly different from that of the original. It is not because the game has only new locations. Mean Street makes a reappearance, even if it
is split into two parts. The world was made
from scratch. The locations that repeat
only resembles their earlier appearance in key similarities like location to
one another or visual identifiers like shop signs. What is most notable about how different the
world is stems from the game's art direction.
In the first game, the tone was very dark and filled with doom. I sometimes had difficulty navigating around because
the game used so many dark colors and I had difficulty distinguishing where the
ground stopped and the pit began. In the
sequel, there are colors galore. I can
easily distinguish one object from another.
But the differences go deeper than a palette swap or a higher screen
resolution.
"Epic
Mickey 2" still retains a number of the disturbing elements from the first
game, but it handles it differently from the first game. The first game had the mountains of Disney
and Mickey merchandise garbage towering away with rivers of thinner running
through them. The sequel does the same
while using a broader array of colors to prevent it from delving too deeply
into resembling a nightmare. There are
disembodied toy heads, but they retain their paint as if they were manufactured
yesterday. The effect is that the game is
holding back some of the dismal themes in the first game. This is not a bad thing, per say. If you look hard enough, you can still see
certain elements of the terrain that will make your skin crawl. The game is thus more kid-friendly, but it
makes up in other ways.
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| Still creepy, just now with more color. |
I am
happy to see that the game has reworked inter-leveling traveling. The 2D levels based on old cartoons are still
there. However, the player can take one
of two different routes through each 2D level.
This means that the player can end up completely missing a collectable
if they take the wrong route. With how
often the game will probably make the player re-travel through these levels, it
makes for a more enjoyable experience since there are multiple ways of traveling. On top of that are new 2D levels not based on
old cartoons. These are underground,
highly explorable levels with many nooks and crannies filled with hidden
collectables for the player to find. Of
course, the player can just made a dash straight through them, but they would
end up missing a lot of helpful equipment and unique puzzles.
Another
notable change is that the game is completely filled with voice acting. Every character talks in this game. On one hand, it feels refreshing because it
allows the story to be better expressed.
On the other hand, even the side characters get voiced. This would not be a problem if it were not
for two specific things. First, it makes
going through menial dialog a chore, especially when you realize that the
character has nothing useful to share. Thankfully,
the player can skip to the next line without having to wait for the first line
to finish. Second, the voice acting can
be grating. The actors that handle the
main characters are skilled veterans.
The game uses the same actors that Disney employs for any of their most
notable characters. The side characters
however feel like they are being handled by any collection of average Joe's
from the street. Some of the dialog is
painfully slow and stretched out. It is
obvious that they are reading from a script or worse yet reading it for the
first time. Then there are the Gremlins,
who all seem to have a collection of overly exaggerated foreign accents with no
explanation as to why they are talking like that. Some of these Gremlins are making their
second appearance in this game, but they were never shown to have these foreign
verbal mannerisms before. These accents
feel forced and unnecessary. If it is
done for comedic effect, it failed to make me laugh.
I will
start tomorrow speaking about the gameplay.
Yours in digital,
BeepBoop
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