To paraphrase a grammatically challenged genie – you ain’t never played a game like this.
Here’s something that I’m really glad doesn’t happen anymore – when big movies or other IPs got game adaptations in the 1990s, the rights were often licensed to separate companies for different consoles. This led to the existence of entirely different games that shared the exact same name, leading to a sizeable amount of confusion. The adaptations of the film Aladdin are a good example of this – the SNES version was made by Capcom, and the Genesis version was made by Virgin Games. As it was the one I played as a kid, the Genesis one was obviously the better of the two. That’s how that works, right?
This week’s game, however, is the *Game Gear* version of Aladdin, which isn’t based on either of the other versions. Like David Pumpkins, this one is its own thing.
The game’s levels are a mix of standard platforming and auto-scrolling “outrun the bad guy” situations. In the latter, you simply need to stay ahead of a figure in hot pursuit, while also dodging pits, solving simple puzzles to open doors, and various other obstacles. At some points, it feels a bit like a simplified Prince of Persia, which is a pretty good thing to be.
If you’re looking for a lot of the swashbuckling combat that the other Aladdin games have, this one weirdly doesn’t have much of it. Typically, your main goal is to just dodge stuff, but on occasion you’ll need to do other things – picking up a rock to throw at a door switch or stun an enemy, for instance. The game’s cool and climactic boss fight does give you a sword, though:
What’s weird about this boss is that you don’t actually have to kill him; you just have to hit him until he inches off the screen, Crocomire style:
Speaking of which, why can’t I review Super Metroid? It’s all I ever wanted, Retro Roulette wheel. I’m begging you.
What surprised me the most about this version of Aladdin was its cutcense. It may not actually be as overwrought as it feels in real time, but there are so many cutscenes in this game. It isn’t especially long to begin with, so I’d say the cutscenes take up about half of the game’s run time if you don’t skip them. It’s like playing a JRPG or something. I can appreciate it, though – not a lot of simple platformers (especially on portable consoles) bother to do a lot of explaining, and Aladdin’s story is a fun and interesting one.
This version of Aladdin does well at the things it does, but it lacks a bit in exciting moments and in pacing, especially compared to the other ports. It may not be up to par with its console brethren, but it’s worth checking out if you have a Game Gear and enjoy Disney stuff. Play through this and you’ll be all set for that Will Smith remake.
Next week’s game is not Super Metroid. I think it’s an okay one, though? It’s definitely weird, though. Really weird. See you then.