15th March 2012, 12:36 PM
Game Gear
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Tempo Jr. - super short and easy but entertaining, as I said in the thread about it.
Aladdin - This is an interesting version of Aladdin. This SMS/GG version is entirely different from the SNES or Genesis/PC/GB/GBA versions; it's shorter than either of them, and easier too, with a lot more story and less gameplay. That may sound bad, and it kind of is, but I do like that this version actually tells the story of the movie -- it's not some made up stuff mixed with shreds of the film like the other two versions, it actually tells the story from the movie, with lots of cutscenes and text. It's pretty thorough. The SNES and Genesis games are good (Genesis particularly), but they stray pretty far from the movie, like licensed games often did... this ones' much closer.
However, the downside is, as I said, this game is short and only somewhat challenging. That seems to be a common theme with some Game Gear games -- either short GG games are even shorter and easier than short GB games are, or I just don't have GB games comparable to stuff like this. This game's not Tempo Jr. easy, for sure -- you will die -- but it's not too hard either ,and it won't last long. It's only got five or six stages, and some are quite short. It does have password save so you don't need to play it all at once, and has infinite continues, so it won't be too hard to get through; that's a good thing, I like saving. Of course it'd matter more in a longer game, but still, this game DOES have cheap deaths, so without continues I'd be starting it over repeatedly for sure.
As for the gameplay, apart from those long story scenes between levels, GG/SMS Aladdin has two major gameplay types. Levels are either auto-scrolling, as you move to the right and try to avoid obstacles and not get caught or run out of health, or they are free-roaming, as you explore levels somewhat Prince of Persia style looking for your way through the stage. The only boss is Jafar at the end, and he's pretty easy (though I did die once there, just as I beat him). The most challenging thing is that if guards touch you it's an instant death, and dying means restarting from the beginning or the last checkpoint, if you reached one. Auto-scrolling stages don't have checkpoints, but they are short. The free-roam stages are longer, and do have them. You have a health bar, but don't have multiple lives here; dying once is game over, and there you get to continue or see your password. Of course, as I said, guards are instant death, as are pits. The other obstacles are what the healthbar is for.
So yeah, this game really is entirely different from the SNES and Genesis titles. Those games were pretty different too, but this one is even more different from either of them. The chase stages of course are unlike anything I remember from either of those games, and the freeroam levels are too. They're much more reminiscent of a Prince of Persia or Castlevania game than either of the other Aladdin titles. You don't even throw apples in this game, unlike the others -- here you throw rocks, which are quite limited in quantity. And rocks are your only weapon, there's no other way to knock out the guards. No jumping on heads here. Oh, you do get a sword for the final battle, but that's it.
Overall, the game is fun to play, and the game balance works well. I like the gameplay of both stage styles, and the settings, story, and music are just like the film (or, well, as close as the GG can get to the film's music). The only real problem is that far too short length. It would have been nice to see an Aladdin game with the story and continue/save system of this version and the gameplay and length of the Genesis version... too bad such a thing doesn't exist, but for Aladdin fans -- and I am one, this was my favorite Disney movie in the '90s and I still think it's pretty good -- this is a must play. You'll probably spend about as much time watching the cutscenes as you will playing the game (seriously, it seemed like half of the playtime was story...), but the story's just like the movie, and the gameplay, while it lasts, is fun.
--
Tempo Jr. - super short and easy but entertaining, as I said in the thread about it.
Aladdin - This is an interesting version of Aladdin. This SMS/GG version is entirely different from the SNES or Genesis/PC/GB/GBA versions; it's shorter than either of them, and easier too, with a lot more story and less gameplay. That may sound bad, and it kind of is, but I do like that this version actually tells the story of the movie -- it's not some made up stuff mixed with shreds of the film like the other two versions, it actually tells the story from the movie, with lots of cutscenes and text. It's pretty thorough. The SNES and Genesis games are good (Genesis particularly), but they stray pretty far from the movie, like licensed games often did... this ones' much closer.
However, the downside is, as I said, this game is short and only somewhat challenging. That seems to be a common theme with some Game Gear games -- either short GG games are even shorter and easier than short GB games are, or I just don't have GB games comparable to stuff like this. This game's not Tempo Jr. easy, for sure -- you will die -- but it's not too hard either ,and it won't last long. It's only got five or six stages, and some are quite short. It does have password save so you don't need to play it all at once, and has infinite continues, so it won't be too hard to get through; that's a good thing, I like saving. Of course it'd matter more in a longer game, but still, this game DOES have cheap deaths, so without continues I'd be starting it over repeatedly for sure.
As for the gameplay, apart from those long story scenes between levels, GG/SMS Aladdin has two major gameplay types. Levels are either auto-scrolling, as you move to the right and try to avoid obstacles and not get caught or run out of health, or they are free-roaming, as you explore levels somewhat Prince of Persia style looking for your way through the stage. The only boss is Jafar at the end, and he's pretty easy (though I did die once there, just as I beat him). The most challenging thing is that if guards touch you it's an instant death, and dying means restarting from the beginning or the last checkpoint, if you reached one. Auto-scrolling stages don't have checkpoints, but they are short. The free-roam stages are longer, and do have them. You have a health bar, but don't have multiple lives here; dying once is game over, and there you get to continue or see your password. Of course, as I said, guards are instant death, as are pits. The other obstacles are what the healthbar is for.
So yeah, this game really is entirely different from the SNES and Genesis titles. Those games were pretty different too, but this one is even more different from either of them. The chase stages of course are unlike anything I remember from either of those games, and the freeroam levels are too. They're much more reminiscent of a Prince of Persia or Castlevania game than either of the other Aladdin titles. You don't even throw apples in this game, unlike the others -- here you throw rocks, which are quite limited in quantity. And rocks are your only weapon, there's no other way to knock out the guards. No jumping on heads here. Oh, you do get a sword for the final battle, but that's it.
Overall, the game is fun to play, and the game balance works well. I like the gameplay of both stage styles, and the settings, story, and music are just like the film (or, well, as close as the GG can get to the film's music). The only real problem is that far too short length. It would have been nice to see an Aladdin game with the story and continue/save system of this version and the gameplay and length of the Genesis version... too bad such a thing doesn't exist, but for Aladdin fans -- and I am one, this was my favorite Disney movie in the '90s and I still think it's pretty good -- this is a must play. You'll probably spend about as much time watching the cutscenes as you will playing the game (seriously, it seemed like half of the playtime was story...), but the story's just like the movie, and the gameplay, while it lasts, is fun.