Disney is bringing two classic games from the 16-bit era to modern systems, as both Disney's Aladdin and The Lion King are being remastered for consoles. Disney's Aladdin was released for both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo in 1993, while The Lion King was released for the same systems in 1994 and both were praised for their amazing graphics that emulated the look of the films to a degree that hadn't been seen in a console game before.
Disney's Aladdin and The Lion King were adapted to other systems, such as the Amiga and Sega Game Gear, but the 16-bit versions are the most famous and are some of the best-selling games on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. The games are also remembered for unusual reasons, as Disney's Aladdin was a rare case of the Sega Genesis version of the game being superior to the Super Nintendo version in terms of quality, while The Lion King is infamous for its brutal difficulty.
It seems that Disney wants to scar an entirely new generation of gamers with the harsh difficulty of the 16-bit era, as both Disney's Aladdin and The Lion King are being remastered in HD and released together for the Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with a release date of fall 2019. The rumors of the remasters originally began circulating on Twitter, but they weren't confirmed until an image from Gamestop Con showing the box art for the game was sent to the GameXplain YouTube channel. There has now been an official announcement made for the game by Nighthawk Interactive, which will is now called Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King.
Disney Classics: Aladdin and The Lion King is being developed by Digital Eclipse and it will feature the Game Boy, Super Game Boy, and Sega Genesis versions of both games, along with the Super Nintendo version of The Lion King. The Super Nintendo version of Aladdin is likely missing due to how it was developed by Capcom. The games will include new features, such as a Watch Mode that lets players skip to any part of the game, a rewind feature, a museum mode full of behind-the-scenes content, and a playable version of the trade show demo of Disney's Aladdin.
It should come as no surprise that Disney would want to choose these two specific games to be remastered, as Aladdin and The Lion King helped Disney to win the summer 2019 blockbuster season. Aladdin has made over one billion dollars, while The Lion King has become Disney's highest-grossing non-Marvel/Star Wars movie of all time. The Goof Troop Super Nintendo game doesn't have quite the same drawing power at the box office to justify a remaster of its own. Disney's Aladdin and The Lion King were some of the best Disney video games of all time and it would seem like an easy decision to bring them back for a whole new generation of gamers who have enjoyed the new live-action movies.
Source: GameXplain, Nighthawk Interactive