Classic SNES-era platformers, Aladdin and the Lion King are set to see new, HD remasters released on modern consoles, bringing their iconic gameplay to PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, before the end of the year. These releases will uprate the graphics to make them prettier and clearer than ever — especially on modern day TVs — and will introduce additional quality of life features to make them a little more accessible for modern gaming habits.
The SNES and Genesis console wars in the early-90s were fuelled by very different games than are most popular today. Platformers were the most prolific and some of the most popular of the era and two of the better ones to come out of it were, surprisingly, movie tie-in games: Aladdin and the Lion King. These games let you play through elaborately crafted levels with jumping puzzles and basic combat against generic enemies, while also spicing things up with minigames and thematic moments from the movies. There were even a few animated cut-scenes thrown in the mix.
All of that will be playable in the new versions of the games, with better graphics than before and new options for level selects to let players have fun with whichever portion of the game they want. In an interesting turn, the developers will also include an automated-play function, which will let an AI take over to show you how to complete a stage, should you become stuck.
These aren't particularly difficult games, so it's not something we expect many people to use, but it's an interesting addition nonetheless.
Both games will come bundled together in a combined Disney Classics package launching this October.