I've always had fondness for this game due to nostalgia, but, if I'm being honest, revisiting it was a bit disappointing for me. I'm not gonna have a lot to say about this one in comparison to other games I've reviewed. It literally only took me around an hour to beat, which is just absurdly short, even for a SNES platformer. From what I hear, the Genesis game is a different beast and is typically seen as the better game, but I never had a Genesis so that's not the version I know.
The gameplay is extremely simple. Aside from a rather situational apple toss move that stuns enemies (can be quite useful but I wasn't using it much despite the game showering you in apples to throw), the only thing Aladdin can do is run and jump. Simple isn't inherently bad, but its made worse by the fact that I found the game to be not very fun to control. I'm not sure if its just because I needed to get used to how the game feels or not, but generally movement just felt kinda clunky. Aladdin goes farther than I expected him to, like just inching upwards makes him walk forward more than you'd think, and that made platforming a bit tricky. I remembered this game being really easy but I actually got a few game overs since I just had a hard time getting used to how this game feels. Some of it was also me being stupid, yea, so you could call it a skill issue if you want, but generally I just didn't like how the game feels to control. One thing that does help is that this game has an item you can find in levels that lets Aladdin use a cloth as a parachute. Honestly, the times I didn't have this item was rough with how much I relied on it. Structurally, the game is divided into four...I guess I could call them "worlds"? Or is it more like acts? Regardless, each one has three levels, except for the bonus carpet ride level. I will say that I absolutely loved the Genie world, that was by far my favorite part of this game as a kid and its just really fun seeing a big cloudy world with the Genie's face plastered all over everything. It was probably the most creative world when it came to level obstacles, too, though it certainly won't blow your mind. Lastly, the bosses were pretty alright. I liked the semifinal boss, that being the first Jafar fight where you need to avoid his attacks and wait for him to float down so you can jump on his head. The final boss is kinda hilariously easy. I died a lot to the first boss since my tiny brain didn't really get the rhythm of baiting his attack then jumping on his head. The third world doesn't have a boss and neither does the second world, though the final level of the second world sorta makes up for that by being a decently tough autoscroller with moving waves of lava and rocks you gotta avoid (plus you can't touch the walls, which are often different heights). Aladdin SNES is a serviceable platformer in my opinion, but it felt kinda middling overall, especially in gameplay feel and length.
It's been forever since I've seen the movie, so I don't remember its story, but, as far as I know, this game's story is pretty much just retelling the movie's story. I won't cover it just because there's not a lot to it.
Overall, Aladdin SNES is just an okay game. I have my gripes with it that I covered here and some of those were pretty disappointing for me, but I definitely don't think the game is bad. Gets a "meh" 3 stars from me. I was a little sad to have my childhood bubble burst like this, but I suppose it is what it is
The gameplay is extremely simple. Aside from a rather situational apple toss move that stuns enemies (can be quite useful but I wasn't using it much despite the game showering you in apples to throw), the only thing Aladdin can do is run and jump. Simple isn't inherently bad, but its made worse by the fact that I found the game to be not very fun to control. I'm not sure if its just because I needed to get used to how the game feels or not, but generally movement just felt kinda clunky. Aladdin goes farther than I expected him to, like just inching upwards makes him walk forward more than you'd think, and that made platforming a bit tricky. I remembered this game being really easy but I actually got a few game overs since I just had a hard time getting used to how this game feels. Some of it was also me being stupid, yea, so you could call it a skill issue if you want, but generally I just didn't like how the game feels to control. One thing that does help is that this game has an item you can find in levels that lets Aladdin use a cloth as a parachute. Honestly, the times I didn't have this item was rough with how much I relied on it. Structurally, the game is divided into four...I guess I could call them "worlds"? Or is it more like acts? Regardless, each one has three levels, except for the bonus carpet ride level. I will say that I absolutely loved the Genie world, that was by far my favorite part of this game as a kid and its just really fun seeing a big cloudy world with the Genie's face plastered all over everything. It was probably the most creative world when it came to level obstacles, too, though it certainly won't blow your mind. Lastly, the bosses were pretty alright. I liked the semifinal boss, that being the first Jafar fight where you need to avoid his attacks and wait for him to float down so you can jump on his head. The final boss is kinda hilariously easy. I died a lot to the first boss since my tiny brain didn't really get the rhythm of baiting his attack then jumping on his head. The third world doesn't have a boss and neither does the second world, though the final level of the second world sorta makes up for that by being a decently tough autoscroller with moving waves of lava and rocks you gotta avoid (plus you can't touch the walls, which are often different heights). Aladdin SNES is a serviceable platformer in my opinion, but it felt kinda middling overall, especially in gameplay feel and length.
It's been forever since I've seen the movie, so I don't remember its story, but, as far as I know, this game's story is pretty much just retelling the movie's story. I won't cover it just because there's not a lot to it.
Overall, Aladdin SNES is just an okay game. I have my gripes with it that I covered here and some of those were pretty disappointing for me, but I definitely don't think the game is bad. Gets a "meh" 3 stars from me. I was a little sad to have my childhood bubble burst like this, but I suppose it is what it is
Spinnerweb
4 months ago