Disney's Epic Mickey Series & Its Many Cancelled Games - Game History Secrets
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- Опубліковано 6 сер 2021
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Today on Game History Secrets, Liam talks about the turmoiled development of Disney's Epic Mickey series for the Nintendo Wii and beyond, and its cancelled sequel and spin-offs.
Liam Robertson is a video game researcher and archiver. In his spare time, Liam creates videos and articles for various outlets, and will also be contributing to the Did You Know Gaming channel.
Facebook: didyouknowgaming
Twitter: @DidYouKnowGamin
Website: DidYouKnowGaming.com
Sources/Further Reading:
• Spotlight: Epic Mickey...
• Warren Spector Intervi...
www.unseen64.net/2020/03/27/s...
• Warren Spector Intervi...
• Video
• Warren Spector Intervi...
www.polygon.com/2013/1/17/388...
web.archive.org/web/200910311...
www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/w...
www.cubed3.com/news/15709/1/e3...
www.gameinformer.com/b/featur...
/ hi_i_am_warren_spector...
epicmickey.fandom.com/wiki/Ep...
www.engadget.com/2010-08-13-w...
www.gamasutra.com/view/news/1...
web.archive.org/web/201010071...
kotaku.com/console-games-were...
web.archive.org/web/201511051...
web.archive.org/web/201404070...
/ gaminglegend64
web.archive.org/web/202003220...
www.gamasutra.com/view/news/1...
epicmickey.fandom.com/wiki/Ep...
www.gamasutra.com/view/news/2...
www.polygon.com/2013/1/29/393...
#Disney #MickeyMouse #EpicMickey #Wii #NintendoWii - Ігри
The fact Disney went from pushing this series super hard and supporting it like they should, to dropping it like a rock because mobile games were popular for a brief period of time, is really upsetting.
I mean mobile games ARE still huge business, they were just short-sighted in thinking that consoles and PC games would IMMEDIATELY become irrelevant.
I think mobile was only a small part of it (especially since Disney has very little mobile presence these days). They just didn't like paying for the upkeep of their own studios and would rather just make free profit off of licensing their IPs out which is still what they are doing to this day with that recent Sea of Thieves and Pirates of the Caribbean crossover.
But not surprising, Disney has been shitty af for a long time now, putting money before anything else is their main drive now
The fact that they were more concerned about "chasing trends" rather than make something unique and original says a lot about Disney as a company
@I am Petitgguy The original author of star wars and many other of their stories are still unpaid, they just stall and wait for the authors to die so they don't have to deal with the lawsuits (which are backed by a legal and legitimate contract, btw)
And it's not like they owe them that much, barely a few millions, which compared to what they earn from said IPs is minimal
It really is a true shame this series was dropped so quickly by Disney. Most people these days probably remember Epic Mickey as their first time seeing Oswald and learned of his story. I think that’s what made Oswald so endearing to people. Here’s hoping Atleast someday Disney picks this up in a way
Edit: after what’s felt like centuries we finally have an HD remake! Cheers to any Epic Mickey fans. Here’s hoping this series gets the love it deserves!
If they do pick this idea back up, a Kingdom Hearts inspired game would do
@Elias Tavares I’m on board with it not being kingdom hearts, I do like those games, at least the main ones 1,2 and 3 but, I really would prefer a tone that seems more serious or at least meaningful and not Disney characters talking about hearts or something that makes no sense at all.
I will always have a grudge against Disney for shutting down epic Mickey who had promise then pushing out Disney infinity which failed
@@David_Loves_Galaxies Yeah, it was kinda hilarious how badly Disney Infinity failed.
I agree. It was the first game I saw Oswald and the first game my brother beat on the Wii. He even replayed it and I scathed and I still enjoy the charming story. The second game was the first time I got to play it with my brother and I really enjoyed playing. My bro even figured out how to play as Oswald when we played together. If Disney ever decided to pick it up in a way, I’d be all in for it.
Who's here after they announced Rebrushed?
I am
Me
I am but I didn’t know they announced that till I saw this 🤣
I am.
Me! Figured I'd brush up on the OG before I played the remake.
"Console game developers are going to be out of jobs soon."
I'm so upset they destroyed this franchise because they really thought that mobile games would somehow kill the experience of fully fleshed out gaming.
I hate it too, just like mobile games in general. But from a money standpoint it is unfortunately true. Seeing some of those games that cost next to nothing to make, have almost zero gameplay and are then also reskinned 20 times, make money like water.
@@RavenLiquid i guess tho now that controllers gain popularity on phones with time we'll see more real games
so many good games... good ideas... wasted and abandoned because they're just not as easily marketable as cheap mobile games
@@SeleDreams real games that have evolved from the mobile market, better or worse. most likely worse. even in good games you can expect to have paywalls shoved down your throat
Probably more like "hoped"
Not that I can speak to their specific thoughts but i'm sure the idea of making ankle-deep games that propagate themselves off stupid/addictive people pumping hundreds of dollars into the game for months or years was hyper attractive and if they could've just forced the hand of everyone they would've.
