Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (originally titled Epic Mickey: The Power of 2 in Europe) is a sequel to the video game Epic Mickey. It was announced on August 27, 2011, when Disney marketing polls revealed four potential covers and some working titles. The game features co-op, with Mickey and Oswald. The game was officially announced for a Fall 2012 release window on December 29, 2011 and will appear on multiple consoles and a PC version is also being development. A separate Epic Mickey game for the Nintendo 3DS has also been confirmed; it is titled Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion and is being developed by Dreamrift instead of Junction Point. Unlike the first game, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two features full voice-acting and original songs written by Jim Dooley and Mike Himilstein. It was released on November 18, 2012 in the United States, November 22nd of the same year in Australia, November 23, 2012 in Europe and September 26, 2013 in Japan (Only on Wii) for the Wii, PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360, November 18, 2012 in the United States, November 30, 2012 in Europe, December 13, 2012 in Australia and September 26, 2013 in Japan for the Wii U system, and June 18, 2013 in the United States and June 19, 2013 in Europe for PlayStation Vita. The release date for the PC version was cancelled.

Story
The game is set some time after the original Epic Mickey. The Mad Doctor, whom Mickey defeated in the first game, mysteriously returns to the Wasteland, despite having been supposedly blown up in the first game. He claims to have realized the error of his ways and offers to work with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and the other residents of Wasteland to repair the damage recently caused by earthquakes in order to make amends. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, Oswald agrees. However, not long after accepting the Mad Doctor's help, the Wasteland begins to suffer even more damage than before. Becoming suspicious that the Mad Doctor is not keeping his part of the bargain, Gremlin Gus, Oswald's friend and adviser, and Ortensia, Oswald's girlfriend, decide to contact Mickey Mouse, who saved the Wasteland in the first game, to ask for his help. Gus is able to contact Mickey using Mickey's television and tells Mickey in a very panicked voice that there is trouble in Wasteland. Confused, Mickey then jumps into the TV, where he has to get his paint brush back. Armed with the paintbrush, Mickey then re-paints Wasteland and jumps right in. With Gus's help, Mickey returns to the Wasteland to assist in uncovering the truth behind the Mad Doctor's supposed reformation, teaming up with Oswald along the way.

The two later discover that the Mad Doctor has been using his offer of help as a premise to release his new creations, "Blotworx" (a mixture of the Blotlings and Beetleworx from the original Epic Mickey), into the Wasteland. Realizing his mistake, Oswald proceeds to assist Mickey in taking down the Mad Doctor once again.

There is also a boss battle against Elliott the Dragon which is actually a parade float from the Main Street Electrical Parade. In this battle, just like the first game you have two options: to either thin or paint it.

Gameplay
In Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, Mickey will be able to use his paintbrush from the first game, and can still use paint and thinner. Oswald is armed with a remote control that has the power to command electricity. Oswald's other powers are the use of his ears as a helicopter to float and to remove his arm and use it as a boomerang to get items or hit things. The game will be like a musical in which songs and music will change based on whether gamers prompt Mickey to be well-mannered or mischievous. Oswald is controlled by either another player or running as an NPC. Also, the camera controls are changed.

Cartoons Featured as Transition Levels

 * The Old Mill
 * Night on Bald Mountain
 * Music Land
 * The Skeleton Dance
 * Building a Building
 * The Band Concert
 * Mickey's Service Station

Features

 * All in-game characters - most notably Oswald The Lucky Rabbit whose voice will be heard for the first time ever - are fully voiced by the official voice actors of those characters.
 * Players will experience Disney's forgotten characters and attractions in all-new levels (including one based on Frontierland) and further explore levels from the original Disney Epic Mickey game (such as OsTown), but now changed, impacted by world-changing events that have shaken Wasteland apart.
 * New 2D levels based on classic Disney animated films and shorts will offer compelling puzzle-based, platforming gameplay.
 * Players will enjoy an original game story co-written by award-winning American comic book writer, Marv Wolfman, and Junction Point.
 * The storyline will feature a variety of new and returning characters that will further immerse players in Disney's rich history while adversaries familiar and new will challenge players.

