Scar – The Lion King. 9 iconic & notorious enemies from 90s' games
Table of Contents
- Genre: 2D platformer
- Release year: 1994
- Developer: Westwood Studios
Who was Scar?
Scar needs no introduction. The Lion King is a classic of kids cinema and an icon for many adults today, and probably everyone recognizes these heroes. Scar was the villain if the animated movie. Always in the shadow of his august brother Mufasa, the king of beasts, he fed his ambition to seize power for years, which he did just after the birthday of Simba – the protagonist, and another obstacle on the way to the throne. With the help of traitorous hyenas, Scar got rid of Mufasa and took the throne, turning the bustling realm into a gloomy wasteland over time. Only the return of the adult Simba led to the fall of Scar's rule. The authors of the original, when creating the perfidious brother of Mufasa, were supposedly inspired by the characters of King Claudius from Shakespeare's Hamlet, as well as Adolf Hitler.
Why was he memorable?
The Lion King from the creators of Dune II, Westwood studio, seemed a simple, colorful platformer for children at first glance, but impression was pretty wrong. The game became famous for high level of difficulty and turned out to be an interesting challenge for experienced players, while beginners and those who were simply fans of the movie quickly deflected from this production. Few made it to the end, where a duel with Scar awaited – an even tougher fight, often frustrating.
The cowardly Scar liked to avoid fighting Simba and escape off-screen, challenging the player with difficult platforming sequences that required precision in jumping between rocky anchor points without falling. Also, hyenas lurked along the way, posing that extra threat. So, it was necessary not only to chase the enemy several times, risking death, but also to keep the right amount of HP for the direct confrontations. For a Disney fairy tale for children, it was an extremely difficult task.
