Welcome to a new edition of Monday Retro Corner Reviews and we continue with Capcom’s version of Aladdin on the Super NES. Back then it was common to find license games getting developed by different studios. On a couple of occasions, the same studio would develop a few titles under the same license. Konami would do this with Tiny Toons and Ninja Turtles while others designed their own single version between the Genesis and Super NES. Capcom stayed mostly to Nintendo which is why only games like Street Fighter II appeared on the Genesis. Most of their projects were on the Game Boy and Super NES due to Nintendo being cutthroat and committing illegal actions towards third parties. That’s why Disney games made by this company were never ported and caused Sega to look elsewhere. Thanks to their work with Mega Man, Duck Tales and Mickey’s Magical Adventure, it’s expected for them to deliver with Aladdin. Gameplay When it came to Capcom’s platformers whether this was a license or not, you always knew what to expect from them. Aladdin on Super NES really defines that Disney magic Capcom brings to them ever since Duck Tales on the NES. Right off the bat, you will notice how similar the controls play to Prince of Persia. Unlike the Genesis version, Aladdin can grab ledges and swing from poles to either reach another platform or take out an enemy. There were many times these flexible mechanics saved me from any pits and hazards. To add to these flexible mechanics is the rug and it let's the player glide down in the air slowly. It really made the level design have balanced challenges even on hard mode. Aladdin can also throw apples, but they act more like a secondary action with stunning enemies instead of causing damage. It does stop the player from exploiting an enemy or better yet a boss’ challenging without spamming an attack. That was always the problem with the Genesis version as all you had to do is dodge their attacks and throw apples. Then again Capcom had experience designing both an enemy’s challenge and a boss’ pattern for over a decade at that point. Another interesting concept that none of the Disney titles had from any studio is increasing Aladdin’s health. There are not that many platformers that offers such an idea and it shows Capcom wanted to have a different health system. The player increases their hearts by collecting hearts in a bubble found in either the stages or in the bonus spin game if the gold scarab gets obtained. Now, if you ever get low on health then those small jars and chests will drop a loaf of bread or a roasted chicken. These are prime examples of what defined the challenges in these stages as the first image depicts Aladdin getting through the Ancient Pyramid and its many dangers. The defining feature is when facing Jafar in his Serpent form and I love that you have to reach his head by jumping on those eggs he's spits out. You also have to do all this while avoid the flames when his snake body moves up and down. The levels’ challenges were another unique feature and its enjoyable to venture through each area with something new to face. It starts out on the streets and roof tops of Agrabah where the difficulty is with fighting the guards. Then slowly the difficulty spikes up during the Cave of Wonders as platforming action takes place. Even the escape from the fire blazing Cave of Wonders was made better here for both lava stages. No boulders chase the player nor are there cheap timed blocks to jump from well, that is unless you want to get those red gems. I didn’t need any indicators on where to move carpet next during the escape as no flashy mechanics got used like it was on Genesis. The bonus level with Aladdin and Jasmine after completing the Ancient Pyramid was the icing on the cake. There’s nothing like taking a break in-between the main levels then hearing a proper sounding 16-bit rendering of a Whole New World playing. The last area is probably some of the best last stages in a license I have played. These levels had you encounter the re-skinned guards and facing obstacles like fire moving up and down. It's much preferable for me as this makes the player think before moving forward at the right time. Facing Jafar twice at the end was truly a final battle to remember and no he doesn’t get easily defeated by throwing apples. I would rather overcome a boss’ challenges with reaching Jafar first during the battle before nailing a blow. Rating: 8.8/10 Graphics/Presentation Capcom through the fourth generation pushed out quality visuals on the Super NES more then the other companies. The beauty of the Super NES’ tech is the console allowed for the developers to produced broad visuals and probably the best soundtracks through that generation. Aladdin is well animated as both the sprites and environments still reflect the areas found in the film. My favorite feature of any Super NES game’s visuals is the broad detail most third parties were able to bring to their software. As mentioned many times, this console can support 32,000 colors simultaneously on screen. It allows more effects to happen in the background and within foreground. The Cave of Wonder’s lava stage is a good example as it went further then what the Genesis did in its version in the same area. Between the rocks glowing from the fire, the river moving about and a cascade of lava flowing down really captured the dire moment. Then the lightning effects happening during Jafar’s transformed palace created the perfect atmosphere for the main villain’s lair. Even the sound effects truly added to the feeling as the player knew this would lead to the battle with Jafar. The soundtrack might not be anything we've heard from the film or in the other versions but it still sounded perfect for Aladdin. On top of that, the environments were truly a thing of beauty especially in the bonus stage as it caught the moment between Aladdin and Jasmine. Most of these stages always had something to look forward to from an enchanted to menacing themes. One thing that would interest me the most from these third party licensing titles is how they included features that weren’t part of the source material. I