I believe there are three main versions of this game, each quite different. One was made by Virgin Games for the Genesis (and later badly ported to NES and Game Boy), one was made by Capcom for the SNES (and was ported decently to GBA), and a third was made by SIMS for Master System and Game Gear. This review will be for the Genesis and SNES versions of the game, because it's time to decide once and for all... which one is the better game?

...It's not even close, people. The Genesis version is far and away the better game, and it's legit kind of lame that this has ever been a heated debate at all.

I think part of the issue is that Capcom's take on Aladdin is all right. It's not a bad game. It's a solid, simple little platformer that gets the job done. You jump on enemies, you hop on poles, you swing on poles, you grab on to ledges, rinse and repeat. It's a platformer through and through. Capcom made a lot of them back in the day, and they were generally good (like Ducktales for the NES). Their Aladdin game controls fine. But that is where my compliments end, because the package as a whole feels so uninspired, from start to finish. It's just... boring. There isn't much variety to the levels (only a few locations, broken up into multiple stages), and the levels themselves are so straightforward and repeatedly feature the same sorts of jumping puzzles. Lame handful of enemies used throughout the entire game. Very few bosses, and they're dull too (save for the final one I suppose). Cutscene bits feel random and bland. No magic, no charm.

The Genesis game is a complete 180 in the magic and charm department. This game absolutely knocked it out of the park in terms of visuals, music, and sheer creativity. A great variety of levels, a great variety of challenges, and a great variety of enemies, bosses, and bonus stages. They went all out with this one, and it's an absolutely memorable experience. You have a sword for close-range attacks, making one-on-one duels with enemies actually feel exciting. There are platforming segments, but at times it almost feels like an adventure game where you have to find things and figure out how to navigate the level properly. New enemies keep appearing, making you have to work out the best methods to defeat them.

And definitely worth mentioning: the attention to detail is something I have not witnessed to this degree in any other 16-bit-era game. When you throw an apple at an enemy tossing knives, the apple will get sliced in half. Guards go "ooh-eeh-eeh-ow" as they hop along the hot coals. Skeletons pick up their skull head and a bomb, place the bomb on their head, look pleased with themselves for a moment, and then promptly explode, sending their bones flying and clinking about every which way. The Genie's lamp level is filled to the brim with amusing references from the Genie's song. From start to finish, the game is a joy to play through, and perfectly captures both the charming silliness and the thrilling adventure of the movie. It 100% deserves its place as the top-selling non-Sonic Genesis game.

Final scores: 2/5 for the SNES version, 4/5 for the Genesis. I'll probably check out the Master System version some time too, since I hear that one's also completely different.

Gameplay, Story and Value:

Of all the Disney licensed games on my list, this was the one that I was most looking forward to playing. Saying that, it's all the more disappointing how terribly average this game is.

Aladdin more or less follows the animated movie's story with a few changes made for the sake of gameplay. Additionally, you're inexplicably armed with a sword, which serves to differentiate the Genesis version of the game from its more traditional SNES counterpart. I have no problem giving Aladdin a sword, except that using it is entirely awkward. Everything you do in Aladdin, from swinging your sword to jumping, comes with a slight delay. It almost seems that the game will not process a command until Aladdin has finished his current animation. Unfortunately, this leads to a lot of situations where you wont attack fast enough to avoid damage, or you'll misjudge your jumps.

That second one is a bigger issue, as the game has several demanding jump sections that basically require you to wait until the absolute last second in order to clear a gap. This problem is compounded by the odd trajectory you actually jump at. You'll launch forward as you'd expect, but then gravity seems to kick in very abruptly. You can get used to this, but it still feels off.

The levels are all mostly interesting, and if you can get past the game's control quirks they can be pretty fun to play through. Additionally there are a few minor technical issues that can make certain parts of the game very frustrating. Most levels don't have a boss at the end, and the ones that do aren't very fun. In fact most bosses can be cheesed pretty easily by either spamming your sword or standing just off screen and lobbing apples.

Presentation, Music and Sound:

The game looks really good, and does a great job of channeling the visual styles on the movie. Animations are fluid and sprites are large and detailed. The environments are great looking as well, but can unfortunately hinder some of the platforming elements. One of the latter stages requires you to long-jump over lava pits, but the platforms you're jumping off of appear to end long before they actually do. There are also instances such as the shifting stones in the dungeon stages which make it very hard to judge when their animations are actually finished.

The music is great, taking tracks straight from the movie and extending them into 16-bit stage remixes. I actually really enjoyed listening to this game. The sound effects are good as well, with a few digitized voice-overs.

Afterthoughts:

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with Aladdin. I really wanted to find a great platformer in it but what I got was average at best and frustrating at worst. I remember enjoying the SNES version of this game a lot more, and I kind of feel like the entire swordplay element was out of place and seemed to detract from what could and should have been a dedicated platforming experience.

Review:

Gameplay:

Preliminary: Really, the Capcom version should be a separate entry, but in the interest of not messing with the IGDB mergings, I will try not to make too any new entries.

So, the Genesis one didn't click with me anyway, tho it was beautiful. The gameplay and platofrm collision masks were not clicking.

