Castle of Illusion is one of those Genesis games that just feels like Disney magic—not in a corporate way, but in that old-school hand-drawn charm. You’re Mickey, bouncing on giant apples and dodging sentient playing cards to save Minnie from Mizrabel’s creepy castle. The first level throws you into this lush forest with mushrooms that launch you into the air, and the music? Still catchy decades later.

What surprised me was how much strategy sneaks in. Some levels flip gravity, others turn you tiny, and those boss fights? Way more creative than they needed to be for a 16-bit Mickey game. The witch’s illusions keep shifting the castle around, so you’re never just running right—you’re figuring out which doors lead where, or how to outsmart a living suit of armor.

It’s short by today’s standards, but every frame oozes personality. I still hum the theme when I’m doing chores.