The Lion King

Developer:

• Westwood Studios
• Disney Software

Publisher:

• Virgin Interactive Entertainment

Director:

• Louis Castle

Producers:

• Louis Castle
• Patrick Gilmore
• Paul Curasi

Designers:

• Seth Mendelsohn

Programmers:

• Rob Povery
• Barry Green

Artists:

• John Fiorito
• Alex Schaeffer
• Christina Vann
• Ann-Betttina Colace

Composer:

• Frank Klepacki
• Dwight Okahara
• John Wight
• Zack Bremmer
• Patrick Collins

Platform:

• Super Nes

Release:

• 1994

Genre:

• Platformer

Modes:

• Single-player 

Check Pricing here:

• https://www.pricecharting.com/game/pal-super-nintendo/the-lion-king

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Box Synopsis

You think you want to be king? Get real! You're starting life as Simba, the cub. To survive and grow into a powerful adult lion, you must perfect your savage pounce, reckless roar and master fighting with all four paws. If you survive the challenge, you'll grow into a strong, ferocious adult lion. So prepare to scrap with hyenas. Blast through and elephant graveyard. Battle an in-your-face stampede of trampling wildebeest . And you'd better quit hanging with slackers Timon and Pumbaa, unless you want to be scarfing bugs the rest of your life! Are you sure you want to be king? Then its time to cut loose in the deadliest one-on-one brawl ever. Defeat your evil Uncle Scar. Recapture the Pridelands. And reclaim your rightful place in the Circle of Life

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Gameplay

The player takes control of Simba as he journeys through life that is made up of several levels based on the hit Disney film of the same name. The journey begins with an innocent young Simba climbing around Pride Rock and ends when you defeat your evil Uncle Scar

The game is platformer adventure game that also features a lot of jumping and climbing with small skirmishes. Some levels do stray away from the genre and give the player a small change up with some scrolling gameplay which is fast and challenging.

Once the player finishes all the levels, a story ending is rewarded.

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Controls

Default layout:

Horizontal D-Pad: Move Simba
Vertical D-Pad: Press down to roll when moving
L: N/A
R: N/A

X: Attack (Adult Simba)
Y: Attack (Adult Simba)
B: Jump
A: Roar
Select: N/A

Start: Pause/Confirm menu options

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Game Videos

The Lion King Introduction Video

The Lion King Gameplay Sample

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Shanwow's Review

Story and Gameplay - 2 point

The Lion King was a hit film of the 90's and was turned into a video game like many other Disney titles. This story driven game tells the story of a young lion named Simba who's seat at the throne is stolen from him by his evil Uncle Scar. Scar then forces Simba to live a life in exile under the pretenses that his actions were responsible for his father, the mighty King Mufasa.

The game is broken into over 10 levels that vary in size and design as Simba matures, finds his new best friends and then returns to his former home to battle Scar. Each level is loosely based on sections of the film and feature a fun play area full of color. The main gameplay style is a jump and climb platformer, however the gameplay switches every few levels and introduces a small burst of scrolling action.

There aren't a huge amount of story elements within the game and it's overall design feels like Disney presumes that everyone knows the film and it's overall plot. A few small animations are rewarded between levels and there is a finishing sequence. 

Controls and Features - 2 point

The Lion King's controller setup is quite limited to begin with. As young Simba you can only roar, jump and roll to beat the baddies. As you progress through the game and into maturity, more controls unlock which allow you to add a razor sharp swipe attack and more agile jumping moves to your layout. There is a small learning curve involved when it comes to climbing, mounting and springing from ledge to ledge but that comes with practice.
  
This cart only contains a single player mode and some small options on it's start screen. The player can modify a few things to there liking however other than that there is nothing extra.

Common to Disney games of this era, there are a load of collectibles to find along the way. These come in the form of bugs and insects which can heal you, hurt you or aid you along the way. Collecting bugs is also the way to add extra lives and continues to your bank.

Design and Difficulty - 1 points

The music for this title is pretty amazing and contains sounds and tunes based on what  can be heard in the film. The composers have done an amazing job as nearly each level has it's own individual high quality tracked.

The level designs are fun, challenging and some times rather frustrating. They contain elements of color and fun that bring the game to life and create a family friendly game experience. The game features around 1 hour of gameplay from start to finish which may take several attempts.

Disney was known for making games intentionally hard to frustrate the buyer and give their games longevity to the player because you had to practice to finish them. The Lion King is another great sample of this design style. Certain levels are harder than others and they are usually the ones that the gameplay changes within like Ostrich ride level.

Lives and continues are limited which means several reruns may be needed before you toss the evil Scar from Pride Rock and into the burning fields below, however with practice it is possible. 

Fun and Summary - 👍 +1

The Lion King has an overall design that is alluring with its colors and sounds that create an enjoyable challenge. I found each and every level fun and enjoyable when I first played them, however due to the difficulty I soon replayed them many times that made them less fun.

The games overall length is good for this difficult adventure but it is really rewarding when you finally beat those tricky spots designed to prevent a quick finish for the player. The bonus levels are fun to find and play, which also provide a great place to stock up on lives and continues.

The games colors and sounds are quite playful and energetic that helped provide some calm to my frustrated mind and eventually helped me cross the line. Not going to lie, I used the practice difficulty a few times until I was comfortable. This not  only gave me a small taste of the game but an easier playground to learn the climbing and agility of Simba.

I've seen loads of copies of this game around and I find that it's average price tag isn't bad for the nostalgic fun I had playing a game based on one of my favorite films from my childhood even though it frustrated the heck out of me for several days of failure before I finally nailed that last battle!

RetroRating: 6 out of 10