Epic Mickey 3DS Will Be A Sequel To Retro Classic 'Castle of Illusion'

After last week's news of the return of Mickey Mouse in 'Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two', Disney have now officially confirmed that a separate spin-off game for the Nintendo 3DS is in development. Titled 'Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion' the 3DS exclusive will not simply port across the existing versions of Epic Mickey 2 to the 3DS, but rather act as a standalone follow-up to classic Mega Drive platformer 'Castle of Illusion staring Mickey Mouse'. The much loved classic from 1990 has managed to cling to the hearts of gamers of a certain age, thanks to its colourful graphics, charming level design and smooth gameplay. As a follow up to a cult classic, the 3DS version of Epic Mickey could be more intriguing for many older gamers than its 'Power of Two' console brethren. Developed by Dreamrift - a new studio formed by the team behind well-received DS platformer 'Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure' - Power of Illusion will be a traditional retro sidescroller, with players controlling Mickey through a series of levels inspired by classic Disney films.

Beginning with Sleeping Beauty and ending up with the recent Tangled, the game will make use of hand-drawn sprites and a graphical technique from the 16-bit era known as parallax backgrounds. This technique for creating detailed scrolling backgrounds has the potential to fully utilise the 3D stereoscopy capabilities of the handheld. The 3DS touchscreen will also play an ample part in Power of Illusion, with the core paintbrush abilities of the Epic Mickey franchise being adapted into a tracing and drawing mechanic. Objects and features of the game world will need to be painted into existence by tracing along their outlines. Players are also marked on their drawing skills, with poorly traced items failing to operate as smoothly as those done perfectly. A release date hasn't been set for Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, but you can expect it to probably launch alongside Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two during the tentative release window of September/November 2012. (via About.com)