Problems with Epic Mickey

I got the new video game, Epic Mickey, and while it was fun in some parts, I did find it to be a sort of disapointment. I was really expecting Warren Spector to wow me with its visual effects and story telling, but the entire thing left me sort of 'meh'. There were several things that they should have put in:

• More introspection of Oswald's personality and resulting anger from Mickey's rise to fame. Yes he was bitter and condescending, but his attitude towards Mickey felt like a what a kid would do if he lost a betting game rather the emotional fury I was expecting him to show from his abandonment by his father/creator Walt Disney, slow descent to obscurity, and hopeless entrapment in a thinner-filled Wasteland with no way out.
• More character time with the animatronics. Was it me, or were the scenes with animatronic Goofy, Daisy, and Donald seem more like extras to make the fans happy rather than as an integral element of the story? Yeah I know not helping them meant getting a bittersweet ending, but the interactions never went beyond restoring their bodies and doing a few odd jobs for them. These were dopplegangers of the second most well-known characters in Disney history, the game should have allowed more time to flesh out their feelings as robotic constructs of the original characters and the level of their relationship to Oswald, who cobbled them together.
• The 'forgotten characters' haven't really been forgotten. Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar? Those guys may not have graced the side of a Disney mug or hat as often as Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, but they are still well-known today and made appearances in Misney's House of Mouse and Mickey's Clubhouse. I knew who these characters were even before learning their names. What Warren should have included was Peter Pig http://www.disneyshorts.org/characters/p/peterpig.html, who made his first appearance as Donald's lazy friend in "The Wise Little Hen" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5dowCyaP7I but never caught on, or the big-busted female chicken whose name I can't remember but appeared in a few colored shorts? What about Pluto's girlfriend Dinah the Dachshund, Toby Tortoise http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Toby_Tortoise, Mickey's nephews Morty and Ferdie, Donald's goose cousin Gus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJYtrCakZ08, the Three Little Pigs, Louie the mountain lion who repeatedly antagonized Donald and his nephews, or the wacky Arakuan bird???? And don't forget the one shot characters like Babe the Big Blue Ox, Lambert the Lion, Elmer elephant, and Mortimer Mouse (also known as Montmorency in "Mickey's Rival" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgnOo-rXuZA. Apparently these character may have ironically been so obscure that they never appeared in the Wasteland, a place where all Disney characters go when they're forgotten. In addition, what was Peg Leg Pete doing down there??? Everyone knows who he is!
• While the visuals are good, they didn't meet the same level of awe that I felt when playing Kingdom Hearts, another Disney based video game series. When I played Kingdom Hearts II, I spent most of my time gazing at the beautiful scenery composing Twilight Town. Looking at the Disney-land inspired Epic Mickey landscape brought back memories of nostalgia, but I always felt that something was 'off' about the whole thing. It felt like I was looking at something that was trying to present itself as the real thing but didn't have the spirit.

Overall, I found the game satisfactory, but not as fullfilling as I hoped it to be.

Surprised that you didn't complain about the controls. Anyways...

• Blame the meddling forcing them to not be as Darker and Edgier as they would've liked.
• Agreed. The animatrons were hilarious, especially Donald.
• I believe that the idea of those characters being included was that they were the earliest incarnations. Even Gus explained that early versions of characters end up in the Wasteland after being replaced by newer versions and forgotten. As such, Mickey couldn't make the connection despite the names, because all he could see was their modern selves.
• It was SUPPOSED to feel off. The Wasteland pretty much had the spirit sucked out of it when the Thinner Disaster happened. That's why everything looks droopy and "without spirit", and the characters who live there end up following suit.

edited 25th Mar '11 8:17:52 PM by nomuru2d

Epic Mickey's story was all it had for me; I was indifferent to the graphics, and personally, I didn't enjoy the gameplay and eventually sold the game without finishing it. After all, if I was only in for the story, You Tube was there for me.

YES on Oswald and the animatronic characters having more depth. The story was decent for what it was, and it had more than its share of witty occurrences and heartwarming instances, but it too had a lot of potential that ended untouched. As for the way they handled the ending, I expected more when Warren affirmed your in-game behavior would modify the final outcome.

As for your suggestions on the "forgotten character roster", I approve of Peter Pig. Clara Cluck, which is the mammalian tavian you're thinking of, qualifies in my book. So do Dinah, Toby, Babe, Lambert, Morty & Ferdy, Louie and Elmer (hell, more than half of the Silly Simphonies' stars are spending their time on oblivion nowadays). ...Yet...Gus Goose, well, he appeared in House Of Mouse as well and, albeit sparingly, he still appears on the comics. The Three Little Pigs, forgotten? Don't think so, in the slightest. Mortimer Mouse!? With him being a major supporting character on House Of Mouse, he's far from being unknown to today's generation. The Aracuan Bird is an odd case, it depends on who you ask, I think. Oh, and Mickey lampshades Peg Leg Pete's appearance, at least =P

edited 25th Mar '11 8:40:49 PM by Richie

So this isn't nearly as Disneypunk as the early artwork had suggested? That's a shame.

Not even remotely close. A lot of people were extremely saddened by that - apparently Disney stepped in last minute and undid a lot of the thematic changes.

There goes any chance of me playing this XD

:/

edited 26th Mar '11 2:28:27 AM by SpellBlade

Christ, I hate people who think the game needed to be "Fallout with a Disney castle in the background to remind you what you're playing"

No, people liked it because it was going to be an extremely dark, extremely warped take on the characters - not because it was Fallout with a Disney logo. The finished product didn't live up to its hype, and that rankled a number of us.

Was referring to the art style. A Twisted Disneyland's a far better fit for the story then a blasted steampunk landscape with occasional signs of Disney. Though the game could have used a few more Beetleworx variants.

Ok did anyone really expect that? Really? All based on concept art and a bunch of PR speak about they were going to make Mickey 'relevant' again? Did everyone forget that this is Disney we're talking about? They can be dark when they want to be, sure, but with Mickey freakin' Mouse? You were kidding yourself.

Actually, I do have a problem to add. Maybe you someone can help me out with it:

I just rented the game, been playing for about 2 and a half hours. When does it stop being boring?

edited 3rd May '11 10:35:17 AM by J.C.Lately

It should pick up somewhat once you reach Mean Street.

It stops being boring?

Meh. I've become more invested in the story and the environment than the gameplay, so I don't particularly care as long as it's still playable.

edited 3rd May '11 1:55:38 PM by Blueeyedrat

What they shoulda have done is made all the characters and environments incredibly dark, rusty and depressing...but leave Mickey cheery and bright enough to make up for it.

And Mickey should spend the entire game mocking all the other inhabitants for being so emo and spend all game long brightening the place up...

Also fix the camera angles...and make the gameplay more engaging...

Why is it that every game I ever get excited for turns out to suck?

Executive Meddling ?