RGB Plays - March 2018: Aladdin (SNES/Genesis)

Is it just me or the escape from the caves has a difficulty spike? It was more or less a stroll through the levels, and all of a sudden insta-deaths traps and trick jumps over pits everywhere.

Is being PAL optimised a bad thing?

On the Megadrive, it is.

Most of the time, only the music tempo is optimised, meaning the gameplay is still tied to the framerate, and the picture is vertically crunched. Aladdin is like that.

When it’s done “better”, the gameplay is at the correct speed, but the picture aspect ratio can’t be modified. Usually coloured borders are added. Sonic Spinball iirc has the correct speed.

But most importantly, these modifications mean that the game cannot be played at 60Hz any more. The music would be played too fast, the gameplay could be too fast too, and sometimes the sync is messed up and you get a rolling garbled picture on the TV. To prevent users from seeing these nasty effects, the cartridge is usually region-locked.

Rarely, the optimisation is done “well”. Not that the PAL experience is the same as NTSC, but at least switching back to 60Hz before powering up the console cancels the optimisations. Sonic 2 does that, but don’t switch during gameplay or the music will be off.

Thankfully, there are plenty of games that weren’t optimised. Using a switch and buying the cheap local PAL cartridge means we can still play the games as they were designed. Unlike on the PS1 where you need to import your collection if you want 60Hz.

But not everything PAL is terrible. PAL-exclusive games are meant to be used with 50Hz and 288 lines and work great!

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I played the first few stages of the SNES game and it’s alright

The way Aladdin jumps on things takes some getting used to but once you figure out the feel the game starts to move along. The game hasn’t grabbed me yet but I also don’t really care for Disney stuff. What’s the purpose of finding all the crystals, is it worth it?

Escape was a huge difficulty spike on Genesis / Mega Drive. By far the hardest level for me.

When I revisit the game, this is where I stop. I’ll try to push through this month. Also, I have the Game Gear version so I’ll give that a fair shake this time as well

I played through the Game Gear game for the first time a few days ago. It’s bite sized but fun. The rooftop levels are pretty neat, and the inclusion of Jasmine is a plus. She is a surprising afterthought in the Genesis game given the character’s popularity at the time.

LOL that magic carpet section in the SNES version can suck it. Forcing you to play at the edge of the screen while you learn the pattern is horse shit!

It’s weird. I’ve watched some GDQ speedruns of Aladdin SNES, and every time that section comes up the runner and couch comment on how crazy hard it is…and I’m just like…Uhhhh I was beating that level as a little kid easy, and I’m mediocre at video games :confused:

Gotta agree with New002 here. My wife played SNES Aladdin way more than me as a kid, so when we sat down a couple years ago to play it, she was hyping up how hard the magic carpet stage was and how many times she died on it.

I beat the level on my first attempt.

To be fair, I think it’s all the practice I have with the Turbo Tunnel in Battletoads that allowed me to get past it so easily.

Played some on the Genesis today. Made it to the escape level before I ran out of continues. I didn’t realize that wishes=continues. Should have purchased more wishes.

So far, the animation is still great, but the gameplay isn’t as good as I remember.

I think my problem here is I just don’t care for the game so I have 0 desire to “git gud” at the stage.

Wait wait wait…

Don’t care for Aladdin but campaigned against Gauntlet Legends!?

Noooooooo

Finished Aladdin on the Genesis last night. Overall, it’s still a great game. Apart from the escape level and the final boss, the game was relatively easy.

I think I prefer the Game Gear version, which does a way better job of retelling the story from the movie. Also, as @BlStinger mentioned, the GG one features Jasmine and the genie way more. Genesis did have that Genie stage though, which was pretty cool.

Now I need to track down a copy of Aladdin for the SNES.

Finished the game last weekend on SNES. It was actually really fun! Very short though… I think it took maybe 2 hours at most.

I didn’t have any issues with the flying section with the lava. I think it took 2-3 tries at most.

Finally set some time a side to play Aladdin. So much free time, that I went through both games back to back.

