The Absurd Reason The Lion King Game Was So Hard

[@QuirkBored]

I aged 10 years trying to get the top of the damn waterfall in the young simba level 😭 the waterfall was made of my tears

[@shaokahnguerilla]

I just recently beat the game, and that part took me a while to figure out as well! The Hakkunah Matata level right?

[@carlgunningham2010]

I’m stuck on that part now ffs🤦🏻‍♂️

[@FurbyParade226]

Most people think the waterfall is complete chaos but there IS a pattern. There's 7 rows of logs. The middle row always sends down 2 logs that you're able to reach with a standing jump. So as long as you focus on staying in the middle row & making sure you always come back to the middle row, you can reach the top in like 30 seconds to a minute.

[@lexxxxiuh]

I could never get through that level. I literally gave up and DIDNT buy the game because of this. I never got to be adult Simba😭

[@عاشقالصمت-ق7و]

I can finish the game in half an hour 😂😂😂😂

[@LizzyKoopa]

How we knew you where a badass as a kid, you could get past the tree hitbox during the segment of the "ostrich" section

[@nikushim6665]

I never had much issue with that game on either Genesis or SNES, the only thing that annoyed the piss out of me was that damn waterfall.

[@detox9865]

i'm having fucking war flashbacks about that very tree

[@gjsm916916]

Lion king pissed me off so much never made it to the adult lion

[@notsocrates9529]

To this day I never knew there was an adult lion. I never could make it past the monkeys, fvck those monkeys.

[@JonnyLikesGames87]

It took me ten years..... TEN YEARS to beat The Lion King. That stupid, STUPID lava level! >:(

[@sammyaye707]

Bro I'm still stuck on the fucking lava level... I can speed run everything before that but once i hit the lava it's all over

[@josephrawsthorne1184]

I watched a playthrough of that level and it looked so easy. Why couldn’t I see a way to beat it as a kid? Honestly it looked so simple...

[@fabricebacquart]

Easy

[@jannemeermin6410]

And then the hyena labyrinth level!

[@withbravado1548]

Holy cow! I never could get past that Just Can’t Wait to be King level! There was this double jump that I could never time right because I would hit something and die, but I couldn’t tell what I was hitting. Cool to see this interview. Props GI

[@BLASTLYNX]

Yes!! That double jump effed me too!!

[@607]

It's the ostrich hitting something. I agree that it's not intuitive.

[@Faber0k]

@@607 it's actually not a double jump. Figured it out while replaying as an adult. It's a single jump that I think might be frame perfect. It gives you a bad clue with two arrows pointing up but I think it means theres 2 obstacles, one to jump over and one you have to get under at the same time.

[@607]

​@@Faber0k I think you're mistaken. That's not to say that I think it's impossible to clear the obstacle with a single jump, just that I think it is unintentional.

[@DesireeRodriguezGuitarra]

Everybody mentions how hard the Can’t Wait to be King level is, but nobody mentions the Simba’s Return level difficulty where you have to figure out the puzzle to exit the level, with all those hyenas attacking.

[@SooRandomTV]

Since early 2018 game informer has been very interesting in its content and format, whoever came up with the revamped ideas and interview styles should be given a raise.

[@prettyboyboo6901]

I thought i just sucked as a kid

[@WindHashira]

Same

[@wolfpackflt670]

@@Wowbagger86 I wouldn't feel bad about being bad at Battle toads because that game was broken right from the start. In 2 player mode it's virtually unplayable.

[@isaiahadams1996]

Same here

[@RodimusPrime29]

Now I finally have answers! that friggan Hyena lvl was rediculous!

[@adruishprincess2518]

I COULD NEVER GET PASSED IT _ I"M 31 NOW AND I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES OF THAT DAMN LEVEL. I finished aladdin, sure it took me a little while... yet still.. could not get passed the hyenas with the pricker patch - I COULD NOT.

