The Lion King (video game)
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| The Lion King | |
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| Developer(s) | Westwood Studios, Inc., Virgin Interactive, Dark Technologies |
| Publisher(s) | Virgin Interactive, Sega, Walt Disney Computer Software |
| Designer(s) | Seth Mendelsohn |
| Platform(s) | Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Super NES, NES, Game Boy, PC, Amiga, Game Gear, Sega Master System |
| Release date | 1994 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ELSPA: 3+ VRC: GA |
| Media | 8 megabit cartridge, 16 megabit cartridge, Floppy disk, CD-ROM |
| System requirements | Game controller, computer keyboard |
The Lion King is a video game based on Disney's popular animated film. The title was published by Virgin Interactive in 1994, and was released on SNES, NES, Game Boy, PC, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Amiga, Master System and Game Gear. It followed Simba's journey from a young carefree cub to the battle with his uncle Scar as an adult.
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[edit] Gameplay
The game is a side-scrolling platform game, with the controlled character having to leap, climb, run and descend from platform to platform. There is an exception during the level The Stampede, where Simba is running towards (or in the NES and Game Boy versions, running with the camera looking straight down on top of him) the camera dodging wildebeest and leaping over rocks.
In most versions of the game two bars appear on the HUD. To the left is the roar meter, which must be fully charged for Simba's roar to be effective. To the right is the health bar which decreases when Simba is hurt. At the bottom left of the screen is a counter showing how many lives Simba has remaining. Health can be restored by collecting bugs which come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some rare health-damaging bugs also exist.
The player controls Simba (first as a cub, then later as an adult) in the main levels and either Timon or Pumbaa in the bonus levels.
[edit] Cub Simba
Cub Simba can roar (fairly weakly, similar to the roar he uses in the film), jump on enemies and roll. All three are used to combat enemies and have different effects. Rolling can also be used to access hidden areas and dodge attacks.
If cub Simba is left alone for a while then a small white butterfly will fly past, catching Simba's attention. At first he watches it fly by. The second time two butterflies fly by. Simba crouches and then pounces on one of them, before letting it go and then chasing it in a circle.
[edit] Adult Simba
Adult Simba is stronger and can slash and maul instead of defeating his enemies by jumping on them. He also has a more formidable roar, but can no longer roll.
Adult Simba constantly moves while not being controlled, alert to his surroundings.
[edit] Console differences
The sound and graphic quality of the game varied greatly due to the differing capabilities of the consoles.
The Amiga version omitted the Can't Wait to be King level, the bonus levels and the cutscenes, presumably to save disk space as the media was presented on floppy disks.[1] The music for some levels was also remixed slightly differently.
The NES version omitted content even further, with only the cub Simba levels present and the removal of the short Death Tag piece of music that plays when Simba dies. The level music continues on instead. Levels were also shortened considerably.
The Windows 3.1 version relied on the WinG graphics engine, but a series of Compaq Presarios weren't tested with WinG, which caused the game to crash while loading. This led Microsoft to create the more stable engine DirectX, used to this day[2].
[edit] Graphics and sound
The sprites and backgrounds were drawn by Disney animators themselves at Walt Disney Feature Animation, and the music is adaptations of songs and orchestrations in the soundtrack.
[edit] Levels
Due to differing space on the various formats that the game was presented, certain levels were either omitted or shortened. Level information provided is for consoles that were able to run the full version of the game.
[edit] The Pride Lands
Simba ascends rocks and umbrella thorn acacia trees while fighting exploding chameleons, porcupines and bombardier beetles, before tumbling down into a grassy area to fight a hyena and finish the level.
[edit] Can't Wait to be King/The Mane Event
- Music (Sega Mega Drive): Can't Wait to be King! (sample)
A fast paced level with a colourful and stylized design based on the song I Just Can't Wait to Be King from the film. It has no enemies, and Simba only needs to leap along heads of rhinoceros, giraffes and hippos, be thrown by monkeys and ride ostriches.
This level was omitted entirely from the Amiga version of the game. In the NES version it was renamed The Mane Event and shortened.
[edit] The Elephant Graveyard
- Music (Sega Mega Drive): Be Prepared (sample)
Inspired by the scene in which Simba and Nala visit the elephant graveyard. Simba must swing on bones, bounce on cob webs and evade geysers while avoiding and battling vultures and hyenas. He must also scale caverns with ledges as climbing rocks. The end of the level comes once Simba battles with several hyenas, causing a column of bones to collapse and provide access to the exit.
