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Disney's Hercules for PlayStation 1
Disney’s Hercules for PlayStation 1 is an action platformer in which you train the hero and battle monsters from the film. You run past buildings and through forests, jump over traps and swing your sword at opponents. Hercules can also lift and throw rocks to clear enemies or obstacles. Phil teaches you the first moves during training, after which the journey brings you face to face with foes including the Hydra and Medusa.
You view many sections from the side, but at certain points you also move deeper into the screen. Passages and objects are therefore not always on the same line as Hercules. Other sections have you running straight ahead and avoiding obstacles. Temporary sword powers provide extra attacks, while potions restore health. Finding all the letters of Hercules’ name means looking beyond the shortest route. Bosses then require you to wait out their attack and strike back at the right moment.
You play alone using the directional buttons of a standard PlayStation controller. To receive a password and save option in designated levels, first collect all four hidden password vases and complete the level. Saving to a memory card uses slot 1, and you confirm the save yourself. Without a card, you can write down the picture password you receive. The Beginner difficulty lets you practise, but does not give access to the game’s complete ending.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 1 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Hercules Action Spiel (Duits) is the German edition offered here, with German-language packaging. Dutch and English are not guaranteed for this copy.
Manual
Disney's Hercules for PlayStation 1 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Disney's Hercules
Disney’s Hercules was released in 1997 to accompany the animated film about the son of Zeus. Eurocom developed the PlayStation game, using drawn characters in environments with depth. Hercules thus gained the fluid appearance of a cartoon, while buildings, paths and battles could also use the third dimension. European editions appeared under various translated names. In the Netherlands this became Disney’s Action Game met Hercules, while the German edition displayed Hercules Action-Spiel on its packaging.
The combination of side-on action and sections running into the screen suited a transitional period for platform games. PlayStation had fully three-dimensional adventures, but many players still knew the genre from a fixed side view. Hercules used both directions within one adventure. The hero retained his recognisable drawn appearance, and his strength became a gameplay action: moving rocks, delivering powerful punches and using a sword with temporary special powers. Phil’s training introduced these actions within the story.
The PlayStation version later received a Platinum edition. This was a reissue of the same adventure, not a sequel with new levels. Different European language editions adapted the presentation for their markets; German packaging therefore does not automatically mean you can select Dutch during play. Other versions also appeared for computers and Game Boy. This description focuses on the original PlayStation design, with its own controller scheme and the combination of picture passwords and memory card saving after collecting vases.
Similar games for PlayStation 1
Like Hercules, Disney’s Tarzan has you following a largely side-on path through a film world, jumping and searching for collectibles. Tarzan throws fruit, swings on vines and slides along branches; Hercules uses a sword, punches and heavy rocks. Both sometimes allow movement into the screen. Hercules centres on powerful attacks and battles against mythological monsters, while Tarzan draws more variety from the jungle and movement through trees.
Rayman also uses drawn characters, hidden collectibles and precise jumps. Its levels remain two-dimensional and gradually grant you new abilities, such as the helicopter movement with his hair. Hercules alternates side-on routes with sections running into the screen and can lift objects to throw them. Rayman often asks you to revisit a route for imprisoned Electoons. In Hercules, hidden vases instead help you obtain passwords and save opportunities.
Like Hercules, Crash Bandicoot combines side-on platform sections with routes where you run into or out of the screen. In both, you watch for gaps, traps and enemy timing. Crash mainly revolves around carefully placed jumps, his spin attack and breaking crates. Hercules gives more room to sword fighting, throwing rocks and temporary weapon powers. The hero can therefore physically clear an obstacle where Crash usually needs a safe jumping route.
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile also uses a side-on route in a world with a three-dimensional appearance. Klonoa catches enemies with his wind ring and uses them as projectiles or to help him jump higher. Hercules lifts rocks and other heavy objects, but also fights directly with his sword. In Klonoa, holding an enemy is often the key to a platform puzzle. Hercules connects his strength mainly to action, combat and clearing the path.
Aladdin in Nasira’s Revenge shares Disney characters, jumps, sword attacks and hidden objects. However, it lets you move more freely through three-dimensional spaces and rotate the camera. Hercules usually keeps the path more clearly in one direction, with excursions into the screen and fast running sections. Aladdin also alternates with Abu and Jasmine, who have their own passages. Hercules stays with one hero and develops his strength through lifted rocks, punches and temporary sword powers.
