As influential as Disney has been on the realm of pop culture, their impact on video gaming—particularly as of late—has been minimal. That said, there are multiple titles and entries in the realm of entertainment that take cues from Disney. For many, video games can open a portal to a magical world, and what's more magical than Disney?
While Disney has their own brand of games, dozens of developers have been influenced by their animated antics and cartoon characters. From arcade classics to console mainstays, there are plenty of games that carry a certain familiar charm.
Sonic The Hedgehog
It might sound like a stretch at first, but let's look at the basic elements of the Blue Blur's original title. It's an adventure game starring a host of cuddly animals with one doing battle against an over-the-top dastardly villain, all set to a soundtrack of catchy tunes. Sound familiar?
Not only that but Sonic and his chums bear a significant resemblance to Mickey and friends with their white gloves and cartoony forms. Clearly, the character designers took a few notes from the master mouse himself.
Donkey Kong Country
Speaking of characters with a cartoony flavor, how can that not be said about Donkey Kong and the rest of his primate pals? For further proof, consider the plot of the original SNES titles.
A pair of apes looking to steal their bananas back from a comically overweight crocodile has Saturday-morning-cartoon written all over it. Also, King K Rool definitely shares more than a few disguises and schemes with Peg Leg Pete.
Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooie is a platforming classic, but the plot itself sounds like something Disney would devise for their own entry into the genre. A pair of anthropomorphic animal heroes teaming up to rescue a damsel in distress from the curse of an evil witch? How many animated adventures share similarities to that?
Once again, character design is also called into question. Where just about everything bounces, stretches, and squashes like a classic Disney cartoon, how can you not picture characters like Goofy and Donald fitting right in?
Star Fox
If Disney's Robin Hood were set in outer space, the result would undoubtedly be Star Fox. Seriously, how can someone look at the pilots and not think of the residents from Sherwood Forest? Maybe foxes are just a popular protagonist choice.
That being said, Fox McCloud and Robin Hood both share similar vocations, but heavy differences in weaponry. One's a mercenary starfighter, one's a bandit who does his deeds on behalf of the poor. It's all a matter of timeline.
The Legend of Zelda
A bit on-the-nose, but there's no way this series isn't getting a mention; Link and Peter Pan have been compared and contrasted for years, but the evidence is as clear as a sunny day in Hyrule.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the games, even admitted to being directly inspired by Disney's Peter Pan when developing the original title. A pointy-eared hero dressed in green tights who never grows up and hangs out with fairies? Say no more.
Dragon’s Crown
When one of the characters is literally "Rickey the Magician's Apprentice," someone somewhere has to take notice. Dragon's Crown is a beautiful RPG, largely thanks to Vanillaware's gorgeous art style, but, to say they didn't take a generous portion of inspiration from the works of Walt Disney is an outright lie.
Aside from Rickey, there are references to Maleficent, Ariel, Aladdin's Genie, and even the likes of Chernobog and Tinkerbell, just to name a few.
Bioshock Infinite
This one is definitely an honorable mention; it's kind of hard to imagine Disney developing a violent, horror-themed FPS game, but there are certainly more than enough Disney-inspired odds and ends to make it count. Honestly, how can you not look at Elizabeth and not think of Belle?
Not only that, but there are easter eggs referencing the Disney Parks, as well. Colombia has its own Hall of Presidents in the form of the Hall of Heroes, and the Burial At Sea expansion has its twisted take on the "Partners" statue featuring Andrew Ryan.
Rayman
There's literally an entire world obviously inspired by the Music Land Silly Symphony. There's no way Rayman's designers didn't at least take a few notes from Disney. A white-glove-wearing cartoony hero on a journey to rescue cute creatures captured by a villain in a black cape?
It has all the trademarks of both Disney's classic cartoons and their Saturday morning contributions, but it definitely does it in a loving and fun-loving way.
Bendy And The Ink Machine
On the other end of the spectrum, there's Bendy and the Ink Machine. Granted, Disney and survival-horror aren't exactly two elements that sound like they would ever get along together, but this dose of cartoon carnage from TheMeaty Games really knows what it's doing.
Character designs alone would get it a mention, but the number of materials referencing Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse, and other odds and ends of the company practically saturate the game. Welcome to the Ink and Paint Club.
Cuphead
Was there ever any doubt this game wouldn't take top billing? True, Cuphead owes a lot to Fleischer Studios for its design and motifs, but it owes just as much to Disney for many of its choices in characters, designs, music, and world-building.
If Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks themselves designed a video game, this would be it. MDHR Studios created a veritable love letter to the art of classic animation, and their dedication and love for the medium are blatantly clear.