[@Czmlol]

Thank you for making this game incredibly profound and difficult! Completing this game as an 8-9 year old made me realize early on how the fruits of arduous work, trial and error, dedication and persistence pays off. It for sure encouraged growth for spatial ability, pattern recognition and problem solving. Not only that but it encouraged me to expand my English vocabulary (as a native Russian, in a time with no internet) in order to find clues in the game on how to tackle certain levels. I believe that video games are unfairly stigmatized, and should be part for the course for youngsters in their regular education.

[@Freddis]

I believe no one stigmatizes the games nowadays, except obviously crazy people. The funny part of what you're saying is that games only very recently became worth learning as an art. Sure there's a lot of good game design in mario games, but how you imagine using it in the regular education? The games like Bioshock Infinite, Last of Us, God of War 4 are quite recent. I think the movies should be the first candidate to make it to the regular education.

[@Czmlol]

@@Freddis I'm not sure I agree with the part about movies, unless we're talking about politically unbiased documentaries. In regard to video games, I'm not particularly well versed anymore on contemporary games apart from the most obvious distinction, in that the older games were generally more difficult to beat. As games got popularized and streamlined, the financial incentives for maximizing profits started to rule the industry. Which meant that the difficulty had to be gradually toned down for maximum accessibility. And so, gaming generally went from solving puzzles and active learning, more toward the entertainment and social aspects respectively. With that in mind, yes, there is little to no point integrating contemporary games into the educational system. However there is a case to be made, that if done properly, games could be the key to igniting an early interest for math, physics and various art in children. I think there is a lot of untapped potential right there.

[@101Volts]

@@Freddis It's awful funny that in 2003 - 2006 and probably a bit after that, there were still stigmas of video games being kiddie fodder.

[@AI-go622]

As a kid I used to rent that cartridge all the time and only ever made it to the lava level. As an adult I could finally beat it.

[@joshuaDstarks]

This has actually been a running joke between my friend and I since this game came out. We used to bash our heads against the wall trying to get through it, and it was also a facet behind her step mom being the earliest instance of a “god gamer” in our eyes because she managed to get to the last level. A nice companion piece to this video (if it’s not mentioned in it) is part of DoubleFine’s “dev diary/actual name” series where the developers played about an hour of the game and shot the shit about it. The bane of my childhood, no doubt about it.

[@regg58]

My guy, dark souls is rated M, this game was meant for children lol

[@UndeadCollector]

Rating has nothing to do with difficulty. Cartoony Games can be hard, gory adult Games can be easy.

[@Archsen]

lion king= dark souls for kids

[@jono77]

Big man ting, u so pro

[@ToxicRisu]

@Cat Egorical Young kids back then were better at video games than adults.

[@stubs451]

Yeah cause no little kids play dark souls

[@abitler9445]

I had a much harder time on the jumping over obstacles for the first half the level..I never really struggled with the monkey puzzle

[@Retrofire-47]

That's kind of hilarious. What an interesting explanation.

[@Nevir202]

Man, the Game Gear versions of The Lion King and Aladdin were no joke either.

[@swolemaz_]

100%. I felt so proud that I completed the game.

[@jaketaur]

That waterfall section crushed my soul.

[@adub4ever]

Played through this game as a kid... got to the final boss, Scar, only for it to glitch and never finished it. I’m still bitter.

[@Laucenar]

This game, the Jungle Book game, and the Bugs Bunny game all on SNES, frustrated me to no end when I was a kid.

[@scottbenda3497]

I broke 10 controllers because of that game.

[@TexasNightmare210]

I’ve literally never seen anyone beat this game

[@keidrienmccollum3476]

Me too in ps4

[@cbkirby6199]

HOW

[@Freddis]

Just beat it today. Nothing specially hard about this game. There are plenty of harder games for instance Super Mario 3. The problem with that particular title is that the game unreasonably hard and unfair in a lot of places for a Disney title. You can feel that something isn't right when you play it. The difficulty curve spikes up at the level 2 and requires a lot of memoization through deaths (unfortunately for bugs and in-game problems). The devs should either make it easier or fix the problems, remove limited continues and make it harder. As is the difficulty seems to be unfitting to the title. The game can be enjoyable, especially when you've beaten it once, but it still has some unpleasant aftertaste.