[edit] The Stampede
Based on the stampede scene of the movie, Simba must dodge rapidly approaching wildebeest and avoid crashing into rocks. In the PC, SNES and Mega Drive versions, it is played in a pseudo-3D view similar to games such as F-Zero.
The music used for this level on the NES version is the same used in The Pride Lands level.
[edit] Simba's Exile/Exile
- Music (Sega Mega Drive): King of Pride Rock (sample)
Simba runs away from the Pride Lands at the insistence of his Uncle Scar. Set in the barren area where Simba runs from the hyenas after the stampede in the film, it features the same enemies of the first level and various tumbling rocks (including large boulders which kill instantly.)
[edit] Hakuna Matata
- Music (Sega Mega Drive): Hakuna Matata (sample)
A slippery, fast-paced level, set in the jungle where Timon and Pumbaa live. Simba slides down wet, grassy slopes and ascends logs floating down a waterfall, while battling spiders and frogs. At the end of the level a gorilla throws coconuts at Simba and must be defeated or avoided to finish the level.
In the NES version of the game, the game ends after this level.
[edit] Simba's Destiny
- Music (Sega Mega Drive): Under The Stars (sample)
The first level played as adult Simba. Based on the scene where Simba follows Rafiki to Mufasa's supposed location, the level features vines, rocks and enemy leopards and monkeys.
[edit] Be Prepared
- Music (Sega Mega Drive): Continue Long (sample)
A level set in an area of high volcanic activity, based on the scene featuring the song of the same name from the film. Simba has to dodge lava drips and ride floating rocks along rivers of lava, avoiding hyenas, leopards and bats.
This is the only level which is not factually or chronologically consistent with the movie, since adult Simba never goes to a volcanic area.
[edit] Simba's Return
- Music (Sega Mega Drive): Hoo Hah Remix (sample)
Simba must defeat the hyenas and pass through a maze of caves before he can reach Pride Rock and confront Scar. This level shows the state of drought that the Pride Lands have descended into during Scar's tyrannical reign.
This is the only level that is not included in the Game Boy version.
[edit] Pride Rock
- Music (SNES): Return to Pride Rock (sample)
The final level of the game is loosely based on the final scenes of the film, where Simba battles his uncle Scar. Simba must battle with Scar three times as well as ascending Pride Rock, fighting hyenas and avoiding lightning, which sets the ground ablaze.
In the Game Boy version of the game, the method used to defeat Scar changes. Instead of Simba grabbing him and throwing him off the cliff, Simba roars, sending Scar reeling backwards in fright off the cliff edge.
[edit] Bonus levels
Bonus levels featured Timon and Pumbaa and an opportunity to receive extra lives and continues. The levels were omitted from some versions of the game, such as the Amiga version.
[edit] Bug Hunt
- Music (SNES): Bug Hunt (sample)
Players control Timon as he runs around a level collecting bugs. Collecting a "bad bug" (i.e. a large spider) ends the level.
[edit] Bug Toss
- Music (SNES): Bug Toss (sample)
Timon throws bugs down from above. The player controls Pumbaa and has to catch the bugs before they hit the ground. The game finishes if the player either misses a "good" bug or collects a bad one. Occasionally extra lives and continues are dropped.
[edit] Reception
The Lion King received largely positive reviews (something rare for games movie-to-game adaptations), including an 8/10 from Electronic Gaming Monthly, and sold well, including 1.27 million units of the SNES version (often considered the superior version) in the United States.[3] However, it receives criticism from players due to its difficulty.[4][5]. Gameplayers wrote on their November 1994 issue that "even on the easy setting, the game is hard for an experienced player".
[edit] Other The Lion King video games
Other two games inspired by The Lion King were released: Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games (1997) by Virgin for SNES and PC, The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure (2000) by Activision for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color. Also, a game inspired by The Lion King 1½ was released in 2003 by THQ for the Game Boy Advance.
[edit] References
- ^ Amiga review on MobyGames
- ^ OZ: The Other Side of the Rainbow
- ^ US Platinum Videogame Chart. The Magic Box. Retrieved on August 13, 2005.
- ^ Sega-16 review (Genesis)
- ^ Video Game Critic review (SNES)
[edit] External links
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