My Played Video Games Review: The Lion King for the Sega Genesis
The Lion King is a side-scrolling platform game based on the popular Disney animated film of the same name. This game was developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and other game consoles in 1994.
This game was popular in my country during the mid-1990s. Kids liked the movie it was based on and the game had the cartoon style of the movie. But few kids dared to finish it though because it was surprisingly difficult.
The Story
You are starting life as Simba, the lion cub prince. To become a powerful adult lion, you must pounce, roar, and master fighting with all your four paws. If you survive, you'll grow into a strong, fierce adult lion. So prepare to fight with hyenas. Blast through an elephant graveyard. Battle a stampede of trampling wildebeests. Do you want to be King? Then it is time to cut loose in the deadliest one-on-one brawl ever. Defeat your evil, crafty Uncle Scar. Recapture the Pridelands. And reclaim your rightful place as The Lion King!
The Graphics and Sound
The game's graphics are beautiful and very well animated. It actually looks like you are controlling the movie. Each level is colorful and bright, and everything is just easy to see at all times. Both the enemies and Simba (as both a lion cub and an adult) are animated beautifully.
The music sounds great like it came out of the movie. Most of it has a jungle feel theme played with drums. Most of the sound effects are crisp and sound like some late 1990s game console CD quality effects.
The Gameplay
The Lion King is a typical side-scroller. However, there is a lot of jumping onto small targets and platforms, and it makes this game difficult.
The good thing about the gameplay is that in every stage in the game, there are secret rooms and hidden paths that are scattered around if you can find them. Plus, there are plenty of enemies and obstacles to tackle.
The controls are easy but you may find it hard to do some of the jumps, rolls, and other things that require precise movements. Your character either moves too easily, or the movement is kind of stiff.
Replay value is up to the player. Some may go at it again for the challenge to beat the levels or most will just give up easily reaching the later stages.
My Verdict
The Lion King is a great platform game not without its faults. But the pros just outweigh the cons. This is a nice reminder of when Disney's licensed games were at their best.
Get some good old, platforming fun playing it on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis console or play it on an easy to use emulator.