23:22 “…console games and PC games were not the future.”
*Aged poorly.*
Bob iger called video games a “dieing fad” a few years ago
Certified Bruh Moment.
@@fridaynightnicktoons6885 When was that?
Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and other game companies: "What was that? We didn't hear you: we were watching another game bring in millions of dollars."
@@fridaynightnicktoons6885 source?
The legacy of Epic Mickey is so big yet it’s often overlooked. Thanks to the game, Oswald is seen in California Adventure and he and Ortensia are met at Disneyland Paris.
ua-cam.com/video/gfje8kAvXE0/v-deo.html
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@@wellusee688 What the fuck?
@@ralphbelmondo4495 That's an spambot.
Yeah Oswald was lost for the longest time due to Universal owning him.
@@AtomicRider Yeah, and they did basically jack-shit with him
I had honestly never heard of the Epic Donald and Epic Mickey 3 pitches and concepts until today, and frankly it hurts, it really hurts to see such amazing concept art and ideas just thrown away all because Disney did not want to gamble on wether or not the games would sell.
@Damien Cl It's quite simple to understand. The higher-ups at Disney will only give money if they believe they'll get lots more money in return. And those guys in suits believe mobile gaming is where the money's at. Simple to make with a chance system skewed against the player unless they invest lots of cash. Small investment, big reward.
Meanwhile a console game can cost millions to make and has a chance of not earning it back. Big investment, big loss. (Marvel's Avengers by Square Enix is reported at a loss of $60 million)
But of course, that's because the higher-ups don't understand games. They only understand profit.
@@ChimeraMK you say that like their sole job isn't to squeeze as much profit as they can. But fortnite's real cash cow is the ps4, so it's not just mobile that's profitable.
@@MrGamelover23 But Disney higher ups do not understand games. Which is why they closed down their in-house studios and outsourced everything. As the video just said, the first day of making Epic Mickey 2 the guy was straight up told mobile gaming was the future.
@@ChimeraMK Kind of makes you miss the days of Eisner and his teenaged son, huh?
Funny, there are a few videos that brought those topics up prior to this one.
Damn. This has always fascinated me cause I remember how for whatever reason the first game was such a huge deal when it came out over 10 years ago then like everyone forgot the series exist...
ua-cam.com/video/gfje8kAvXE0/v-deo.html
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I remember reading in game magazines at the time thay they wanted to make something darker. A quote that stuck out in my mind was one of the devs saying in an interview that they wanted to "scare kids that played the game".
@@somescrub885 man they gave younger me nightmares so they did that well
I am sure you could have been a part of the team Double D.
@@therandomarchive2183 OH DDOOOUUUUU!! I CAN'T BREATHE!!!
Hearing about all their canceled ideas and projects really hurt. This game had such a large impact on a lot of different industries and I think its hard to understand that if you weren't around when the first one came out. Its weird how you you either never forget this game or remember it as "that weird Mickey game on the Wii"
Literally engraved in my mind as I played it as a kid, idk why I have such a love and nostalgia for it and it gave me so many hours of entertainment. Also it is true, you can't forget it, the game has something we don know that makes it like special, outstanding in the memory, kinda how you said it, that weird mickey game on the Wii, but I wouldnt describe it as weird, idk how to detail it.
It's sad Epic Mickey was abandoned...by Disney (no pun intended)
i guess Epic Mickey itself resides in the wasteland now
@@lemonadesnake
Yeah, I think that's the case...but one thing it did do...it brought Oswald home
@@marsandcobblesproductions3501 its great that the origin of disney is finally back to where he started
The more I watch videos like these, the more I take away the fact that following popular trends and putting all your eggs in to one basket to do so is almost always the worst way a gaming company can handle itself. Epic Mickey and the spinoffs had a lot of potential and it's a shame that the series and the developers are no more.
On the other hand, flooding a market with an IP has also been shown to be disastrous. Just look at Guitar Hero.
Apparently, the studio behind the XIII remaster has a Disney project on its slate.
@@talbotbluechel2102 Guitar Hero isn't really that good of an example to use. A better point is that just because Mario can get away with it doesn't mean everyone can.
@@SirBlackReeds Let's hope it goes better then the XIII remaster then, because oh man did they botch that.
@@HypernovaKnight idk about that, beacuse the third game was Possibly also gonna take place in the cartoon world
"I think developers of console games wont be having jobs much longer"
I hate the mentality so fucking much. Yes mobile gaming became a juggernaut in the industry but the mere idea that there's no place for more elaborated console gaming really shows how one-track minded high executives can be.
In the end they just wanted to chase cheaper trends while forgetting there is value in making something with craft
He probably didn't know much about games period. Console gaming is still alive and well, and there's more projects coming. It's kinda sad, but at least the mouse isn't trying to buy out Nintendo or something crazy. (Pray that his mind doesn't change. Screwing up Kingdom Hearts is enough!)
Boomer thinking is detrimental for the development of nice and well-made IPs. They really are just greedy on their need for money, they will go for a safe choice not a risky and an excellent experience.
