About this game
Disney's Aladdin (1993) for Mega Drive is the landmark example of Disney's direct animation partnership with game developers — Virgin Games was given access to thousands of frames of original Disney animation cels to digitize, producing character movement that no other 1993 platformer could match. Composer Tommy Tallarico and arranger Donald Griffin reconstructed the film's Alan Menken score with remarkable fidelity for 16-bit hardware. The result was one of the best-selling Mega Drive games, and a benchmark for licensed game quality.
Key Features
Character animation sourced directly from Disney studio animators — over a thousand original frames were created specifically for the game. Aladdin uses a sword and a supply of apples as weapons, giving the game a more action-oriented feel than its SNES counterpart (which had no sword). Stages follow the film's key locations: the marketplace, the Cave of Wonders, Jafar's palace. The soundtrack faithfully adapts the film's songs and score using the Mega Drive's sound chip.
The Story Behind
The Mega Drive version of Aladdin was developed simultaneously with and independently from the Super Nintendo version (made by Capcom), and the two games are significantly different in design, style, and feel. Disney gave Virgin Games unprecedented access to animation resources specifically because Virgin's digitization technology was considered superior. The game was developed in approximately six months by a nine-person team to coincide with the film's 1993 VHS release — a tight production window that made the result even more impressive.
Tricks & Tales
The Mega Drive Aladdin and the SNES Aladdin are entirely different games — different developers, different mechanics, different level layouts. They were released in the same month. The debate over which version is better is a persistent piece of 16-bit console war history. Tommy Tallarico, who supervised the Mega Drive music, would go on to become one of gaming's most recognizable music personalities.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Released in North America (October 1993), Europe (October 1993), and Japan (November 1993). All versions are functionally identical. Note: this is the Mega Drive/Genesis version developed by Virgin Games, distinct from the SNES version developed by Capcom.
Maintenance Tips
Standard Mega Drive cartridge care. Clean the edge connector with isopropyl alcohol. No battery save.
Available in our shop
Hand-cleaned and tested units shipped worldwide from Toyohashi, Japan. HP direct purchase exclusive: we include a printed shop owner's note card with every order.
Direct purchase supports this museum directly. eBay Top Rated Seller · 1,750+ reviews · 100% positive feedback.
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