Disney’s Aladdin PC Review

This week Disney re-released the classic retro 16-bit game, Aladdin, on PC via GOG.com, a classic side strolling game that was one of the most popular games released and based on the animated classic movie.  This game is going straight after the nostalgia purchase, which is very popular at the moment and I love the idea of some of these classic games coming to new platforms.

Aladdin was released on multiple platforms including the Virgin Interactive version on Genesis, NES, Gameboy, Amiga and DOS, with a slightly different version available on SNES and Gameboy Advance (this was made by Capcom and didn’t include a sword).  And I’m glad this version included the sword as its much more useful than just using apples.

Featuring many classic locations from the movie and Aladdin can use two different fighting actions, using a sword and throwing apples. There is also many songs, though they are 16 bit tune versions of them that can be easily recognised from the movie are included in the game, which I have since spent many days humming since playing!

Jumping back into the game, taking on enemies, tracking down objects and trying to complete the jumps, made for a really fun evening of retro gaming.   If you can get by the dated graphics and sound, your left with a solid game that will put a smile on your face until you get stuck and you become a 12 year old again..(that might just be me!).

Each version has some slight variations and this re-release is a port of the MS-DOS version. Which sadly wasn’t as good as the Genesis version, and it’s a shame this version wasn’t ported instead as it was superior with better graphics and sound. And that’s the version most people will remember, so this port maybe doesn’t match those memories of how great the Genesis version was and those that use retro consoles like the Retron or Emulators, have argued that playing that version would give a better experience and that’s something I don’t disagree with, as after popping my Genesis cartridge into my Retro console, it does play much smoother plus it has better graphics and sound. But it’s good to have a official version available to download legally, but more could have been done to make this port work more smoother.

The only major issue I had, was that the screen size couldn’t be adjusted, making it different to see on my laptop, though it would run in full screen mode from launch, but couldn’t return to it.  This port can be played with a controller with a few adjustments of the key assignments and I had no issues while using my Xbox One controller.

Here is some gameplay of me playing Aladdin!

It’s a shame this port is so simple, as there hasn’t been any tinkering with the game and that’s a shame, either using the Genesis version or perhaps and maybe I’m just wishful thinking, but I’d love a new remaster of this game that was done recently with DuckTales or Castle Of Illusion.

For a game that’s over 20 years old, I really enjoyed playing Aladdin again, its a nice trip down memory lane, but its a pretty basic port, which is slightly overpriced, had it been half the price, it would be a easy recommendation for fans to get their retro fix.  However, that didn’t take away from the fun I had while playing it, platformers just don’t get made like this any more, it might seem like it has some basic gameplay but its pretty tough with no saves, limited continues and interesting bosses, makes this game worth checking out if you just want a dabble on a old game without the hassle of using a retro console or using a emulator.

Did you play Aladdin back in the 90’s?