The Little Mermaid (video game)

The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Producer(s)	Tokuro Fujiwara
Composer(s)	Yasuaki Fujita (NES); Hitoshi Sakimoto (GB)
Series	The Little Mermaid
Platform(s)	Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy
Release	JP: July 19, 1991; NA: July 1991;
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player

The Little Mermaid is a licensed action game released in 1991 by Capcom for the NES and Game Boy 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

Review scores
Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	27/40^[4]
Mega Fun	57%^[5]
Nintendo Power	GB: 13.4/20^[6] NES: 15.3/20^[7]
Electronic Games	84%^[8]
GB Action	68%^[9]
N-Force	59%^[10]
Play Time	73% (1993)^[11] 59% (1994)^[12]
VideoGame	7/10^[13]

Sales

The game sold 500,000 copies by December 1991.^[14] It was a major hit among female audiences, who accounted for the vast majority of the game's player base.^[15]^[16]

Notes

^ Ported to Game Boy by Great^[3].

References

^ "NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
^ https://www.famitsu.com/games/t/4953/ ^{[bare URL]}
^ "Hardcore Gaming 101: A History of Korean Gaming".
^ Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed; Alessi, Martin; Sushi-X (August 1991). "Little Mermaid". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Vol. 4, no. 8. p. 24. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ Sandrie (July 1994). "Ariel The Little Mermaid". Mega Fun (in German). p. 108. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ "Now Playing". Nintendo Power. Vol. 45. February 1993. pp. 102–106. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ "Your Guide to the Latest NES Releases". Nintendo Power. Vol. 26. July 1991. p. 87. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ Camron, Marc (March 1993). "The Little Mermaid". Electronic Games. p. 84. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ Sharon (April 1993). "Little Mermaid". GB Action. No. 11. pp. 26–27. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ ACE (September 1992). "The Little Mermaid". N-Force. No. 3. pp. 52–53. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ "The Little Mermaid". Play Time (in German). July 1993. p. 95. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ Schneider, Ulf (July 1994). "Arielle". Play Time (in German). p. 152. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ "The Little Mermaid". VideoGame (in Portuguese). Vol. 1, no. 9. December 1991. pp. 30–32. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ Peltz, James (December 14, 1991). "THQ's Video-Game Success Comes With Betting on Winners". Los Angeles Times. p. 265. Retrieved September 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Langberg, Mike (13 May 1995). "Game makers target women". Northwest Florida Daily News. p. 30. Retrieved 5 April 2022 – via NewspaperArchive. Capcom USA Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif., had a big hit in 1990 and 1991 with a video-game version of "The Little Mermaid," played almost exclusively by girls.
^ "Video games target young girls". The Times. August 3, 1991. p. 41. Retrieved September 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.