The Lion King (MD, 1994)
Graphics-8.5 Sound-8 Control-7 Challenge-7
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
+ Varied gameplay, follows the movie pretty well, your character evolves later on (from child to adult – gains new moves while losing others), pretty fast paced overall, throw move as adult Simba (XYZ buttons on a six button controller, need to catch the enemy while it’s panting), decent bonus stages (catch falling bugs as Pumba, collect edible bugs as Timon), hidden items (continues, 1-ups, bonus stage keys, health/roar increase), great animation, difficulty and control options (hard mode just increases some enemies’ HP while reducing no. of lives per continue)
+/- Some segments require exact precision timing,
- Trial & error (ostrich ride segment, stampede segment (hard to judge the gazelle’s positions at first), weird mechanics for grabbing various hooks, boss patterns, stream paths on Hakuna Matata level), uneven hit detection (you can even end up inside walls in a couple of spots though it’s possible to get out), some tedious bosses/segments (Gorilla, waterfall segment, maze in second to final stage), jump mechanics take some getting used to (jump without momentum = high vertical jump with short horizontal length, some momentum = medium height/length, running jump = low height/long length), lame ending, unskippable boot up logo screens
Compared to SNES ver:
+ Easier bonus levels (with more continues handed out), higher resolution, better clinging controls in some parts (the ones where the you cling on to small ledges attached to a wall), slightly faster?, nicer transition effect in the beginning of the second level,
+/- Easier final boss (pants longer), some different sfx (roar sound for young Simba), less aggressive vulture enemies (they won't follow you if you run a couple of screens away), better timing is needed when fighting the panthers (you can just mash the button on SNES), the checkpoint icons don't stay lit after activation on SNES (they just flash once), you can take a shortcut in one part of the second stage on MD (grab onto the first hippo after the checkpoint)
- Fewer colors, mostly worse music, slightly scratchy (but also less muffled) voices at times
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
+ Varied gameplay, follows the movie pretty well, your character evolves later on (from child to adult – gains new moves while losing others), pretty fast paced overall, throw move as adult Simba (XYZ buttons on a six button controller, need to catch the enemy while it’s panting), decent bonus stages (catch falling bugs as Pumba, collect edible bugs as Timon), hidden items (continues, 1-ups, bonus stage keys, health/roar increase), great animation, difficulty and control options (hard mode just increases some enemies’ HP while reducing no. of lives per continue)
+/- Some segments require exact precision timing,
- Trial & error (ostrich ride segment, stampede segment (hard to judge the gazelle’s positions at first), weird mechanics for grabbing various hooks, boss patterns, stream paths on Hakuna Matata level), uneven hit detection (you can even end up inside walls in a couple of spots though it’s possible to get out), some tedious bosses/segments (Gorilla, waterfall segment, maze in second to final stage), jump mechanics take some getting used to (jump without momentum = high vertical jump with short horizontal length, some momentum = medium height/length, running jump = low height/long length), lame ending, unskippable boot up logo screens
Compared to SNES ver:
+ Easier bonus levels (with more continues handed out), higher resolution, better clinging controls in some parts (the ones where the you cling on to small ledges attached to a wall), slightly faster?, nicer transition effect in the beginning of the second level,
+/- Easier final boss (pants longer), some different sfx (roar sound for young Simba), less aggressive vulture enemies (they won't follow you if you run a couple of screens away), better timing is needed when fighting the panthers (you can just mash the button on SNES), the checkpoint icons don't stay lit after activation on SNES (they just flash once), you can take a shortcut in one part of the second stage on MD (grab onto the first hippo after the checkpoint)
- Fewer colors, mostly worse music, slightly scratchy (but also less muffled) voices at times
