Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, known in Japan as Mickey Mouse no Mahou no Crystal (ミッキーマウスの魔法のクリスタル), is a Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear platform game featuring Disney's Mickey Mouse. It is a sequel to the 8-bit version of Castle of Illusion, and can be seen as the 8-bit counterpart of World of Illusion. During development it was known as Mickey Mouse II.
Mickey falls asleep with a book of fairy tales in his lap, later he wakes up in a strange village. A girl (resembling Daisy Duck) comes up to him asking him for help. She says the village's magic crystal has been stolen by an evil Phantom. As a result, the beautiful happiness in her village has been replaced with sadness. Deciding to help the villagers, Mickey sets out to the North Mountains, to find the Princess who knows how to reach the Phantom's Castle in the Clouds.
Gameplay
Map
Land of Illusion is platform game and plays similarly to its predecessor. Mickey moves with and . He ducks with and jumps with . While in the air, Mickey can perform a bounce attack by pressing in the Master System version and in the Game Gear version, allowing him to defeat foes that he lands on. Some areas of the game can only be accessed by bouncing off enemies. Mickey can grab an item (such as a stone block) by holding the D-Pad in the direction of the item while standing next to it and pick up the item by pressing . The item can be thrown with + or +; he sets the item down next to him with . Items can be thrown at enemies to defeat them. Some items are treasure chests that contain power-ups, some can be stacked to reach higher places, and others have purposes specific to the level in which they are found. Mickey can swim underwater with . He has a limited air supply while underwater and must resurface periodically to breathe. Mickey can enter doorways or climb ladders and vines with ; he can descend ladders and vines with .
Throughout the game, the player acquires items that imbue Mickey with new abilities, such as a rope for climbing up walls or a shrinking potion that can make Mickey shrink in size. The player can then return to previous levels and utilize these items to gain access to previously inaccessible areas.
Mickey begins the game with two points on his Power Gauge, indicating how many hits he can take by enemies. Stars can be collected throughout the game that increase the Power Gauge and give Mickey more health, up to a maximum of 5. There is one star on every level making 14 in total. Each star collected after collecting 5 gives an extra try. Many of them are in inaccessible areas that require using the special items collected throughout the game. Upon completion of the game, the number of stars that the player has collected is tallied. Collecting all 14 stars gives a special score bonus.
Blocks
Treasure Chest
Holds other items. Can be broken by throwing or by using the bounce attack.
Brick
Can be thrown at enemies, but crumbles after hitting something.
Mickey Block
Can be thrown at enemies or used as a step to reach high places. Can also be placed on buttons to hold them down. Not broken when thrown but can be broken with Mickey's bounce attack.
Barrel
Similar to Mickey Blocks but indestructible.
Key
Can be thrown at keyholes to open locked passages.
Special Key
Reveals the door to the end of the level.
Lamp
Lights up dark places when held. Can also be thrown at enemies or used as a step.
Spring
Bounce on a spring to reach higher places. Can be carried and moved around.
Switch
Turn on by grabbing or turn off by jumping on top.
Items
Piece of Cake
Replenishes one point of Mickey's Power Gauge. Awards 50 points if the player is at full health.
Cake
Replenishes two points of Mickey's Power Gauge. Awards 100 points if the player is at full health.
Small Coin
Awards the player 50 points.
Large Coin
Awards the player 200 points.
Mouse Ears
Gives the player an extra try.
Star
Gives Mickey another point on his Power Gauge, up to a maximum of 5. Also replenishes his health to full. Awards the player with an extra try if Mickey already has 5 points on his Power Gauge. There is one star hidden in every level. This is the only item not found in a Treasure Chest.
Other
Button
Performs different functions depending on the level. Activate by standing on it with Mickey or by placing an item on top of it.
Place Marker
Checkpoint where Mickey revives if he loses a try.
After defeating the dragon, the Blacksmith (Horace Horsecollar) presents Mickey with the magic flute. This allows Mickey to exit stages that he is replaying, making it easier to backtrack to previous stages and collect Power Stars. The water in the Lake has risen, allowing it to be replayed to find an alternate exit to the Castle Ruins.
The ghost drops the shrinking potion when it is defeated. This gives Mickey the ability to shrink in size by pressing +, which is necessary to fit through some of the passages in the game.
After defeating the boulder, it leaves behind the rope. Now Mickey can climb walls by walking up to them and pressing , allowing him to reach areas that were previously too high for him to jump.