Aladdin on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Don't cry foul on me to start this blog off because I am talking about Aladdin again. I have very good reason to be and that reason is that the Super Nintendo of Aladdin is unrecognizable to it's Sega Genesis counterpart. Ya see, unlike video games today, if a game was coming out on multiple systems, it was often times a very different game. This is the case with Aladdin on Super Nintendo.
The gameplay is still that of a platformer where you progress through various levels similar to that of a Super Mario game. The game progresses through the story of Aladdin, but throws in some fresh ideas such as a level that takes place during the song Friend Like Me. Unlike the Sega Genesis version, Aladdin does not have a sword at all, but he can find a cloth that allows him to parachute off tall locations, increasing his jump distance substantially. When it comes to the soundtrack it is a mixed bag of recreated movie tracks and brand new music. All of it sounds great and works with their respective levels very well.
Aladdin on Super Nintendo plays very well with solid controls and the graphics are again top notch for the system. The backgrounds look incredible and make you feel like you are right in the movie. Is it better than its Sega Genesis counterpart? That's a topic of great debate. Both versions of the game are wonderful games in their own right and are more than different enough for me to say that personally it is hard to compare them. At the end of the day though I have to give the nod to the Super Nintendo version due to the fact that I only recently was able to routinely play the Sega Genesis version of Aladdin, so my experience with it is limited in comparison.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron on the Nintendo 64
Another one of my favorite Star Wars games. This one can be found both on PC and the Nintendo 64, but it is on the Nintendo 64 where I have logged an unknown number of hours on this game. Rogue Squadron takes place shortly after the events of the Battle of Yavin (episode IV) and runs up to the events of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. That being said, the final mission takes place six years after the Battle of Endor (episode VI). You play as Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles in a variety of missions. All of the missions, with the exception of one of the unlockable missions see you piloting one of the many Rebel Alliance fighters as you complete objectives to defeat the Empire.
The music is great. It sticks true to the Star Wars formula. The main Star Wars theme is present, but for the most part the music is original, but is so good that you'd swear it's ripped right out of the movies. Flying your craft feels really good and each handle in unique ways. For example, the A-Wing is so fast that you may find yourself slamming into other crafts, the landscape, or structures. Meanwhile the Y-Wing is so slow and heavily armored that you may find yourself bouncing off of other crafts instead.
What keeps bringing me back to this game is the story and gameplay. This is still one of the best Star Wars games in my eyes. The sequels on the Nintendo Gamecube were also great, but I don't think they quite matched the magic that is in this game. The unlockable missions of the Death Star trench run, Beggers Canyon, and the Battle of Hoth are all great as well. You can even pilot a T.I.E. Interceptor, the Millennium Falcon, an AT-ST (in one hidden mission), and the Naboo Starfighter. All of these crafts and walker require some kind of code to unlock, but they are all so worth it, especially the T.I.E. Interceptor since it is tied directly into the story of the game. I'll surely be going more into this game in another blog, but if you are a fan of games where you get to fly around and blow stuff up, this is a game for you. Since the Nintendo 64 isn't exactly the system on most people's shelf anymore, the easiest way to access this game is on PC through Steam or EA's Origin.
Hercules on the Sony Playstation
Bless my soul Disney was on a video game roll throughout the 90's. That roll continued on into the Sony Playstation where you can find what in my opinion is one of the best Disney games of all time, Hercules. Critically, no it doesn't look that way, but if you are a fan of any of the old platforming Disney games that came before you, you may see where I'm coming from. Hercules takes cues from so many of those past games, combines them and then to top it off gives them a big graphical boost. The plot is simple. You play as Hercules whose had his immortality taken away. He must now become a true hero to reunite with the gods by completing a series of tasks. Sound familiar? Probably because it's the plot of the movie. This really was what a lot of Disney games were at the time and the majority of them were more than good enough at filling that roll.
So if you've read what I said about games like Aladdin and The Lion King, then you know where I'm going with the playstyle of this game. Hercules can attack enemies with either his fists or a sword (ala Aladdin). Other powers can be gifted by the gods as well which changes up the gameplay for a time. Musically, the only song that contained lyrics from the movie is an instrumental of Zero to Hero, but that's fine because the rest of the music is perfect for the levels they're on. Perhaps one of the biggest selling points of this game is the voice acting. The lines are taken directly from the movie and are spoken by the original cast. For a Playstation game to have something like that at the time was a pretty big deal.
