Yes I did own some Disney games like Castle of Illusion & Ariel the Little Mermaid on Sega Genesis. Don't laugh anyway Disney's Aladdin is based on Sega Genesis version. It's still a big debate among gamers which is better Sega Genesis or SNES version of Aladdin. Personally I prefer Genesis version since Aladdin has a sword with the animation being closer to the actual movie.
Disney's The Lion King is based on SNES version. Obviously the colors were different but what gave it away of being ported from SNES version was Simba's picture. Yes something as small as that made it more clear which version the DOS port was based on. I should point out both 16-bit Aladdin games are made by different teams while the same team made both versions for The Lion King.
At a later date I will be reviewing Sam & Max Hit the Road. Hopefully with all of it's sequels at that point. Back to this, I got to be honest I got two strong opinions on both games. I am aware many people won't like or respect it. Well that's fine as long you don't act like a baby then do whatever you want.
1. Disney's Aladdin
This is a faithful port of the Sega Genesis game. I can use my controller perfectly nailing some tricky jumps. There's some great levels even those with tedious portions. This looks better for a DOS port still capturing what many people of my era loved about this classic. You can get attacked before you even get the chance to strike.
Some levels are strict about platforming mostly later in the game. OMG the flying carpet level is so intense. It was going so fast I was about to lose control I'm not kidding. Imagine the turbo tunnel part of Battletoads on NES. Now imagine a few confusing instructions with nearly blinding speeds. It took me a long time to finish the level.
Thankfully near the beginning it kept respawning an extra life. I would say the difficulty is the better balanced out of these two Disney games. In one night from the start up to Inside the Lamp level. Yeah I was so close finishing the game. Sadly I couldn't get any codes to work in this version. There is no in game method of saving your process.
I heard by altering a few things within the files you could be able to save your process. But I'm not going to risk doing that. Disney's Aladdin does follow the actual movie very well. Even the bonus levels with the monkey are still present. Some levels will take awhile to memorize including a dungeon level.
I would say for a Disney game they did an amazing job. I would even say this is one of the best DOS ports I ever played. This game is so fun playing since it makes some clever changes to keep the game play interesting. Not only it feels like I'm in the movie, it also feels like a true Disney classic at it's finest.
2. Disney's The Lion King
The Lion King is still among the most popular 90s Disney movies. You play as kid & adult Simba to stop your uncle Scar. Just like Disney's Aladdin, this does a great job following the movie. Just looking at it or even listening the music you will feel at home. Sadly the developers aren't sure how to exactly go about the game.
Usually when people hear this it's a bad thing. But this is still a good game just not great like Disney's Aladdin. There's a puzzle at the end of level 2 that I still can't get pass. I looked at guides & watched people through videos. What I am trying to say is the difficulty isn't balanced. Yes the first level is easy like you would expect.
Trust me both parts with the ostrich in level 2 can be frustrating. Just messing up once takes you back to either the beginning of the level or a check point. Disney's Aladdin does have more check points. The Lion King does have great platforming for the most part. Due to being ported from SNES version, jumping on tails is more difficult than Genesis version.
To be honest I got the codes do work, I got to experience the rest of the game. OMG the running towards the screen level is a nightmare. You got little room of error to not get hit by the animals running towards you. Very few spots like the main screen aren't great. By the way the picture you get as a bonus is of that trust me I wish it came out a little better.
I kept losing to Scar in the final level not understand how to attack him. When I do try I likely got attacked in a way he would kill you very quickly. They did put a lot of great details within the levels. The controls changes slightly with adult Simba. I think the game ends up being a little harder but in some ways more playable if that makes any sense.
Look I don't want to crap on this game. I just had a difficult time over looking major issues. The stuff they done right is very good. I wish I could play it a little better. When I was playing Disney's Aladdin I felt when I died it was my fault sadly I don't feel the same here. In some parts it felt more like a chore than me actually having fun.
To clarify I'm not calling this a bad game or port by any means. I would definitively say it's a great port of the SNES version. But compared to Disney's Aladdin, it isn't even close which I prefer. This game is a mess in terms of it's difficulty. Even it's developers stated they didn't have they suppose go about the puzzles and some of the mechanics.
Overall I would say you should experience both of these games on GOG or Steam. Trust me you should have fun with both of them. I put my money more on Disney's Aladdin for being more simple and better level designs.
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