The Lion King

n/a

Mega Drive Master System Game Gear
The Lion King
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Virgin Interactive Entertainment Sega Ballistic (US re-release) Majesco Sales (US re-release)
Developer: Disney Software Westwood Studios Syrox Developments
Supporting companies: Krisalis Software (audio)
Distributor: Majesco Sales (US re-release)
Licensor: The Walt Disney Company
Sound driver: Krisalis sound driver
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control Pad
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1994-12-09 ¥7,8007,800 T-70083 US 1994-11 T-70316 EU 1994 T-70316-50 DE 1994 T-70316-18 ES 1994 T-70316-06 FR 1994 T-70316-09 PT 1994 MD70316 UK 1994-11 £44.9944.99 T-70316-05 FI 199x SE (Rental) 199x IT 1994 T-70316-13 CZ 199x AU 1994-11 $99.9599.95 FLIO00SMC AU (Platinum) 199x FLIO00SMC KR 199x GM95006JT AS 199x EU 1994-12 MK-27081-50 DE 1994 MK-27081-18 ES 1994 MK-27081-06 FR 1994 MK-27081-09 PT 1994 MS27081 PT (Purple) 1996 5,990$5,990 UK 1994 £32.9932.99 MK-27081-05 IT 1994 MK-27081-13 AU 1994-11 $79.9579.95 FLIO00SEC BR 1994 028450 JP 1995-01-13 ¥3,8003,800 G-3363 US 1994-11 2549 US (Majesco) 2001 $14.9714.97 1205 US (Console bundle) 199x 2153 EU 1994 T-70158-05 DE 1994 T-70158-18 DE (Console bundle) 199x ES 1994 T-70158-06 ES (Console bundle) 199x FR 1994 T-70158-09 FR (Console bundle) 199x PT 1994 GGJ2549 UK 1994 £29.9929.99 T-70158-05 UK (Console bundle) 199x IT 1994 T-70158-13 BR 199x 077200
Non-Sega versions Amiga (AGA) Game Boy IBM PC Nintendo Entertainment System Super NES Windows PC
ESRB VRC Sega ELSPA OFLC

The Lion King (ライオンキング) is a platform game developed by Westwood Studios, Virgin Interactive, and Dark Technologies, and published by Virgin Interactive, Walt Disney Computer Software, and Sega for the Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, and several other consoles.

It is based on the 1994 Disney film of the same name and follows a similar story. Due to this, it was one of the first games that featured a protagonist that gets older during the game's progress. The gameplay also changes from mainly platforming to a more action oriented approach.

Although intended for children, the game was often criticized for its difficulty even with easier settings. Despite the difficulty, it was rated positively by reviewers and gamers alike.

Story

Simba, a young lion, is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands. However, after Simba's paternal uncle Scar murders Mufasa to seize the throne, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. Simba must return to the Pride Lands and challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King.

Gameplay

Mega Drive version

The game is a platformer in which the player guides Simba through a series of stages representing scenes from the movie. Simba moves with and and jumps with . He automatically grabs ledges and pulls himself up them, and he can grab protruding rocks, bones, and other hooks and swing from them. He roars with . He has a roar meter that expends when he roars. When the meter is full, his roar damages enemies, but otherwise, it stuns them. The roar gauge replenishes when it is not used but empties when Simba takes damage. Simba defeats enemies by jumping on top of them. Some enemies (such as porcupines) hurt Simba if he jumps on them, but they can be flipped over by roaring at them. Simba can also perform a short rolling attack by pressing or while running, which can be used to attack enemies and to traverse certain obstacles.

Simba grows into an adult lion in the stage Simba's Destiny, which makes him lose the ability to roll but gives other extra abilities. Simba can now perform a slash attack with . He mauls an enemy by jumping on it and quickly tapping . He can also flip enemies by pressing and then in quick succession. If a Six Button Control Pad is connected, he can flip enemies with , , or .

Simba has a health meter that goes down as he takes damage from enemies or hazards. He loses a chance when he loses all of his health. The game ends if he runs out of chances but can be continued as long as the player has continues remaining.

The game has three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Difficult).

Items

	Plain Beetle
	Restores half of Simba's health.
	Patterned Beetle
	Restores all of Simba's health.
	African Red Beetle
	Extends Simba's maximum health.
	Blue Beetle
	Extends Simba's roar gauge.
	Bombardier Beetle
	Causes a small amount damage to Simba. Also ends bonus levels.
	Dragonfly
	Causes moderate damage to Simba. Also ends bonus levels.
	Spider
	Causes a large amount of damage to Simba. Also ends bonus levels.
	Fly
	Makes Simba lose the ability to roar for a short time. Also ends bonus levels.
	Continue Marker
	Checkpoint where Simba is revived after losing a chance.
	1 Up
	Awards an extra chance, up to a maximum of 9.
	Circle of Life
	Awards a continue.

