Upcoming 3DS platformer Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion is a sequel to 16-bit classic Castle of Illusion

In an interesting nod to a past Disney franchise, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for the 3DS will serve as a sequel to the classic 1990 Sega Mega Drive / Genesis platformer Castle of Illusion.

So, rather than ape the 3D environments of the original Epic Mickey for Wii, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion will be an old skool 2D platform game, complete with hand drawn-characters and parallax scrolling.

Inside the April 2012 edition of Nintendo Power - the front cover of which confirmed the existence of the title - it's revealed that even though Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion will hark back to a simpler time, the game will make good use of the 3DS's thoroughly modern touchscreen + stylus setup.

For one thing, you will have to draw items into the game world, with an object's functionality tied directly to the quality of your artwork.

So, draw a perfect rendering of a cannon and it will damage enemies. Squiggle a shoddy rendering, however, and Mickey may find himself having to take shelter from your crudely drawn cannonball.

Disney fans will also quickly notice that all of the environments are based on the studio's cinematic favourites, like the recent Tangled and the evergreen Sleeping Beauty.

Taking the retro theme further still, there's even an in-game reference to RPG franchise Suikoden, which sees liberated Disney characters taking refuge in Mickey's fortress post-rescue.

Expect to see Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion filling your 3DS screen up with colour sometime this autumn.