The Illusion franchise has been dead for over a decade. The franchise began in 1990 with the release of Castle of Illusion. It received many sequels on Sega consoles before disappearing for a time. It seems like nostalgia will pop up now and again to revive the Mickey Mouse gaming franchise but to no avail.

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Disney Illusion Island is the latest attempt and finds Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goody on a harrowing adventure in a mysterious land. Will it rekindle the franchise? Also, how does it stack up next to its predecessors? It’s time to take a look at the six titles in this series for some nostalgic gaming. Every release year listed below adheres to North America unless otherwise specified. With that note out of the way, let’s rank them all out.

6 Castle Of Illusion

Castle of Illusion is the first game in the series, which was released for the Sega Genesis in 1990. It was a solo experience starring Mickey on a rescue mission to save Minnie through a magical cursed castle. Mickey had two forms of attack. He could naturally butt stomp enemies and he could also pick up objects, like apples, and throw them at enemies. Castle of Illusion would eventually get ported to other consoles, like the Game Gear in 1991.

Also, the game was remade in 2013 for systems like the PS3 and Xbox 360. This is wild considering the PS4 and Xbox One would launch in a couple of months after and yet the game was never officially ported to either system. It can, however, be played via backward compatibility on Xbox consoles. It’s a faithful remake with a few tweaks besides the graphics, but not enough to make it count as its own entry. Of the many versions, players should stick with the Sega Genesis game.

5 Legend Of Illusion

Legend of Illusion is the fourth game in the series and was released in 1995 for the Game Gear. However, it would also get a Master System port in 1998 as a Brazil exclusive. More interesting than that, Brazil is still manufacturing Master Systems as the console is still huge. That’s a whole other rabbit hole, but savvy emulation junkies should check it out.

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The game itself begins with Mickey dressed up in his Jack and the Beanstalk attire from the cartoon shorts. He can pick objects up heavy objects, like stones, to use for puzzle solving. Mickey also has an infinite amount of small throwable objects that look like green tennis balls. There is a world map but players can’t backtrack and replay stages unlike Super Mario World, which can be disappointing for fans.

4 Land Of Illusion

Land of Illusion is the third game in the series and the first portable one via the Game Gear. Similar to Legend of Illusion, this game did get a Master System port although Europe received it as well. The wait was also not as long between releases, and both versions are ultimately the same. The great thing about this game was the inclusion of Mickey being able to pick up objects, which was carried onto the aforementioned Legend of Illusion.

Mickey did not have an infinite amount of throwable objects though. It did have a world map players could go back to which is odd then that Legend of Illusion backtracked this idea. The variety is also more apparent in Land of Illusion as things begin in a forest before moving on to a water level. Most water levels at this time were tricky, like the one in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES, but Land of Illusion handled itself well.

3 World Of Illusion

World of Illusion is the second game in the series and feels like a true sequel to the original’s concept. It was released in 1993 for the Sega Genesis. Mickey is not alone in this adventure and is instead aided by Donald Duck. The game features co-op between the two characters and it’s the only one besides the latest entry, Disney Illusion Island, that allows this.

The mechanics are also quite different compared to the three other retro games in the series. Mickey and Donald can use magic via a magic cape to turn enemies into something else. The soldiers in the first level can be transformed into flowers, for example. There’s a lot more going on with the level design too especially in the second stage featuring a magic carpet.

2 Disney Illusion Island

Disney Illusion Island is a great game on many levels that is sure to appease fans of this series, Mickey fans, and fans of co-op games. It’s been a while since a 2D platformer with multiplayer in mind has come out. The resurgence is great and this Switch exclusive will be a good accompaniment to Super Mario Bros. Wonder released later this year.

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Some may not know that Disney Illusion Island is also a Metroidvania game. Players will gain permanent upgrades to increase traversal potential for all four characters. Mickey, for example, will get a pencil so that he can stick to walls and bounce off of them while Donald will get a plunger. There is no combat aside from boss encounters either, making it an accessible game for all ages thanks to the assist features as well.

1 Epic Mickey: Power Of Illusion

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion belongs to both the Epic Mickey and the Illusion franchises. It was released at the same time as Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two in 2012 for the 3DS. Of the three games, this is the best Epic Mickey experience as well as the best Illusion game. The graphics make it stand out as some of the best sprite work on the handheld.

It’s not quite a Metroidvania but it does take place in an interconnected world map. There is also an upgrade path for stats like attack power and damage. It’s filled to the brim with Disney stars including Scrooge McDuck from DuckTales, Wendy from Peter Pan, and The Beast from Beauty and the Beast. It’s a love letter to Mickey and Disney overall and it’s a shame that it’s locked away on the 3DS.

Disney Illusion Island was released on July 28, 2023, and is available on Switch.

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