Developed by Virgin Games and published by Sega in 1993

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Upon release in 1992, Disney's Aladdin was major critical and commercial success. With such a major hit on their hands, it's unsurprising that a whole slew of Aladdin merchandising followed in the wake of the film.

Video game adaptations of the film were produced for the leading Sega and Nintendo 16-bit consoles of the time. What was unusual about this particular license was that, despite having the same title, this wasn't the same base game made to work on each system. Whilst the SNES version of the game was handled by Capcom, Virgin Games would lead on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version with a development team led by Dave Perry. Although both games feature characters and locations from the film, the versions are quite different.

The first thing that struck me was the game's presentation, which is, in a word, flawless.

The graphics and animation in the Mega Drive version are undoubtedly the standout feature. Much of the artwork and animation for this version was actually produced by Disney animators and incorporated into the game by Virgin's own technical and art staff. The end results are sprites that look and move just like their movie-based counterparts and give the player the sense that they're directing the action of a real film, rather than playing a game. In comparison, the SNES version bears the artistic hallmarks and graphical style of other Capcom games; it's an attractive game for sure, but it simply doesn't capture the essence of the film's artwork in the same way that the Mega Drive version does.

Tommy Tallarico and Donald Griffin produced the games audio and music tracks that play throughout the game. Many of these are derived from the iconic songs from the film and sound excellent, particularly during the Agrabah and desert levels.

Of course, it's important to remember that this is still a video game and that glossy presentation counts for nothing if the gameplay is dull or broken.

Fortunately, there is nothing to fear as the game is great fun to play. Beneath the presentation lies a solid platform game that features excellent controls, a decent camera (that mostly behaves itself), a selection of levels based on the film's various locales, as well as mini-games featuring the Genie and Abu, Aladdin's simian pal.

Although the levels are linear in their design, there are secrets and hidden bonus items to discover. Some of these are hidden behind parts of the foreground that look impassable, whilst others are a little more devious in their design. Many players will raise a smile at the Mickey Mouse ears hanging from the clothes line in the desert level, but positioning Aladdin in the correct spot will make it look as if he is wearing them, at which point an extra life suddenly appears next to the player!

Standing between Aladdin and success is Jafar and a legion of crooked, palace guards. Our hero can engage in combat with these foes either by attacking them with his scimitar when close, or by hurling apples at them from afar.

The game features a score system where points are awarded for collecting applies, gems and other bonus items. What is interesting to note is that absolutely no points are earned from defeating enemies; I'm not sure if this was intended as a statement about not rewarding violence, but it does mean that the score becomes more of an indication of how many of the game's items/secrets you found, more than anything else.

Aside from earning points, the gems serve another purpose. Players should keep an eye of for the trader, a shrewd businessman who will be only too happy to set up his trading stall so that you can spend your your precious rubies on his goods. Extra lives can be purchased for 5 rubies, whereas continues can be bagged for a more costly 10 rubies. Finding the trader can be something of a challenge as he is sometimes hidden out of sight behind scenery, or on platforms that aren't always easy to reach.

I suppose one of the few complaints I'd have with the game is that, with only a relatively few levels, the game doesn't take all that long to complete, especially once you become proficient with the controls and know the level layout.

Later levels become increasingly difficult thanks to numerous bottomless pits and pools of lava that result in instant death if fallen into. The 'quick-time' flying carpet level 'Escape' feels like something of a cheap way to slow progress by putting players reactions to the test.

Despite these niggles, however, the game remains immensely fun to play and comes highly recommended. In the same way that the film was an example of 2D animation at it's finest before the arrival of full 3D CGI, Aladdin showcases some of the finest 2D gaming available from the 16-bit era, prior to the launch of the PlayStation and inevitable rise of 3D a year later.

#retrogaming
#disney
#aladdin

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