Having Aladdin swing, jump, and parachute around different stages offer more ways to navigate the world and play, whereas the Genesis game was relatively flat, and slashing your way through baddies with a scimitar like the Prince of Persia just didn’t feel very Aladdin-like. Its focus on acrobatics rather than weaponized combat fits better and offers a better flow than the Genesis version. From personal experience, I can say that the platforming for both. It was a very good game, but the Super Nintendo version wins out. And few were good-er than the Aladdin and Lion King games released on SNES and Genesis. The Genesis version of Aladdin was no slouch, selling 1.6 million copies worldwide to make it one of the highest-selling Genesis games ever (and far outselling the SNES version). But the Super Nintendo’s sprite-based animations aren’t terrible either – they’re just the standard types of 16-bit pixel models you would see in any Super Nintendo game that wasn’t Star Fox – and, perhaps as a result of the lower technical demands, the game felt more responsive. Those animations in the Genesis version were something to behold though, capturing the aesthetic of Aladdin remarkably, and making it one of the best-looking games of its time. Some fights with certain enemies can go on for a long time as they will constantly deflect your sword swipes, and force you to throw apples – which play a huge role later in the game and should not be thrown freely.
The combat in the Genesis version feels a bit jarring and honestly out of character for Aladdin, as he’s a character who is built more around agility and being athletic, not as a swordfighter or skilled warrior. The Genesis version relied more on combat, giving Aladdin the use of a sword during the entire duration of the game, as well as the ability to collect and throw apples. Outside of aesthetics, each adaptation’s gameplay had a different focus. After the animations were drawn, they were sent over to Virgin Interactive’s California studio to be digitized.
The Genesis version utilized and included the skills of Disney animators which made the game the first ever to use hand-drawn animations. Play Disney's Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge (PlayStation) for free in your browser.
Jafar: Don't get too excited sister! Beware of Aladdin and his infernal genie. But once I obtain these artifacts, then you will be able to live again and the world will be ours for the taking! Ha ha ha ha ha! Nasira: Indeed I have Jafar, according to an ancient legend, there is a spell of restoration that can breed precious life back into a long dead soul, because of the spells power, artifacts necessary to cast it were banished to the far reaches of the desert. Have you discovered when you'll bring me back to Agrabah. I have been waiting in this dreadful place far too long. Summon Jafar from the darkest depths and bring him here! Nasira: Spirits of darkness, hear my call, on this fateful night, I command the powers of evil to pop the sands of time and make a vision clear.