That's just the mindset capitalism incentivises.
@@Alex_Barbosa it's not enough to just make a lot of money, games need to make ALL the money!
-someone who has never played a game in his life, has no experience making games, and only knows how to temporarily make a company make money while killing it long-term
@@Kaitou1412Fangirl idk abt that. KH keeps its fingers mostly out of KH. Most major issues should be brought up to Nomura, the actual creator of KH
It still hurts. That concept art was fantastic.
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Yeah, but at least the first game was still pretty good
The artstyle was good
In an alternate universe we got that version
Especially the Epic Donald concept art.
The fact that there's still an Epic Mickey community and that a lot of people are talking about the games even today means that the franchise is still attractive and has a lot of potential, Epic Mickey is my favorite game of all time and I really wish a Remaster / Remake / Reboot comes out to introduce the games to more people
Exactly! A remaster on switch could work and i would buy it even if it was 100 dollars ahah
Any Poke-Fans here?
Ah, well, i just have it heavy on my mind,
so i say it out loud here:
Pokemon: Curse of Banette' is absolutely
amazing.
Epic.
That, and I would kill for an new game
And after seeing that badass concept art and ideas to make this version of mickey just a "little" fucked up make it a more entertaining experience.
@@ARuiz-eu3hk ?
I hate it how publishing companies buy these super talented studios, and then just close them. It happens way too often.
Difference here is Disney was not a publishing studio and had know knowledge of video games.
Really hoping one day Disney revitalize the Epic Mickey franchise , cause it deserves more than it gets .
ua-cam.com/video/gfje8kAvXE0/v-deo.html ..
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Same here, Disney+ would had been perfect to pick up the Epic Mickey Film.
@@nyanpirethecat2257 Or if there’s enough storytelling possibilities for one single film to handle, a Disney Plus series would be great too!
I would love to see a new epic mickey made on next gen consoles / pc hardware
@@Jermeister06 Right On!!
It's such a shame the franchise was canned, there's so much possibility to bring back forgotten characters and I hope this series gets revived at some point!
Apparently, the studio behind the XIII remaster has a Disney project on its slate.
I hope so
@@SirBlackReeds since that remaster is infamously buggy and bad, that doesn't bode well. Hoping for the best.
But since Sora is already erased from Kingdom Hearts III as a Forgotten Character.
Bros a prophet
Finally, after so many years, Epic Mickey is back.
Epic Disney Racers is a more fun idea than I expected, like imagine the paint and thinner being a core mechanic, you can use paint to make shortcuts, or use thinner to destroy them to screw over other racers.
That would’ve been fun.☹️
It would be even funnier if boss characters used paint and thinner as a way of cheating, (completely shaping the landscape to their whim, create obstacles, attacking your vehicle with thinner, etc) and you have to catch up to them.
Man, they NEED to make another Epic Mickey game. It doesn't even need to be some sort of reboot because it's been so long. Just straight up give us Epic Mickey 3. I love this series
But who can make it, though?
@@AUM_-po9sc i think that’s the main issue. The first epic Mickey had 7 years to develop into what it was and even then it was still sort of rushed. Now Disney is obviously so money hungry, they would never give us a true sequel, if anything it’d be a reboot of the entire thing and be launched on all platforms and given a year of development and it will just flop.
Disney executives really thought people who back in the day were playing console/PC games like Skyrim, Assassin's Creed, God of War or Pokémon would quit playing those games and turn their sights to Candy Crush or Clash of Clans just because it was trendy. It's astounding how narrow-minded and out of touch these boomer businessmen can be.
Amazing video, btw. Great job!
They were Gen X businessmen, not boomers.
Not only did they think console games would just go away, they thought it would go away in like, a year a something, but that doesn't happen!
Pretty sure they were looking at it from a market standpoint. More and more of the market share will go towards mobile game sales. Which is happening. So much so there wouldn't be much of a budget for developing games to sell on consoles. It's not about pleasing the consumer per se. It's about getting our dollars. It's just a nice coincidence that most of the time that means keeping us happy. Disclaimer: That may vary from company to company.
TL;DR JIC: In other words, they didn't think people would change their taste. They thought the market would change. Which was correct.
@@Mia-ln1zs That's not what Warren Specter was told, though. He said he was told "People who make console games aren't going to have jobs much longer." As in, "people who play video games aren't going to keep buying and playing console games, so the people who make them aren't going to have jobs".
They definitely missed a big opportunity and unfortunately that’s still seems to be the case for Disney with its current leadership on film and tv too as they only seem to be interested in chasing trends with their terrible live action remakes and prioritizing quantity over quality with their TV shows on Disney +.
As for video games from Disney since the closure of their internal studios, it’s all been pretty stale and the only decent Disney IP as of late has been the Kingdom Hearts franchise.
My favorite part of this is how we confirm that artists will draw concept art just to see how far they can go before somebody tells them to calm the hell down
Everything else is just sad since it's lost
Bummer that this series didn’t go too far. It’d be fun to have Wasteland as a world in Kingdom Hearts.
yo thatd be so cool
Or an actual land in Disney World parks!
