Ariel the Little Mermaid who the player selects, both characters play the same, and feature two attacks for defeating enemies, a "normal" and a "special". Side characters from the film, like Flounder and Sebastian make appearances, and can aid the player in their quest. There are a total of 5 stages, 4 regular, each featuring a boss fight at the end, with the fifth one being exclusively a final boss fight against antagonist Ursula. The Genesis version of Ariel the Little Mermaid has received mixed to negative reviews. "AllGame" gave the game a somewhat positive review, stating a young child may enjoy it, but
Ursula (The Little Mermaid) time". Ursula is also considered to be one of Disney's most terrifying villains. Oh My Disney ranked Ursula's line "Triton’s daughter will be mine and then I’ll make him writhe. I’ll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook!" the fifth "Most Sinister Disney Villain Quote". Meanwhile, "Rolling Stone" included the climactic sequence in which Ursula grows into a giant on the magazine's list of the "12 Scariest Moments in Kids' Films", comparing the sequence to the iconic shower scene in the horror film "Psycho" (1960), while BuzzFeed ranked the character's death fifth on the website's "Definitive Ranking Of