The Land of Illusion awaits.
Land of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is the 1992 Sega Master System and Game Gear sequel to Castle of Illusion.
After falling asleep as he read a fairy tale book, Mickey finds himself on the world from its stories. A villager tells him about how their lands are being menaced by an evil sorcerer called Phantom who has already transformed several people into dangerous beasts and imprisoned their princess. Mickey then sets out to defeat the villain and figure out how to return home.
The game improves on the platforming, butt-stomping and block-throwing action from the previous game with some new abilities that Mickey can use to revisit previous levels and find alternate paths that lead further into the world. The level design also gives a harder feel with some focus on puzzles.
The game was soon followed by World of Illusion for the Sega Genesis and later by Legend of Illusion for the Game Gear.
This game features the illusion of the following tropes:
- 1-Up: Get it via score, item or extra Power Stars.
- 100% Completion: Collecting all 14 Power Stars will grant you the Golden Ending, where pictures of Mickey and his friends are shown alongside their names in the closing credits.
- Advancing Wall of Doom: A wall of spikes serves as an obstacle in the Desert. Mickey must evade it on his way to the Boss Room.
- American Kirby Is Hardcore: The game's Japanese box art depicts Mickey and Minnie in their 1930's art style as the former holds up the magical crystal that the Phantom stole. The North American and European box art depict Mickey in his post-1940's art style holding up a treasure chest and climbing the beanstalk as the dragon breathes fire at him. Downplayed as Mickey still has a cheerful look on his face.
- Auto-Scrolling Level: One level has you avoiding obstacles in the way while the screen scrolls, only to have to carry a key all the way back to the beginning by using pressure plates to scroll the screen to the left.
- Beanstalk Parody: when Mickey meets Minnie at the Good Princess' Castle, she gives him the magic beans and advises him to plant them on the island below the Phantom's Cloud Castle so that a beanstalk will grow from them. Mickey also needs to collect the Cloud Shoes from the Stone Pyramid in the Desert so that he can walk on the clouds without falling through them. When Mickey plants the beans, a giant beanstalk does grow from them and he has to climb to the top so he can reach the Phantom's Cloud Castle, which is the game's final level.
- Bedsheet Ghost: A ghost of this kind serves as the boss of the Castle Ruins.
- Big Bad: The villain is a sorcerer named Phantom. He looks like a recolored version of The Horned King from Disney's The Black Cauldron, much like how Mizrabel in Castle of Illusion looked like Queen Grimhilde from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- Big Fancy Castle: There are plenty in this game; the Blacksmith's Castle (which has Lethal Lava Land elements), the Castle Ruins (which is a Haunted Castle), the Toy Workshop (which has Toy Time elements), the Sand Castle (which has elements of both Build Like an Egyptian and Under the Sea), the Good Princess' Castle, and the Phantom's Cloud Castle (which is an Ominous Floating Castle).
- Blackout Basement: Two levels involve Mickey being in pitch-black darkness unless lamps are close to him.
- Build Like an Egyptian: The Desert and the Sand Castle both take place in sandy pyramids.
- The Cameo: Mickey finds several of his friends as denizens of the fantasy world.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: The Phantom serves as this to Mizrabel from Castle of Illusion. While both characters are Disney villains under different names and use magic spells in the battles against them, their motives are different; Mizrabel captured Minnie out of jealousy of her beauty and popularity, whereas the Phantom stole the magical crystal and used its power to turn Mickey's friends into his henchmen to serve his evil purposes.
- Death Mountain: Craggy Cliff. To pass this level, Mickey will need to recover the rope from the Palace Ruins so he can climb walls. Vultures and boulders serve as enemies.
- End-Game Results Screen: It displays your final score and the amount of stars found.
- Evil Living Flames: Anthropomorphic flames serve as enemies in the Blacksmith's Castle.
- Forced Transformation: The Phantom has turned Mickey's friends into his henchmen; Horace Horsecollar into a fire-breathing dragon, Goofy into a card king, and Donald into a Giant Enemy Crab. They all serve as bosses, and when Mickey defeats them, they return to their normal selves.
- Giant Enemy Crab: One serves as the boss of the Sand Castle. When defeated, the crab reveals itself to be Donald Duck under the Phantom's spell.
- Good Castles, Evil Castles: There are many different castles, each one inhabited by a different ally or enemy of Mickey, and each one having varying degrees of enemies and obstacles:
- The Blacksmith's Castle has many Lethal Lava Land elements, such as Evil Living Flames, dragons, sentient matches, and lava pits. The boss of the stage is a dragon, who upon defeat, is revealed to be Horace Horsecollar, who has forcibly been turned into a dragon by The Phantom, the game's Big Bad.
- The Castle Ruins is a Haunted Castle that starts out dark and Mickey has to hold a lantern to light up the room. Enemies in this stage include bedsheet ghosts and floating pumpkins, and spike pits serve as obstacles. The boss of the stage is a giant ghost, who upon defeat, surrenders a shrinking potion that allows Mickey to get through tight spaces.
- The Toy Workshop is a colorful and whimsical castle with many Toy Time elements, such as giant squirt guns, a piano bridge, and a claw machine that is used to get a key to unlock a door. The boss of the stage is a card king, who upon defeat, reveals himself to be Goofy, who has been forcibly transformed by The Phantom.
- The Sand Castle is a Palatial Sandcastle, being surrounded by sand and having crabs serve as enemies. It also features an underwater section that Mickey has to swim through. The boss of the stage is a Giant Enemy Crab, who upon defeat, reveals himself to be Donald Duck, who has been forcibly transformed by The Phantom.
