The Lion King (1994)
The Lion King is a 1994 platform video game made by Westwood Studios and Gradiente.
The Lion King turns Disney's film into a side-scrolling platformer, and a famously tough one. You start as Simba the cub, bouncing across giraffe heads and swinging on monkey tails through the African savanna, then grow into a full-grown lion for the back half. Timon and Pumbaa turn up, the songs play under the action, and every screen is drawn to match the movie frame for frame. It is bright, musical and unforgiving, the kind of early console game that looked like a cartoon on the shelf and hit like a wall once you started playing.
Quick answers
What is The Lion King about?
The Lion King turns Disney's film into a side-scrolling platformer, and a famously tough one. You start as Simba the cub, bouncing across giraffe heads and swinging on monkey tails through the African savanna, then grow into a full-grown lion for the back half. Timon and Pumbaa turn up, the songs play under the action, and every screen is drawn to match the movie frame for frame. It is bright, musical and unforgiving, the kind of early console game that looked like a cartoon on the shelf and hit like a wall once you started playing.
When was The Lion King released?
The Lion King was released on 4 November 1994.
Who made The Lion King?
The Lion King was made by Westwood Studios, Gradiente and Tec Toy Indústria de Brinquedos.
Similar games
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A few thoughts on The Lion King
It exists because of The Lion King, and the film is still the warmer, fuller telling of Simba's story. For the same coming-of-age-in-the-wild feeling in prose, Born Free trades animation for a real lioness on the African plains, and the pull of home and belonging that runs under it all.
Every telling of Simba's story
This platformer follows Simba from tumbling cub to reluctant king, the same arc Disney keeps returning to. The 1994 original and its 2019 remake tell it in full, Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1½ spin it sideways, and Mufasa reaches back a generation to explain how the whole tragedy began.
More tales of animals in the wild
Strip the game to its heart and it is a story about a young animal surviving the wilderness. The Jungle Book sends a boy through the same jungle law, Mia and the White Lion and Duma follow real bonds between children and big cats, and Born Free tells the true version.
Timon, Pumbaa and the Pride Lands on TV
Half the fun of the game is Timon and Pumbaa, and these series give the sidekicks and their world more room. The Lion Guard and its pilot Return of the Roar follow the next generation defending the Pride Lands, while Around the World With Timon and Pumbaa just lets the duo goof off.
Cinematic games with a sweeping story
As a lavish, story-driven platformer of its era, the Lion King game aimed for spectacle, and these modern games deliver it at full scale. God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Last of Us build sweeping emotional journeys, and The Witcher 3 and BioShock prove how far a game world can pull you in.