Then again, the AntDude video didn't go to far in discussing the franchise....
You read my mind!
Despite Roxas and Xion got their hearts back.
Man, this franchise really deserves a second chance. So much potential.
EDIT: Well, it might just have it's second chance now...
Disney really should, just don’t focus on the movies and the overpriced theme parks, go back to the games
To quote the Mad Doctor himself... "A second chance is what we all deserve"
Boy, for being a company based on creativity, Disney certainly lacks it. So many cool ideas dropped for such silly reasons! I don't know what they have against redemption villains, people love that stuff!
They're more a fan of twist villains, apparently.
Man
Disney is literally praised for being creative. They also seem to kind of gloat about how creative they are; like calling their Disneyland employees “Imagineers”. But yet for a company as “creative” as them, they can’t manage to comprehend an interesting story the Epic Mickey franchise was going to tell, and did nothing to try and save it.
How ironic when later down the line Disney decided to do redemption villains afterwards, but not the way we thought.
@@Deliveredmean42 more like twist villains except it's the villains that are the "good" guys.
"Console games and PC games are not the future."
And here we are, at least 10 years later.
That was probably the thing that was said that aged the worst.
from a billionaire's point of view, he's not wrong. the mobile games market makes so much more money than the console and pc market, it's not even funny. of course you can still make a living out of them, but if you are already a billion dollar company like disney, it's just chump change and not worth the investment
@@shaman666 And that's mainly due to one term, micro transactions.
Did they really believe...Nintendo and Xbox and Playstation were going to just like, uh DISAPPEAR OR SOMETHING? wtf
Here we are - EA made a single-player game based on Star Wars, which is a Disney property, for PC and consoles.
I know so many aspiring artists and animators who adore Epic Mickey, and discovered Oswald because of these games. I wish the folks who worked at Junction Point the best, and I hope they know how beloved their games and ideas are by fans across the globe.
Finally, more recognition for this game.
@noddy Why'd you share some fucking meditation humming bullshit lmao
It's truly astounding the 3D Duck Tales game didn't get made, considering how good and successful the NES game was.
Probably because the sequel to the game sold horribly. Disney wants to forget about Ducktales 2 for some reason
@@catsorafgc I thought about that and how long it's been, but since there has been the show reboot and apparently a remaster of the original game so they must recognize the value of it. I guess it comes down to accepting the creativity void that Disney has become it's just hard to understand the humans that make those decisions as a consumer
The mortality system was honestly interesting, the concept designs stood out so much more than just darker accessories/clothes like most games
It’s better than the morality system in Shadow The Hedgehog
"Hey Disney, do you want to start your own Mickey branded Final Fantasy media franchise?"
"Nah, but that Candy Crush be lookin' good tho."
I liked Epic Mickey, but not because it was a dark, grim take on Disney - rather, because it was an artistically interesting idea and the plot about forgotten Disney characters (even tho a good portion of the supposedly forgotten characters regularly appears in the Italian Mickey Mouse comic books) was a good idea that could have been explored.
I've read up on this series and the cancelled games so much, nice to finally see a video properly covering them
omg your pfp??
@@hisuianpitch Hey, we match!
no way is this a comment thread with 3 people who chose the same pfp
@@FungusNitrogen well now it does
@@FungusNitrogen goals
I wish instead of already popular and beloved games getting remakes and remasters, stuff like Epic Mickey would get one. Just to finally fully realize the creators vision, giving them plenty of time to make it perfect.
I mean if Super Mario 3D All Star and Sonic Colors Ultimate can get remasters they could do the same to Epic Mickey all updated for modern consoles
The clocktowers original concept is cool and it is very relatable as if I heard the It's a Small World music on Loop I would go crazy too
I know right. That idea is hilarious. It was probably was not so much funny for corporate. I’m surprised that they even let you smash the dolls.
@@Eric64 Yeah when I first played the game as a kid I could not wait to smash those dolls as they look so creepy
Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is soon to be released this year. Perhaps these characters will have yet another chance not to be forgotten.
Disney should really revisit the Epic Disney universe. I would've loved to see all the projects see the light of day. With Nickelodeon making that platform fighter of theirs, it got me to wonder what if Disney did one too. Imagine an "Epic Disney All-Star Melee" now that would be awesome.
@Magolor If I was running Disney I would definitely go back to the gaming industry and revive the Epic Mickey series
Epic Mickey was literally the only time I cared about Mickey as a character .
Three Musketeers?
Disney should go back to making Mickey a character again where we care about him and not just a symbol for the company, I mean there are the Mickey Shorts but that’s it
@@JonathanGaeta and even then the Mickey shorts almost make you want to see more. It’s kinda like what Warner bros is doing with looney tunes. I appreciate the shorts of both but in the grand scheme of things it’s not nearly as paid attention to as the other garbage Disney and Warner bros is forcing in everyone’s face.
