Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Video Game)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/epic_mickey_2.png

Unleash the Power of Two.

"As the forgotten Toons rebuilt their home, trouble lurked just around the corner..."

— Yen Sid, from the game's opening cutscene

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two is the sequel to the Wii exclusive Warren Spector title Epic Mickey from Disney Interactive Studios. Unlike its predecessor, the game is a multiplatform game and was released on November 18th 2012 for the Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC via Steam. The PC version was initially cancelled, then released in specific parts of Eastern Europe in October of 2013, then became available worldwide as part of Disney's Steam pack in October 2014. It features co-op play, with a second player controlling Oswald, who flies like a helicopter and attacks with electricity. The game is also a musical. Marv Wolfman (Teen Titans) co-wrote the script.

After the thinner has receded from Wasteland, quakes have been causing trouble throughout the realm, while the Mad Doctor claims he has changed his ways and is offering the help of his machines and Beetleworx. Oswald's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he and the other inhabitants decide to call in for Mickey's help. Mickey and Oswald must work together to fix Wasteland's problems, find the source of the Earthquakes, and journey into the Dahl Engineering Corridors at the foundations of Wasteland and investigate the Mad Doctor's true intentions along the way.

There is also a companion game for the Nintendo 3DS called Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion. It was developed by DreamRift, the folks behind Henry Hatsworth and Monster Tale. Officially a followup to the Castle of Illusion series as well, the story has Mizrabel and the castle itself trapped in Wasteland. Seeking a way out, she tries draining the paint and cartoon essence out of famous toon residents of Mickey's world. Mickey must save his fellow toons and confront Mizrabel, repairing the damage with paint along the way.

This game provides examples of:

