Review tylerisrandom 3/5 · Sep 28, 2019
Sophomore Slump
Earlier this year, I re-played Epic Mickey and found it to be better than I remembered. This rekindled nostalgia fueled a desire to revisit its much-maligned sequel.
I'd played Epic Mickey 2 before, but my memory was hazy. It was free on Vita via PlayStation Plus. I remember it being buggy but basically okay. This go around, I played the …
Earlier this year, I re-played Epic Mickey and found it to be better than I remembered. This rekindled nostalgia fueled a desire to revisit its much-maligned sequel.
I'd played Epic Mickey 2 before, but my memory was hazy. It was free on Vita via PlayStation Plus. I remember it being buggy but basically okay. This go around, I played the Wii version. Its visuals are lower resolution than other platforms, but its more straightforward control scheme earned it better reviews. Perhaps, like Sonic Adventure, this game's reputation had been tarnished by supposedly "next-gen" (but inferior) ports..?
Sadly, this is not the case.
That's not to say the game's a complete failure. If you loved the original, there's fun to be had exploring the nooks and crannies of a more elaborate Mean Street. It's also nice to continue exploring the world after the credits roll, completing side quests and uncovering secrets. The things you restore with paint or erase with thinner stick around, which is an excellent touch. Collectible costumes are pretty fun.
But it's impossible to ignore all the ways this game backslides.
The biggest issue is the addition of co-op. I like the idea in theory, but its execution is maddening. Two-player mode is an exercise in frustration... the frame rate takes a serious hit, the split screen is poorly implemented, and the level designs aren't intuitive enough to easily coordinate. But there are no affordances for playing these levels on your own... you're simply given an A.I. Oswald who acts like a complete idiot. Most of the time, he just sort of runs into enemies and takes the hit like Tails would in Sonic 2. But occasionally you need his help with something, which means waiting around for him to catch up or to awkwardly pop into existence nearby.
There are other, smaller issues as well:
- The first game's story was about sibling rivalry and the Disney studio's forgotten past. This game's story is just about the first game. I beat it an hour ago and I've already forgotten most of its main beats.
- The main story path is way shorter... less than half the play time of its predecessor.
- In spite of its short length, gremlin Gus is just constantly pushing you forward. I'd often find collectibles for side quests I'd never started because the game seemed to want me to get a move on already.
- Almost all of the game's locales are recycled from the previous game. Many, particularly Ventureland and Bog Easy, feel like pale imitations of the original.
- Much of the in-game instruction is generalized, presumably to make it easier to port to more platforms. Instead of "press A," it'll say "press the 'paint' button," which isn't really helpful. It's been a long while since I had to consult a game's manual!
- It was way harder this time around to tell which items and scenery could be painted or thinned. I found myself just haphazardly spraying paint and thinner around to get a better sense of the area than I was able to visually.
Criticism aside, I can't say I disliked Epic Mickey 2. Part of that is my love for the concept, but partly it's just morbid fascination. It's a little like watching Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3: It's objectively worse than its predecessor, even though it was made by the same people. And if you're a fan, there's something kind of entertaining about that.
