I loved Capcom’s Disney games growing up. From DuckTales to Darkwing Duck, they knocked it out of the park every single time. We’ll conveniently ignore Mickey Mousecapade as they did not develop that piece of tosh. But even with that in mind I did not know what to expect from the Little Mermaid. I can’t say I was very enthused about it; in fact I waited years after it was released to give it a shot. How would you even make a game out of this? Capcom were far more creative than I and delivered a solid if short action title clearly geared toward kids.
That being said they sure took their sweet time with this one. The Little Mermaid was an extremely late NES release, toward the middle of 1991. Just for reference, I remember watching the home video release in Middle School back in 1990. Nintendo titles were still being released that year but it is surprising that this wasn’t made for the SNES instead. The game wisely doesn’t follow the movie otherwise you would spend most of your time as a mute human. Instead here Ariel returns to the sea after being turned human to save her family and friends after hearing Ursula is wreaking havoc in her absence.
Ariel’s primary means of attack are the bubbles created by her tail. Initially these are weak and can only stun stronger enemies at first. A second hit will trap enemies in a bubble at which point they can be carried and thrown. Most of the time you’ll use trapped enemies to find items in the environment. There are two kinds of crystals that will increase both the strength and range of your bubbles. At full power even the largest enemies will be encased in a single hit. More importantly more power means you can push boulders and barrels with your attacks to open chests and find hidden areas. It’s a solid pair of mechanics and kind of reminds me of Rescue Rangers.
Where the gameplay is sound the level design isn’t as strong. Despite the large number of seemingly open paths most levels are a straight line. There are no bottomless pits which makes sense as you are underwater. These lead to “hidden” areas that usually have crystals and extra lives. The few moments of ingenuity such as maneuvering rocks and shells to open chests are cool but are few in number. Cool uses of your abilities like this add some depth to the game, depth it could use. In a way that kind of sums up the game. It flirts with cool ideas but never goes far enough to make it as enjoyable as it could have been. If the game were a little more ambitious it could have been much better.
The lack of any difficulty in the Little Mermaid causes it to fly by. The levels are sparsely populated and what few enemies are present aren’t aggressive. Life restoring hearts aren’t plentiful but that’s because you won’t need them. Even the slightest bit of exploration will yield extra lives so the fear of death isn’t present. Boss battles are fun if a bit simple; you’ll recognize their patterns within seconds. The easy difficulty means the game is over as soon as it begins. Now most of Capcom’s Disney games are brief but this one is especially guilty of brevity.
While I get the sense that this may have been a low priority release Capcom haven’t slacked when it comes to the presentation. The backgrounds are beautiful and insanely detailed, at least initially. The sunken ship and Sea of Coral are two particular highlights. The back half of the game surprisingly isn’t as visually interesting. I like the Sea of Ice but it lacks the visual punch of the two stages I just mentioned. The Undersea Volcano would be impressive if it weren’t for the garish colors used throughout.
In Closing
I had very few expectations for the Little Mermaid and came away impressed. This is a good game for the younger set with its easy difficulty and mechanics. It would have been really great with a few more levels as it ends way too soon but considering the target audience I can understand.
