The graphics in Disney’s The Little Mermaid II are surprisingly well detailed, but because of that, the game suffers from a low framerate. Of course, it could just be that the controls themselves are sluggish, but the whole time that I played TLM2, I felt that I was moving, well... underwater. (Don't laugh.) The character models, such as they are, are plenty well-detailed, and it's simple enough to tell Ariel apart from her daughter. They're not fantastic, and even the palace feels a little under furnished, but they certainly get the job done.

The full motion video is directly from both the original Little Mermaid movie and the new Little Mermaid II, and as such has the same loss of quality that any FMV transferred from video to CD has. It's not unwatchable, but it's nothing particularly special. Hearing Ursula laugh again after all these years brought back memories, though.

The sound effects are merely passable, with swishes and bangs and beeps that'll neither impress nor bother you. They're just... there. The voice acting, on the other hand, is a little too far on the annoying side for my tastes. Yes, Ariel and Melody are both perky females, but do they have to be -that- perky? Ah, well. I'm not the age group that this title is targeted to, am I?

Unfortunately, I don't think that said age group would enjoy this title much more than I did. It's an interesting little title, and not a bad one, but it's way too short and easy for its own good, and the mini games that come with it aren't quite enough to make the whole thing worth it.

You play TLM2 as both Ariel and Melody. The first five levels are an abbreviated version of the first movie, and the last six are of the second. You play as Ariel, obviously, in the first five levels, as well as one of the later ones. And in one of Melody's levels, she walks instead of swimming. All that being neither here nor there, the gameplay is pretty much the same in each level.

The object of each level is to get to the end. (Duh.) However, there are fifty coins and five pearls in each level. One of the pearls is gained by collecting all fifty coins, but the other four are in various places. The only way to open up the three bonus games is by collecting enough pearls. So, although you may be able to run through a level quickly, getting pearls might take a little effort. When you control a mermaid, there are a few different actions you can do. You can swim, or charge (reminiscent of Ecco's charge), or swipe your tail. Most of the time, you attack enemies by simply charging through them. Only a few times will you find it necessary to actually throw or swipe your tail -- notably, the bosses.

The problem with the game is twofold. First, the controls are imprecise. During the fight with Ursula, I missed more than half of the bottles because I couldn't get Ariel to hit them correctly. I'd press the button, and nothing would happen. Argh. Second, the levels are way too short. Most of them are beatable within five minutes or so, with perhaps the longest being the second level, mainly because you've got to make sure you get rid of the shark before you do much of anything else. A little more playability is added by finding all of the pearls, but most of them are quite easy to find. If they aren't, chances are Flounder will point out where they are anyway.

The three bonus games are entertaining for a few minutes, but in the end, nothing special. The first is basically a poor-man's Parappa or Space Channel 5. The second is a version of the old Namco game Motos, played with characters on top of snowballs trying to knock each other into the ocean without getting hit themselves. And the third is an exercise in tedium -- blow bubbles under items to make them float to the top of the screen. The first two are mildly amusing, but once you beat them once you know how to do it again and again. The games themselves are relatively true to the movies, and they show actual film clips from them, but chances are great that anyone who buys this game already owns both of the movies as well.

Am I saying all of this just because I'm a 'gamer,' and definitely not the target market? No. The controls were frustrating even for me, and young kids might have even more problems with them.

There is none, really, once you figure out what you've got to do in each level. The one where you must save Prince Eric might present a challenge to kids if they try to get all the pearls and the coins before time runs out, but even it's easy after a few tries. The rest of the levels are beatable on the first run-through.

As mentioned before, the controls are a little too ornery. The game also has atrocious load times, which is irritating, and it doesn't give you an option to save in-between levels, which means you have to go to the Island (load time), click on Save Game (load time), then go back to the next level (load time). Ugh. Not that you really need to save after every level, but it's still an annoyance. The 'menu' itself, presented in the form of Scuttle (the bird)'s Island, is actually pretty cool, but not worth the load times it entails.

The Little Mermaid II isn't a bad game, and it's sure to win the hearts of any aspiring mermaids out there -- I've got a few family members who wish they could swim far away. But as a game, even for the kids, it lacks both the tight control and the level of depth needed to keep anyone hooked. It's a pleasant little ride, but it's way too little for its own good. Rent it.