Aladdin – Arabian Nights [Review]

Sometimes you just want to play something truly nostalgic, and what better way to scratch that itch, than firing up the old Super Nintendo emulator for some platforming in Aladdin. I know I’m waltzing into dangerous territory here, since I’ve heard that Nintendo fans can be very passionate. For those, I just want to say: show mercy. I’m no expert in retro-gaming intricacies, but from playing Aladdin, I learned that it’s a damn fine title. And it felt like a perfect platformer for someone not used to these old-school games—not too hard, yet, still challenging without being frustrating. 

Technical stuff
Before we get into the grit, let’s start with some technical stuff. I played Aladdin using the bsnes emulator, with only one extra shader option activated: PAL-Composite. Just for that sweet color bleed that old CRT TV’s from the past had. Everything worked great, and ran fantastically right out the box. I also used a SNES USB connected controller that worked well for the extra immersion. Now onto the story, the little there is.

Disney flashback
Since it’s based on Disney’s movie version of Aladdin, I think most of us know how this one goes. A destitute street urchin named Aladdin falls in love with the beautiful princess Jasmine. Unlucky, as this is forbidden love—a blue-blooded princess can’t be seen with a lowly pickpocket like good old Al. To get access to the palace, he is tricked into stealing a magical lamp by the evil Jafar, which doesn’t end up great for poor Aladdin. These events start an adventure all over the Arabian lands in search of the princess, and righting a wrong, involving a blue crazy magical genie.

Jumping and gliding
While the story isn’t much to phone home about, considering it’s a 16-bit tie-in game, the gameplay is on another level altogether. It’s not super deep, as you will for the most part just jump around, glide from place to place, or throw apples at guards and other weird things. But it’s done with such elegance, with incredibly tight controls, that it makes it a pure joy to navigate the levels.

The mechanics are also stand-out, like for example the throwable apples you can collect. The apples are very useful, as it’s the only ranged attack, but the genius thing is that they are limited, and only daze the bigger enemies temporarily. They are helpful, but not required, seeing as every foe can be rendered unconscious by jumping on them regardless. Yet, the apples serve as a bonus that helps out with the combat, and with that also work as an incentive to explore. It makes this feature a fun extra to consider during navigation. That’s good choice based gameplay, leaving it up to the player to decide to pursue or not.

Jumping on hostiles also gives you a double jump effect that comes useful while exploring. It takes some skill, but the pay-out is great. Also, stringing together a long jumping session by hopping on their heads is pretty darn satisfying. Just like in real life! Beyond apples and food (for health) there are also jewels to gather. These come with an extremely helpful benefit. If you can find a hundred of them, then they will give you an extra heart (hit-points). Very useful indeed, especially for the bosses!

The final thing of importance to find is the golden scarab, of which there only exist one per level. If you can find and catch it, the friendly blue genie will give you a chance at his spinning wheel at the end of the level. Here you can earn some really valuable things like extra lives, credits and permanent health upgrades.

All in all, I had a grand time navigating the levels. While I did die, and had to restart multiple times, it never felt frustrating or unfair. Every missed jump, or death by being clumsy, was entirely my own fault due to lack of skill. But with practice, comes experience and eventually success. The platforming is excellent, and it’s kind of a wonder how a relatively simple system can be that engaging!

Colorful world
If there is one word to describe the visuals, it’s “colorful”. The world is pretty, with a magnificent pixel-art style of old, solidified with animations that are smooth and very pleasant to watch. The graphics also match the Disney movie, from the lead, to the soldiers, to the environments. It’s also varied, with every location having its own mood and feel. My favorite area is probably the blue caves. It looks so cozy and cool right now in the summer heat.

Music and sound is also great, with tunes from the movie, accompanied by songs composed specifically for the game (I assume). It’s a delightful listen that never grated me in any way, even in replay, thanks to inept platforming from my part. Terrific stuff, all around.

Conclusion
Aladdin doesn’t provide much story, being what it is, but in the gameplay and visual department, Aladdin is absolutely top-tier for a good relaxing time. It’s not too long either for completion’s sake, but if you want to collect everything, you will probably have to run the game multiple times. It’s a great introductory title for someone that wants to try out old-school platformers—just like I did. I recommend it to everyone that also gets the urge to play a platformer from time to time. 

Thanks for reading.

– Thomas