And Your Reward Is Clothes: Averted, in terms of uselessness anyway. The various costumes you can unlock various abilities and effects for both Mickey and Oswald.
Ascended Extra: Gremlin Prescott.
All There in the Manual: The unreleased in the U.S.A. Graphic Novel version includes more details on Gremlin Prescott's motives for his Face–Heel Turn: he apparently felt like The Unfavored of Gus's two sons, he and Jamface (Gus later corrects that he was more present to Jamface because he thought Jamface needed more care, while he found Prescott brilliant enough to get by on his own).
Award-Bait Song: "That's What Heroes Do", which the Mad Doctor sings in the ending if you redeem him. It's a particularly brilliant example, in that the Mad Doc's voice and the lyrics have high potential for Narm, but it manages to be heartwarming nonetheless.
Big Bad: Prescott at first, then The Mad Doctor. Let's face it, he wasn't fooling anyone.
Big First Choice: The end of the tutorial in Yen Sid's Lab presents you with one: complete a half-finished painting for a unique collectible pin, or thin out the rest for some easy E-Tickets.
Book Ends: In "Help Me, Help You", The Mad Doctor sings "A second chance is what we all deserve." If you get his good ending, he repeats the lyric during "That's What Heroes Do".
Bubblegloop Swamp: Bog Easy, which now has some additional platforming challenges and threats from local alligators.
Deadpan Snarker: Gremlin Prescott.
Demoted to Extra: Many character's roles have been reduced from the first game.
Disc-One Final Boss: Gremlin Prescott.
Distressed Dude: Along with the unnamed gremlins scattered around like in the first game, Gremlin Jamface needs to be rescued from the Mad Doctor's Attic. Gremlin Prescott finishes the game like this, presumably to be rescued in a third game- too bad that will never happen.
Down in the Dumps: The Floatyard, a graveyard of old light parade floats, as well as candy-related garbage at some points.
- Disney Gulch also somewhat qualifies, as various items rain down into it and usually sit there.
The End... Or Is It?: The Stinger sets up a clear sequel, as Mickey is still in Wasteland when the game ends, and you get to see Pete and his incarnations (your actions determine if Petronic appears) kidnapping Prescott and taking him through a projector. Sadly, with Junction Point being shut down, none of these plot points will be resolved.
Eternal Engine: The DECs and the path to the Mad Doctor's Gulch Lab have elements of this.
Evil Laugh: The Mad Doctor, Gremlin Prescott and Big Bad Pete all get their turn to indulge in this. Prescott especially-during the boss fight with his giant mech, the background noise is him laughing and taunting Mickey and Oswald.
Evil Plan: The Mad Doctor's plan is ridiculously complicated and over-the-top: After his defeat in the original, he crashlanded in Disney Gulch and swore revenge on Wasteland. There he created the Blotworx to serve as an army, but he was forced to release them as they were unpredictable. When that failed, he fooled Prescott into turning on everyone and building a television device which the Doc then used to broadcast a TV show to the Cartoon World so the folks there will remember him and he can escape Wasteland before it's destroyed by earthquakes that were being caused by him extracting Guardians from the ground in Autotopia (still following?), knowing that they had the power to turn him into a Toon again as his animatronic parts were breaking down. He pretended to reform, knowing that the folks would get suspicious and bring in Mickey, who would bring the Brush with him, so the Doc could take it and rule the Cartoon World when the folks there remembered him enough for him to leave. And as if that wasn't enough, he built a doomsday machine for Wasteland, disguised as an 'attraction' to seal Wasteland's fate as he escaped. What a jerk. The game, however, explains next to nothing about any of this, merely hinting at several parts of it, instead preferring to focus on such trivial matters as construction sites and projectors. Go figure.
- Prescott's plan, on the other side of things, seems to boil down to "make mech, kill Mickey, take brush, force everyone to praise him."
Faux Affably Evil: The Mad Doctor.
Funny Background Event: During one of the cutscenes, while Mickey and Oswald talk about the Mad Doctor's new attraction, Prescott is making an absolutely hilarious face behind them in the jail cell.
Gameplay and Story Integration: The paint and thinner morality system has a very clever effect on the ending cinematic of the game. Depending on whether you used more paint or thinner to solve your problems, Mickey will instinctively spray the Mad Doctor with whichever you used the most of, resulting in a pivotal moment that completely changes the entire ending sequence.
Gender Bender: The Telephone in Mickey's house at OsTown. The phone was a male in the first Epic Mickey game, but in the sequel, the phone is now a woman.
The Ghost: Blackbeard, an unseen focal point of the Ventureland sidequests, was a rival captain to Hook and with Hook having disappeared, has taken over Tortooga and forced Hook's pirates out.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: The Mad Doctor claims he's reformed and offers to help the heroes take down the incoming threat. And then, surprisingly, the Big Bad is Prescott. But THEN it turns out he's not: Prescott was a pawn in the Mad Doctor's escape-Wasteland plan. But then you can have the Mad Doctor do a real Heel–Face Turn in the end, if you pick the good ending.
Herr Doktor: The Mad Doctor clearly has a vaguely Eastern European-sounding accent.
Hero of Another Story: Captain Hook's crew, now leaderless, has several members seeking to become the new captain to lead the crew in taking Tortooga back from Blackbeard, who has taken advantage of Hook's absence to drive Hook's pirates out of their home.
Intrepid Reporter: In a nod to Quack Pack, Animatronic Daisy is a television reporter and news anchor in Ventureland.
"I Want" Song: "I'm Falling Apart'' is sung by the Mad Doctor who would like to be a real toon again instead of a robot.
"I Am Becoming" Song: "That's What Heroes Do/I'm a Toon Again", sung by the Mad Doctor too, as he's performing a Heel–Face Turn and at the same time finally transforming into a real toon.
Jungle Japes: Ventureland, which now features elements of the Jungle Cruise.
Killed Off for Real: Strongly implied to happen to Gremlin Jamface if you fail to save him towards the end of the game, especially since another gremlin suffered an almost identical fate (if you chose) at the beginning of the first game. Averted, as he's still alive in Mean Street, but refuses to do any more business with you, locking you out of all his repairs.
- Scurvy Pat will disappear from Ventureland if you thin him out for his compass, which also makes the Horace's Assistant Assistance quest Unwinnable.
Large Ham: The Mad Doctor, as well as Pete and his various incarnations.
Lighter and Softer: Compared to the first game.
The Lost Woods: Fort Wasteland.