Voice cast

 * Bret Iwan - Mickey Mouse
 * Frank Welker - Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
 * Cary Elwes - Gremlin Gus
 * Audrey Wasilewski - Ortensia
 * Jim Meskimen - The Mad Doctor
 * Corey Burton - Yen Sid, The Spirit of Wasteland
 * Jim Cummings - Big Bad Pete, Pete Pan, Small Pete, Petetronic
 * Bill Farmer - Horace Horsecollar, Animatronic Goofy, Practical Pig
 * Tony Anselmo - Animatronic Donald
 * Tress MacNeille - Animatronic Daisy
 * April Winchell - Clarabelle Cow, Gilda
 * Jeff Bennet - Mr. Smee
 * Pat Musick - Fiddler Pig
 * Dominic Keating - Gremlin Prescott
 * Stephen Stanton - Paulie, Scurvy Pat, Blue Gremlin
 * Jon Heder - Seth
 * Dana Snyder - Gremlin Jamface
 * James Patrick Stuart - Gremlin Sparks
 * Fred Tatasciore - Barnacle Jones
 * Julianne Buescher - Metairie
 * Additional Voices - Roger Craig Smith, Melissa Disney, Robin Atkin Downes, Greg Ellis, Brian George, T.J. Ramini, Jason Marsden, Eliza Schneider, Andre Sogliuzzo

First Announcement
During a survey, a question was asked. It said this: "Now we would like to show you a few more packages for the Disney Epic Mickey 2 video game. Please indicate which package design makes you most interested in purchasing Disney Epic Mickey 2."

"Secret" Project
In issue #276 of Nintendo Power Magazine, the game was hinted at in the end of the issue as they said that in the next issue, they would feature a look at "a top-secret title that promises to make your head spin" (Referring to Oswald's "Helicopter Ears"). It was eventually revealed that Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two actually was the "Secret" Project.

Confirmation
On March 21, 2012, the game and its official title was confirmed by Warren Spector and acclaimed IGN game unit. It has been confirmed that Ortensia, Gremlin Gus, The Mad Doctor, Pete, Animatronic Goofy, Yen Sid, and the Magic Brooms from Fantasia will appear. Frontierland and some other new worlds will also be added to the Wasteland.

In the GameTrailers TV episode that aired March 23, 2012, all new gameplay and story elements were premiered. According to Spector, this story revolves around the return of The Mad Doctor who claims he's reformed and wants to rejoin Oswald's forces. Oswald, overjoyed with the return of his friend, accepts him with open arms. However, the citizens of the Wasteland feel reluctant to the whole thing. To see if the Doctor is legit, they call on Mickey. Strangely, earthquakes begin to occur all over Wasteland leaving Mickey to feel a lot more suspicious about the Doctor. Also revealed were new areas to be visited including Mickey's room in the real Disney world and Yen Sid's studies which were only seen in the previous game's opening and ending cinematics. The returning areas of Wasteland such as Mean Street and Ostown will be revamped.

As said before, the game features full voice acting with Oswald being voiced by Disney veteran Frank Welker who performed Oswald's grunts and sound effects in the first game. The original game's narrator Yen Sid will be voiced by Mike Himselstein who is also writing the lyrics for the game's musical numbers. The total amount of songs that will be in the game is currently unknown. However, according to Spector, there will be "at least five songs". There is also a new way to travel through Wasteland alongside the 2D cartoon portals. Players now travel underground where forgotten Disney memorabilia of classic characters like Chip 'n' Dale and Toby Tortoise are stored.

A new army has risen in the Wastelands too, a curious hybrid of Blotlings and Beetleworx known as Blotworx. How exactly this new species came about is all part of the mystery surrounding the sequel's story.

A confirmed boss was discovered when Warren Spector said that the first boss will be an animatronic version of Elliot the Dragon from Pete's Dragon, based on the Ellliot float from the Main Street Electrical Parade. The robot has a Blotling controlling it, making it a Blotworx.

Reception
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two received generally mixed reviews, with most complaints being the game not fixing issues that were present in the original. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Wii version 67.60% and 64/100, the Xbox 360 version 60.80% and 59/100 the PlayStation 3 version 57.83% and 59/100, the Wii U version 55.42% and 57/100, and the PlayStation Vita version 51.50% and 57/100.

Sales
By the end of 2012, Epic Mickey 2 sold 529,000 copies in the United States. By the end of 2010, its predecessor had sold at least 1.3 million. In a recent interview, Warren Spector stated that he was 'in doubt' about the future of the series. Despite heavy advertising and due to gameplay criticism, the game barely sold a quarter of the copies the original did, making it a commercial bomb (its sales were scoped at around 2 million), despite being available on multiple platforms. Following these financial losses, Disney made an official statement on January 29, 2013 that Junction Point Studios was to be closed in order to direct resources to other projects. It is revealed that Disney still owns the Epic Mickey IP, but has no plan for the series.

Canceled sequel
A sequel to Epic Mickey 2 titled Epic Mickey 3 was originally intended to be the final part of the Epic Mickey trilogy. Due to the poor sales of Epic Mickey 2, Junction Point Studios closed on January 29th 2013.

Trivia

 * Just like the first "Epic Mickey", there is no trace or mention of Minnie Mouse, Mickey's love. But she appeared in Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion.
 * Despite Mickey being shown with part of the Blot inside of him after the last game ended, he does not show any sign of this power in Epic Mickey 2.