Gameplay wise the SNES game is far superior in the sense that it works. At no point does it feel like I have no control over Aladdin unlike the Genesis version, which feels fast and slippery. I’ve gotten hit or have fallen to my death because of it.

Bonus game is much more entertaining watching the wheel spin instead of whats on the Genesis, which always seems to land on Jafar.

Surprisingly, I died only once in the Cave of Wonders escape level, SNES. But once I found a sweet spot right in front of where the lava crashes down, I was good. If you stay in the spot all you need to do is worry about going up or down. Genesis version was really easy as well. It moves fast put your directed up or down and theres no threat of crashing into the lava or the ceiling. Wasn’t of fan of losing the sheet to glide in the air, if you loose all of your lives and use a continue. Not much of a big deal in the early levels, but it is needed later on to make longer jumps easier. End boss was pretty easy and didn’t really give me any trouble at all.

Genesis version looks real good, but its kind of a frustrating pain in the ass. Hit detection seems off, which makes melee combat a pain. The exploding skeletons in the Sultons Dungeon are almost impossible to avoid when the explode. If you move to where they are off screen they just respawn. Abu bonus levels are way harder than they should be. No password system in place, although at least there are multiple difficulty settings unlike the SNES version. End boss was slightly harder but doable with patience.

As a Sega fan fan it hurts my should to say the SNES version is better, even though i prefer the sound, music, graphics, and attention to details in the Genesis version.

Genesis end cutscene is also BS. Doesn’t show Aladdin freeing the genie. Although it does have a makeout scene

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Alright folks, here comes the Sega Genesis Aladdin Defence Force… I finally got time to play through this gem yesterday! Some observations:

There is some great easter eggs hidden in the background graphics. The Sultan’s Dungeon stage features a Pirates of the Caribbean dog complete with key, and Sebastian from the Little Mermaid shackled to the wall. The “Inside the Lamp” (aka Never had a Friend Like Me) stage has a model 1 Genesis and CRT in the background!

The controls are pretty floaty, I’ll agree with that criticism. But there’s never any part where I felt Aladdin wasn’t out of control. The first few levels are pretty easy, so there’s plenty of time to get a feel for the movement. However, things start to get a little tricky once you get to the Cave of Wonders. And then you get to “The Escape”…


(Note the junk tiles at the bottom of the screen that would’ve been hidden by overscan back in the day!)

This level is the hardest part of the game. Tons of tough platforming where any fall results in instant death. Indiana Jones-esque sections where you have to outrun balls of magma, which will also kill you instantly. And right at the end, you have a bunch of small platforms which sink into lava when you step on them, plus lava spurts between them that you have to time just right. I think I died about 2 times in total before and after this stage, and about 10 times during this stage.

When you finally get to the end to fight Jafar, he’s pretty simple. His second form, showing you “just how sssssssnake like he can be” is also easy once you find the pattern: I was able to beat him on my first go around taking only a few hits.


David Perry gets first billing.

The game looks and sounds gorgeous, and the level variety is pretty impressive. There’s a number of stages, and only one shares a tileset with a previous stage, everything else is new. Haters gonna hate, but I find this game way more engaging than the SNES version, just because it stands out as being something unique, whereas I find the Capcom game a good, but generic platformer. Come at me, RGB-Bros.

@blastprocessed, your screenshot of the credits is pretty interesting, I love that there’s a credit for their showing at CES. I remember reading somewhere that the game blew people away when it was shown at CES… There certainly was a ton of hype when the game launched, I remember.

FINALLY: Our APRIL GAME THREAD is now open! Nominations open until April 3, so get in there!

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haha I’m not a hater, I just feel Aladdin controls better in the SNES version. He just felt very slippery to me. The levels were pretty good and were faithful to the movie, unlike the SNES version where Abu fell of the carpet and into a pyramid. Also, where is Aladdins idle animation in the SNES version? Seemed everyone had an animation back then.

I…I never thought I’d see this from you!

I couldn’t get into either version but I’m glad I gave them a shot. The MD music shits all over the SNES as usual but the SNES version does “feel” better to play.

I know I didn’t think so either. Maybe I should take my temperature and lol at that tag

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