Levels

	The Pridelands
	Can't Wait to be King
	The second level in The Lion King is one of the hardest the game has to offer, specifically designed to appease management at Disney who wanted a longer game. This call came too late in development for the team to add new levels, so this stage saw its difficulty increase significantly, meaning it would take longer to complete. The reasoning is thought to be behind Disney's approach to the rental market. Disney had set specific metrics regarding how far an average player should have progressed in a set period of time; if a game was too easy, the user would be less likely to buy the full retail product.
	The Elephant Graveyard
	The Stampede
	Simba's Exile
	Hakuna Matata
	Simba's Destiny
	Simba's return to the Pridelands was cut from the final draft of the film. However, as the game was made in conjunction with the script, these levels were produced before the decision was made. Reportedly, Virgin Games had to fight to keep them in the final product, as Disney wanted the game to be as true to the film as possible.
	Be Prepared
	Simba's Return
	Pride Rock

Bonus levels

After each level, the player is given the opportunity to play a bonus mini-game featuring Timon and Pumbaa to earn bonus items. There are two types of bonus levels to play, which alternate between levels:

	Bug Toss
	The player controls Pumbaa, who must catch the bugs dropped by Timon. He moves with or . If Pumbaa eats a bad bug or lets a good bug or special item fall to the ground, the level ends. If the player is in a pinch, Pumbaa can belch with , which clears all on-screen bugs, though this can only be done once per bonus level.
	Bug Hunt
	The player controls Timon, who must navigate a short platforming level to collect as many good bugs and special items as possible while avoiding the bad bugs. Timon can move with or and jump with . Running out of time or collecting a bad bug ends the bonus level.

Master System and Game Gear versions

The game is a platformer where the player controls Simba, initially as a lion cub and later as an adult. Simba moves with and and jumps with . Simba defeats enemies by jumping on top of them. He automatically pulls himself up ledges and grabs protruding rocks to swing from them. He roars with , which initially stuns enemies but can be upgraded to damage them. Young Simba can also perform a short rolling attack by pressing or while running. Adult Simba loses his ability to roll but can slash at enemies by holding the D-Pad in a direction while pressing or by pressing in midair.

Simba's health is depicted by three "Circles of Life" in the corner of the screen. He loses a chance when he loses all of his health. The game ends if he runs out of chances but can be continued as long as the player has continues remaining.

The game has three difficulty levels (Cub, Lion Prince, and Lion King).

Items

	Cricket
	Increases the power of Simba's roar.
	Rhinoceros Beetle
	Increases the strength of Simba's slashes temporarily.
	Firefly
	Makes Simba invincible temporarily.
	Lady Bug or Fly
	Restores Simba's health by a quarter of a Circle of Life.
	Butterfly
	Completely restores Simba's health.
	Diamond
	Collect to play the bonus level after completing the current level.
	Continue Marker
	Checkpoint where Simba is revived after losing a chance.
	Simba
	Awards an extra chance, up to a maximum of 9.
	Circle of Life
	Awards a continue.

Levels

	The Pridelands
	Map: 1️⃣
	The Mane Event
	Map: 1️⃣
	Elephant Graveyard
	Map: 1️⃣
	The Stampede
	Map: 1️⃣
	The Game Gear and Master System versions present this stage from a side-on perspective.
	Exile
	Map: 1️⃣
	Hakuna Matata
	Map: 1️⃣
	Simba's Destiny
	Map: 1️⃣
	Be Prepared
	Map: 1️⃣
	Hyena Lairs
	Map: 1️⃣
	Return to Pride Rock
	Map: 1️⃣
	The Master System and Game Gear versions scrap most of this stage, only including the end fight with Scar.

Bonus level

Bonus level

Finding a Diamond item unlocks a bonus level after completing the current level. In it, the player controls Pumbaa and tries to catch as many melon seeds as possible as they fall all around him while avoiding bugs. Pumbaa moves with and . The player earns an extra chance for every 10 seeds collected, but touching a bug causes Pumbaa to lose seeds.

History

Legacy

In 2019, The Lion King was re-released as part of Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch alongside several versions of Disney's Aladdin. The compilation includes the Mega Drive version, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System version along with its Japanese version, and the Game Boy version in monochrome and "colour" (simulating the game as if it were inserted into a Super Game Boy or a Game Boy Color).

