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) only genuine fear." Meanwhile, SMOSH's Francesco Marciuliano praised the character as "one of the most gleefully evil characters Disney has ever created." Carroll's vocal performance as Ursula has been met with similar praise. Michael Wilmington of the "Los Angeles Times" predicted that the actress "will make [the film] a hit". Roger Hurlburt of the "Sun-Sentinel "enthused, "If Academy Awards were given for vocal talents, then Pat Carroll ... certainly is deserving." Hurlburt went on to extol Carroll as "a tour de force ... making such previous Disney villainesses -- Cruella de Ville (sic) ("101 Dalmatians") and the Evil Queen ("Snow