''The Little Mermaid'' is an

action video game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...

released in 1991 by

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

for the NES and

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

. Based on the 1989 Disney film of the same name, it follows the plot of the original film with Ariel as the playable character. She swims through various underwater levels, battling enemies and collecting power-ups. It has an average rating of 4.78 out of 5 based on 23 user ratings.

Gameplay

The game begins underwater, where Ariel can shoot bubbles to trap her foes and throw them. She can also dig through sand to find treasure and pick up sea shells to break open treasure chests. Treasure chests contain power-ups to increase her bubbles' power and range. Ariel can collect icons scattered throughout the levels to restore health, gain extra lives, or increase the range/power of her bubbles. There are six stages that Ariel must traverse to find Ursula. The stages are The Coral Sea, Sunken Ship, Sea of Ice, Undersea Volcano, and finally two battles at Ursula's Castle.

NES and Game Boy differences

When a stage begins, Ariel descends from the top of the screen to the recommended starting point in the NES version, but just starts out in the recommended position in the Game Boy version. The featured SFX are different in both versions. The start of the stage's BGM can be heard only once in the NES version; although the whole BGM can be repeated in the Game Boy version. The stage backgrounds were more restricted in the Game Boy version than in the NES version. When the player loses a heart, the heart turns into a heart frame in the NES version, but disappears in the Game Boy version. The key scales of the Boss BGM are different in both versions. The BGM speed in the NES version is much faster than in the Game Boy version.

Reception

Sales

The game sold 500,000 copies by December 1991. It was a major hit among female audiences, who accounted for the vast majority of the game's player base.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Mermaid, The 1991 video games Disney games by Capcom Game Boy games The Little Mermaid (franchise) video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Single-player video games Video games based on adaptations Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games scored by Yasuaki Fujita