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	The Lion King	The Lion King
Japanese	ライオンキング	Lion King
French	Le Roi Lion	The Lion King
German	Der König der Löwen	The Lion King
Spanish	El Rey León	The Lion King
Italian	Il Re Leone	The Lion King

Production credits

Mega Drive version

Westwood Studios

• Creative Director/Producer: Louis Castle
• Programming: Rob Povey, Barry Green
• Assistant Programming: Ronald Pieket-Weeserik
• Programming Support: Milo X Ballan, David "Hmmmmm" Dettmer
• Lead Designer: Seth Mendelsohn
• Assistant Designer: Erik Yeo
• Background Art: Joseph B Hewitt IV, Kevin Oxland VIE UK, Hans Piwenitzky, Rick Parks
• Animation: Cindy Chinn, David Dame, Penina Finger, Elie Arabian, Matt Hansel, Aaron Powell
• Animation Clean-Up: Doug Verhaal, Barbarajo Shillings, John Pedraja, Mike Muehlendorf, Ken Seward
• Audio Direction: Paul Mudra
• Music & Sound: Matt Furniss (Krisalis Software, Ltd.)
• Sound Driver: Krisalis Software, Ltd.
• Manual Design: Edith Laramore
• Quality Assurance Coordination: Glenn Sperry
• Quality Assurance: Kenneth Dunne, Michael Lightner, Jesse Clemit, Chris Rubyor, Brad Roberts, Troy Leonard, William Baca, John & Patrick Sweeney
• Executive Producer: Brett W Sperry
• Vice President Product Development: Christopher D Yates
• Special Thanks To: Colin Gordon-VIE UK, Dave Chapman-VIE UK, Felix Kupis, Ted Morris, Lawrence Hiler-Chip Level Designs, David O'Riva-Bitmasters, Donna, Tony, Samantha & James Castle, Linda, Jennifer & Kimberly Green

Disney Software

• Senior Producer: Patrick Gilmore
• Assistant Producer: Michael Giacchino
• Artwork: John Fiorito, Alex Schaeffer, Christina Vann, Ann-Bettina Colace
• Additional Art: Katy Adams, Thomas Ang, Tom Breeden, Kurt Dumas, Hugh Jamieson, Roddy Novarro, Rob Titus
• Art Support: Arden Ishimaru
• Storyboards/Concept Art: Erik Wiese
• Additional Music: Jeff Rona-Media Ventures, Inc.
• Software Production Admin.: C. Steve Booth
• Production Assistant: Joseph Santos
• Product Analyst: Eric Ventura, Joseph Reyes, Toby Espiritu, Julius Baldueza, Daryl David

Disney Animation Services

• Producer: Paul Curasi
• Creative/Technical Consultant: Chuck Williams
• Production Coordinator: Cammie Cavallin
• Assistant to the Producer: Annette Laguer
• Business Manager: Darrell Brown
• Production Assistant: Cyndi Sager
• Production Designer: Keith Newton
• Supervising Animator: Chris Bradley
• Animators: Anthony Michaels, Aaron Blaise, Darko cesar, Serguei Koushnerov, Rob Corley, Travis Blaise, Branko Mihanovic, Sasha Dorogov, Elliot Bour, Phil Boyd, Tim Hodge
• Assistant Animators: Merritt Andrews, Caroline Clifford, Craig Crasso
• Clean-Up Artists: arden Chan, Kevin Proctor, Anthony Stanley
• Image Processing Specialist: Pamela Darley
• Assistant Editor: Gary Blair
• Support Associate Trainee: Brent Tiano
• Special Thanks To: Roger Allers, Ruben Aquino, Clare Baren, Jeff Dixon, Don Hahn, Rob Minoff, Ruben Procopio, Bob Stanton

Virgin Interactive Entertainment

• Vice President: Neil Young
• Production Coordinators: Robb Alvey, Jeff Ziel
• Assistant Coordinators: David Fries, Jeff Buccellato
• Design Support: David Bishop, Chris Baver, Jared Brinkley, Sarah Thompson-VIE UK, Julian Rignal
• Q/A Manager: Dave Maxey
• Q/A Group Head: Chris McFarland
• Lead Analyst: Jon Williams
• Analyst: Scott Manning, Chad Soares, Stacey Mendoza, Craig McCoy, Paul Shoener, Chris Rausch
• Additional Testing: Paul Villaneuva III, Eric Reid, Josh Kales, Anthony Nicholas, Joshua Madson, Richard Chan, Jay Yi, Mark Holloway, Duane Peralta, Josh Coon, Colin Elliott, Mike Galindo, Candace Galindo

