Back in 1993 and 1994, with the success of Disney’s Aladdin and The Lion King was looking to go strong with the announcement of being able to play the movies. These interactive cartoons came to life as we got to control Aladdin and Simba through the aspects of the movies. The games became so popular that they appeared on multiple consoles including Super Nintendo, and Sega Genesis to even the portable version on the Game Boy and Game Gear to even Japanese versions of the games as well. Over 20 years later, and it looks Developer Digital Eclipse and Publishers Disney and Nighthawk Interactive are giving these classics new breath of air. But is the presentation and content enough to have you jump in? The answer is a definitive yes. Let’s find out more with Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King for the PlayStation 4.
When you first start Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King, the first thing you will notice is the menu. Both Aladdin and The Lion King have that classic Disney image from the movies, but you will notice where it says Play Games, Museum, and Soundtrack. I was really impressed that the entire game soundtrack is available to just listen either from beginning to end or just random if you would like. Anyone who has loved the films or even a Disney fan will enjoy this and this is not even getting into the games themselves.
Once you hear a some of the classic movies that you will probably start singing in your head if not outloud, check out the museum. This is where not only will you see some of the artwork that can be presented via slide show or just slide by slide, but you also get to hear and see from the people that worked on the games and give you more into the history and insight of these games as well as what it was like to work on them back at that time. So it does really allow you to enter a time machine per se, and for those that and enjoy this type of inspiring work and thoughts will be sure to appreciate this added bonus.
But I know you want to know about these two classics and let’s talk about what is provided here. Both Aladdin and The Lion King is giving you plenty thus far and Digital Eclipse has really given everything and the kitchen sink with the games. Each game has different versions that you can play. In fact, there are five different ones to select from. You have the regular version, Japenese version, and even the portable black and white versions of the games. Aladdin also comes with a final cut version along with a demo version that would have only been available on game show floors and The Lion King includes the Super Nintendo version.
The settings itself is impressive as well as you can stretch the screen or keep the included background as it gives that retro feel as you were playing on an old crt television. You can also customize the controls to your favorite button. I would suggest to play with the D-pad and not the thumb sticks of the Dualshock 4 controller, at least for me, it was easy to maneuver around. But another great thing that is given to you as an option is the rewind. So if you are about to lose a life, you can hit the rewind and try again. But if that doesn’t seem like enough options, there is the watch option. This allows you to watch the gameplay and then you can jump in and start playing at any time. So not only that, but if you wanted to, you could fast forward or slow it up and when you add that replay action, that is a lot of features that you are given here.
When playing these titles brings back the memories from the 16 bit sound to even the portable version of graphics style is well done and preserved to help like the movies, be enjoyed by both young and young generations at heart and is one of those collections that parents can show their children what they used to play and then be amazed at some of the same mistakes those parents made when trying to play, but also be an amazement of how well their children can game. Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King really has something for everyone and sets the standard of how a collection should be presented.
Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King is out now and is also available in retails stores near you. A review code was provided. To learn more about Digital Eclipse, please visit their site and follow them on Twitter. To learn more about Nighthawk Interactive, please visit their site and like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, Hakuna Matata.