I can't say much more about this game without going into the levels and what makes them awesome, so I'll stop here for now and just say that Hercules is a brilliant game in both looks and gameplay. If you are a fan of the movie, I cannot figure out any reason that you would not like the game (unless you dislike this genre of games). The game should be available still on the Playstation Store and it is also available on PC through Steam.
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse on the Sega Genesis
While most of my gaming growing up was done on the Super Nintendo, Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is a Sega Genesis game that I played a ton of during my high school years. In this game you play as Mickey Mouse on a quest to save Minnie who has been captured by a witch that plans on stealing her youth. The witch takes Minnie to the Castle of Illusion and Mickey follows in hot pursuit. So it's the classic rescue the princess or in this case girlfriend that has been seen in games like Super Mario Brothers. It's done a lot, but it always seems to work oh so well! Interestingly enough I always found it funny that one of my favorite Nintendo 64 games, Banjo Kazooie, has the exact same plot as this game.
The game is another classic platformer, but unlike the others I've talked about this one features Mickey Mouse himself. It was one of the earlier games released on the Sega Genesis, and still manages to hold up today in nearly ever facet. Visually the game is incredibly vibrant and detailed. Mickey even has a variety of facial expressions which at the time was considered incredible. While Sonic the Hedgehog had a basic expression or two, Mickey has full on facial expressions in this game and it's pretty amazing. The worlds and enemies in the game are also incredibly detailed. The music is phenomenal and really pushes the Sega Genesis to its limits. The gameplay is also very good and is quite similar to that of a Super Mario game. Mickey's primary attack is even jumping on enemies as opposed to using a sword or rolling or throwing fruit.
This game has brought many a smile to my face. The best part about it is that it is perfect for all ages. It is easy enough for kids to enjoy it, but also difficult enough that adults will see some challenges as well. If you want to try this game out, the original can be found on the Sega Genesis. Beyond that though you'll have a hard time finding the original. That said, similar to Ducktales, Castle of Illusion received a remake! The remake is also very good and can be found on the Playstation Store, Xbox Live Arcade, and on PC through Steam.
So there ya have it, a few more games to add to your list of Disney games to play during quarantine. There is one other game I want to make mention of, but it breaks the mold of "retro" and that is Epic Mickey. Epic Mickey came out on the Nintendo Wii which finally had its final game come out in 2019. This game takes you on a huge journey through what basically is a twisted Disneyland. It's a lot of fun and is an incredible ride that I'll feature on a later blog, but I did want to give it a shout-out here. Thank you all for reading as always! I hope you and your friends and family are staying safe and doing well and stay tuned for the next blog coming real soon!
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron on the Nintendo 64
Another one of my favorite Star Wars games. This one can be found both on PC and the Nintendo 64, but it is on the Nintendo 64 where I have logged an unknown number of hours on this game. Rogue Squadron takes place shortly after the events of the Battle of Yavin (episode IV) and runs up to the events of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. That being said, the final mission takes place six years after the Battle of Endor (episode VI). You play as Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles in a variety of missions. All of the missions, with the exception of one of the unlockable missions see you piloting one of the many Rebel Alliance fighters as you complete objectives to defeat the Empire.
The music is great. It sticks true to the Star Wars formula. The main Star Wars theme is present, but for the most part the music is original, but is so good that you'd swear it's ripped right out of the movies. Flying your craft feels really good and each handle in unique ways. For example, the A-Wing is so fast that you may find yourself slamming into other crafts, the landscape, or structures. Meanwhile the Y-Wing is so slow and heavily armored that you may find yourself bouncing off of other crafts instead.
What keeps bringing me back to this game is the story and gameplay. This is still one of the best Star Wars games in my eyes. The sequels on the Nintendo Gamecube were also great, but I don't think they quite matched the magic that is in this game. The unlockable missions of the Death Star trench run, Beggers Canyon, and the Battle of Hoth are all great as well. You can even pilot a T.I.E. Interceptor, the Millennium Falcon, an AT-ST (in one hidden mission), and the Naboo Starfighter. All of these crafts and walker require some kind of code to unlock, but they are all so worth it, especially the T.I.E. Interceptor since it is tied directly into the story of the game. I'll surely be going more into this game in another blog, but if you are a fan of games where you get to fly around and blow stuff up, this is a game for you. Since the Nintendo 64 isn't exactly the system on most people's shelf anymore, the easiest way to access this game is on PC through Steam or EA's Origin.
