Ariel the Little Mermaid was developed by BlueSky Software and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in 1992 as a licensed adaptation of Disney’s 1989 animated film. Players control Ariel swimming through a series of underwater side-scrolling stages loosely based on scenes from the movie, using an air-bubble attack to fend off sea creatures aligned with the villainous Ursula while collecting items scattered throughout each level. The game also included several stages that departed from straightforward platforming, including an underwater maze level and sequences that mixed in light puzzle-solving, giving the campaign more structural variety than many contemporaneous Disney licensed platformers offered. Shorter, simplified versions of the same game were also released for the Game Gear and Master System, tailored to those systems’ more limited capabilities, while the Genesis version received the fullest treatment of the underwater world and its cast of familiar characters. Its faithful character designs and gentle, family-friendly difficulty made it a popular choice among younger Genesis owners, and it remains a nostalgic favorite among fans of Disney’s early-1990s licensed game output.