[@peterlanguila4028]

I’ve beat it

[@JustinW06]

I did back in 95 lol

[@darreylhenderson8979]

Dude said to just go to Google and it'll show you how to get past the monkeys. Bro, we didn't have Google or the internet back then when most of us were playing it. Lol

[@foxracer1703]

And IF you were lucky enough to even FIND one of those cheat books in a store in the mall they were EXPENSIVE. Like $40 back then.

[@101Volts]

Yes, but he's talking about now.

[@HumbleWordsmith]

Even though i never got past level 2 - for some reason im still so nostalgic about this game - the music, the cute little roar

[@DadaPoopoo]

More content like this please! Don't we all wonder, " WHAT WERE THEY THINKING" sometimes?

[@redel37]

That's why I started playing videogames in 2000, when I was 20...

[@EnigmaticJay]

That reason makes me feel good that I actually beat the game before returning it to Blockbuster 😄. To this day I still have flashbacks of that gorilla slapping me out of the air in the Hakuna Matata level.

[@speedforce131]

After Ben asked the Q about the remake, I was also thinking of how the game would be designed & pleasant to see that we came to a similar concept. I love seeing how creators (in particular game devs) tick. This was a very rare treat. Thanks all of you guys for doing this. (and btw I loved The Lion King game as a kid!)

[@marc8750]

I'm having horrible flashbacks to endless days off struggling with that game 🙄 They should release it Switch...

[@fjgarcia3]

...aaaaaand now they did

[@bobasquid3339]

I need to play this now. Looks harmless but sounds like a challenge. Awesome!

[@theuriah01]

The game is still super easy.... actually it's easier with 28 years of hindsight.

[@cjinl2428]

It wasn't just the time though. Aladdin had a SNES version that was actually playable and fun, and it wasn't ridiculously difficult.

[@detox9865]

he mentions the aladdin game too

[@SBandy]

The SNES Aladdin was the far superior game.

[@Ristyo1992]

@@SBandy It was just another mediocre platformer.

[@stevedawson8017]

First game I ever completed without cheats. Must have been 11 or 12. Rock hard though, the sense of acheivement when I finally did it was incredible!

[@Taijifufu]

😶 😒 ... that'swhatshesaid. 🏃

[@blissfulinsomniac5711]

Interesting. Now that he mentions it, the game was "2 games", but there were 6 levels for young Simba, and only 4 for adult Simba. 2 more levels for adult Simba would have been cool! I remember not being able to get past "Can't Wait to be King" as a kid, and wishing so hard that I could play adult Simba, lol.

[@detox9865]

i NEVER got to adult simba as a kid. played it on an emulator at like 20 (now 29) and finally got to adult simba.. but still didn't beat the game 😂

[@hazelmarieb9934]

Lion King and Aladdin weren't so bad. Mickey Mousecapade though, that shit was haunted.

[@FuzzyDlop]

I still have my Genesis copy. For some reason i could never get past level 3 in this game...but i was able to finish Super Metroid.

[@postindierock5063]

super metroid is not that hard though. You can get lost, sure, and it requires patience to get back on track but you can get like 15 energy tanks by games end, nearly impossible to actually die.

[@JacobSegaNerd]

Try the Super Star Wars games. You have no clue.

[@emisor9272]

@@JacobSegaNerd i still get PTSD from the last 2 escape levels in return of the jedi

[@shambish7554]

@@JacobSegaNerd fuck empire strikes back, that game made me so mad.

[@dergrizzlyreaper]

That level never gave me any problems...but that lava level with adult Simba was unbeatable for me.

[@MarkSinacori]

SNES Aladdin was very hard with the cave on the carpet escaping the fire. It took me a few months. However, Lion King was harder. I got to Hakuna Matata and it took months to get to that. I got to adult Simba, I made it to Simba’s return, the one with the bats and the fire and all that and then got stuck in some corner and couldn’t escape it from there.