Hercules on the Sony Playstation
Bless my soul Disney was on a video game roll throughout the 90's. That roll continued on into the Sony Playstation where you can find what in my opinion is one of the best Disney games of all time, Hercules. Critically, no it doesn't look that way, but if you are a fan of any of the old platforming Disney games that came before you, you may see where I'm coming from. Hercules takes cues from so many of those past games, combines them and then to top it off gives them a big graphical boost. The plot is simple. You play as Hercules whose had his immortality taken away. He must now become a true hero to reunite with the gods by completing a series of tasks. Sound familiar? Probably because it's the plot of the movie. This really was what a lot of Disney games were at the time and the majority of them were more than good enough at filling that roll.
So if you've read what I said about games like Aladdin and The Lion King, then you know where I'm going with the playstyle of this game. Hercules can attack enemies with either his fists or a sword (ala Aladdin). Other powers can be gifted by the gods as well which changes up the gameplay for a time. Musically, the only song that contained lyrics from the movie is an instrumental of Zero to Hero, but that's fine because the rest of the music is perfect for the levels they're on. Perhaps one of the biggest selling points of this game is the voice acting. The lines are taken directly from the movie and are spoken by the original cast. For a Playstation game to have something like that at the time was a pretty big deal.
I can't say much more about this game without going into the levels and what makes them awesome, so I'll stop here for now and just say that Hercules is a brilliant game in both looks and gameplay. If you are a fan of the movie, I cannot figure out any reason that you would not like the game (unless you dislike this genre of games). The game should be available still on the Playstation Store and it is also available on PC through Steam.
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse on the Sega Genesis
While most of my gaming growing up was done on the Super Nintendo, Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is a Sega Genesis game that I played a ton of during my high school years. In this game you play as Mickey Mouse on a quest to save Minnie who has been captured by a witch that plans on stealing her youth. The witch takes Minnie to the Castle of Illusion and Mickey follows in hot pursuit. So it's the classic rescue the princess or in this case girlfriend that has been seen in games like Super Mario Brothers. It's done a lot, but it always seems to work oh so well! Interestingly enough I always found it funny that one of my favorite Nintendo 64 games, Banjo Kazooie, has the exact same plot as this game.
The game is another classic platformer, but unlike the others I've talked about this one features Mickey Mouse himself. It was one of the earlier games released on the Sega Genesis, and still manages to hold up today in nearly ever facet. Visually the game is incredibly vibrant and detailed. Mickey even has a variety of facial expressions which at the time was considered incredible. While Sonic the Hedgehog had a basic expression or two, Mickey has full on facial expressions in this game and it's pretty amazing. The worlds and enemies in the game are also incredibly detailed. The music is phenomenal and really pushes the Sega Genesis to its limits. The gameplay is also very good and is quite similar to that of a Super Mario game. Mickey's primary attack is even jumping on enemies as opposed to using a sword or rolling or throwing fruit.
This game has brought many a smile to my face. The best part about it is that it is perfect for all ages. It is easy enough for kids to enjoy it, but also difficult enough that adults will see some challenges as well. If you want to try this game out, the original can be found on the Sega Genesis. Beyond that though you'll have a hard time finding the original. That said, similar to Ducktales, Castle of Illusion received a remake! The remake is also very good and can be found on the Playstation Store, Xbox Live Arcade, and on PC through Steam.
So there ya have it, a few more games to add to your list of Disney games to play during quarantine. There is one other game I want to make mention of, but it breaks the mold of "retro" and that is Epic Mickey. Epic Mickey came out on the Nintendo Wii which finally had its final game come out in 2019. This game takes you on a huge journey through what basically is a twisted Disneyland. It's a lot of fun and is an incredible ride that I'll feature on a later blog, but I did want to give it a shout-out here. Thank you all for reading as always! I hope you and your friends and family are staying safe and doing well and stay tuned for the next blog coming real soon!
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