- The Good Princess' Castle is inhabited by Minnie Mouse, who is hiding in a room. Like the Castle Ruins, it's inhabited by ghosts and flying pumpkins and has spike pits as obstacles. However, the interior is much more brightly colored than the Castle Ruins. When Mickey gets into Minnie's room, she gives him the magic beans and advises him to plant them on the Island below the Phantom's Cloud Castle. She also advises him to find the Cloud Shoes in the pyramid so that he can walk across the clouds without falling through them.
- The Phantom's Cloud Castle is the game's fourteenth and final stage. It is an Ominous Floating Castle with many obstacles that were featured in previous stages, as well as sections where Mickey has to invert the gravity and turn deadly water into clean water so he can swim through it. When Mickey gets to the end, he fights The Phantom so he can recover the magical crystal The Phantom stole and used to transform his friends to serve his evil purposes.
- Goomba Stomp: Like in the previous game, you need to point Mickey's rear at enemies with an extra button press instead of falling feet-first at them.
- Guide Dang It!: Some of the Power Stars are very well hidden.
- Heart Container: Present as stars rather than hearts. Mickey starts out with a mere two stars' worth of health, but can pick up extra ones through the game. Upon reaching the cap value of 5, any more stars will be worth extra lives instead. If you happen to collect all 14, you'll get a handful of bonus points at the end of the game.
- Indy Escape: Near the end of the ruins level, Mickey is chased by a rock that turns out to be the boss enemy. You can skip the chase by shrinking and jumping over the blocks in the way, but the rock will teleport below to fight you anyway.
- Level Goal: At the end of levels without a boss, there is a key that will reveal a goal door nearby once Mickey holds it.
- Lock and Key Puzzle: Mickey can open locked barriers by throwing a key at them.
- The Lost Woods: The first stage is the Forest.
- Macro Zone: One ability allows Mickey to shrink and sneak through small tunnels. Sometimes you can use this to quickly go over blocks that the game expects you to pick up and throw out of the way.
- Ominous Floating Castle: The Phantom's Cloud Castle, which serves as the fourteenth and final level.
- One-Hit Kill: Getting crushed or touching an oddly-colored fluid will take out Mickey instantly. Period.
- One-Time Dungeon: Certain levels cannot be revisited once completed. While there is a reason for this, as by those points, Mickey will have already rescued one of his friends from the Phantom's spell, this can be problematic if you're trying to collect all 14 Power Stars to earn the Golden Ending.
- Oxygen Meter: Unlike the previous game, Mickey now has an air meter for when he's swimming.
- Permanently Missable Content: Some levels cannot be revisited - mainly the palaces where you save a friend - so if you missed a Power Star there, it's gone for good.
- Ruins for Ruins' Sake: The Palace Ruins, where Mickey has to recover the rope so he can use it to climb walls.
- Sequential Boss: The final boss, the Phantom, has three phases. In the first, he tosses fireballs and Mickey has to butt-stomp him when he is holding still to damage him. He also must be careful not to get hit by the Phantom's Spin Attack. After two hits, the Phantom will stand on the ceiling and make blocks fall from it. Mickey must pick up the block that stays intact when it lands on the floor while avoiding the others, and toss the block at the Phantom when he's holding still to damage him. After two more hits, the Phantom will transform into an orb that Mickey must avoid. Mickey must once again butt-stomp the Phantom when he is holding still to damage him, avoiding the lightning that the Phantom casts. After three more hits, the Phantom will be defeated and surrender the crystal he stole.
- Shifting Sand Land: The Desert. Sentient cacti and vultures serve as enemies. This stage has a path that leads to the Sand Castle, as well as a Pyramid that holds the Cloud Shoes that Mickey will need to recover in order to walk across clouds.
- Snakes Are Sinister:
- Snakes serve as common enemies in the first stage, the Forest. At the end of the stage, a giant snake that resembles Kaa from The Jungle Book (1967) serves as an obstacle. Mickey will need to feed it an apple to get it to close its mouth so he can cross it. Otherwise, he gets eaten and takes damage.
- A snake serves as the boss of the Desert. Mickey has to defeat it in order to recover the Cloud Shoes.
- Spikes of Doom: Placed here and there. In the ruins level they come through the screen in chains like lasers from a Mega Man game.
- Tactical Suicide Boss: In one of his phases, the Phantom will stand on the ceiling to avoid Mickey's stomps but will also drop blocks that can be thrown at him.
- The Stinger: After the day is saved, Mickey wakes up with lipstick marks on his cheek.
- Timed Mission: Each stage has a time limit. Running out of time costs Mickey a life.
- Toy Time: The seventh stage is the Toy Workshop. It features many toy-themed gimmicks, such as giant squirt guns, a piano bridge, giant yo-yos that you can lift or lower by running in a certain direction, and a claw machine you'll need to use to get a key to unlock a door with. The boss of this stage is The Card King, who upon defeat, reveals himself to be Goofy under the Phantom's spell.
- Under the Sea:
- The Lake serves as the second stage. Mickey will first need to clear the level to access the Blacksmith's Castle. Once Mickey defeats the fire-breathing dragon and rescues Horace Horsecollar, Mickey will need to revisit the Lake, because the water level has risen, and the path to the Castle Ruins will be unlocked.
- The second half of the Sand Castle takes place in a sunken temple, where the giant crab serves as the boss.
- Underground Level: the Tiny Cavern. To pass this level, Mickey will need the shrinking potion, which he can recover after completing the Castle Ruins. Bugs serve as enemies.
- Underwater Boss Battle: The battle against the giant crab in the Sand Castle takes place underwater. As Mickey has an Oxygen Meter in this game, he will need to swim up to the surface to replenish it if he's running low.
- Vile Vulture: Vultures serve as enemies in Craggy Cliff and the Desert.