I relate too much with this comment, Mickey Mouse didn't interested me, and I thought he would never, me until I played Epic Mickey
10:00 Wait....Julius? Do you mean......? I can't believe they wouldn't let thier OWN made studio reference a certain controversial cartoon but will let Square Enix do so in Dream Drop Distance via having Julius as a secret boss. Like what?
There were spot of interesting concepts in this game. Like making Oswald Rabbit to be the games main baddie to having Mickey turning into some kind of tar monster,it’s just plain right awesome. I would love to see those in a Epic Mickey game. I’ve always had an interest in the Epic Mickey game when it came out. Hope Disney will see this and make another Mickey Mouse game in a Nintendo Switch exclusive and also bring a remastered version to the switch.
I’m I not the only one who’s now extremely disappointed that we never saw Epic Donald?
Your not the only one sad about Epic Donald.
It's hurts. Deep.
That would have been amazing.
Quackshot was one of my Favorite Games. I would have loved Epic Donald.
Hands down the most painful part of this whole thing.
Disney: if someone sees Mickey scary once …it will ruin decades of non scary Mickey . Also our consumers can’t understand a redemption arc so no Oswald villain arc.
This is like when Disney made Artemis Fowl a good guy in the film because they felt kids wouldn't understand a villain protagonist... Even though the books are popular children's books...🙄
Also Disney: Okay, so we're gonna have Luke Skywalker try to murder his nephew in his sleep...
Also Disney: We are also gonna buy The Walking Dead and put it right next to the Marvel Films.
So instead they turned Prescott into a punching bag and gave him a whole-ass villain arc 😭
Have you seen runaway brain….????? Disney has never shied away from showing a scary Mickey. Warren just pussed out. Disney is open to dark depictions
A dude who thinks Console games are on the way out should never, in any era be the head of a gaming division.
I wonder how much Disney’s relationship with Juncture Point affected Spectrobes’ development. Its kinda contradicts to say to Warren Spector video games wont be around, then to say to another studio “we want a pokemon killer”
That comment was made around 2010. Spectrobes was already a dead series at that point.
I still adore the first Epic Mickey game. Such good story, gameplay, concepts, and atmosphere. The second game was very disappointing though, as Warren said it was rushed and messy. Real shame the studios shut down and the future game concepts canned. The series had potential.
There is still a chance to revive the series potentially as I have created a petition to effectively show that Epic Mickey still as a concept and story is relevant and hopefully could revive the series. chng.it/SK4c7G9G
Epic Mickey's graphics were do ahead of its time imo. And the mechanics are simple, yet the artwork and art style intrigued me. And the later parts of the game, although disturbed me as a child looking at the horrifying monsters, still kept me locked in and determined to see the game completed! I remembered going to the tower and shooting fireworks at a boss. That was one of the most memorable parts of the game.
15:18 would be kinda cool if they somehow brought this back in the remake
The abrupt end of epic mickey in its prime will always be up there for me on saddest deaths in the industry.
Up there with the likes of atari going bankrupt, the dreamcast being discontinued, rare being bought by microsoft, etc.
There's just so much potential we'll never see used when its moment was in the past, regardless what comes later.
Rebrushed: "Even me?" 😏
It’s a shame Junction Point didn’t follow through on their concept art. I would’ve loved a game involving a dark, twisted version of Disneyland
Same!
That really was never meant to be much for an actual game. It was style experimenting.
@@thefreelancequeen maybe, but it would have been more interesting
I mean, it’s less that they didn’t follow through and more that Disney would never ever have allowed it, and they knew that. The dark and twisted stuff was used as the classic strategy of “present something over the top so what you actually want will seem not as bad”.
Some of the work they made they didn’t follow up on cuz the concept was too scary.
And I’ll agree, as someone who has the concept art book of the game, they really did create some things that would be hard to interact w/ in game w/o literally being horror
"it was supposed to have been driven mad by the small world song playing on loop" at least they know
Mickey loses his heart. Yen Sid gives him one back. Roxas in shambles right now.
That's why he was wearing an Organization coat in KH2.
Epic Mickey 2 for the PS3 was the first game I ever seriously played and beaten. I quickly fell in love with this wonderful and confusing world, characters, and story (at least on the pov of a 5 year old) just after playing the demo on the PS3 store (a demo that I would play an insane amount of times before getting the full game). I would get home from school hyped to get one step closer to beating the game with my dad, I would draw the characters all the time, have a hard time trying to understand what was being said on the games (English isn’t my first language), pretend that I was Mickey going on a crazy adventure, read the graphic novel non stop, and have nightmares with the games’s creepy bosses and general aesthetic. I loved everything about it, even with the language barrier I dig deep and watched countless gameplays of both games + Epic Mickey Castle of Illusion and fan content (I still wish I could play the original game and the Castle of Illusion version, but I never owned a Wii or a DS so yea :/). This game really meant and means the world to me, it’s bugs and inconsistencies didn’t bother me, I fell in love unconditionally. Of course now I’m able to have a more critical view, understand it’s flaws, story, and beauty even further. It breaks my heart to know about this tragic story of a game that had so much potential and love from millions of fans around the world. I still have hope or at least wish that in the future we have more Epic Mickey content. It’s unlikely, but it doesn’t hurt to keep on wishing, after all no request is too extreme when you wish upon a star, ain’t I right?