[@neimi911]

I'm 31 with an above average paying job. I was morbidly obese and lost the weight (46 KG) the hard way ( no operations ), and till this day.... i consider my life's greatest achievement to be me beating this game at the age of 12

[@KingOfMadCows]

Westwood was such a versatile developer. Even though C&C was their most famous franchise, they made tons of great games in other genres. They made great RPG's, platformers, adventure games, and they made a pretty good FPS with C&C: Renegade. I don't think there's another developer that was able to make good games in so many different genres.

[@jam9852]

What I want to know is Why was there no sprites for nala in the game? Its weird that she's nowhere to be found. Honestly They could have put in another level where you fight nala trying to save pumbaa or she could have at least appeared in I just can't wait to be king level or the elephant Graveyard stage. Heck a can you feel the love tonight stage with the music would have been interesting.

[@theendofit]

It was not that old games were hard most of the time it was really the checkpoints were unforgiving. Play any old game with save states and its easy. Any new game with unforgiving checkpoints gets criticized and attacked for being broken/boring/repetitive/not fun but most importantly people say it's not really difficulty doing that and it's just a trick and turns it into luck.

[@Idazmi7]

They were also hard. See Ninja Gaiden.

[@theendofit]

@@Idazmi7 there are games just as hard today. again the only difference in modern hard games is they have better checkpoints

[@Idazmi7]

@@theendofit You don't know Ninja Gaiden.

[@theendofit]

@@Idazmi7 yes I do. And there are games like dark souls, cup head, bacon man, ect that are hard today.

[@Idazmi7]

@@theendofit Cuphead, Super Meat Boy and Bacon man are deliberately recreating the old-style hard games. Dark Souls is the only thing you mentioned there that really _is_ OG style hard without being deliberately retro.

[@Mondoshawn]

The hardest Level was the one with the stampede for me.

[@asleeperj]

me too

[@wolfpackflt670]

The hardest for me was trying to figure out how to throw Scar off the cliff.

[@NytronX]

Stampede is easy. Gotta hang out on the left of the screen near the end when things get hectic.

[@Mondoshawn]

@@wolfpackflt670 oh yes that was hard as well!

[@Mondoshawn]

@@NytronX I was 7 years old when I played the game. It took some time to understand where to move at what point. I did not see it through like that.

[@corylindsay2005]

To this day I tell peers about my frustration, as a child, over can't wait to be king.

[@DanTheMan27]

I remember renting that game from Blockbuster as a kid and getting SOOOOOOOOO frustrated at level 2 that I took the game out of my console and bashing it HARD into the floor because I couldn't get to the next level. Luckily, the game didn't break or shatter (thanks to the carpet). I remember being so frustrated because I was able to beat the Aladdin SNES game just fine without much trouble, but the Lion King SNES game was on some other shit

[@AzikuraProductions]

My first ever video game. I never got past the second level. I was 5.

[@MrBJVII]

Still haven’t beaten it on Super Nintendo down to this day

[@RichardHartness]

What people forget (or may not even know) is that back when we were young (80s-90s) many platform games could be beaten in about 30 minutes once mastered. Especially for the NES, these games pushed the content limits of the RAM chips, especially as the improvement of graphics increased. Extra difficulty means you have to play these games many, many times to learn them which equates to more hours played. When you want to get your money's worth out of a game, you tend to want to put around 40+ hours into it. Making tough-as-nails games you'd have to retry again and again and again was how they added value to the game. This was simply ingrained into out culture. Sure, there were games like RPGs and adventure games which were "expansive" but those are designed differently to work with the limited constraints of early consoles. Platforms have unique assets per stage, and that meant fewer stages per game. Ergo, the ramped up difficulty kept you coming back, and each successive beating of a new level really built in a real since of accomplishment, even for young gamers.

[@KetwunsGamingPad]

What they should have done is set the cartridge to “rental mode” and then “purchased mode” if they bought it. Make levels easier for latter lol

[@anindomahmud8276]

I played both Aladdin and Lion King. In Aladdin, I made it to level 6. In Lion King, I made it to only level 2.

[@16-bitreseter5]

I finished countless times on Mega Drive, I started playing on the easy, then just go up the levels. The game is the same at higher levels only increases the number of times you need to hit enemies.

[@XX-sp3tt]

Difficulty does not equal quality.

