Game Informer has been running a series of features about the upcoming Nintendo Wii game Epic Mickey, which is designed as a grand revitalization of Mickey Mouse as a character along with reintroducing Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald was Walt Disney’s (and Ub Iwerks’s) first creation and while extremely successful, Universal retained ownership after Disney and Iwerks left over a contract dispute. At this time they created Mickey and well, the rest is history. Oswald, however, was recently purchased back from Universal, allowing him to appear here in the role of the bitter forgotten ‘son’ in contrast to Mickey’s fame and fortune.
The game involves Mickey having to go into the Wasteland, where Disney’s forgotten characters and settings now reside, where Oswald’s jealousy has fermented for decades. Of course, Oswald’s not likely to stay a villainous character for the game’s entirety but other classic baddies will be appearing to fill that void, such as the Phantom Blot, Pete and the Mad Doctor. It’ll all be explained by game designer Warren Spector, known for the likes of Wing Commander, Deux Ex, System Shock and Thief: The Dark Project, among others. Along with the following piece, there’s a lengthy interview with him about how the project came together, the game details and the historical elements of Disney’s characters as it impacts Epic Mickey.
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Overall, there’s so much to love about what’s being said about this game, especially if you’re a fan of classic Disney animation. There’s a lot of love and history going into it, which is always a good sign. It’ll be especially fun to see Mickey return more to his roots, before he became a tamer goody two-shoes. Epic Mickey is currently scheduled to arrive on the Wii in the fall of 2010. While you wait, check out the fantastic DVD set Disney put together that compiles the surviving Disney era Oswald shorts.
