The Little Mermaid

"Water <b>YOU</b> lookin' at?"

Say it with me, because you know it's true:

Disney movie-to-game conversions all suck!

Mostly these days that is true of not only Disney flicks but any movie. You can't expect a game based on a summer blockbuster or animated film to have any kind of inspiration or 'zazz behind it. Sadly, I speak the truth, and many of you know it. But there was a time when this wasn't always necessarily the way it was. The Little Mermaid, one of the best ports hands down, is simple, easy to learn, and easy to beat. Yet, there's something about it that makes this a fun experience. Perhaps it is the perfect blend of those three aspects that makes The Little Mermaid not just your average average platformer. (Did that make sense? It did in my head.)

Everybody has seen The Little Mermaid, I'm guessing. It's one of the Disney greats - the film that pulled The House That Walt Built out of its kids-only drought and started a renaissance of animated flicks that had something for both parents and tykes alike. The heroine, Ariel, longs for life on land and one day commits a major no-no: she goes to the surface of the water and lays eyes on the prince Eric. Immediately stricken by Cupid's arrow but bound to the sea by her father, the king of all aquatic creatures, she makes a pact with the devilishly sultry sea witch Ursula wherein she trades her voice for legs and must fall in love with Eric and kiss him in two days - otherwise she loses her legs and doesn't get her voice back. A tight spot, no? The NES game veers away from the lower appendage part of the plot. You spend all your time underwater encasing enemies in bubbles, which can then be used for a number of things, such as opening treasure chests, hitting larger opponents like bosses, or sending them up to the surface, where they die upon contact with fresh air. It's monotonous on paper, but if you play, I promise it's strangely addicting - there are even a few minor secrets to be found.

Ariel's only form of defense, like I said, is bubbles that come from her tail (tee-hee). They start out weak at first and can travel about the same distance as a dog with one leg. However, as you find Power and Range balls, which are violet-red and sickly green respectively, your bubbles will be bigger and have a little more kick, and will be able to go farther. Considering how tough it is to die, that makes this a rather easy game. Five levels will be a yawn to anyone who is overly familiar with platform games like this one, but like I have said twice already: it is so irresistibly fun, but nobody knows the secret ingredient. It's a bit like McDonald's Secret Sauce. However, I've been told that all that is is Thousand Island dressing, mayonnaise, and dog urine. Then again, I may need to check back with my sources on that.

The control scheme is very rigid for a character who should be a free-floating fishy woman. Even some diagonal movement would have recreated this as accurately as it could have on Nintendo, but as it is, you're only restricted to the four basic D-pad directions. In that regard, the strict movement you do have is pretty slow. It makes it hard to get out of the way of enemies who, compared to you, could run (swim?) the Boston Marathon in three minutes. None of the control is particularly great in any respect, but it gets you to where you have in mind with little fuss. The main problem is that it is too slow and not functional enough for practical travel.

Music for this game sounds like it could have come straight off the original score, barring the transition from orchestra to synthesizer. There is nice, charming reggae beats within most of the levels, and the boss music is stuff you'd normally hear in a Disney movie whenever an Intrepid Main Character faces off against their Unruly Power-Mad Opponent. It made a good transference over to the NES. Sound effects have a similarly upbeat style, but it's just that and the sound of enemies dying that you'll be hearing along with the songs of each level. The bouncy reggae themes are fun to listen to for longer than most grating Nintendo music, but the sound effects are a bit lacking. This is forgivable, because this game has a mystic hold over me and I simply cannot explain why it is as entertaining as it is. It should not be, but it is.

I have a friend who is also still awake at this late hour (3:00 a.m. Central Standard Time) who would slay me if he knew I was writing this. He hates Disney and everything related to it, and it's admittedly an extremely prevalent part of our culture these days. That does not stop me from liking this game though, and probably never will. It should be admired by all; this game is a testament to the time when developers could get it right. It's not hard and it's not deep (except under the ocean). It's pure fun, plain and simple. More games should be simply fun instead of being out to prove something, as I believe most are.

Waves
--Just plain fun
--I never talked about them, but the graphics represent the movie well
--Catchy tunes

Flounders
--Control is too rigid
--Too easy for the hardcore gamer
--Will detract non-fans of Disney

Score: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/09/02, Updated 06/09/02