Developer: Funcom/Tiertex
Publisher: Disney Interactive, Sega, THQ
Systems: Genesis, Gameboy
Year of release: 1996
Genre: Platformer
Time period: Past
Location: America
Tribe: Powhatan
Character Types: Indigenous main character, Indigenous friendly NPCs
“You earned the spirit of the bird! Find more feathers to take long falls without getting hurt!”
– In-game instructions
- Indigenous main character & Indigenous friendly NPCs
- Some Powhatan culture shown in cutscenes
- One word in the Powhatan/Algonquin language: Wingapo, which roughly translates to hello
- Quest centers around collecting animal powers
The game opens in what appears to be a yehakin with a group of Powhatan people sitting around a fire. An unnamed elder tells the group of a vision and implores them to seek out the animals of the forest and help them. Doing so will grant special powers that will be helpful in the troubled times ahead. From there players take on the role of Pocahontas as she searches for nine animals to help in different stages and receives powers based on the animals she helps. These stages are interspersed with cutscenes that directly follow the plot of the animated movie, from meeting and saving John Smith, through the settlement at Jamestown, and culminating in both the prevention of war and John Smith’s return to England (without Pocahontas). The visual style of the game is taken directly from the movie. Indeed, other than the quest to collect animal powers (which provides the actual gameplay for the game), the narrative and style echoes the movie.
The game is a standard platformer with some light puzzle mechanics. As Pocahontas gains special powers from her encounters with the animals, players must rethink how they use and interact with their environment. The game is fairly short; online full playthroughs for the entire game are typically under an hour in length. It should be noted that the Genesis version and the Gameboy version are essentially the same, with the major difference being extremely simplified graphics on the Gameboy version.