Disney Classic Games: Aladdin / Lion King to include "trade show demo"

[Wombat]

Today I stumbled upon the news that the classic Aladdin and Lion King games from the 16-BIT era are getting a re-release on modern platforms. What's refreshing about this re-release though is the fact that in the announcement trailer they mention that a "trade show demo" from Aladdin will be "playable for the first time".

This is quite cool to see something like this being preserved in a commercial matter.
I do wonder however if this is the Chicago C.E.S demo or another one, guess we'll have to wait to find out!

 

[pool7]

So, they removed them from GOG (and maybe some other store) to re-release these themselves? Genius! (NOT!).

 

[Wombat]

@pool7 in this case I understand that they pulled the GOG re-releases, seeing those were received badly and are nowhere as comprehensive as this new package.

 

[x1z36x]

I'll be pleasantly surprised if it is a new (to us) build of the game, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[speedyink]

Definitely a step in the right direction for these companies to actually embrace a prototype build.

 

[Bramsworth]

That's neat if true. The "CES build" that's out there was dumped by me. I wonder if they just took the ROM off the net or referenced Virgin's archives archives somewhere. It's pretty much proven the build I dumped just had the CES text left over but was built at a later date, so that would be funny if it's the same thing but they're choosing to refer to it as a trade demo build still.

 

[GhostSeed]

This was also interesting.

Frank Cifaldi the Last @frankcifaldi Aug 28

Something that is really downplayed in the announcement is that Rich made what is essentially a "day one patch" for the Genesis version of Aladdin, using the original source code and design doc as reference. Fixed bugs, improved collision, etc. without outright changing the game.

Rich Whitehouse @DickWhitehouse Aug 28

Same here! This was a joy to work on. Reverse engineering, delicate design decisions, and the rare opportunity to write some m68k in a professional context! Quite pleased with what we achieved in the new “Final Cut” edition of Aladdin, and can’t wait for people to see it.

Daniel Ballesteros @Daniel_Ballest Aug 28
Replying to @DickWhitehouse

I love your article about Aladdin source code. It is nice you use it for a "Final Cut" edition.
A question: is the src you comments freely available or you obtain it only because you were to work with it?
Thank you!

Rich Whitehouse @DickWhitehouse Aug 28
Thanks! The short answer is no, the source isn’t publicly available.