DISNEY'S THE LION KING 2: SIMBA'S PRIDE - ACTIVE PLAY

During Disney's renaissance era, the company released a number of direct-to-video sequels. They have a bad reputation that's not entirely undeserved but Lion King 2: Simba's Pride released in 1998 arguably subverts this expectation. It was also the best selling, loosely retelling Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the originals Hamlet.

To coincide with the release, Disney Interactive produced an Active Play title based on the movie. An Activity Centre in all but name, the game features 5 mini-games, multiple art activities and sing-a-long songs.

The elephant sequencer (left) and the hippo block 
sliding puzzles (right) are two of the better mini-games.

The eccentric baboon named Rafiki plays host to all the fun among the leaves of the Ancient Tree of Life. Painted on the trunk in his own decorative style are five jungle creatures which link to the mini-games. Each based on the depicted animal; a giraffe, elephant, monkey, lion and hippo. At the bottom lies his paint tools which will take you a standard art tool that all games in the series have a variant of.

The giraffe game is a music creation tool where you feed the long-necked creatures fruit to add music and sound to the beat. The elephant game has you completing a line of multicoloured mammals by continuing a sequence. The lion game has you hunt for eight hidden cubs while the harder difficulty is more of a sound matching game. The monkeys play Simon Says and, in the most interesting diversion for older players, the hippos is a sliding block puzzle. You can find more challenging versions of this game online, but the characteristically well-done visuals draw you in.

Your creature design will feature in the animal's music video.

Beyond these initial experiences, each animal section has its own little additions too. You can design your own version of the respective creature in their standalone art tool. Your design - which can get pretty out there if you let it - will then be inserted into the video of its own sing-a-long song. While catchy, these songs are for very young children with verses inviting children to copy actions. Typical kids stuff, but with an African vibe. At the very least, it will keep the pre-schoolers happy for a half hour.

Timon will pop up in the music videos show kids the actions to copy.

Off to the side of the Tree of Life, you can visit the Pride Lands. Here, King Simba and Nala will initiate young Kovu, the son of a banished follower of Scar, to their pride. Apparently, all it takes is to select the animal that fits Simba's description. The reward; a saccharine song titled Journey's End.

Out of all of the Activity Centre, The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride has perhaps the most simple and easy games of them all. Perfect for the very young target audience, but for any older Disneyphile its the presentation more than the gameplay that will win you over.



To download the game, follow the link below. This exclusive installer uses PCem running Windows '95. Press Ctrl-Alt-PgDown to toggle fullscreen. Press Ctrl-End or middle mouse button to release the mouse. Soundtrack included. Tested on Windows 10.

IMPORTANT - Remember to shut down the emulated version of Windows before exiting PCem. This could potentially result in errors, lost saves and corrupt data. Close the program only when it is safe to do so.

File Size: 265 Mb.  Install Size: 595 Mb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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Disney's The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride - Active Play is © Disney Interactive
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

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