Nintendo
Disney's Aladdin - Game Boy (USED)
Disney's Aladdin - Game Boy (USED)
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1992 saw the release of Disney's Aladdin, one of the studio's better known films. Naturally Aladdin was adapted into a game but the way this happened was rather peculiar. All in all, there where eventually three versions. The first two where for the SNES and Mega Drive, both released towards the end of 1993. The 16-bit Nintendo version was created by Capcom as they still held the license at the time to bring Disney related games to Nintendo's various systems. The 16-bit Sega version was developed by Virgin Interactive in close cooperation with Disney itself.
A year later Aladdin would also reach other consoles. There was a separate third version for the Master System and the Game Gear which wouldn't play that large a part in the grand scheme of things. The Amiga and PC got the Virgin Interactive adaptation and, surprisingly, so did the NES and Game Boy. Porting a 16-bit game to an 8-bit machine usually isn't the best of ideas, let alone a to a monochrome one. Let's see how the Game Boy port fares.
GRAPHICS
The visuals are clearly based on the Mega Drive version. Considering the differences between the 16-bit console and the monochrome 8-bit Game Boy, the handheld's graphics do a good job of emulating them. The colours are limited to various shades of grey and green of course and there are a couple of details missing here and there. Some of the backgrounds for example or how nearly every enemy projectile is a dagger, whether it is thrown by a guard or spit out by a camel or fish. Still, this transition from a more powerful system to a weaker one is, at first glance, handled quite well.
When the game is in motion things do tend to fall apart. For starters, the game runs infuriatingly slow whether there is a lot going on onscreen or not. When Aladdin jumps from a platform for instance, he is not so much falling as floating down. The little intricate animations of the Mega Drive version surprisingly appear here but they tend to look messy and mangled. Another issue is that objects occasionally flicker and even just pop up out of nowhere at times.
All in all, the visuals aren't a total disaster as the fidelity on display here is impressive. They are just simply unsuited for both the Game Boy's capabilities and characteristics and as such lose a lot of what made them pretty to begin with. That in itself can be problematic but it also has consequences for the gameplay as will be explained further on in the review.
SOUND
The score features a few nice renditions of the tunes found in Mega Drive version. There are fewer on offer though, leading to a good deal of repetition. The sound effects range from adequate to awful and are rather sparsely used. Perhaps that's just for the best.
GAMEPLAY
The game more or less follows the plot of the film, both through the levels and the cutscenes, while adding some elements of it's own. Aladdin, a street rat from Agrabah, is tricked into retrieving an inconspicuous lamp from a magical cave. This object appears to house a Genie and Aladdin soon finds himself at odds with the overtly ambitious Grand Vizier while trying to win the heart of a princess.
Aladdin is a platformer with an emphasis on exploration. This translates to large levels which house several sideways and out of the way objects. Although reaching the is pretty straightforward, it is certainly worthwhile to search for items such as extra lives and apples. The level design is actually quite decent and it looks like the developers more or less simply compressed the Mega Drive levels into a smaller form. That also means that those game's issues pop up here too. Occasionally enemies will be obscured or hidden away causing Aladdin to unfairly take some damage. It's also at times difficult to ascertain which parts of the environments he can traverse. Both of these are aggravated somewhat by a smaller screen and a lack of colours. I also got the impression that there was something wrong with the game's collision detection as, just a few times too many, Aladdin would float through the edges of platforms he really should have been able to land on. The one interlude to the standard levels is a ride on the magic carpet. It's fun and short and it's a shame that there aren't more levels like this.
A year later Aladdin would also reach other consoles. There was a separate third version for the Master System and the Game Gear which wouldn't play that large a part in the grand scheme of things. The Amiga and PC got the Virgin Interactive adaptation and, surprisingly, so did the NES and Game Boy. Porting a 16-bit game to an 8-bit machine usually isn't the best of ideas, let alone a to a monochrome one. Let's see how the Game Boy port fares.
GRAPHICS
The visuals are clearly based on the Mega Drive version. Considering the differences between the 16-bit console and the monochrome 8-bit Game Boy, the handheld's graphics do a good job of emulating them. The colours are limited to various shades of grey and green of course and there are a couple of details missing here and there. Some of the backgrounds for example or how nearly every enemy projectile is a dagger, whether it is thrown by a guard or spit out by a camel or fish. Still, this transition from a more powerful system to a weaker one is, at first glance, handled quite well.
When the game is in motion things do tend to fall apart. For starters, the game runs infuriatingly slow whether there is a lot going on onscreen or not. When Aladdin jumps from a platform for instance, he is not so much falling as floating down. The little intricate animations of the Mega Drive version surprisingly appear here but they tend to look messy and mangled. Another issue is that objects occasionally flicker and even just pop up out of nowhere at times.
All in all, the visuals aren't a total disaster as the fidelity on display here is impressive. They are just simply unsuited for both the Game Boy's capabilities and characteristics and as such lose a lot of what made them pretty to begin with. That in itself can be problematic but it also has consequences for the gameplay as will be explained further on in the review.
SOUND
The score features a few nice renditions of the tunes found in Mega Drive version. There are fewer on offer though, leading to a good deal of repetition. The sound effects range from adequate to awful and are rather sparsely used. Perhaps that's just for the best.
GAMEPLAY
The game more or less follows the plot of the film, both through the levels and the cutscenes, while adding some elements of it's own. Aladdin, a street rat from Agrabah, is tricked into retrieving an inconspicuous lamp from a magical cave. This object appears to house a Genie and Aladdin soon finds himself at odds with the overtly ambitious Grand Vizier while trying to win the heart of a princess.
Aladdin is a platformer with an emphasis on exploration. This translates to large levels which house several sideways and out of the way objects. Although reaching the is pretty straightforward, it is certainly worthwhile to search for items such as extra lives and apples. The level design is actually quite decent and it looks like the developers more or less simply compressed the Mega Drive levels into a smaller form. That also means that those game's issues pop up here too. Occasionally enemies will be obscured or hidden away causing Aladdin to unfairly take some damage. It's also at times difficult to ascertain which parts of the environments he can traverse. Both of these are aggravated somewhat by a smaller screen and a lack of colours. I also got the impression that there was something wrong with the game's collision detection as, just a few times too many, Aladdin would float through the edges of platforms he really should have been able to land on. The one interlude to the standard levels is a ride on the magic carpet. It's fun and short and it's a shame that there aren't more levels like this.
- Compatible with: GB, GBC, GBA, GBA SP
Used game. May have minor wear. Picture might be for reference and not the actual item: item might be in better condition. All games are tested and under warranty for 30 days.
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