The Lion King (Sega Genesis)

The Lion King is a 2D side-scrolling platform game based on the Disney movie of the same name that was released for various systems starting in 1994. The Super NES and Sega Genesis versions were the first versions released and are probably the best. This game was also ported to the Game Gear, NES, Sega Master System, Amiga, DOS and the Game Boy.

The game features ten levels that loosely follows the plot of the movie. Each level generally represents some key point in the movie. Players start off playing as young Simba who gets older throughout the game. Simba journeys through various stages such as the Pride Lands, Elephant Graveyard, Hakuna Matata, and others. The gameplay involves what you would generally expect in this type of game including puzzle-solving, combat with enemies, etc.

Graphics and sound were excellent in this game. Disney animators drawing the sprites and backgrounds probably helped. They do an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of the movie with both the graphics and the sound. The animation is fluid, graphics colorful and the soundtrack is basically an adaptation of the soundtrack from the movie and is very well done.

Controls feature running and jumping of course and Simba's main "weapon" is a roar that stuns enemies. Throughout the game, as Simba gets older, he acquires new and more powerful abilities such as a stronger roar and the ability to pounce. As with many platform games of this era, each level ends with a boss battle.

Gameplay is fairly balanced. It's challenging enough to keep your interest but no so hard as to be frustrating. It does get significantly harder as you progress through the game though so it isn't necessarily for novice players. Younger kids could get frustrated with this game after a few levels and you would think that would be the target market here. On the other hand, they aren't going to beat it in a day and there is a fair amount of replay value as there are plenty of secrets to uncover.

In general, if you like Disney and or/platform games, then this is definitely one to have on your list. While licensed games are often terrible, Disney managed to do an excellent job in this era getting high quality games made. As to whether you play the Super NES version or the Genesis version probably comes down to personal system preference. You can find the original games on eBay of course or choose to emulate if you want.

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