Kid me (and adult me probably) would have absolutely loved that Epic Donald game. It's such a shame it never saw the light of day, as the concept art looks amazing
I had been listening for the past minute or two struggling to recall a reason why Disney just entirely abandoned all these properties and ideas. Then the words "trends, like mobile games" hit me like a truck.
With Epic Mickey now getting an HD remake from the incredible Purple Lamp Studios, I think it’s safe to assume that the series will make a full comeback!
I hardly ever say this about EM2 but for some of the concepts, thank god they didn’t go through with it. Specifically the ones involving Jungle Book, Robin Hood, and Alice and Wonderland. While Robin Hood might barely be unpopular enough to fit in, the other characters are quite popular and definitely are not “forgotten” enough to exist in wasteland.
Exactly, there are so many forgotten characters that they could put in the games, but the most we see of really forgotten characters are Oswald, Ortensia, Gus and the other Gremlins, the Mad Doctor, the Lonesome Ghosts and maybe the Three Little Pigs. You know, we could see in Wasteland characters like Clara Cluck, Peter Pig, Mortimer Mouse, Kat Nipp, Humphrey the Bear, J. Audubon Woodlore, Witch Hazel, Little Red Riding Hood, Toby Tortoise, Max Hare, among others.
Really wish Disney would reconsider some of those projects; it's just sad that Specter's vision for a full series was never realized.
Who else is here because of the recent announcement of Epic Mickey Rebrushed?
Epic Mickey was truly epic. It really made me look at Mickey, (and disney in some ways) in a different way
A darker Disney and Mickey, something we won’t see again anytime soon
With the announcement of Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, perhaps this series will make a comeback. I'd love a third entry that embraces the horror elements
Junction point and epic mickey had SO much potential, and it’s so sad to see what happened to the company knowing how much passion they had for this series. Epic mickey is such a wonderful game that deserves way more reckonition than it sometimes gets - it makes me so happy to see other people who also love it or who just talk about it. Despite what happened to it, it made an impact.
Also man am I frustrated that disney has barely even touched Oswald after epic mickey. Use him for more than cameos you cowards
just realized this is the 2nd time a jungle book world was cut.(be cool to see the wasteland in kingdom hearts seeing sora,riku & kairi explore it along with how oswald would be portrayed with the adventures that mickey went on in the worlds.)
really stings about epic mickey's fall(especially with oswald not even appearing in the new shorts outside cameo's or at the parks.) as i would've mixed power of 2 with the plot of power of illusion(have the mad doctor work with mizrabel & maleficent to drag enough hearts from the cartoon world into wasteland to get out while also manipulating oswald turning him into the storm blot with the phantom blot's remains with mickey,donald & goofy teaming up with the disney characters to save oswald.)
and would've liked to see some of the concepts it had(especially the nottingham/jungle book worlds,ortensia being playable,the toon world being mixed with wasteland and the epic donald spin off being pretty much a 3d successor to capcom's ducktales game.:3) as epic mickey really did help give mickey mouse life again along with giving oswald another chance.
I legit didn't knew there were both a sequel and 3DS spin-off/spiritual succesor for an unrelated Sega Genesis game of Epic Mickey on the Wii.
But NGL that Epic Ducktales sounded really interesting, never knew the lore of those comics can be so broad.
Epic Donald! Ducktales (both) versions sidelined Donald in a series that was based on HIS adventures.
I actually was gifted the 3DS game as a christmas present at some point, that was the only contact I ever had with the franchise. I remember it giving me anxiety... haha I was scared of playing it for years. Never finished it. Man I'd call myself a wimp but that's kinda not nice, I'm just sensible, and a bad gamer xD
Super sad to hear the ambition and passion of Junction point went to waste because of the new bosses that came on board at Disney Interactive. Imagine a Disney racing game, a disney olympics game and an Epic Donald? Also RIP to Disney Interactive, honestly some of my best childhood memories are because of that studio. Both Disney Interactive and Junction Point deserved a lot better than what they got.
Nah
i find it absurd how Disney has so much of a tunel vision, they dont freaking understand how to sell their own things. epic mickey was the first, then they cancel disney infinity when the game is on its high point, after it the failure that was mvc infinity and the marvels avengers. and the only thing they say is "we dont understand videogames".
Disney infinity was trending downward when they canned it. They got cold feet when Disney interactive started making losses again.
I completely forgot about that Oswald game
It would be great if one day a remake of the first game was announced, say called Epic Mickey Rebrushed
As a massive Kingdom Hearts fan, I've always been intrigued by Epic Mickey. It really is a cousin-series in a lot of ways, and I hope it comes back some day!
