GOG returns The Lion King and Aladdin to their 16-bit SNES glory

Where were you in 1993 and 1994? I was probably playing Aladdin, and then The Lion King (yes, for the entire two years), two surprisingly great 16-bit platformers created by Disney and Virgin Games. Now you can relive them in all their SNES splendor on your Windows, Mac or Linux PC thanks to retro digital game seller GOG. Oh, and you can play The Jungle Book, too, but I have no nostalgic associations to exploit in writing for that game.

GOG’s Disney offerings are all on sale for $8.99 individually at launch (regular price is only a slightly more expensive $9.99) and you can get them all in one bundle for $19.98. If you haven’t played the games (perhaps you are a youth), then they’re still worth checking out as early examples of platformers that manage to do a lot with limited game mechanics. They’re also pretty stellar examples of what capable animators can do with the limits of a 16-bit palette.

The GOG versions of the games are DRM-free, and have very modest system requirements that should let most people join in. And remember: Never let the past die.