But the SNES one, likely more so due to nostalgia and knowing the mechanics from playing this as a kid, is striking my fancy more. I was instantly taken back when I remembered how you flip off things like chests and those pegs, and how you can bounce off enemies etc. I do wish you had a sword like in the Genesis one, in fact I thought you did? But I think I mostly watched a neighbor of my babysitter play this. I don't think we owned it. But still, lots of nostalgia watching it and playing it a bit. I think any of us only made it like one level after the Cave flying magic carpet part. Let's see how I do nowadays :-p

Day 1

The Golden Scrab also brought back nostalgia

But I dont think it's just the nostalgia keeping me. Tho it's getting a bit repetitive in my 3rd "level" or is it 4th in the same setting/place. I just wanna get to the Magic Carpet segment before bed time. Anyway, I think it's also the mechanics and level design, even if I hadn't already known these levels frmo childhood.I loved incidentally bouncing off 2 enemies then a jar, all in a row. I am happy there is a run feature too

Oh I must be on the first boss. Oh wow yep that was teh first boss. I remember this Stage Cleared screen so well and how the passwords worked! So yea we didn't own this because I remember writing down the password so I could start at the last level I had started.

Yep we all were right to consider that magic carpet ride level hard indeed. However I did get through it. Wow! I don't think I've ever seen this Genie level so no one ever did get past that magic carpet ride wow. It's actually quite fun and I wanted to keep playing it even tho it's bedtime. That's always a good sign. Platformers have definitely been coming through in late 93!

Day 2

I like this Genie level, the colors and seting are fresh. And I like the level design, lots of the fun elements of the platforming mix well together and you always have several options to survive in a close call, from grabbing the edge of a platform to the bouncing to the swinging. It's nice.

This is really just overall impressing me. I like the storybook cozy music during the interludes.

I should've taken a screenshot of the Genie levels ,loved the Look of those. But I also love the cheesy cozy music and dusk/nighttime Look of this seemingly no-enemies level

Ooo great music for the walk to teh Final Battle and I like that it shows the title Final Battle as you start it :-p I just fought uh what's his name? Jafar. I figured that was the final battle?

I don't like how much sprite slowdown there waas during the Jafar Snake battle, but still had fun with it

Yesss great ending cutscene music. And yesss I'm glad it wasn't just this goofy screen to end it, there is the always-needed eoither sunset or sunrise or dusk/nighttime ending and sure enough there was with great music to boot

I just realized the tune is a nice cozy videogame music version of Whole Newww Worrrrld, which I vaguely know. I need to rewatch Aladdin haha. I love that it shows you the coutn of your Red Gems at the end, so tehre's a collectible to return to the game for. Really impressive stuff. I wish the Genesis game had clicked better.

Look: 8.5/10 Epitome of the SNES era tbh

Sound: 8.5/10 Overall just good, but some standout ones and the cozy ones helped boost it

Play: 9/10 Surprised me, I thought it was gonna be like We're Back but I had a lot of fun with it. The jumping on enemies and bouncing and swinging all were well-utilized in the level designs.

Feel: 9/10Lots of nostalgia for this one

Attachment: 9/10

Overall: 8.8/10

It seems like everything is a 5 star or 3 star noawdays lol never 4 stars.

Completion: Main Story

Playtime: ~1h 10m

Following the 1992 movie's success, Aladdin for the SNES was released in 1993 by Capcom. The only 'weapons' at your disposal are apples, which you can throw at enemies to stun them temporarily. Otherwise, the only way to defeat your enemies is to jump on top of them Mario-style. Each of the game's levels are designed to offer you a host of platforming challenges. There are small platforms all around you that you can jump to, and these are usually accompanied by a whole host of chasms, spikes or enemies that want to hurt you.

A couple of the levels abandon the standard run-and-jump mechanic and have you riding the magic carpet. One of these levels is a leisurely stroll through a land filled with diamonds accompanied by great music. The game offers a reasonable level of challenge that experienced platform gamers will be able to overcome in a few tries. To make things even easier though, the game offers a password system that allows you to start the game at different stages.

Aladdin is a strong platformer with tight controls, great graphics and fantastic level design. The art style is colorful, and the action is nicely complemented by the soundtrack, which is basically SNES versions of the OST from the movie. If you're a fan of Aladdin, platformers or SNES games, give this one a go.

This is a charming and colorful platformer, one of the many Disney titles developed by Capcom at the time, and the first of them that I played in the SNES platform. Unlike its Sega Genesis counterpart, this version focuses more on agility and puzzle-like platforming than combat. Aladdin runs, jumps, and dodges through beautifully animated levels inspired by the film. The tight controls, whimsical music, and faithful art direction make it a standout SNES title, especially for younger audiences.

While it’s a bit easier than other platformers of the era, its polish and personality shine through, it is still a magical experience, if not the most challenging. Though it certainly has some challenging sections, it is not really as hard as other games that inspired it, even ones that were also developed by Capcom at the time.

Another highlightings are the pacing and level variety, each stage introduces small twists, moving platforms, escape sequences, or vertical climbs, that keep the experience fresh without feeling overwhelming. The environments transition smoothly from bustling marketplaces to caves, and while the structure remains straightforward, it never feels monotonous. This careful balance makes the game approachable, encouraging experimentation and replay without frustration.

Overall, this game stands as a great example of how licensed games could still be crafted with care and respect for the source material. It may not push the limits of difficulty or innovation, but its charm, accessibility, and polish leave a lasting impression. Whether revisiting it for nostalgia or discovering it for the first time, it remains a delightful platforming experience done right.