Aladdin Review

You ain’t never had a friend like me, and that’s really a positive for you lemme tell ya.

This is one of the many Disney themed games that Capcom made back in the days of yore for all them gaming Disney games are still a thing but it’s not quite the same these days.

Aladdin. Story. You saw the movie? Good. You got it.

Running, jumping, platforming, spinning the big prize wheel, riding on a carpet probably, I think even throwing apples. And apples, as everyone knows, grow like CRAZY in the desert. Can’t swing a dead monkey without overturning a theoretical, metaphorical, and literal apple cart.

Everything works well, this is Capcom after all. And because it’s Capcom this is all stuff you’ve done before in another game. It’s just been tweeked ever so slightly to fit in with the Aladdin vibes. And what vibes they are.

I found Al here to be a little slippery at times and not the best at fighting, but he runs pretty good and jumps ok.

The graphics are probably the standout part of this game for me. Cartoon art design always translates over to 16 bit systems really well and this is no exception. Capcom, also, pretty good at arting things up. People look like people, genies look like genies, snakes look like snakes. You can recognize people and places from the movie – which is a selling point for a tie in game like this.

Are they big and bright and shiny and a credit to the platform? No. Are they good? Yes.

Music. Well you know how everyone loves them some Disney movie music magic? Imagine you suck all the parts people love most out, then you take what’s left and cram it into a shoebox. Then you poke a little hole in the box. What comes out is what you get in this. Again, it’s not bad, but because of the hardware it is very watered down and just kinda bland. You’ll recognize the songs, you’ll remember the words, but you’ll wish it wasn’t you singing them. Or me singing them.

Solid game. Nothing great, nothing terrible. You’ve seen the movie so you know how the game starts and middles and ends. You know the characters so the graphics will work for you and you’ll have an idea of what they’re capable of so the gameplay works. The music is there.

This isn’t quite “we have Aladdin at home”, it’s more like “this Aladdin has too much sugar and water in it”. You’ll drink it to be polite, but you won’t go back for more.