Back when this collection was first announced you could sense a palpable buzz online. Aladdin and The Lion King are two of the most well thought of SNES/Mega Drive games of that generation. Unfortunately, the SNES version of Aladdin isn’t included in this collection due to it being owned by Capcom, but aside from that omission it really is hard to argue with the bang for your buck in Disney Classic Games.
Under the Aladdin banner you get the Sega Genesis, Japanese, Demo and Final Cut versions of the game. The Genesis and Japanese versions are exactly what you would expect, while the Demo option lets you play through an early version Aladdin that was first shown at a trade show in 1993. The demo is unfinished and includes some placeholder assets, but I found it a really cool addition in what aims to be as definitive a collection as possible.
The Final Cut version is new just for this collection. While still looking very similar to the original it features bug fixes, camera adjustments and other refinements that the game states represents some alterations the development team would likely have made if they had more time before release. It’s a nice inclusion, although I would liked to have seen a remastered version updating it from the 16-bit aesthetic.
Following suit, The Lion King section comes packing The SNES, Genesis and Japanese versions. I had a discussion with a few friends who all agreed that the SNES version does look slightly better, but essentially all three games are the same. It was disappointing to not see a Final Cut version included for Lion King as well, but as I will get to later in the review, Aladdin is definitely seen as the star attraction of this collection.
Both properties come packing some cool add-ons including making of videos, game art and art from the movies in the museum section. The full soundtrack is also available for both titles which hardcore fans will be delighted to see and hidden away by pressing triangle when selecting which version of either game is the handheld versions of both that appeared on the Gameboy. These both play and look pretty bad, but I still appreciated the effort taken to include them.
Graphically while staying true to the original art, the games have been updated for 2019 TV’s. As standard the games play in 4:3 with a border, but you can access screen options and switch from the standard ‘sharp screen’ to either ‘full screen’ which is 4:3 but covers your entire TV from top to bottom with just a border at the side or ‘stretch screen’ which stretches the aspect ratio to 16:9. You can also choose between TV filter, monitor filter and LCD filter for that extra level of authenticity.
While certainly both properties are aimed at children this is unlikely to be a collection that finds a new generation of audience. These games are hard (Lion King especially) and require a lot of timing and patience. Thankfully, instead of controllers being lobbed across the room in frustration, both games include a rewind feature which is quite literally a life saver.
Developer Digital Eclipse has also added a watch option on each game where you can observe the AI playing through each title from start to finish on a primitive looking VLC player. You can even fast forward to specific points, stop and then take control. This way if there is a certain level or section that is causing you problems you can just skip it. This is a superb feature and one I hope we see in future games.
Trophies are largely based off the Aladdin games, requiring you to complete the game on each difficulty along with some misc objectives. Only three trophies are assigned to the Lion King and they are for completing the game in easy, normal and hard difficulties. The trophies don’t stack so it does force three runs.
In a surprising turn of events though, the trophies can be as easy or as hard as you like. If you are a masochist, you can attempt to get every trophy how the game originally intended back in 1994. If that is proving difficult, the rewind option allows you to undo any mistakes. Then if you are really struggling you can use the watch option and take over the gameplay right before a trophy requirement. The cheats from the old games are even still accessible here and you can get many of the Aladdin trophies by simply skipping levels.
For trophy hunters looking to hoover up a shiny new platinum I will embed a quick ten minute guide to the platinum by BushidoCypher. With his help you can mop up any missing trophies with almost no fuss.
Overall the Disney Classic Games collection is a must have for fans of the originals. It is unlikely to pull in many new younger players but fans of the initial releases are in for a heavy dose of nostalgia with these titles. I was disappointed that the SNES version of Aladdin couldn’t be included as it was the one I played as a child, but there is no question Digital Eclipse has went to great lengths to provide something that old school gamers will need in their collection.
Reviewed on PS4 Pro. A review code was provided by the publisher.
