Aladdin for the Game Boy Advance is a direct port of the SNES game of the same name, which you quite possibly may have rented before. Its release probably has something to do with the DVD release of the movie it is based on, which shares a similar moniker, possibly with the words “2-Disc” and “Special Edition” added somewhere. And really, that is all I need to say about it. Good day.

What? Alright, fine! Maybe it is not exactly a direct port, per se. You can now save whenever you want, which totally destroys the concept of continues and having extra lives. And I hear there are some bonus levels. Don't get excited. The new levels don't do anything new for game. They sorta just reuse elements that already existed and made "new levels" out of them. And that’s it. Now, if you will excuse me.

Huh? Details? Very well. The game is a run of the mill platformer. Run to the end of the level. And jump on people. Yes, jump. Even though Aladdin has a scimitar on the cover, he never gets one. False advertising, if you ask me. The game structure of Aladdin bears some resemblance to the classic Prince of Persia, in the sense that the levels mostly focus on swinging around poles and acrobatic jump chains instead of platform puzzles and enemies. And you pick up gems and stuff. And fight the occasional boss. The controls are wonky at times, but nothing you can’t get used to. And that’s all.

Okay, okay! The other stuff, sure. The visuals are exactly as you remember them in the SNES original. And that’s not a bad thing to say, as the game presents the mood of the movie to a believable extent. The animations aren’t too shabby either. The sound and music are in fact, very good. I mean, this is Capcom I’m talking about here. The musicians are able to emulate the soundtrack of the movie to great effect. So... I guess I'll be going now.

Alright, see here. I'm running out of stuff to say about Aladdin. It is the one of the ports you were afraid would flood the GBA when you heard it had SNES-like capabilities. It is quick and dirty, and tied in to another product to boot. If you like Aladdin a lot, go for it. If not, then I don't think you would get this game anyway. Aladdin GBA is thankfully not shovelware, so fans of the movie are not being taken in, but I cannot really recommend it to anybody else.