Disney's "Aladdin" (Game Boy)

One of Disney's iconic animated films in video game form. Getting past the awful controls, this game is capable.

Played this game as a kid, being one of the first games I played on the Game Boy. In fact, I played it so many times that I got used to the delayed controls of the game. Yeah, it's one of those games where the bad controls takes getting used to as they can be key to dodging enemies and eliminating the bosses.

Being your usual platforming game, the key is to save Jasmine from Jafar—similar goal Aladdin did in the animated movie. Navigating through the stages requires some exploring since you're not too sure of where to go, but it should be very straight-forward without the aid of a guide.

Let's start differently with the item you find on the stages as they are crucial to get in your inventory. Collect as much apples as you can because these fruits make a great alternative to attacking enemies from afar (never thought I'd say that). Aladdin can use his sword to attack, but you can switch his weapon of attack by pressing SELECT. The Genie icons are for points but also replenish part of your health, which, by the way, is indicated by a magical smoke spewing out of a genie lamp on the bottom right of the screen. You do find lamps, at least one, on each stage; The lamps very much kill off any enemies visible on screen, if you're too lazy to ward off those enemies chasing you or ones that are hidden. Then there's a flashing, vase-like bottle which is actually a checkpoint, so if you lose a life, you begin where you acquired that bottle. Hearts also replenish some of your health, and there are stages where there are a ton of them so my advice is to GET ALL OF THEM. Trust me, some of these enemies are ruthless and can kill you in a few shots. Lastly, there are gems almost the same ones where Aladdin visited the Cave of Wonders in the movie, remember that? Anyway, these gems help you buy items in a shop—the shop represented by a man in a turban rubbing his hands. You shop by standing in front of him and pressing the UP directional pad.

With only nine (9) stages in this game, the awful controls and delayed attacks can make this game a drag. The stages are as follows: Agrabah Market, The Desert, Agrabah Rooftops, Sultan's Dungeon, Cave of Wonders, The Escape, Rug Ride, Sultan's Palace and Jafar's Palace. Agrabah Rooftops is the stage where eliminating the boss requires that you jump and throw apples at him, as your swrord won't do. The Escape and Rug Ride are the stages where good reflexes are crucial, but not as challenging as the stages you played on Battletoads. Still, you need to be fast.

When you get to the last stage, in your final showdown against Jafar, I recommend throwing all the apples you got and slashing him with your sword as fast as you can, continuously until he bows out. It takes a while to kill off Jafar, but you'll be happy that you finally did! I have no say about the ending of the game, but I recorded it and wanted to share it with all of you:



Not that it's a bad ending, but the music never changed at all! I felt like they wanted to get a game out while the Game Boy was selling like hot cakes, and thought that perhaps if they can get this game out quickly, they'll sneak up some sales. Could have been a decent platforming game if it wasn't for the awful controls and a little programming effort on the music, getting it to change every now and then.

It's an okay game with a few challenges to keep you awake all throughout. Certainly, it's not one of the worst games on the Game Boy, but nevertheless, it's okay.

Kris Caballero

Founder and operator of KCU Network, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog created back in late 2005. Despite publishing articles and reviews from time to time for the network's website, Kris enjoys studying the sciences, namely Math, playing old video/DOS games, reading non-fiction books and listening to sports radio.

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