Best Family Games Like Aladdin

The best family games like Aladdin are The Lion King, Castle of Illusion and DuckTales. Below are 6, each with the reason it is here — and, at the end, what filtering to family costs you.

Why Family Is a Good Answer for Aladdin

Filtering to family means the game has to work for a child and an adult at the same table without either of them being bored. That is a much harder design problem than a difficulty slider.

What you get: Something you can put in front of anyone. The best family games make the skill gap not matter rather than pretending it is not there.

What made Aladdin worth playing in the first place is covered on the full list. This page is the family part of that answer, and only the family part.

6 Family Games Like Aladdin

  1. 1. The Lion King

    Same era, same approach to animation, and considerably harder.

  2. 2. Castle of Illusion

    The Genesis Disney platformer that got the controls right first.

  3. 3. DuckTales

    The NES Disney platformer everyone still names, and the pogo stick is why.

  4. 4. Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers

    Two-player Disney platforming built for a child and an adult together.

  5. 5. Sonic the Hedgehog

    The Genesis platformer to compare everything else on the system against.

  6. 6. Rayman Origins

    The modern version of this idea, and the animation is still the point.

What This Filter Leaves Out

Edge. Family games rarely go anywhere uncomfortable, and a few of them are too generous to hold an experienced player for long alone.

Specifically, these are strong answers for Aladdin that are not family games, so they are not on this page:

  • Earthworm Jim — The other Genesis game built to show off hand-drawn animation, by some of the same people.
  • Dust: An Elysian Tail — Hand-animated action platforming with combat that goes deeper.
  • Shovel Knight — If the era rather than the animation is what you are after.

The full list is on games like Aladdin — 10 picks, no genre filter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best family game like Aladdin?

The Lion King. Same era, same approach to animation, and considerably harder.

Are all of these on the Sega Genesis?

No. Aladdin released on the Sega Genesis, but a recommendation is only useful if you can play it, so the picks above span platforms and eras. What they share is the genre and the reason.

How do I check a game is suitable?

Age ratings cover content but not difficulty or frustration, which is what actually ruins a family session. Five minutes of unedited play footage tells you more than any rating.

Competitive or co-operative?

With mixed ages, co-operative usually wins. The competitive ones that work are the ones where being in last place is still entertaining.

How are these chosen?

By hand. Each pick was written for the full Aladdin list first, on what the game actually does, and this page is the part of that list that is family — never a genre tag lookup, which is how "best racing games like Super Mario 64" used to be a page on this site.

Other Angles on Aladdin

More Family Games Recommendations

Or read the family guide for where to start in the genre generally.