Aladdin
Reviewed by Inkhands
Aladdin the movie was a Disney animated cartoon that was
released in late 1992 as best that I can recall. I know I
was in the 10th grade at the time. I didn't watch the movie
until about a year later, but I did play one of the Aladdin
video games that was released around the same time as the
movie. The version I played was the Super Nintendo version.
That game frustrated me beyond end and I gave it back to my
brother and let him put it back on the shelf at his video store.
All these years the Genesis version had eluded me. I assumed
it was very much like the SNES version. However, when I
began playing this game I was very intrigued to find that
they are two completely different games. Certainly they are
based on the same movie and the same cartoon. This gives
them both a few characteristics in common. However, for the
most part the games are miles away from being exactly like
each other. After playing both games through recently I was
left with a question to consider. Which of the two was the
superior game? No question in my mind that this version has
a much higher level of quality than the Super Nintendo version.
In the movie there is a street kid named Aladdin. Basically
he's a thief. He encounters Princess Jasmine in the streets
of Agrabah after she has escaped from her father's palace.
Not that living there is bad for her, she just wanetd to see
what the world is like outside of the palace. Aladdin and
Jasmine fall in love, but there's a problem considering she
can only marry a Prince.
The main element however was the magic lamp that contained a
big blue genie that was ready to give anyone three wishes.
Jafar had a plan to acquire this lamp from the Cave of
Wonders and use it for evil, naturally. He sends Aladdin to
the deadly cave to pick up the lamp and that's the basic
setup of the game. To find out the rest you'll have to watch
the movie or play the game. Or well watch the movie and play
the game.
This game follows the story of the movie very closely. There
are about ten levels in this game. They of course proceed in
the order of the action in the movie. You start out at the
market, then you will proceed through a desert, and across
rooftops. Aladdin is imprisoned in a dungeon and getting out
of this dungeon can be a bit tricky. I'll get to the reason
why a little later in the review. Aladdin then journeys
through the Cave of Wonders, picks up the lamp, and then of
course must escape by avoiding rocks and a large wave of
lave. Of course in this level you do get to ride around on
the magic carpet and essentially this section of the game is
mostly just a bonus round anyway. All that's is to make your
way out of the Genie's lamp, which for some reason or
another, Aladdin has been drawn into. Also, the Sultan's
Palace and then your final confrontation with Jafar at his
palace. That's all there is to this game except the bonus
levels. They mostly just consist of Abu, the monkey,
avoiding falling pots and picking up gems. I wasn't all that
impressed with the bonus levels of the game. I honestly
didn't care if I accessed them or not.
Along the way you can pick up apples to throw at your
enemies. The enemies range from snakes, to guards, to knive
throwers. You also have a sword to attack with. If you touch
a blue vase you will start back at that position if you die
in that stage. Also you can pick up gems and use them to
purchase either extra lives or extra continues. Five gems
will buy you an extra life. An extra continue will cost you
ten gems. You pick these up from a peddler that appears in
the stages. Sometimes he's in plain sight and you can't miss
him. Other times you have to do something special before
he'll appear. It's a good idea to get all the gems you can,
because those extra continues really come in handy, quite obviously.
This is generally a side scrolling platform game.
Occasionally you have to climb ropes or swing around on
clotheslines, but for the most part the action simply
consists of jumping, throwing apples, and swinging your
sword. This game doesn't present you with a complicated
control setup. It's very basic. Each of the buttons do one
thing, such as attack with the sword, throw the apple, or
jump. Nothing special about the controls at all and it's
quite easy to get used to. They respond very well and if you
need to jump quickly then you won't find any problems doing
that. Let me give you an example of some of the tasks in
this game. In the dungeon level Aladdin has to escape by
jumping from ledges that are moving out and back inside the
wall. They only stay out for a few seconds. You have to be
fast to be able to jump from ledge to ledge. This could have
been impossible had the controls been stiff. However, it all
works smoothly and I had no trouble with jumping around
those ledges at all. It's all a matter of timing thankfully,
and not a matter of control.
Have you ever seen the movie? If so, then you have seen this
game. If not, then I shall tell you a bit about what this
game looks like. The genie is very large and blue, just like
in the movie. Abu is a short monkey with a red looking hat.
Aladdin himself looks great. He is animated well and he is
extremely well detailed. He has black hair while also
wearing a little red cap. He has white baggy pants and a
purple vest. No shoes and no shirt. Some of the minor
animations in this game are just great. When he clears a
level he'll dance across the screen. In the opening level
there is fire on the ground to avoid. If a guard walks over
it he'll grab his foot and hop around. If you stop Aladdin
and don't move him after a period of time he will begin to
look around. After even longer he'll begin to toss some
apples around.
The backgrounds are also impressive in this game. The
opening level features large buildings in the back. They are
brown, but they have patches on them, which gives them a
very old look to them. People are in these building throwing
pots out the windows at you for some reason. In the desert
you'll see a very beautifully drawn oasis complete with
water and trees. Inside the genie's lamp is also a colorful
level. The dungeon is dreary as you might expect. The cave
of wonders has a black, dark background, which you also
might expect. Another thing I liked is the way the story is
told in between the levels. You get a really good idea of
the story without having watched the movie, thanks to these
very good sequences with both nice looking pictures and some
nice text for you to read to follow along. In general, the
graphics have an Arabian look to them, and are just really
great. Some of the best grahpics I have ever seen
particularly on the Genesis, considering most of the games I
have played on the system have had very dull graphics.
The music in this game sounds very much like the music in
the movie. You can hear "A Whole New World" and a few
other tunes. I don't know them by their names, but I
certainly know them by their notes. For the most part the
music in this game is great. If you liked the music at all
in the movie, then you'll be happy to hear them as you make
your way through this game. I can't really find much to say
about the sound effects in this game. Just the sound of
throwing apples, swinging your sword, and hitting your
enemies. Nothing special about the sound effects in the
game. Overall, the sound isn't quite as good as the
graphics, but the beauty of most of the music saves this
game in the sound category.
This game is for one player. You can set the game at either
practice, normal, or difficult levels. The challenge of the
game depends on which level you selected. It's not a very
difficult game either way. There are a few areas that aren't
just straightforward jumping that require a bit of thought.
Otherwise you'll just be giving your reflexes a good workout
in this game. Some of the levels are very easy. Even the
later levels are easy for the most part. I'll say the
challenge is almost low and almost medium. Somewhere in
between those two areas.
This game certainly has great graphics. It has interesting
gameplay. It's not too hard, but not exactly too easy
either. Almost too easy, but not quite. The controls are
good and responsive. Despite all of this it just doesn't
have good replay value. There is absolutely nothing about
this game that makes me want to play it again. I really
liked it and I was highly impressed with it the first time
through. However, it's appeal doesn't last beyond that first
time and it gets quite boring even the second time. This
gives you nothing to go back for and low replay value.
Overall if you are really wanting to play an Aladdin game
then this is the one you want. The Super Nintendo version is
good, but nowhere near as good as this one. Great graphics
with detailed backgrounds and humorous animations, such as
when the guy loses his pants. The music is well done. The
controls are not a problem at all. The challenge is low, as
is the replay value, but the fun factor is pretty good the
first time. It's a good game, but lacking enough appeal to
make a person want to play it over and over. That's really
the only flaw this game has. Otherwise I recommend this
game. Even if you never go through it again, it's certainly
worth at least playing through once.
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 7/10
Gameplay - 9/10
Fun Factor - 8/10
Challenge - 6/10
Replay Value - 6/10
Overall - 9/10
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