''Disney's Pocahontas'' is a

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

based on the 1995 film of the same name. The Genesis / Mega Drive version was developed by

Funcom Funcom Oslo AS (, formerly Funcom Productions AS) is a Norwegian video game developer that specializes in online games. It is best known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) titles '' Conan Exiles'', '' Age of Conan'', ...

on contract with Disney and was released on January 1, 1996. It was followed by a later version for the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

developed by

Tiertex Design Studios Tiertex Design Studios Limited was a British software development company and former video game developer based in Macclesfield, England; it was founded in 1986, focusing on porting games to home computers and handheld platforms. As a video ga ...

and released on June 10, 1996, nearly a year after the film's premiere. A Super Nintendo Entertainment System version of the game was under development, but was canceled due to development being too far behind to coincide with the Genesis release.

Gameplay

In the game, the player plays as

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

and Meeko, switching between the two frequently to overcome obstacles, with the help of Flit as an NPC. Along the way, the player gains various new abilities from various animal spirits by helping them. The game follows the plot of the film, but with many variations in situations and events.

Reception

The Genesis version was moderately well received by critics. The four reviewers of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''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 m ...

'' criticized the controls but praised the graphics and especially the innovative and challenging puzzle design. '' GamePro'', in contrast, found the puzzles to be easy and uninteresting, but felt this was appropriate for the game's young target audience and also praised the graphics.

References

External links

* 1996 video games Sega video games Single-player video games THQ games Funcom games Game Boy games Sega Genesis games Tiertex Design Studios games Side-scrolling platformers Cancelled Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Pocahontas (franchise) Video games based on Native American mythology Video games based on real people Video games based on animated films Video games featuring female protagonists Video games about raccoons Video games about birds Video games set in the 17th century Video games set in Virginia Video games developed in Norway Disney video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Black Pearl Software games {{platform-videogame-stub