Capcom’s The Little Mermaid — that “Mermaid on Dendy” cart everyone passed around in those ’90s summers like an ice cream cone. Pixelated Atlantis, soft 8-bit melodies, and Ariel trapping enemies in bubbles — not for score, but because that’s her nature. For some it was “Ariel’s Adventure,” for others just “the Ariel game” from an 8-in-1 multicart. And before you know it, you’re sliding through kelp, the screen whispering like the sea. What sticks is simple: a gentle underwater platformer where Disney and Capcom bottled a childhood daydream.

Released in 1991, part of Capcom’s golden Disney streak on the NES: next to Chip ’n Dale and DuckTales it spoke softer, but wrapped you in cozy vibes — waves, coral, treasure chests, and Ursula’s shadow ahead. In Russia it went by “Little Mermaid (NES)” or just “Little Mermaid on Dendy,” lugged from apartment to apartment with the console. It’s not about difficulty here, it’s about the glide: short stages, a boss, a tiny rescue tale — you’ll know it by the tunes and that bubble pop. Want to dive deeper? Check the release history and community lore, and for year-by-year facts and credits, see the entry on Wikipedia.

The Little Mermaid’s gameplay feels like gliding through a childhood daydream: one flick of the tail and you’re already threading coral, past shimmering jellyfish and the chime of pearl-coins. The rhythm is calm but never sleepy: swell—pause—dash, under a gentle side-scrolling drift. You snag enemies in bubbles like soap balloons, seal them for a heartbeat, then flick them aside to clear a path. Controls are responsive and soft: you can feel the water’s momentum, and it doesn’t get in the way—if anything, it sets the groove for that signature underwater dance. Every area is a little vignette: a wreck with shadowy holds, a warm reef dotted with starfish, writhing eels and seahorses in tight grottoes. It’s not about hustle; it’s about flow, when the music lulls you and your fingers find the tempo on their own.

Still, there’s a spark of adrenaline under that serenity. Currents grab and carry, whirlpools play against you, chests tease with treasure, and shell power-ups give your bubble a boost to reach places that were just out of range. On boss fights the rhythm snaps tight like a spring: the screen opens up, the melody turns tense—and suddenly it’s a duel with a giant shadow on the seabed. The sweetest moments are the clashes with Ursula: sometimes you slip by, sometimes you nail the timing and land a shot right on target. Routing leans on memory and intuition: short swims, hidden pockets, unexpected detours, collectible pearls and stashed shells. When Atlantica lights up in familiar colors, it clicks—this is why we loved The Little Mermaid, that classic Disney “Ariel” game so many simply called “Ariel’s adventures.”

It doesn’t press you with difficulty; it wins with atmosphere and the careful cadence of a side-scroller: swim, hold, breathe out a bubble shot, snag a pearl—and glide on to the next reef and cave with secrets of their own. Want to break down the tricks and tactics in detail? Drop by the gameplay section: same ocean, but with the details spotlighted.