[@lincine]

0:01 (Ground Man Stage theme - Mega man & Bass)

[@Hasan9t]

I thought you meant a remake of the game too... it was insanely difficult. Have to save state every few heyenas or obstacles you get through just to get through the game.

[@princessolmeca2933]

I've never made it farther than the stampede level. It's been almost 20 years and I still haven't beaten this goddamn game. I can beat Kid Chameleon in an hour but, I can't beat this. How shameful.

[@Lucky_9705]

Game developers back in the 90’s took rental sales into consideration. Game reviewers aside from magazines weren’t as prevalent back in 1994, so this was easy money.

[@AirLancer]

I don't remember the game being that hard, I beat it as a kid.

[@anubisamun7475]

you know you didnt

[@Bungerzofficial]

No we as kids had all the time to be gaming now stuff I beat as a kid I can’t beat today lol

[@zombie3434]

Yeah, no one is impressed, dude.

[@calemorgan8763]

I beat it on Game Gear. It was tough tho

[@miltonmontano2930]

*Lies*

[@aneffortlesssmile]

I just got punched with nostalgia. I'm also reminded of that one Mickey Mouse NES game. Holy wow. I miss those days. Thank you.

[@BigPapasmurf84]

This game and the hook game, two of the best movie games I’ve played. Very challenging at the time.

[@emisor9272]

We had this game for DOS on my school back when i was 5-6 y/o. Looking back i should be proud of myself for figuring out the monkeya section back then. The 2nd ostritch still kicked my ass tho

[@HalfEatenMedia]

I beat Aladdin many times. I didn't even bother with the Lion King after the impossible levels got the best of me.

[@BossZnakemaster]

Agree. Aladdin is one of my favorite SNES games. It's short and sweet. The Lion King however i've tried time and time again to go back to, but i just can't master it.

[@jannemeermin6410]

Other way around for me. I completes lionking and junglebook many times. Never finished aladdin.

[@elroyjetson4202]

@@BossZnakemaster use the cheat code barry at the option menu to get unlimited lives

[@fabricebacquart]

Aladdin is harder 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@HalfEatenMedia]

@@jannemeermin6410 I’m gonna have to give it another good try. It’s been many years since I’ve played either of them

[@KP-us1ld]

Bro that second level was brutal. I never got past that level and I tried so hard.

[@kenjackben]

The first game I ever beat was Pocahontas I remember that game being fun

[@Eothr]

Furthest I ever got was the first level as Adult Simba. The panthers were worse than the Hyenas. I DID beat the SNES Aladdin, but the Genesis Aladdin is just brutal to watch.

[@ruff_randy6925]

I had it on the snes I never beat it lol. Spent hours and hours I don’t think I ever even got to the adult lion lol

[@zalz]

Lookin fresh with that 500k subs. Now for that 1m

[@BuildinWings]

I played this man's Monopoly game. It WAS brutal. But you could also learn its behaviors and exploit its inability to deviate.

[@xxnike0629xx]

So basically they only made games back in the NES and SNES games difficult to extend the life of the game. I suppose it makes sense (as mentioned) to keep people more likely to rent the game again or just buy the game. People who didn't grow up with the NES and SNES era need to realize that back then, there was no Internet to look up strategy and game were not as prevalent so this intention makes sense. You know, I think it would be interesting if developers went back and remade all of those classic Disney games. Just update the graphics and audio but the gameplay, levels, etc should stay the same. Think like Secret of Mana (PS4), Crash N Sane Trilogy (PS4), etc.

[@Randomninja47]

It was the arcade mentality. Make them as hard as possible or endless high score games so people kept pumping quarters.

[@analothor]

I can't believe I took the trouble to completing that game

[@jacobstallsmith4557]

These game and the original Jurassic park game on the Sega genesis game made me scream as a kid

[@dawndusk1007]

It was a pity you couldn't save it

[@___AWFUL___]

I remember this freaking game when I was a kid lol. I just couldn’t get past that double jump on the second level

[@stonerdemon]

I rented the game and finished it before returning it. But damn it was so difficult.

