Disney's Aladdin (1993)

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There were several video game versions of Disney's Aladdin released around 1992, when the movie was released. Each version had its own developers and publishers - this VGG entry concerns the one that was published on the most platforms: Amiga, DOS, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Genesis and NES. All of these version were developed by Virgin, although publishers naturally vary by platform and region.

Mega Drive/Genesis version
The game from Virgin based on the 1992 animated Disney film, released initially on the Sega Genesis console, is a side-scrolling platformer.

The Genesis version was released in 1993 jointly by Virgin Interactive and Sega. The game, which was notable for its use of cel animation for in-game graphic elements, was produced by a team at Virgin Interactive which consisted of many members who would later form Shiny Entertainment and work on Earthworm Jim, including Mike Dietz and David Perry himself (who supposedly coded the game in 3 months). Also involved were veteran game designer David Bishop and animators Andy Luckey and Ian Freedman. Five original compositions and five arrangements from the movie were composed by Donald S. Griffin at the request of Virgin's audio director, Tommy Tallarico, who did the Genesis instruments and incidental transition music.

The Genesis version was worked on by Disney animators under the supervision of Virgin's Animation Producer Andy Luckey and Virgin animators Mike Dietz and Ian Freedman. This was achieved by use of the "Digicel" process -- developed at Virgin Interactive by David Perry, Andy Astor, Andy Luckey and Dr. Stephen Clarke-Willson. The process compressed the data from the animator's drawings into the limited processing capacity of the Sega Genesis cartridge and/or Mega Drive

Game design
The game involves killing enemies with basic swordplay and jumping across ledges. There are several levels, including one level where Aladdin must escape from the Cave of Wonders on Carpet and another where he must jump across the Agrabah's rooftops.

The player controls Aladdin, who must make his way through several levels based on locations from the movie: from the streets and rooftops of Agrabah, the Cave of Wonders and the Sultan's dungeon to the final confrontation in Grand Vizier Jafar's palace. The Sultan's guards and also animals of the desert want to hinder Aladdin in his way. He can defend himself with his sword or by throwing apples. Next to apples, Aladdin can also collect gems which can be traded for lives and continues with a traveling trader. Finding Genie or Abu icons enables bonus rounds. The Genie bonus round is a game of luck played for apples, gems or extra lives, and continues until the player runs out of Genie tokens or lands on Jafar. In Abu's bonus round, the player controls the little monkey who has to catch bonus items that fall from the sky, but without touching any of the unwanted objects like rocks and pots.

Ports to NES and Game Boy
A NES game was released in Europe based on this version. It was also ported, unofficially, twice more to the NES under the names Super Aladdin and Aladdin 2; Super Aladdin is generally considered superior to the official port. The (original) NES version was in turn also made into a Game Boy version, which was compatible with the Super Game Boy and later ported to Game Boy Color. The PC versions (Amiga and DOS) were also based on the Genesis version. The only differences in the PC version from the console one are a different HUD and improved music and sound effects.