''Gargoyles'' is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

developed by

Disney Interactive Disney Interactive is an American video game and internet company that oversees various websites and interactive media owned by The Walt Disney Company. History 1995–1996: Formation and beginnings In December 1994, Disney announced that it w ...

and published by Buena Vista Interactive for the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

in 1995. It is an adaptation of the Disney animated series of the same title.

Gameplay

The game loosely follows the plot of the show. The player controls the protagonist Goliath as he seeks to put an end to the Eye of Odin, a corrupted magical talisman that can transform whoever comes to possess it. Demona, the most recent owner of the Eye, ultimately becomes the main antagonist. The game contains 5 levels bookended by short cinematics that explain the story thus far, each level concluding with a

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

encounter. Throughout the game, Goliath would contend with the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

who ransacked Castle Wyvern in the past, as well as new, robotic foes who attack him in the present era across various venues, such as

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

rooftops and a subway. His arsenal of attacks to defend himself includes various strikes with his fists, grapples, throws, and leaping maneuvers. He can also pump his wings once to increase his jumping distance and climb along walls and ceilings with his claws. ''Gargoyles'' boasts a hand-drawn appearance to Goliath, Demona, and the Viking enemies (not unlike

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

's ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' also for the Genesis), but also a CGI-modeled look for the robot enemies.

Release

The game was intended to be released exclusively for the

on May 15, 1995, but it ended up being released in November 1995, and received reviews late in the year. A

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...

version planned for a Christmas 1995 release was cancelled. In December 2012, Chris Shrigley, who programmed the game, released the

source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...

for educational purposes to the public. During Disney D23 in 2022, an announcement trailer for a remastered version, developed by

Empty Clip Studios Empty Clip Studios, LLC is a video game developer based in San Diego, California and founded in July 2007. It was formed by Francois Bertrand and Matt Shores. On September 8, 2008, the company released their debut game ''Groovin' Blocks'', a mus ...

and Disney Games, was released. A trailer released on September 7, 2023, which revealed a release date of October 19. It will have updated visuals, achievements, and enhancements to the gameplay.

Limited Run Games Limited Run Games, Inc. is an American video game distributor based in Apex, North Carolina. The company produces and sells limited quantities of physical video game copies via its website and select retail stores. Josh Fairhurst and Douglas B ...

has announced a remastered version of ''Gargoyles'' will be released physically Fall 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Reception

The game was very well received by most critics. Scott Larry from ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' called it "one of the best games for the Genesis, right next to '' Earthworm Jim 2''" and added: "Topnotch gameplay and great graphics made ''Gargoyles'' one of the year's best. It's a stone-cold blast!" ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...

'' awarded it a score of 8.5/10, commenting: "

made ''Gargoyles'' into everything that would be expected from Disney's animation division. All the character movements look like a cartoon in themselves. If you found joy in ''

'' and ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' you'll probably receive the same thrill from ''Gargoyles'' but on a darker level". Mike Salmon of ''

Game Players ''Game Players'' was a monthly video game magazine founded by Robert C. Lock in 1989 and originally published by Signal Research in Greensboro, North Carolina. The original publication began as ''Game Players Strategy to Nintendo Games'' (the ...

'' and ''Next Generation'' gave it four stars and 85% ratings respectively for its "simply amazing" graphics and being "a real treat to play", calling it one of the biggest surprises and best Genesis games of the year, and positively comparing it to "similar in looks" to '' Demon's Crest'' for the SNES, adding that "with this and ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...

'', Disney has done more with the Genesis than Sega has ever done". The four reviewers of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...

'' were more conflicted about the game, giving it scores ranging from 4.0 to 7.5 out of 10. They all agreed that the game's controls were frustrating, but differed in their opinions of the gameplay and graphics (from "dingy" to "aren't the best" to "really impressive").

References

External links

*
''Gargoyles''
' at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

{{Disney's Gargoyles 1995 video games Cancelled Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Commercial video games with freely available source code Disney video games Gargoyles (TV series) Platformers Sega Genesis games Sega Genesis-only games Single-player video games Video games based on animated television series Video games scored by Michael Giacchino Video games developed in the United States Video games set in New York City Video games set in medieval Scotland Video games set in 1994 North America-exclusive video games