The Lion King is a platformer based on the Disney film. The Super NES and Genesis versions were developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive in November 1994. Development ran from January to July 1994; of the US$20 million budget, US$8 million went to marketing. Simba starts as a cub who mostly jumps on enemies and later grows into an adult lion who can scratch, maul and throw.
The game is remembered for its difficulty. In 2014 Westwood's Louis Castle said it was made hard, especially level 2, so that players could not finish it during a rental period, and he has since apologised. The Hakuna Matata and Be Prepared levels were adapted from scenes cut from the film, and the hidden level select still calls Hakuna Matata "Willow Cascade", a name from an early SNES prototype.
Ports followed for Game Gear, Master System, Game Boy, MS-DOS, Amiga and NES. The 1995 European NES version was the last official NES release in any region.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | The Lion King | Genesis | Nov 9, 1994 | Virgin Interactive | 1 |
| NA | The Lion KingPort by Syrox Developments; EU 1994-11-04 | Game Gear | Nov 9, 1994 | — | 1 |
| NA | The Lion King | SNES | Nov 9, 1994 | Virgin Interactive | 1 |
| NA | The Lion KingPort by East Point Software | MS-DOS | 1994 | — | 1 |
| EU | Disney's The Lion King | Genesis | Nov 4, 1994 | Virgin Interactive | 1 |
| EU | The Lion KingPAL-only; port by Syrox Developments | Master System | Nov 4, 1994 | — | 1 |
| EU | The Lion King | SNES | Nov 11, 1994 | Virgin Interactive | 1 |
| EU | The Lion KingPort by Dark Technologies; NA April 1995 | Game Boy | Dec 8, 1994 | — | 1 |
| JP | Disney's The Lion King | Genesis | Dec 9, 1994 | Sega | 2 |
| BR | The Lion King | Genesis | 1994 | Tec Toy | 2 |
| EU | The Lion KingPAL-only; the last official NES release in any region | NES | May 25, 1995 | — | 1 |
| WW | Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion KingSNES, Genesis and Game Boy versions; also PS4, Xbox One and Windows | Switch | Oct 29, 2019 | — | 1 |
| WW | Disney Classic Games Collection: Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Jungle BookExpanded collection | Switch | Nov 23, 2021 | — | 1 |
Also known as: Disney's The Lion King EU2Король Лев RU1
Box art by region
NA The Lion King 
EU Disney's The Lion King 
JP Disney's The Lion King
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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GraphicsGame Gear
The Game Gear version has weaker graphics than the 16-bit versions but a gentler difficulty curve and better controls.1
-
AudioMS-DOS
The MS-DOS version has enhanced sound effects and music.1
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DifficultySNESGenesis
The monkey puzzle in the second level, "Can't Wait to be King", was made longer late in development to meet Disney's playtime targets.1
Where to play legally today
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Steam Purchase
Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King
SNES, Genesis and Game Boy versions
Checked: 2026-10-133store.steampowered.com
Reception
About 4.5 million copies were sold in total by 2002, according to Westwood's Louis Castle; the SNES version alone sold 1.27 million in the US. Critics praised the graphics and sound but often criticized the uneven, high difficulty.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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