noticed a pyramid area got added even though Aladdin and Genie never stopped at one but at Oasis instead. Honestly, I don’t see anything wrong with putting an extra area as it pads the game up in the right way. In fact, this was always my favorite part of the game as it was like going through a part of the film Disney never showed. Of course, the next change was the soundtrack and even though these tracks weren’t in the movie, Capcom out did themselves again. The strange thing about the quality soundtrack is it fits the theme perfectly. I mean, other studios did the same thing with Konami’s Ninja Turtles and Bandai’s Power Rangers. It really takes talent from these composers to make a bunch of songs work with any source even when these tracks were never in them originally. Is this Capcom's best work? Diffidently not as Mega Man X and Demon’s Crest takes that honor for true quality OSTs. The tracks that stood out the most were from the Cave of Wonders, the Ancient Pyramid and Jafar’s re-imagined palace. The first two had that mystery and eeriness to them as they made you wonder how each environment got built. Jafar’s Palace is the textbook definition on how a final area is supposed to sound and feel. Menacing music in a Capcom fashion couple with the Lightning sounds in the background just adds to these stages as the player reaches Jafar. The animation seems to lack that extra attention Capcom usually puts into the backgrounds and foregrounds. On the streets of Agrabah the foreground and background character sprites just stand there motionless aside from the man poking his head out and yelling at Aladdin for stomping on him. If they did have animation then it was stiff except for a couple and take the bulky guard in the second image as more could've been done. The only issues I found so far came from the stiff animation most of the sprites had. None of the enemies have any personality or an idle animated stance when you leave them alone. The guards just charge at Aladdin and will either stay where they are or pace back and forth. It’s a feature the Genesis had over this edition and usually Capcom programmed these personalities into their sprites. The only thing close to a characteristic these enemies had was getting stunned after throwing an apple at them. Capcom should’ve done more then have the guards make grunt faces and dizzy expressions. Now, this is kind of nitpicking as a few backgrounds weren’t as animated as the others. It’s one thing for the Cave of Wonders’ first three levels to show a staircase leading to the entrance only as its background. It's another when the streets of Agrabah still had sprites standing in the back as motionless props instead having a little animation. Rating: 8.5/10 Features/Content Aladdin on the Super NES like the others before it got made to sell another form of merchandise on the movie. However, unlike today's crappy licensing games, the 90s was a time where real developers put time and effort to make these close to the bigger titles. In this edition, the player will adventure through nineteen stages with most of them centering around the movie’s plot. The best thing about these levels is this isn't a matter of “quantity over quality” as each one had its own uniqueness to them. If that isn’t enough, for once a studio developed a proper password system without creating a long one. The threaded 16-letter passwords were always the bane of classic gaming as often it took too much time to input these. Capcom has come a long way since Willow on the NES and using a four character password system is pure genius. Its only function is to take the players to any area they last left off and sadly that’s all it’s there for. Of course, if they get one thing right then it’s common for them to get something else wrong. Capcom decided this was a great idea to access the cheat codes through two controllers. It’s like they learned nothing from Super Ghouls N Ghosts where you had to do same thing. There’s literally no reason to design cheats to input in such an arsine manner. Of course, the worst part is its only for a level select and nothing else like an invincibility cheat. I should expect an experience studio to program these features and it’s something Virgin Interactive understood better. At least there is a proper password system and nineteen stages to enjoy. Rating: 7.4/10 Final Rating Capcom does it once again and gives us another Disney classic game. They followed the same gold standard from Nintendo and produced quality gameplay. The best thing about this version is how it had a combination of a balanced level design and flexible mechanics. Using Aladdin’s acrobatics to fend off enemies felt more engaging and forces you to think before making a move. It also helped in the difficult parts with grabbing ledges and uses a cloth to slowly lower himself down. The graphics are not the best the console saw especially when compared to the company’s other offerings. However, it still did a great job pushing some nice visuals with good animation and detailed environments. Even though the soundtrack only included two officials’ songs from the film, the rest still felt like it could’ve been from the movie. You know a composer is good when they can make songs that sound like they came from the source material. Even the presentation in 16-bit rendering was included in a much better manner then simply through a still background with text. The only issue that was a problem is the lack luster way to access a single cheat of level select by using two controllers. At least they got the password system right by using four characters from the main cast. With nineteen packed levels following the gold standard of platforming, Aladdin on Super NES is sure to please most gamers. Gameplay: 8.8/10 Graphics/Presentation: 8.5/10 Features/Content: 7.4/10 Final Rating: 8.5/10 Great
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Retro Gamer has over 25 years of gaming experience and played many classics since the Golden Age. She has been an avid fan since the day the NES graced her life and changed it forever.
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