Chapter 15: Retrospective Aladdin (Sega Mega Drive) Review

-credit armadillo444

So as you could probably tell, there was no review on Thursday. This was because I didn't really have an XBox360 game to review, since i'm still working my way through Saints Row 2 and Prince of Persia.

So instead, for every week there isn't a Thursday XBox game review, there will be a retrospective game review on the Saturday. This will mostly consist of SNES and Sega Mega Drive games (These the only old school consoles currently in my residency).

So where better to start than with a game based on the best Disney film ever in the history of ever, Aladdin? (A lot of people will say Lion King is the best, a lot of girls will say Beauty and the Beast, but none of them have Robin Williams on improv mode)

The game on the Mega Drive was created by Virgin Interactive (Richard Branson?) All the games across the different consoles it was released on were different. But the Sega Mega Drive one is widely regarded as being the best.

For a start the gameplay is much better than the SNES version. In the SNES game, you can jump, climb and swing on posts and that is it. When it comes to enemies, you can either jump on them classic platform style or throw apples.

In the Mega Drive version, you get a sword! So instantly it's 10 times cooler (Although when did Aladdin wield a sword in the film?) You can still throw apples as well.

(Why you can throw apples in either game is beyond me. Is this because Aladdin has an apple twice in the film? And can do that cool trick where he flips it off his shoulder? Or when Jafar was eating one out of Jasmine's hands in that perverse scene towards the climax?)

Also rather than just jump, climb and swing, there are a number of ways to get across the levels like flying ropes, moving blocks etc.

Plot-wise, the game follows the plot of the film and also throws in a couple of random levels. (Remember when Aladdin just decided to take a stroll in the desert? Or when he went into Genie's lamp? No? Me either)

Graphically, the Mega Drive version looks a lot crisper than the other versions. Musically, it sounds better too. The 16-bit music in Aladdin is one of the best in any Mega Drive game in my opinion. Some levels have standard generic music but other levels feature 16-bit versions of 'Friend Like Me', 'Arabian Nights' and 'Prince Ali', which is awesome.

The game is relatively short which is a problem. We, by which I mean my housemate Scott, completed the game in around 80 minutes. Another small nitpick I have with the game is that the SNES level where you're on the magic carpet escaping the Cave of Wonders is a lot superior to the Mega Drive. The Snake Jafar boss fight is a lot cooler on SNES too. It is also seems very easy to gain extra lives, which could be good or bad however you look at it.

Overall though, this game is brilliant and if you own a Sega Mega Drive or plan on getting one, you want to get this game. Along with the Lion King game, it's arguably one of the best Disney games ever on any console. (Kingdom Hearts may be up there though)

Pick it up, play it and savour it. This is a game you will thoroughly enjoy playing. And unlike some games, you will want to pick it up and play it all over again in the future. Simply a classic.

Rating: 10/10

Gamerpoints achieved so far: N/A