Disney's The Emperor's New Groove

Disney's The Emperor's New Groove brings to the Game Boy Color the story of the conceited emperor Kuzco, whom his former advisor Yzma, with the help of her assistant Kronk, turns into a llama, and the player, as an animal with a human mind, moves through platforming levels inspired by the Peruvian jungle, village roads, and Yzma's laboratory full of dangerous potions. The game combines classic platforming movement with item collecting and simple puzzles that reference key scenes from the film, attempting to retell the movie's story in the form of an interactive adventure aimed mainly at the younger audience who knew the film well from theaters and home video.

Developer Crawfish Interactive, which at the time specialized in Disney licenses for Nintendo handhelds, focused on keeping the game accessible to a younger audience without giving up a certain degree of challenge in later levels full of moving platforms, chasms, and other hazards. The Game Boy Color's colorful environments served well to distinguish the different chapters of the story, from green jungle scenes to the cold tones of Yzma's laboratory, and the musical motifs underscore the humorous tone for which the film remains famous to this day and which sets it noticeably apart from the era's more sweeping Disney blockbusters.

Like a number of other Disney platformers of its era, Emperor's New Groove never attracted much attention beyond the film's fan circle, but within the genre of licensed family games on GBC it ranks among the solidly made titles that stay faithful to their source with an eye for detail. Today it appeals mainly to nostalgic players who want to experience the beloved story of a proud ruler turned into a llama once more, this time in the form of an undemanding but honestly made handheld platformer that can also win over younger players who grew up with the film generations later.