The Emperor's New Groove (video game)

Did You Know?

• Demo versions of the PlayStation game were exhibited at the European Computer Trade Show in September 2000.
• A DVD-Rom demo was included on the DVD release of the movie, accessible by inserting the DVD into a PC.
• In 2010, the game was ported to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable as a PS one Classic digital download on the PlayStation Store.

Gameplay

The Emperor's New Groove is a platformer where the player controls Kuzco from a third-person perspective through linear levels based on movie locations. The goal is to reach the end of each level without losing all health. Coins are placed throughout levels; collecting all coins in a level rewards a large gold coin and is needed for 100% completion. Some levels involve Kuzco drinking magic elixirs that turn him into a frog, turtle, or rabbit, each with specific abilities.

Plot

The PlayStation and PC versions loosely follow the movie plot, including several cutscenes. Emperor Kuzco is transformed into a llama by his evil advisor Yzma, who takes the throne. Kuzco befriends the peasant Pacha, and together they seek to confront Yzma and her henchman Kronk to obtain an elixir to restore Kuzco to human form. An unnamed boy riding a llama-shaped bike challenges Kuzco to a race throughout the game.

Development

Argonaut Games founder Jez San noted the development team tried to keep the plot and setting close to the movie while exaggerating elements that would make good game scenarios, such as the roller coaster scene from the film. The PlayStation and PC versions were developed using the same game engine as Croc 2, following Argonaut's strategy of reusing engines and tools. Argonaut developed this game simultaneously with Disney's Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge, another 3D platformer built from the Croc 2 engine, resulting in many graphical and gameplay similarities. Before the PlayStation release, Argonaut believed the game had potential for re-release on next-generation consoles, but this was never attempted. The PlayStation version's voice acting and subtitles were localized into nine languages for the PAL region.

Reception

The PlayStation version received average reviews on Metacritic. IGN's Jeremy Conrad compared the gameplay to the Spyro the Dragon trilogy, noting similarities in controls and style, stating the game does not offer anything new and criticizing its difficulty and short length while praising its variety, controls, graphics, music, and self-aware dialogue. AllGame's Jon Thompson praised the graphics, music, and controls but criticized the short length. Electronic Gaming Monthly's Sam Kennedy praised the presentation for having wit and sarcasm similar to the film but called the gameplay a mixed bag, praising level variety and criticizing repetition. GamePro's Star Dingo commended the self-aware humor and level variety but noted similarities to other 3D platformers, concluding the gameplay sits in a niche formed by many other 3D games. GameSpot's Frank Provo criticized the sound quality, low difficulty, and the camera as jittery and out of control at times, but lauded the variety and presentation, noting graphics were underwhelming at first but became more interesting, concluding the game does more right than wrong and calling it pretty, funny, and pretty funny as a Disney game should be. NextGen's David Chen said it was neither challenging nor captivating but a solid game. By August 2001, the PlayStation and PC versions had sold 400,000 units, which Argonaut deemed disappointing, and the game generated no royalty income for Argonaut in the year following release.