Too bad the Epic Donald game never materialized, as Donald Duck is the most popular character at Disney after Mickey and is more popular than Mickey in many European countries. That game could have been a link to Donald’s classic shorts and Carl Barks comics and we would see many characters from Donald’s universe (more specifically from Duckverse, from the city of Duckburg) like Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Daisy Duck, Gyro Gearloose, Donald’s cousins like Gus, Gladstone and Fethry, Grandma Duck, Beagle Boys, Magica de Spell, Glomgold, Rockerduck and others, who are residents of Duckburg and are often either friends or rivals with Donald. That game could have prompted many people to read Donald Duck comics and would be introduced to other things they don’t know about Donald, but unfortunately Disney refused to do so. Really a shame. Epic Mickey is definitely an underrated game.
Im seeing a somewhat resurgence of epic Mickey as of late on Twitter and a bit on yt and im very happy people are remembering how great this game was
I really dig the idea of a morality system. Maybe you could’ve gotten a different ending depending on which version of Mickey you were by the end.
You do sort of get that in the Epic Mickey games. It shows you the outcome of the individual choices you made at the end. If you save the clock tower, for instance, you see it happily celebrating with the gremlins. If you destroy it, you see it in ruin at the end, sad.
@@LiamRproductions A lot of people complained about how the karma doesn't affect much in-game, and they have a good point and I agree with them somewhat, but I like how they represent your choices in the ending. Since you can't re-do your actions after you do something, it can hurt when you reach the ending and see where you screwed up, or what your destructive actions caused. On the flipside, a perfect run can feel great as you see how your actions have improved lives! I guess it's all a matter of perspective.
Epic Mickey is legit the only reason people believed me about Oswald.. yes I knew who it was my mom is just a big a fan as me the gremlins were new to me and I LOVE them I'm so sad epic Mickey didn't get the recognition it deserved/s hopefully with the rebrushed game coming out it gets it
It blows my mind that Disney specifically wanted to make something to appeal to young men but outright rejected any of the concepts that would have actually interested that demographic.
I understand that the concepts weren't really intended for the end product and were made to test the waters, but it's telling that it was all rejected outright.
Furthermore, I love the Wii, but it wasn't exactly known for its young adult male fanbase. The very fact that they said 'yeah, let's make it Wii-exclusive' shows that they either weren't committed to the idea of chasing that demographic or were entirely tone-deaf about how to do that.
Man, this game could have been historic for its content completely reinventing who Mickey is, but instead it's kind of a run-of-the-mill Disney game only notable for bringing Oswald back to the company.
Even still I feel like reinventing Mickey to a darker brand was a bad idea. The whole idea of appeal to nostalgia of Disney fans and making it kinda edgy just seems like a slap in the face ( look at the banna splits movie)
@@paulakroy2635 some may see it that way, but there are plenty of us for whom Mickey has no entertainment value at all. The darker reinvention could have revitalized the brand for that demographic they were initially going after. And in so doing, the classic mickey design and direction isn't gone - both can coexist.
To be fair, Kingdom Hearts already basically reinvented Mickey.
@@WarpChaos not really, I'd say his role was pretty much on brand for him. Granted I haven't played the third one, maybe something has changed.
@@lpnp9477 I mean, it didn't reinvent him quite as dark and edgelord as this was going to, but he's basically a Yoda-type.
I guess Disney thought Epic Mickey was too ambitious
@@hisuianpitch Watch the video. That's not why the series ended.
Just seen that a remake of Epic Mickey has been announced, lfg!
What does ifg mean?
LETSSSS GOOOOOO! WE ARE SOOOO BACK!
"Mobile games are the future" Bruh I hope that guy is not in charge anymore and never works in the gaming industry again.
Well that guy was fired from Disney in 2013 so
@@LiamRproductions and he had the ruin an awesome series before going down fuck him
Sadly, the comment is mostly true. You can download most mobile games for free. Not everyone has the disposable income to purchase the latest consoles and games.
@@jjenk911 But most of those games are really exploitative and became repetitive so fast...
Member when Bob iger called video games a “dieing fad” a few years ago? Lmfao
The concept art is unbelievable. Especially for Oswald
This game (and its sequel) needs an HD port on the Switch, similar to what they just did with Skyward Sword.
The first game is getting one.
I greatly appreciate the Japanese release being mentioned. Cuts down on backtracking and polishes up the camera system. You can actually easily edit the ISO to play the game fully in English as well!
So theoretically if one had acquired a modded Wii they could get the Japanese version with English translations? 🤔 is there any links to how one might achieve this?
@@brutallyhonest123This is how I did it be sure to read all the posts though as someone finds an easier method:
gbatemp.net/threads/epic-mickey-japanese-version-to-english-version-guide.492400/
Epic Darkwing: a Darkwing Duck open world game in style of Batman Arkham City.
Ugh, this would have been an amazing universe to traverse but things just never go the way they should.
We need this series back
It is.
Umm... it is back. You commented a day after it was announced
I really hope this series gets a second chance with rebrushed. So much potential
You can tell how much passion the developers had for this series! Such a shame! Great video!
