September 20, 2011
Pap the Disney Gamer's
Highlights: Disney's The Lion King
System: SNES, NES (Europe),
Genesis, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, Master System
(Europe), Game Gear and Amiga
Developed by: Virgin Interactive, Westwood
Studios
It's the ciiiiiiiircle of
liiiiiiiiiiiife! And it moves us aaaaaaaalllll!
Those lyrics inspired and
enthralled movie goers back in 1994 when "The
Lion King" was first released. The film gained
endless praise for its masterful soundtrack,
enchanting characters, and engaging drama. Soon,
it became one of the most successful animated
movies of all time. This week the film will
premiere once more, this time in Disney Digital
3D.

You know the rule by now. If a
film is popular, a video game adaptation is sure
to follow. The Lion King video game adaptation
was released on December 8, 1994, just in time
for the Holidays. Much like Disney's Aladdin
before it, it is a platforming adventure game
that follows the events of the film from start
to finish, taking players into the African
deserts and jungles and facing off against many
villains. Players take control of Simba, from
when he is a young cub until he is an adult lion
getting ready to take back his land. His
abilities include a roar that stuns enemies, a
slash attack, and a throw move that grabs an
enemy and launches them. Players can also take
control of Timon the meerkat in special bonus
levels where he collects bugs.

The game follows the plot of the
movie very well. Each level is based on an
important event in the film, such as the
Pridelands early in the morning, run through a
wild and colorful animal parade inspired by 'I
just can't wait to be king,' and even escape the
wildebeests as they stampede through the canyon
in a gripping 3D scene.

By now the technical prowess of
video games was very advanced, giving game
designers to develop games with an impressive
visual and audio presentation. The Lion King was
leaps and bounds from previous Disney video game
adaptations, mimicking very well the film's
stunning music and animation. Walt Disney
Feature Animation even lent their talents to the
production of this game! They animated the
character sprites, giving the game a look that
resembles an interactive animated film. This
graphical technique was first seen on the
Genesis version of Disney's Aladdin and Mickey
Mania, but was nearly perfected in The Lion
King.

The musical legacy of the film
has also been preserved in the creation of this
game. It features nearly every song and musical
track first heard in the feature. 'Circle of
Life' opens the game as it loads for the first
time; 'I can't wait to be king' adorns the
colorful level it inspired, 'Hakuna Matata' sees
Simba into adulthood just like in the movie and
even the song that players when Simba is
fighting Scar can be heard during the game's
finale. Each version of the game varies in sound
quality, but they all shine thanks to the magic
and powerful presence the film's music has.

The Lion King wouldn't be the
last game made under the Lion King name, such as
Timon and Pumbaa's Jungle Games, a game based on
the direct to video movie The Lion King 1 ', and
characters from the movies appeared in other
Disney themed games like Kingdom Hearts II and
the upcoming Disney Universe. But it was this
game that first set the standards as to how to
do justice to the epic film that put Disney
animation on an even higher pedestal and
thrilled millions around the world.
