00:00Hello and welcome! Today I have been requested to review Epic Mickey for the Nintendo Wii.
00:08Now I've heard nothing but good things about Epic Mickey, so much that the first chance I could get
00:15to get this game, I did. So I've actually owned this game for years now, yet I've never gone
00:22around to playing it. So now that I have the perfect excuse, I want to see if I like it
00:29too.
00:39On a cursory glance, Epic Mickey looks to be a 3D platformer like many other licensed games from
00:45the time. But it feels less like a 3D platformer and more like an odd mix of the old Mickey
00:51Mania
00:51on Sega Genesis and a third-person shooter like Star Wars Rebellion. Though instead of shooting
00:57things with a blaster, Mickey is spraying things with paints or an acid, I mean a thinner. Yes,
01:05there are 3D platforming elements here and there, but most of the time you are shooting enemies with
01:10you, platforming in 2D rather than 3D. And that design history feels more like it came from the
01:18controller limitations rather than the hardware's. Epic Mickey pushes what the Wii can do with the
01:26Wiimote and Nunchuck alone, with every single button used for one action or another. Some of the
01:33game's major mechanics like attacking are just left to waggle. And I don't know if it's just my Wiimote, but
01:41this is not an elegant experience. The cursor is jittery and imprecise. Shaking is tiresome after a
01:50while and I felt discouraged to attack directly. Hence why I more associate this with a shooter, since
01:56spraying things with positive paint tends to do the same thing. Plus, I was never able to get those paint
02:05spirits to work outside of a few accidents or just sheer dumb luck. Thankfully, platforming works
02:12well since there are direct camera controls on the face buttons, even though it feels like I'm constantly
02:19fighting that camera. And you will want to fight the auto camera too, especially since this is a game that's
02:26worth
02:26for looking around in. The aesthetics and theming alone is a masterclass. And if it wasn't for the
02:35Wiimote, I would forget that I'm honestly playing this game on the Wii. I love the rundown Disneyland look,
02:44and I love how you can just build up or tear down the world based on your own aesthetic tastes.
02:50But like
02:51everything in this game, while it's good on paper and execution, it just falls short. The game tries
02:57to build up paint and thinner as part of this big morality system within the world. But in practice,
03:04it just falls short and doesn't matter outside of a few scripted sessions. In fact, it doesn't impact
03:10the gameplay in the slightest, since I was able to go and throw baby bunnies into thinner without any
03:16consequence. The story here too is also a brilliant idea, having Mickey meet Oswald in the world which he
03:25destroys both figuratively and literally. However, the story is just so stretched out that I oftentimes forgot
03:34what I am supposed to be doing at a given moment, and ended up just platforming just to remind myself
03:41what I was supposed to be doing. This also affects the collectibles too. The film wheels that you
03:49collect throughout the entire game don't unlock anything outside of a few pins and two completely
03:55unrelated films in the extras menu. Nor is there a model viewer for the Disney memorabilia that are just
04:04scattered throughout this world. It just feels like this whole game is just an absolute missed opportunity
04:12and what you're left with is a game that's okay but definitely held back because of the Wii.
04:20But here's the thing, despite my many criticisms of the game, I do actually like Epic Mickey. The gameplay
04:29isn't perfect and by 2010 this would have been a very dated experience. I mean, consider the fact that
04:36Infamous and LittleBigPlanet came out a year before. But I mean, we're not in 2010 anymore, we're in the 2020s
04:45and
04:46looking back at this game, I feel like, especially as a licensed platformer, it feels and plays a lot
04:54better than a lot of other games in this category, especially on the Wii. The story, while lacking,
05:03definitely has a lot more effort put into it than it needed to have been. And my only real complaint
05:09here is the controls, which were eventually fixed this year with Purple Lamps Remake of it.
05:18So while I'm personally not the biggest fan of this game, it's still a very enjoyable game,
05:24even on the Wii. And if you have a Wii and are looking to get it, it's not a bad
05:29game to have
05:30in your collection. Though, do keep in mind you have to be tolerant to waggle, which I feel brings
05:36not just this game down, but quite a few other games with it. And if you just want to get
05:42into
05:43Epic Mickey or just go through the game's story or just explore the game's world, you are genuinely
05:49better off getting the Purple Lamp Remake. But anyways, thank you ever so much for watching,
05:57I hope you have yourself a good day, and as always, take care.
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