Brian the Lion

tertronostalgic 2021-03-01
Back in 1994 with this game Reflections went all out to make the most console like game on the Amiga yet.
But bizarrely regarding its implementation they made it as hideously unfriendly and as un-console like as you could possibly get!
By this I mean not recognizing a second disk drive meaning lots of disk swapping and also a horrific copy protection sequence whereby you had to input incomprehensible text from the manual, sometimes in a foreign language. Not just once though but EVERY TIME you got past the first level.
Stupid stupid stupid and very thoughtless and frustrating.
The game itself was okay though although not exactly a world beater
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Juanma 2017-04-30
(6/10)
A missed opportunity. The graphics and presentation are fine, but the controls are a bit off, and the level design is sorely lacking.
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Dottor_Psycho 2016-07-30
(6/10)
Brian the Lion is easthetically pleasing: sometimes, it almost seems filling the gap between the old 1985 Amiga technology and the newer Super Nintendo. That's pretty much about it. While technically advanced, it's just an other generic platformer named after an anthropomorphic animal with attitude. It would not necessarly be a bad thing if the game was still very fun to play. Alas, it plays decently but has a certain feeling of emptiness in it that is badly balanced by unnecessary trickiness. And, if SNES games have to be imitated, then up to jump is just unacceptable (6/10).
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tertronostalgic 2015-10-18
This had some appalling disk swapping and copy protection problems which spoiled a really good looking game. The game was surprisingly quite short too.
But it did have some lovely visuals and was reasonably playable so i give it 6/10
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praest76 2015-06-09
These sorts of games were the Amiga's downfall. Lackluster and uninspired attempts to squeeze into the huge 16-bit console market, when the Amiga's strengths always lay in adventure/roleplay and strategy games. A market stolen from them by the PC while they were busy chasing Sonic and Mario on wobbly asthmatic geek legs.
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ixien 2012-05-17
(7/10)
Again, another very controversial game It's very cute with marvellous graphics, smooth animation, fabulous soundtrack... But questionable gameplay and level design ! In short, a game from Reflection !!! My opinion ? It is a fact, the character design is a calamity and not inspired. Brian The Lion is a beautiful demonstration of what AMIGA is capable - bonus levels are very impressive (especially in ECS version), but if you want a great gaming experience on the Commodore machine, do not worry, you'll find much more interesting titles !
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apachacha 2011-10-21
(10/10)
Real swell platformer, with alot of secrets thrown in.

The only things I disliked were the ridiculous time limits you needed to make to get into a bonus level, and the fish, thank god there were no levels taking place fully underwater !
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stooart 2011-01-19
(7/10)
Loved that bouncy Brian on the title screen and the smooth detailed gfx throughout. Ok, it was a pretty standard platformer but it had a strange addiciton for me although got very tough later on.
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tony day 2010-12-28
(6/10)
Technically good but boring unoriginal gameplay and horrid main character design
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comiga 2009-10-25
(9/10)
This game got slammed a bit, but i really like it! Its not hardcore and not a fast mover (which i guess why some dont like it), but its very very polished, and i think really fun to play, and all on an A500 as well... Very slick! Looks a lot better than some AGA titles!
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Dan Locke 2009-09-12
(5/10)
Great graphics, great music, great warping and scaling effects, HIDEOUS gameplay. Hazards pop out of nowhere, the swipe attack has no range at all, and blind leaps permeate every area. The slightest touch from an enemy launches Brian across the screen like a ball, often into another enemy or, worse, into one of the many bottomless pits that litter the levels. The controls don't help, either - Brian's movement is vague and floaty, leading to a lot of otherwise avoidable deaths. It's kind of sad, actually, that such a well-made game, with months of effort put into it by such talented programmers and artists, could be ruined so thoroughly by bad design.
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Scrawffler 2009-03-01
(9/10)
Fun game with great level design. I prefer the CD32 version because of the extra levels and excellent CD tracks (apparently there was a CD32 version that had no music, but the version I have has got a great soundtrack) but the floppy disk version is awesome too.
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altraz 2009-02-03
(8/10)
Oh, liked this one! Nice presentation and nice animation from Brian. But the enemies looked kind of... Arghs
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bbr 2008-07-10
(9/10)
Very addictive platformer
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Myszaqu 2008-02-09
(8/10)
Maybe it is not Superfog, but the game has its charm. I've only played in demo from Amiga Action
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HexElf 2007-08-26
(8/10)
I remember playing this as a kid and enjoying it quite a bit even amongst Snes games that were smoking hot back then. A cute and enjoyable platformer with great personality.
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elend 2007-04-07
(9/10)
Very cutesy platformer with very colourful graphics and good gameplay. Better than average!
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amigabill 2007-02-05
(6/10)
It looked good, it played smoothly, it sounded nice but I didn't like it! I suppose the reason was that everything the game offered was done better oh about 100 times before this came out in the market..
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ivanhoe 2006-08-14
(8/10)
I can`t believe this game is only average for some people... For me this is (besides Ruff`n tumble and Superfrog) the best platformer that was available on Amiga.
Beautiful graphics, great atmosphere and cute characters - 9.5/10
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Predseda 2006-04-22
(5/10)
It is sad, but I must absolutely agree with LeeT.
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Sakura_Star1 2006-02-06
(9/10)
A game that is like the SuperFrog platformer game(but this one is totaly nice) The graphics are very basic,and the playbility is medium,and the music,in some platforms,are very nice.

Notes:
Graphics:7/10
Music/Sound FX:8/10
Playbility:7/10

Overall:7/10

Sakura
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rvo 2005-06-12
(9/10)
This classic game has some very good graphics, amazing demo-style effects, and solid playability towards the end. It has some flaws aswell; the graphics don't always 'add up' to each other (they look like moving cardboard figures at times) and the controls are a bit restrictive and lack 'feeling', especially when jumping around. Still one of the best platformers around.
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Guybrush Threepwood 2005-06-05
(8/10)
Good game with nice GFX and sound, thumbs up to Reflections who made the game
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Kim Lemon 2005-05-21
(9/10)
Definately one of my favourite platformers!
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dysfunctional 2005-04-11
(8/10)
Absolutely one of the better platformers I've played...
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LeeT 2005-01-24
(3/10)
I've played the CD32 version of this and its extremely poor - For starters there is no music, and the gameplay just feels boring. Its repetitive and there isn't any incentive to play much further than a couple of games.

Avoid!
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Predseda 2004-12-07
(5/10)
I remember this game from the times when I had a real Amiga. I remember I didn´t like it because of its childish graphics. I had a pirate copy (of course) and I erased it from my diskettes very soon, because there were a lot of better games. Now, after 8 or 9 years, I should try it again in the emulator, maybe I will change my mind. So I can't vote now, maybe later.
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conan 2004-12-06
(10/10)
I'm very very proud to give as first comment about Brian the Lion.
This game I am playing since December 1995 ,until now I'm still playing it with a emulator.
This is my favourite game off all time.
I rate it 10.
For the one's who haven't played Brian yet,use the emulator and play it.
It's the best platform/ jump run game there is.
Brian has 20 levels and many many secret hiden levels.
If you like Supermario land (Gameboy).this game beats every platform game.
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