Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

"Unleash the power of the brush in an all-new co-op adventure."

- Tagline

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (known as Epic Mickey 2: Futatsu no Chikara in Japan) is an action-adventure platform game published by Disney Interactive Studios for the PlayStation 3. Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita and Microsoft Windows. It is a sequel to Epic Mickey (2010).

Plot
The story begins with a recap of the first game narrated by Yen Sid, followed by a powerful earthquake that splits the Mean Street in two halves, after which the Mad Doctor appears offering himself to save Wasteland from future quakes and asking for a second chance as well as Oswald's help to do so, much for a distrusted Ortensia's annoyance. With the help of Gus, they build a TV portal to summon Mickey back to Wasteland in order to figure out the Mad Doctor's intentions and to save the forgotten land once again in case he's up to no good.

Good Qualities

 * 1) Unlike its predecessor, this game has complete voice acting, and numerous voice actors reprise their roles. Not only that, but it's also possible to change the language of the audio and the subtitles.
 * 2) The aesthetics are much more vivid, colorful and lively than the first game (especially in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions).
 * 3) The cutscenes keep the hand-drawn vibe while adding some polish into them.
 * 4) The good sense of humor is present here too.
 * 5) Jamface, a scrapped character from the first game, makes his debut here.
 * 6) The bosses are yet again, epic (no pun intended), especially the Blotworx Dragon.
 * 7) Seeing the Mad Doctor doing some good after being portrayed as a villain is pretty refreshing.
 * 8) Oswald is now playable, which is the big selling point of this game. He can use electricity to stun enemies, power up switches, light up fireworks, fetch far away item with his "boomarmerang" and destroy or reprogram Beetleworx and other devices to open doors or stop contraptions in order to proceed. He's also able to go full-on Tails and fly with his ears while Mickey holds onto his feet.
 * 9) The sketches make a comeback and the fairy sketch is introduced, allowing its user to make objects and NPCs float for a while.
 * 10) James Dooley returns to compose the soundtrack along with Mark Himelstein.
 * 11) * While on topic, Disney Gulch has one of the most peaceful and relaxing pieces of music that it has to offer.
 * 12) The players can now collect scrap metal and cloth, which are used to repair broken buildings and buy costumes at the Hat Shop respectively.
 * 13) Speaking of costumes, they aren't just changes to the characters' appearance, but they increase their powers and grant new abilities too, such as the Gremlin costume for Oswald that allows him to detect special chests at the area.
 * 14) The Haberdasher is a neat nod to the Mad Hatter, another character scrapped from the previous installment.
 * 15) It introduces inkwells that allow the players to become invisible and undetectable to enemies or invulnerable to their attacks. "Even thinner will slide off!"
 * 16) The good and bad ending are just as effective as they were before.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) It's considerably shorter than its predecessor.
 * 2) The Mad Doctor's singing can get old real quick.
 * 3) While comprehensible, Prescott's descent into villainy can be heartbreaking, considering how nice he was.
 * 4) Oswald's reprogramming minigame in the multiplayer mode is frustrating and tedious.
 * 5) Indelible ink slows down the character's movement and lowers his jump height.
 * 6) The Petes (including Petetronic in the bad ending) decide to become evil in the post-credit scene for seemingly no reason (although the cancelled third game would likely have an explanation to it).

Reception
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two received mixed reviews, with most complaints being the game not fixing issues that were present in the original, as well as issues with Oswald's AI. Many reviewers also commented that the game had a lot of potential which it failed to live up to. The Wii U port was often criticized for its stuttering framerate. IGN, giving the game a 6/10, also criticized the port for not making much use of the Wii U gamepad's features. Some reviewers as well as fans also criticized Oswald's transition to hero, believing him to be a more interesting character with his jealous streak. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritics 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. IGN described the new controls as a 'hit-and-miss affair'.

Trivia

 * Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two was released in North America both on Mickey Mouse's birthday and on the release date of the Wii U.
 * Many of the Gremlins and NPCs in the game are no longer named individually, but instead named after their color of clothing (ie. Green Gremlin, Blue Gremlin, etc.) or species. Most of the NPCs in the game with names are ones that had their names carried over from the first game.
 * The leaked PC version of the game couldn't be played as it requires a code which has yet to be cracked.
 * Much of the game's content is suspected to have been scrapped due to time constraints likely placed by the publisher. Warren Spector stated that, if he had more time on the game, he would have added "a bunch more songs and a much more interactive audio approach [he] had in the original design document."
 * Older game covers reveal that Epic Mickey 2 was originally rated E10+, but was changed to E. The exact reason for this change is unknown.