Ahh, The Lion King. One of the best movies of all time, the 1994 game for the Sega Genesis is also one of the best licensed games based on a movie or TV show of all time. As a kid, it was one of the most inventive 2D platformers I ever played, and I played it for years and years without it ever getting old. Well, that Genesis game was eventually ported to all sorts of consoles, including the GameBoy, but most relevantly it was ported to the PC. Most importantly, you can buy it from GOG right now, and while it usually costs $9.99, at the time of this writing it’s on sale for $6.99.
The Lion King Game
First of all, the game itself is an excellent, challenging platformer that should even entertain kids nowadays, no matter how dated the graphics are by now. The game involves all sorts of interaction with animals, including an iconic level where you have to get thrown around by tree monkeys in the correct order to move on. The platforming action is fast paced with low margin for error, but overall it’s just a really cute and fun game for all ages. Most importantly, it perfectly captures the look and feel of the original movie, graphical limitations be damned.
GOG
If you don’t know about GOG (formerly Good Old Games), it’s an online store for video games whose main selling point is a complete lack of DRM. When you buy a game from GOG, you can download it as many times as you want on as many computers as you want. You can also just head over to your GOG library at any time and redownload any of your games whenever you want, no hassle. They have a Steam-like platform called GOG Galaxy which you can use to manage your games and downloads if you want, but it’s 100% optional. Finally, every game has a 30-day money back guarantee. It’s not like Steam, though, because you can only get your money back for “technical issues or game-breaking bugs that prevent you from finishing your game”. Still, 30 days is a lot of security.
Other Disney Deals
While you can get Lion King on sale by itself for $6.99, you can get it for $4.99 if you buy it in a bundle with Disney’s Aladdin and Disney’s The Jungle Book, which will also both cost you $4.99 for a total of $14.97 (with an original cost of $10 for each game, so $30 for the bundle). If you loved playing Disney games like these as a kid, this is the perfect time to get back into them or show them to your own kids. Happy retro gaming!