[@Armataan]

I loved that game… and beat that game several times... And I actually have absolutely no memory of it being particularly difficult? Contra was difficult. Battletoads was difficult. Warrior of Rome II was difficult. This game was just... pretty and fun.

[@fabricebacquart]

Indeed, it wasn't hard.

[@AlexJohnson-kw2er]

I can beat that game black out drunk on hard.... its taken me YEARS to perfect that skill and i don't regret it

[@victorcelmare]

HUMAN-PIG HYBRIDS ?

[@TheKing60210]

What's the intro song

[@yoursubconscious]

00:40 Shut the front door! Really!!?"

[@tirshtain]

Those fucking monkeys and ostriches is the reason I had grey hairs as a kid. I only finished this level 20 years later yesterday on an emulator.

[@Cinedragon]

I beat the Lion King as a wee little kid and I feel so badass right now!

[@Trackerstatus]

This was considered difficult today? Damn, this and Aladdin was fun as hell to play back then.

[@panda_burgers2517]

jokes on them, i copied the floppys off a friend!

[@cynicshminic]

Love the clear and honest answer

[@kevinturner9053]

It crushed my soul deeply

[@icantthinkofacooname3025]

I’ve been playing the hell out of lion king on my modded snes mini and it’s still hard as hell

[@AzikuraProductions]

Wait what remake?

[@isaiahadams1996]

Azikura I think they talking about doing a video game adaptation of The Lion King (2019)

[@rafaperez4320]

You havent Played, Beauty and beast snes?

[@HighLanderPonyYT]

"Only the monkey puzzle is hard" Sir, the game has insane difficulty all the way to the end. Lol

[@postindierock5063]

The game really was not that hard. Games are just too easy these days which tends to skew the perception of difficulty levels of older games. Try some of the castlevania games, battletoads, ghouls and ghosts, zombies ate my homework and contra for example as those are games from that era that present a challenge.

[@treymathis6553]

I cried as a kid cause this game was hard as hell, now it's the joke family use on me at family gatherings, being a gamer back then I really pisses me off til this day they got the 1up on me like that

[@xCrossBite]

...And now (only months later) the game remaster is actually coming out.

[@yupazestru5189]

This game had cheat codes. We used em. Amazing how a great movie having a great game is barely even a thing anymore.

[@Wza456]

Aladdin was challenging, but beatable and still fun for a 8 year old. Lion King was dope for the first couple levels then got hard af, fuck that game

[@JamesCarmichael]

It wasn't hard once you know the extra moves such as adult simba jumping on enemies and attacking that way or the growl actually can make simba do the tackle and throw. The log climbing thing is easy once you figure out that the logs on the far left and far right move slowly and there's usually a log in the middle that you can use to bridge the gap. It was "hard" because they don't tell you about this shit. It's deceptive.

[@Baiken]

I never beat Scar, couldn't figure out how to throw him off the cliff lol.

[@lh9591]

My big brother would always beat little mermaid on nes for me as a rental when we were little kids. When we rented lion king , he couldn’t beat it. So we bought it. Still haven’t beaten it since. Born in 87 and 78 respectively. As a side note, he could beat the snes Star Wars games and ghost and goblins nes and snes. Lion king snes is ridiculous.

[@nickinportland]

I forgot I even used to own this game. I remember liking it it was definitely hard

[@arthurcuesta6041]

Me and my sister played this game about 1000 times and NEVER finished it.

[@invisi-bullexploration2374]

I wonder if that's why the Toy Story SNES game is the special way it is? That game actually caused at least one murder!

[@moltres234]

I used to have this game for Sega. Couldn’t get past the second level. I hear this game has come out on the switch now hopefully it’s not as hard as the original second one was. Pretty sure you guys agree with me

[@xcaluhbration]

Welp, Disney got me and my cousin with that ploy.🤣

[@OH_MY_DOGGG]

I didnt really have any sense of difficulty or anything so thats pretty interesting. I thought it was really fun. The movie The Lion King is difficult. I mean. Simba is really challenged in the movie so maybe the game should be challenging.

[@naivedays5421]

I still have this for my Sega genesis.