Game Review: Arabian Nights

Review Arabian Nights

Sinbad Jnr is trimming the hedges in the palace gardens one day, stopping to admire the beautiful Princess on her balcony when she is kidnapped by a fearsome dragon. Though Sinbad tries to save the Princess he is blamed for her disappearance and imprisoned in the palace dungeons. Thus begins Arabian Nights, a charming little platformer from 1994 which is oozing with character. Sinbad is armed with a sword and must traverse a series of intricate levels that are varied and fun. You start in the dungeons and make your escape before negotiating a forest, a ship, an underwater section, a network of mines, a slippy slidy ice world and two of my favorite levels where you have to survive a magic carpet flight with enemies coming at you in balloons, helicopters and there’s even the addition of somersaulting sheep who try and take out out! They even emit the odd baa for good measure.

Each level gives Sinbad a series of labyrinths to find his way out of and puzzles to solve. You’ll often meet characters that require you to collect items for them and they’ll assist your progress such as an old woman who knits you a magic carpet and a culinary grab who needs you to get him some fish. On some of the levels you will be faced with a boss battle which may seem tricky initially but the bosses tend to have a pattern to their attacks and once you have worked this out then it shouldn’t be too much trouble. Sinbad can also collect items to make life easier for him on each level. For instance, the ice world is a nightmare to begin with as Sinbad keeps slipping but equipped with a pair of crampons you’ll find you can run and walk as before.

Arabian Nights has a cute look to it and should be appealing for gamers, young and old. The younger gamers may find some of the sections tricky but practice certainly makes perfect. I do wonder what some of the developers must have been smoking when they made this game as it as bizarre as a Lewis Carroll novel at times, those somersaulting sheep being one of the undoubted highlights but let’s not forget the granny who explodes when she knits too quickly! The music is varied for each level and the individual tracks are all fantastic. Once you have got to grips with the game you can complete it within a couple of hours but you are encouraged to explore the levels to complete them in full. You can of course race through them but it’s fun to search for the bonus items too.

Arabian Nights is one of the best platformers from the early nineties. It might not have the same appeal as say Premiere but it is rich and varied throughout with the two magic carpet levels the only time it really repeats itself but those segments are great fun anyway so you won’t really care. This has a simple but traditional story of rescuing a damsel in distress but it never loses its appeal.

Verdict: 4/5

About the Author:

I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school.

In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu’s Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I’m a lover of films, games, books and blogging.

I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats – Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.

David M. Brown – who has written 865 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.

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