Video Game Review: Aladdin

Aladdin

Sega Genesis

It should be no secret to anyone who has been reading this blog that back in the early 90's I was a Sega Genesis kid. I stayed loyal to the system from the moment I first got one all the way to the day I traded in most of my games so I could get a Sega Saturn. For a solid 5 or 6 years Sega Genesis was the only system I played. No exceptions.

Which makes it very strange that somehow I never got the chance to play Disney's Aladdin for the Genesis. I loved movie to game translations (even though most of them sucked). I loved 2D side scrollers. This game got excellent reviews. You would think it would have been right up my alley. But somehow it got by me. Could be because I was never a huge Disney fan. I am sure that played a big (perhaps the biggest) part in all this. But still, it is nonetheless surprising that I never played the game.

Over the years I have read a lot of reviews for this game and most of these reviews have had nothing bad to say about Aladdin. In fact, not only have these reviews had nothing bad to say about Aladdin, but the majority of them have showered the game with praise, saying how it is one of the best Sega Genesis titles out there. It is supposedly even better than the Super Nintendo version, which caught me by surprise. Most games that were released on both consoles back in the 90's were markedly better for the SNES. But not Aladdin!

So of course my interest was piqued. It is true that I am not a big Disney fan, nor am I a big Aladdin fan (I can tolerate the movie... barely). But I am a big video game fan. How could I read all these reviews that said this game was so great, but then not give the game a chance? Short answer: I couldn't.

Luckily, the game kind of fell into my lap. Each time I review one of his games, I have to give my cousin Ryan a shout out. He loaned me a big box of old Genesis games to play and review - and Aladdin was one of the games in the box. Coincidentally, I found the SNES version at a used game store and purchased that right before he loaned me the box of games. So I went from Aladdin-less to having 2 copies of the game at the same time. Since I hear the SNES version is so different, I am going to review that separately. This review is all about the Genesis version.

The game loosely follows the plot of the film. There are short subtitled scenes in between levels that help to lay out the story of the game. Honestly, these scenes are kind of crappily made and probably the worst thing about the game. You could just skip these scenes and not be any worse for the wear. But I guess it helps to have some kind of idea as to what is going on, especially if you have never seen the movie before.

The levels are rich in color and seem to be for the most part pretty well designed. You've got the Agrabah Market, the Cave of Wonders, you journey inside the Genie's bottle, and finally head to the Royal Palace where you square off with the nefarious Jafar once and for all. I have no complaints with the way any of the scenery looks. While it of course doesn't stand up to today's graphics, it all looks good for its time. Not only that but everything looks very authentic to the film. The Cave of Wonders in particular was my favorite looking area.

Character graphics and animation are pretty well done too. Aladdin looks and moves as he should, as do his foes. My favorite animation is when fighting with guards - sometimes your scimitar can slash their pants and make them fall down around their ankles, distracting them in the heat of battle.

Controlling Aladdin, the game takes place in a 2D side scrolling environment. Aladdin can run, jump, throw apples, and slice away at enemies with his scimitar. Collectibles include extra apples, extra health, extra lives, gems (which can be traded in at the bazaar for extra lives and continues), and checkpoints.

Levels can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to complete. I have heard that the game is extremely challenging, but I beat it on my second attempt at a play through. The first time I made it to the stage known as "The Escape" before running into trouble and burning through all my continues. But on my second attempt I had no problem with the Escape and I made it with relative ease to the boss battle at the end of the game. Yeah, Jafar can be difficult but once you find out how to beat him he is not that bad.

All in all, I had a good time with the game.

BUT

Was I crazy about the game? Do I consider it one of the best Genesis titles of all time? Is it really as good as all the hype has tried to lead me to believe?

Nah.

It is a fun game, don't get me wrong. But I wasn't blown away by it. I have recently played a game called Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude for the Genesis, and I would say that this game is on par with that one. They are both side scrolling games that are fun, they both have colorful graphics and similar control schemes, and they are both mildly challenging. They share a lot of common traits. But do you ever hear anyone talk about Greendog and how that is an all time Genesis great? No. But you sure hear it with Aladdin.

I think a lot of the accolades are due to the fact that this game is based off of a popular Disney movie. Automatically it was going to sell far more copies than Greendog ever would. Plus, the game is pretty good too. Back in the 90's people were used to movie-to-game translations being terrible. So I think the fact that the game was good caught a lot of people by surprise.

I am not trying to knock the game. I liked it and I had a fun time with it. I am just not a huge Aladdin fan, so I don't really care about the game's source material. Plus I found the game to be a little easy and a little short for my liking. I mean, I finished it in just a couple hours of playing time. And there is not a lot of hidden stuff or extra incentive to go back and play again. As a game, this was a lot of fun. I'd put it right up there with other games like Cool Spot, Judge Dredd, and Greendog.

It is very well made. Good music, good graphics, clever stage design. It is fun to play. And even though I did beat it pretty quickly, some of the stages presented a challenge to me.

I just don't think it is an all time great. Good game? Sure. Classic? Weeeeellll.... I don't think so. If I had grown up as a kid playing this game maybe I would be singing a different tune right now. But I am playing it for the first time in the year 2017, which is 24 years since the game's initial release date. Maybe my expectations were too high. After reading all the positive reviews of the game for 24 years, there is no way it could have lived up to my lofty expectations. It is good, but I don't see a whole lot that separates it from the other very similar games I grew up playing and loving back in the Genesis era.

I guess I just expected more.

Overall:

B-