Source:

In-game credits

Master System and Game Gear versions

• Developed in the UK by: Syrox Developments
• Produced and Programmed by: Dominic Wood
• Graphic Artists: Mark Knowles, Tony West, Mickey Adams, John Green, Jim Studt, Jason Green, Kevin Watts, Andrew Cambridge, Kevin McMahon
• Music and Sound: Krisalis, Matt Furniss

Virgin Interactive Europe

• Product Producer: Ian Mathias
• Test Manager: Kevin Turner
• Testers: Tony Hinds, John Martin, Paul Welton, Simon Humber, Tony Byus, Michael Wenn, Carl Perrin, Alon Malka

Disney Software

• Sr. Producer: Patrick Gilmore
• Assistant Producer: Michael Giacchino

Sega of America

• Producer: Rhonda Van
• Assistant Producer: Erik Whaiberg
• Product Manager: Chrissie Huneke
• Test Lead: Crisi Albertson
• Assistant Leads: Kimberly Rogers, Ben Cureton
• Testers: Sam Saliba, Rachael Bristol, Jeffery Kessler, Joel Breton, Carey Camacho, Bill Person, Blair Bullock, Gregg Vogt, Todd Morgan, Don Carmichael, Maria Tuzzo, Amine Khoury, Ben Szymkowiak, Randy Kriedt, Kif Davis, Daniel Wong, Bart Larrenaga, Mark Griffin

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: The Lion King/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: The Lion King/Promotional material.

Merchandise

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Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source Consoles + (FR) 94 №37

	94
Based on 1 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 98 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 68 CD Consoles (FR) 56 Cool Gamer (RU) 90 Computer & Video Games (UK) 79 Computer + Video Giochi (IT) 79 Digitiser (UK) PAL 81 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 100 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 80 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 90 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 2 (RU) 70 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 58 Freak (IL) 87 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 94 Game Players (US) 94 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 88 Gamers (DE) PAL 27 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 90 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 87 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 86 Igry Sega Luchshiye iz luchshikh. Vypusk 1 (RU) 80 Joypad (FR) PAL 93 LeveL (CZ) 85 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 81 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 82 Megazin (SI) 88 Micro Kid's Multimédia (FR) 75 Magazina Igrushek (RU) 75 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 87 Novaya Real'nost' (RU) Bootleg 73 Player One (FR) 95 Play Time (DE) PAL 84 Power Up! (UK) 86 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 65 Sega Magazin (DE) 88 Sega Power (UK) PAL 79 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 Sega Force (SE) 80 Sega Mega Drive Review (RU) 84 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 64 Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL 90 Todo Sega (ES) 95 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 90 VideoGames (US) 70

	81
Based on 44 reviews

The Lion King

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual Poster PCB

Mega Drive, US (Cardboard) (Majesco Sales)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, UK
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, UK (alt)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, FR
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, FR (Blister pack)
Cover

Mega Drive, FR (Blister pack; blue)
Cover

Mega Drive, DE
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, ES
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, IT
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, PT (alt)
Cover

Mega Drive, SE rental (SF)
Cover

Mega Drive, FI
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, CZ (Datart)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU (Silver)
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU (Sega Platinum Collection)
Cover
Cart Manual Silver Cart variant

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, AS†
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, ZA
Cart

Mega Drive, ZA (Sega Platinum Collection)
Cover
Cart

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Computer & Video Games (UK) PAL 83 Gamers (DE) PAL 67 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 86 Player One (FR) 75 Play Time (DE) PAL 80 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 87 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 87 Todo Sega (ES) 90 Video Games (DE) PAL 60

	79
Based on 9 reviews

The Lion King

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, UK
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, FR
Cover
Manual

Master System, DE
Cover
Manual

Master System, ES
Cover
Manual

Master System, IT
Cover

Master System, PT
Cover

Master System, PT (Purple)
Cover

Master System, AU
Cover

Master System, AU (Small OFLC sticker)
Cover

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 100 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 78 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 55 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 73 Gamers (DE) PAL 67 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 85 Mega Fun (DE) 67 Player One (FR) 68 Play Time (DE) PAL 81 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 86 Todo Sega (ES) 95 Video Games (DE) PAL 72

	77
Based on 12 reviews

The Lion King

Game Gear, JP
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, US (Majesco Sales)
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, UK
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, FR
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, FR (Blister pack)
Cover

Game Gear, DE
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, ES
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, IT
Cover

Game Gear, PT

Game Gear, AU

Game Gear, BR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

Main article: The Lion King/Technical information.

External links

• Sega of America webpage: Game Gear