Disney's Aladdin - SNES or Genesis?

[Sumez | 2,994]

Yeah a lot of people tend to talk about the MegaDrive and SNES games as if they are versions of the same game. "Oh, on MegaDrive you get to have a sword", yeah, but nothing else is the same either, it's just skinned after the same movie.

I can see why you'd think the SNES game is superior on first visit, because it just feels tighter compared to the dodgy hitboxes of the MegaDrive one, and I can also see why you'd think the opposite at first because of how much better the MegaDrive game's animation looks.
But if you actually try playing through the games, you'll probably get bored by the SNES game before you reach the end, even though it's only like half an hour. It's not good enough to be well made if it does nothing else to stand out or challenge you. It's way too easy and unambitious, and honestly despite the "tight" controls, it overall doesn't feel as precise as the classic NES platformers from Capcom. To me #192 in a console library with tons of amazing games really doesn't sound off at all.
I don't agree with all of Reed's priorities on his list, but I think his takes are usually perfectly justified.

Edited September 8, 2021 by Sumez

[AirVillain | 491]

My sole reason for purchasing a Genesis will be to play Aladdin so I can properly answer this question.

Will be hard because Aladdin on SNES is one of my favourites and I hate the Genesis controller..... but Imma give it a shot as objectively as I can. 

[Tanooki | 4,952]

Don't bother, there's those re-release packages that got a re-release adding the better SNES Aladdin and then the Jungle Book title too.  You can get it for $20-30 these days.

[NostalgicMachine | 247]

Genesis version all the way. It was my very first home console game (along with Super Wrestlemania), which I got along with my model 2 Genesis for my 6th birthday.

[Webhead123 | 687]

These games are pretty interchangeable for me. I think I prefer the Genesis game only slightly and that is mostly because of the art style and music which mimic the movie more closely. I also think the Genesis game has a faster, more action-y pacing, whereas the SNES game feels a lot slower and more methodical. Also, the SNES game is stupidly easy. I remember beating it the first night that I brought it home from the rental store.

[Lynda Monica | 350]

I really like the SNES game, but I don't like the Genesis one at all. I think the Genesis game is straight up bad, so I've always enjoyed how passionate people get over this topic. I tend to chalk it up to Genesis fans being overly passionate, and maybe a tad desperate to prove the Genesis' worth. There are countless Genesis games that you can point to in order to prove the Genesis was just as good or even better than the SNES, but I genuinely don't think Aladdin is one of them.

[Tanooki | 4,952]

It's not so much that the SNES Aladdin is easier, it's just that it's gameplay mechanics aren't partially broken to be fair, or at least, poorly designed.  I have both games to be up front about this on original cartridges.  The SNES game is a bit more methodical and level paced, Capcom did it, just like their trio of Mickey games, because the mechanics and level designs work, and it sticks to the source well.  Virgin though with Disney, I think it needed another couple weeks in the oven to cook.  Visually the animators did magic with the hardware and got a nice clear fluid large animated set of characters going which is great.  But, the game has you slide around a lot, almost to the point of feeling a tad unresponsive and slippery which is a bad combination, especially when the hit boxes for the sprites vs ground you land on don't always visually line up so you get a lot of really aggravating stupid deaths.  On SNES you know you screwed up, it's clear, you see a miss or when you get hit, the Genesis, it's debatable more often than not especially in some stages over others that ruins it for you.  Aladdin on Genesis depending on tastes of style hands down can win for Sega in the animation department, easily, but where it counts in a functional gameplay, collision, motion of things design its hit and miss and miss is at a dumpster fire level of miss.

[MagusSmurf | 577]

might as well play the Genesis game this weekend so I can have an opinion on this

[MagusSmurf | 577]

Okay, beaten Genesis Aladdin on Difficult now.

It looks really good and the game is probably an above average ~6/10 but the polish really isn't there and there's nothing special about how it plays. Something about the way and distance the screen scrolls is kinda screwy. It's mostly just a nuisance but the collision detective is particularly awful on the disappearing blocks in the dungeon level. The ground on the lava level has some very bad art decisions that make it hard to instinctively tell where you can and can't stand in a few places but once you figure it out it's a non-issue. Hand platforms in the genie level that look the same don't necessarily function the same despite them often being over bottomless pits and mistakes being lethal and the screen-scrolling issues are at their worst in that level. It's weird to me how the sword seems to be a talking point when the combat here is so whatever. Fighting the soldiers gets old fast and that's what most of the last two levels consist of. The final boss involves you throwing projectiles at him while he's not quite really on-screen for most of the fight. The Snake Flute and Cave of Wonders levels were probably the best overall.

The SNES game is indeed probably too easy, doesn't have graphics nearly as distinctive, and I find it merely a good game overall. It's still kinda better than this.

[Tanooki | 4,952]

What he said there is largely why I dinged it for the bad design with the gameplay and collision.  No matter the difficulty those spots are good earlier/mid-tier perfect examples of the obnoxious death dealing issues the game hands out that are patently unfair because of bad design with how it looks vs reality or just bad detection.  Other stuff like where you feel like you're moving in mush as you never seem to swing a sword or sling along a rope hand by hand as fast as you should from when you hit the button.