Meaningful Echo: The Mad Doctor sings "A second chance is what we all deserve" during his Most Definitely Not a Villain song in the beginning and during his true Heel–Face Turn song in the Paint ending.
Multiple Endings: The central conflict against The Mad Doctor changes depending on your paint and thinner usage; you can either kill him, or redeem him and turn him back into a toon. In addition to that, side characters can get good or bad endings depending on how you dealt with their sidequests.
Named After Someone Famous: The Dahl Engineering Corridors are named after Roald Dahl, who came up with the design of the Gremlins.
Nigh-Invulnerability: Mickey and Oswald can use Indelible Ink to make themselves golden and invincible but they have to walk slowly or the ink will slide off faster.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Abe, the robot that runs the Train Dioramas sounds an awful lot like Jimmy Stewart.
- Same goes for Ghost Ian, who sounds an awful lot like Jimmy Durante.
Nostalgia Level: The Train Dioramas are an attraction that serve as a retelling of the first game done in crude dark ride fashion. You can either repair the Dioramas for Abe or destroy them.
- The projector and D.E.C. platforming levels also count, the projector levels because they're classic cartoons (both Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies), and the D.E.C. levels due to the fact that they are made of old Disney merchandise.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Inverted. When the Mad Doctor acts in character it's serious business. The only time he doesn't sing while speaking is when he reveals his true intentions, returning to the wicked mad scientist he was in the prequel.
Racing Minigame: In the epilogue, you can ride a car through Autopia and make it either a time trial against Gilda or a demolition derby against her.
Remember the New Guy?: Gremlin Jamface is Gremlin Markus' cousin and replacement after the latter was injured. Doesn't stop the guy from telling Mickey it's "good to see you again" despite never meeting him before.
Rhymes on a Dime:
- Fifer Pig and Fiddler Pig of the Three Little Pigs speak entirely in rhymes, singing like how they did in their debut short. Practical Pig, however, used to rhyme but gave it up, thinking that it was annoying people.
- The Mad Doctor mostly speaks in song.
Save the Villain: Oswald attempts this at the end of the final battle with the Mad Doctor after the latter nearly falls to his doom. He fails in the bad ending but succeeds (in more ways than one) in the good ending.
Sequence Breaking: It's just possible, by using one of your Sketches as a platform, to jump into the treehouse in Ventureland and access the entrance to Autotopia without solving the sidequest feud between Daisy and Smee. This one is unique because it's an intentional example, and there's even an achievement for doing so.
Shout-Out: When you use the train station in Mean Street, the Conductor will say "Thank you for choo-choo-choosing the Wasteland Express!"
The Stinger: While everyone is celebrating the Mad Doctor's defeat/redemption, the Petes are developing plans of their own, which is hinted at when you find the odd costumes in the Mad Doctor's Attic.
Suddenly Voiced: Sort of. Mickey, Oswald and their friends are fully voiced now (and sing!) but their voice actors are the same ones who provided their Simlish in the first game ("Bark-talk", Warren Spector called it).
- Also Yen Sid keeps his voice actor from the first game who delivered the only spoken English dialogue in that game.
  - This is not the case for some other characters, however. For example: Gremlin Gus—in the first game, his sounds were supplied by Bob Joles, but in the sequel, actor Cary Elwes was cast as the voice of Gus. Another example: the Mad Doctor—in the first game, his sounds were supplied by Dave Wittenberg, but in the sequel, he is voiced by Jim Meskimen.
Taken During the Ending: Prescott is kidnapped by the Petes at the end of the game for their own plans.
Trailers Always Spoil: At least one trailer shows Prescott's robot, which looks like him and gives away that he's a bad guy. The main part is thinned, so it's not blatantly obvious, but the horns and the thing he wears on his head are still visible.
Tron Lines: Oswald's Tron-inspired outfit.
Underground Level: Rainbow Caverns, as well as the Underground of Mean Street.
Unintentionally Unwinnable: Entering the Floatyard via a specific projector in Prescott's Arena traps the player in an endless cycling of dying from being squished. The projector on the Floatyard's side (at the top of the building, not the side) is initially blocked by a door when the area is first loaded up before opening up. The door is very close to the projector, so when Mickey and Oswald come from the projector they will instantly be squished and killed. They will then keep re-spawning right in front of the projector each time the area is loaded up, perpetually killing them due to the door's position. This will unfortunately force players to start up a new save file if they wish to continue playing.
Unwinnable by Design: Much like the first game, you won't be able to finish some quests if you do something really stupid or unnecessarily evil.
Villain Song: Though Epic Mickey 2 is a musical, it is one where the Mad Doctor gets the bulk of the songs, ranging from Most Definitely Not a Villain song, an "I Want" Song and of course ones that fit the proper definition of Villain Songs.
- Fall of Prescott mixes this with "The Villain Sucks" Song. A song sung mostly by the main villain, with the secondary villain contributing a few lines, about how the secondary villain failed. The main villain slips in a line or two about his plans as well.
Visual Pun: One of the Shocker's attacks is clap his hands together and make a shock to damage you if you get too close- a thunderclap, if you will.
Walk-In Chime-In: When Mickey and Oswald are trying to figure out who sabotaged the projectors. Mickey suggests Prescott, then Gus teleports in from Ostown and says it couldn't be him, since he loves working on them.
The Wild West: Disney Gulch and it's associated areas function as Wasteland's version of Frontierland.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Several characters disappear, namely Captain Hook, The Clocktower, and the Shadow Blot. Captain Hook is shown to be missing, but alive (seeing as Smee said he'd go looking for him), the other two are referenced in the dioramas but are absent themelves. The Clocktower's absence is understandable — its in a location you don't visit after all, but the Shadow Blot is a Blotling that you could befriend and can freely move around Wasteland, so its absence is puzzling. There are also other characters that are absent, such as Madame Leona, the Radio in a shack in Bog Easy; the Seer blotlings are also noticeably absent as well, seemingly being replace by the new Dropwings.
Your Size May Vary: The gremlins go from just a bit shorter than Mickey and Oswald in most of the game's scenes to small enough to fit into another character's hand in the opening and closing ones. The latter's more faithful to their book counterparts.