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The Little Mermaid (video game)

Topic: Software

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 8 min
The Little Mermaid
Developer(s)Capcom[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Capcom
Producer(s)Tokuro Fujiwara
Composer(s)Yasuaki Fujita (NES)
Hitoshi Sakimoto (GB)
SeriesThe Little Mermaid
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy
ReleaseAugust 1991[2]
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player

The Little Mermaid is a licensed action game by Capcom for the NES and Game Boy, based on the 1989 Disney film of the same name.

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

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM27/40[3]
Mega Fun57%[4]
Nintendo PowerGB: 13.4/20[5]
NES: 15.3/20[6]
Electronic Games84%[7]
GB Action68%[8]
N-Force59%[9]
Play Time73% (1993)[10]
59% (1994)[11]
VideoGame7/10[12]

Sales

The game sold 500,000 copies by December 1991.[13] It was a major hit among female audiences, who accounted for the vast majority of the game's player base.[14]

See also

  • List of Disney video games

Notes

  1. ↑ Ported to Game Boy by Great[1].

References

  1. ↑ "Hardcore Gaming 101: A History of Korean Gaming". http://hg101.kontek.net/korea/specials/special-fortheworld.htm. 
  2. ↑ "Video games target young girls". August 3, 1991. p. 41. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84997116/the-little-mermaid-release-date/. Retrieved September 5, 2021. 
  3. ↑ Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed; Alessi, Martin; Sushi-X (August 1991). "Little Mermaid". Electronic Gaming Monthly 4 (8): 24. https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_Issue_025_August_1991/page/n23/mode/2up?q=%22American+Gladiators%22+%22electronic+gaming+monthly%22. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  4. ↑ Sandrie (July 1994). "Ariel The Little Mermaid" (in de). Mega Fun: 108. https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:MegaFun_DE_1994-07.pdf&page=67. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  5. ↑ "Now Playing". Nintendo Power 45: 102–106. February 1993. https://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-127-december-1999/Nintendo%20Power%20Issue%20045%20February%201993/page/102/mode/2up?q=%22little+mermaid%22+nes. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  6. ↑ "Your Guide to the Latest NES Releases". Nintendo Power 26: 87. July 1991. https://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-127-december-1999/Nintendo%20Power%20Issue%20026%20July%201991/page/81/mode/2up. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  7. ↑ Camron, Marc (March 1993). "The Little Mermaid". Electronic Games: 84. https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1993-03/page/n83/mode/2up?q=%22little+mermaid%22+. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  8. ↑ Sharon (April 1993). "Little Mermaid". GB Action (11): 26–27. https://archive.org/details/gb-action-11/page/26/mode/2up?q=%22little+mermaid%22+nes. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  9. ↑ ACE (September 1992). "The Little Mermaid". N-Force (3): 52–53. https://archive.org/details/nforce-magazine-03/page/n51/mode/2up. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  10. ↑ "The Little Mermaid" (in de). Play Time: 95. July 1993. https://archive.org/details/playtime199307/page/n77/mode/2up?q=mermaid. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  11. ↑ Schneider, Ulf (July 1994). "Arielle" (in de). Play Time: 152. https://archive.org/details/playtime199407/page/n145/mode/2up?q=mermaid. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  12. ↑ "The Little Mermaid" (in pt). VideoGame 1 (9): 30–32. December 1991. https://archive.org/details/videogame_09_12-91/page/30/mode/2up?view=theater. Retrieved September 6, 2021. 
  13. ↑ Peltz, James (December 14, 1991). "THQ's Video-Game Success Comes With Betting on Winners". p. 265. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84996940/. Retrieved September 5, 2021. 
  14. ↑ Langberg, Mike (13 May 1995). "Game makers target women". Northwest Florida Daily News: p. 30. https://newspaperarchive.com/northwest-florida-daily-news-may-13-1995-p-30/. "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." 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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