From the Toysit archive
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — Narnia Game Adventures
The 2005 Narnia games let the four Pevensies explore a wintry adventure in different console and handheld forms. Draw a journey with four helpful roles.
The play at a glance
Four travelers in a world waiting for spring
A red-clad sword fighter faces a pale-haired opponent in the wintry scene preserved with Toysit’s original Narnia report. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe games build on the journey of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy through the White Witch’s realm. Their shared adventure gives each new place a question: which member of the group can help move the story forward?
Different versions of the same winter journey
Buena Vista Games’ announcement describes the console and PC versions as action adventures with 15 levels of combat and puzzles. Nintendo’s GameCube overview emphasizes switching characters and a second player joining the adventure. That creates a shared journey with different strengths available along the way.
The Game Boy Advance booklet describes its own world of maps, inventories and magical abilities called Nobilities. One ability calls a woodland creature from hiding; another helps the party cross small gaps. Lost belongings can be returned to Mr. Tumnus’ house, giving exploration a collecting thread alongside the main adventure.
For GBA multiplayer, the booklet specifies a Game Link cable or Wireless Adapter and a second player. Access opens after reaching Chapter 3 and saving; eligible chapters feature more than one of the children. These are features of that handheld edition, with its own setup and chapter structure.
Try four travelers, one winter path
An original Toysit paper activity: Draw a route with three stops: a snowy signpost, a quiet bridge and a garden waiting to thaw. Invent four travelers and give each one a helpful role—observation, storytelling, map reading or kindness. They may be people, animals or entirely imaginary creatures.
- Choose the first clue. At the signpost, the observant traveler notices a tiny painted flower. The map reader decides which path might lead toward its garden.
- Give everyone a contribution. At the bridge, the storyteller invents a welcome for a lonely keeper. The kind traveler asks what would make the keeper’s day brighter.
- Draw the change. At the final stop, add three signs of spring. Explain how something each traveler did helped the group reach this ending.
Let a partner draw a second route with the same travelers but different stops. Swap maps and choose a new order for the four roles. One telling might finish with a garden party; another might end with a note inviting the bridge keeper to visit. Keep both routes as facing pages in a small journey book.
The original launch record
The complete report below retains the six-platform announcement, quotations and separate console, DS and GBA descriptions. It preserves how the games were presented at the time while the new sections identify the edition behind each researched detail.
The historical record
Original Toysit coverage
The complete earlier product account and commentary are preserved below as historical coverage.
Use skills to overcome obstacles in the epic adventure of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Video games inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe are now available at retail outlets in North America for the PlayStation2, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and PC. Players enter a mysterious frozen world where they will play as four heroes to free Narnia from a bleak eternity.
"The video games beautifully translate the film into an epic interactive experience," said film director Andrew Adamson. "They demonstrate the importance of having a film team that is involved in the production of the video games inspired by that film. Players will truly feel as if they have walked through the wardrobe doors and into Narnia, where they can control the destiny of the characters."
The games take the classic story from the renowned book from C.S. Lewis to new heights by bringing the cinematic experience to life. Taking on a variety of creatures, gamers must utilize each hero's unique combat skills and special moves to defeat hoards of enemies, solve elaborate puzzles, and advance towards restoring Narnia.
"The Narnia video game represents collaboration between film making and game development at its best. The game immerses players into the land of Narnia and lets them experience an extensive adventure beyond the epic film," said Graham Hopper of Buena Vista Games.
The console and PC versions are action/adventure games featuring fifteen levels of challenging game play. The game also features seamless integration of film footage with game play and includes extensive use of voice talent from the film.
Included are numerous unlockable bonus levels and features that reveal secrets about the making of the game. The console and PC versions include a two-player co-op drop in/drop out feature in which a second player can easily join a single-player game already in progress.
The Nintendo DS version is an action/adventure game with role playing game features. The Nintendo DS game, which includes 60 maps, utilizes the touch screen for game play options, including managing inventory, conversing with allied creatures, and controlling one of four possible characters in real-time combat. A wireless multiplayer mode allows up to four people to play simultaneously.
The Game Boy Advance version is an action/adventure game that includes seventeen levels of game play inspired by the film. The game includes a two-player linked or wireless multiplayer mode.
The movie itself is a live-action/CGI motion picture adaptation of C.S. Lewis' beloved literary classic. Lewis' timeless adventure follows the exploits of four siblings in England. The children enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of hide-and-seek in the rural country home of an elderly professor. Once there, the children discover a land inhabited by wonderful creatures that has become a world cursed to eternal winter. Under the guidance of a noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the White Witch's powerful hold over Narnia in a battle to free Narnia.
Buena Vista Games is the interactive entertainment division of Walt Disney.
Sources and editorial notes
Nintendo’s GameCube overview and Buena Vista Games’ December 2005 announcement support the console context. The original GBA booklet, AGB-B2WE-USA, was reviewed across all 24 scanned pages, including diagrams. Console and DS operating manuals were not recovered; DS map/player counts and the GBA 17-level count remain attributed to the older report. The retained image does not establish a handheld edition. The activity is original paper storytelling; no game or hardware was physically tested.
- Original Toysit image — Existing same-site image reviewed and retained unchanged.
- Nintendo GameCube Narnia overview — Publisher-platform overview supporting character switching and two-player play. Its regional listing date is not used to revise Toysit’s recorded date.
- Buena Vista Games announcement, December 6, 2005 — Publisher announcement reproduced by Nintendo World Report; identifies the six platforms and the console/PC 15-level description.
- Buena Vista Games Narnia GBA instruction booklet — Original AGB-B2WE-USA booklet; all 24 PDF pages visually reviewed. Printed pages 3–16 cover the handheld interface, abilities, inventory, multiplayer and Mr. Tumnus’ belongings. These instructions apply to the GBA edition.
- Original Toysit coverage — Complete historical account retained, including its original claims and wording.
Images and descriptions are retained as historical material. How Toysit covers toys.
Created for Toysit by Tabbloza — the artwork in our header.