To keep consistent, the plot suffers a bit. The levels are based on situations from the film which don’t play out as linearly. There is a goal within each level, but it’s generally the same one right from the start — wander through the level collecting stars and bouncing on enemies, leaping up to climb up on trees and ledges to reach more remote locations and tokens. In the game’s early stages, Simba can roar, but it’s just for show. It’s not until Simba grows his mane that the roar is of use, causing enemies to run away. This is especially handy for those enemies that charge after you or take a number of pounces to eliminate. Collecting 100 stars will earn you an extra life, but collecting all five pieces of the lion amulet awards you a play in one of four mini–challenges featuring Timon and Pumbaa. These mini–games range from either really lame or downright clever, including a tennis match using bugs instead of balls.

The conversion from 16–bit to 8–bit isn’t completely direct. The ideas and controls remain intact, but the levels have been adjusted to better serve the Game Boy Color. While several stages from the Genesis and SNES editions have been changed such as the Just Can’t Wait to be King animal romp on giraffes’ heads was completely removed. While the wildebeest stampede scene makes it into the game in a top–down perspective instead of the pseudo–3D viewpoint found in the 16–bit editions. Thanks to the direct–to–video release of the Lion King II movie, the game follows the battle with Scar. With four added levels, Simba must rescue his daughter Kiara, including a modified version of the wildebeest round and swimming to escape crocodiles in an African river.

The game, a good platformer, has been put together nicely with smooth animation and fast action while the mini–games and changing level perspective affords the game a lot of variety. The one real hitch is the strange control when jumping — it’s difficult to pinpoint a short jump. Sometimes you overshoot, sometimes undershoot, and lots of times just miss a ledge because you weren’t standing in the exact spot necessary when leaping. There is a learning curve involved when trying to control Simba. Even after you have made your way through half of the game, you’ll still find it difficult to tell the lion what to do properly. The graphics are well drawn and the developers have made good use of the Game Boy Color’s high–color mode with still scenes from the movie. However, the transition period from cub to adult is a bit awkward because the adult Simba is proportionally smaller than the cub Simba!

Oddly enough, the game features absolutely no music from the movie. Rather, you will hear two repetitive in–game tunes and will be glad that the development team took the time to incorporate a Music Volume feature within the options.

Alas, you will find one true gem in this game — the link cable Tag Mode. Surprisingly, this level is a lot of fun. Each character plays as Simba or Nala, the same sprite with a slightly different color palette, and your goal is to hold onto the level’s star for as long as you can. If the other player touches you, you must snag the star to begin his/her clock’s countdown.his clock begins to count down. Whomever runs out of time on their clock first, loses. The challenge is to romp around without clinging to ledges, since dangling makes you a prime target for a tag. The Tag Mode is a great addition and every platform game should include something as clever for two players. As much as I was disappointed with Aladdin on the Game Boy Color, if that game had been produced more effectively for the handheld, it would have been the better Disney title because of the superior level layouts and control. However, thanks to greater attention to detail, along with more features and games to play, The Lion King is a more impressive production.

The actual adventure is a little on the easy and short side, but the mini–games and link cable mode allow the Lion King to be played long after the main game has been completed. It’s a shame that the controls weren’t tweaked from the original design, but the game is a quality platformer and great for the kiddies.