Epic Mickey is the best incarnation of Mickey Mouse, yes, beating out his Kingdom Hearts version
Say fellas, did somebody mention the door to darkness?
That's a bold statement!
@@TommyDeonauthsArchives kingdom hearts Mickey isn’t Mickey.
@@paulakroy2635 Yeah... but still...
@@paulakroy2635 what
To quote of the Mad Doctor’s songs in EM2: “It feels like the end, that’s a bad place to start.”
I love how the early concept of the first game was like, “We need to make a game where Mickey meets Resident Evil.” Then all we got was a 3D, family-friendly, puzzle-platformer.
One can only wonder if it would have sold better had that concept art not leaked.
@@SirBlackReeds It would have been a pretty good game, though. A twisted and sick Mickey Mouse game would be amazing!
This game filled a huge gap when Sonic games stopped being about 3D adventure and only focused on speed. The sequel imo didn't have that "surprise" factor, you knew what to expect but nothing interesting ever happens and the game ends abruptly, like a demo.
Epic Mickey was Undertale before it was cool, I mean, wasteland world where some creatures got sealed, needing a "heart" to escape, and not to mention M o r a l i t y
This video filled me with determination to play Epic Mickey.
@Katie Lewis Did you just call Undertale a "cheap copy" ?
I mean, wow. That's incredibly insulting. Do you know how most creative things are made ? That's right, from the basis of inspirations, such as other creative things that came before it.
The love child of Undertale and bendy
I remember when I was younger, a kid in my school was talking about the Wii and asked another kid what his favorite game was. The other kid didn't have one but he mentioned what he called "a cool paint mickey Mikey game".
I immediately knew it was Epic Mickey.
When I asked the other kid if it was Epic Mickey, he said yeah, and the conversation ended there.
And for some reason, I so clearly remember the awkward silence after the conversation ended.
DuckTales and Carl Barks fans REALLY missed out on another great video game with those amazing characters and that amazing world after already been treated to the classic NES game from Capcom.
Moreso Carl Barks fans, Ducktales (both versions) sidelined Donald in a series based off HIS adventures and didn't really do him proper justice.
Oswald as a main villain plotting revenge against Mickey Mouse sounds awesome. And him combining with The Blot to become the Storm Blot sounds awesome too. But if this was the direction they went with, this game wouldn't give us Oswald's great character arc.
Epic Mickey had so much potential to be thousands of more times better than what it was. While I'm glad it has been remade, I just know the way Disney is going now, it's probably for the best we got this 8/10 franchise out of it, and it bowed out when it did. Epic Mickey may be about forgotten characters, but it sure isn't forgotten.
Omg. Epic Donald sounds so good.
Cruella in a racing game sounds like a nightmare...yet also a perfect match.
Her car is iconic.
people don't appreciate enough how much the community put in efforts to uncover the lost media of the game. for the entire missing half of epic mickey 2, i remember the one tumblr post that blew the lid off the whole hidden plot; posts of unused audio files and people searching through different contributor's portfolios to find missing animations, and the recent-ish builds being found has made it so we basically know everything that was meant to happen.. this game and the thriving community it still has holds a special place in my heart.
This game series bums me out in terms of what it could’ve become, but I’m happy that it exists at all and at least the first game’s concepts are really well done. That Donald game would’ve been awesome, I love the concept art!
This video seriously breaks my heart. As a life long Disney fan, epic Mickey 1 is one of my favorite games of all time. I would of loved to play all those future games. I really feel like this series could make a return if ppl speak up enough
What I want to know is when they said that the world of Epic mickey was about what's forgotten about Disney, why didn't they include what people actually forgot about the company including long lost theme park attractions instead of evil versions of Disney's theme Park attractions that are extremely popular along with characters and movies from Disney's two dark ages as opposed to robotic versions of our beloved characters.
When I was 11 I had a GameCube, Wii and DS Lite that I played regularly but I wasn't really obsessed with video games. Then somebody bought me a subscription to Nintendo Power. I wasn't that impressed at first. I had two issues so far, covering Dragon Quest 9 and Skyward Sword, neither of which interested me at the time. Then in October 2010 I got the issue focused on Epic Mickey. Seeing them interview Warren Specter in that issue, I had my eyes opened, even at such a young age. I'd never heard people speak so passionately about video games and what inspired them to make them and I bought the game ASAP. And yeah, Disney succeeded in their goal. It sparked an interest in me, if for a short time, to learn about Mickey's history and to watch some of those older cartoons. Next month's issue was the NES' 25th anniversary (an eye-catching, shiny silver cover with a ton of colorful NES sprites) and had even more developer interviews focusing on NES titles and how they were inspired by them growing up.
And that settled my appreciation/obsession for video games both new and old, as well as a desire, even to this day, to make my own game. I even wrote out a letter to Santa that Christmas asking for an NES (yes, an 11 year old in 2010) and a laundry list of games but I backed out of it for something else. I still have those old issues and pull them out every now and again. The NES one is still my favorite. :)