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Jungle Hunt

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Jungle Hunt
Atari 2600 manual
Developer(s)Taito (arcade)
Atari, Inc. (ports)
Publisher(s)Taito (arcade)
Atari, Inc. (ports)
Atarisoft (ports)
Platform(s)Arcade, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, IBM PC, VIC-20, TI-99/4A
ReleaseJungle King
Jungle Hunt
Pirate Pete
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)1-2 players alternating turns
Arcade systemTaito SJ System

Jungle Hunt,[a] is a side-scrolling action game developed by Taito for arcades. It was originally distributed in 1982 as Jungle King,[b] then quickly modified and re-released as Jungle Hunt following a copyright dispute over the player character's likeness to Tarzan. Taito also distributed a less successful rebranding of the game as Pirate Pete in 1982. Jungle King, along with Moon Patrol released a month earlier, is one of the first video games which has parallax scrolling.

The player controls an unnamed character moving through right-to-left scrolling scenes to rescue a woman from cannibals by swinging from vine to vine, swimming through a crocodile-infested river, avoiding rolling boulders, and jumping over her captors.

Home versions of Jungle Hunt were published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari 8-bit computers starring a British explorer named Sir Dudley. Ports under the Atarisoft label were released for Apple II, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, VIC-20, and IBM PC compatibles.

Gameplay

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The game is split into four sections which scroll right to left.

In the first, the explorer is swinging from vine to vine by pressing the button when two vines are close enough together. Missing a vine causes the explorer to fall to the jungle floor, losing a life.

After the last vine, the explorer dives in a crocodile-infested river. The explorer can attack the crocodiles from below with his knife, unless their mouths are open. The explorer must periodically return to the surface to breathe, where he cannot attack the crocodiles. Bubbles occasionally rise from the bottom of the river, that can trap the explorer and carry him to the surface, potentially hitting crocodiles on the way.

After jumping out the river, the explorer runs up a hill while dodging various-sized boulders. The boulders bounce at varying speeds and heights, requiring the explorer to either jump or duck at the appropriate moment.

In the final scene, the explorer must evade cannibals while attempting to get to a woman being lowered into a cauldron. After the player rescues the woman, the word "Congratulations!" appears, which is then followed by a message saying "I Love You!!!" ending with the woman kissing the explorer.

Further gameplay repeats the scenes with increased difficulty. On rounds other than the first, a cannibal appears in the tree of the cauldron scene and throws spears at the player.[7]

Release

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The release of Jungle King with its Tarzan-like hero prompted legal action from the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs. This resulted in the name being changed to Jungle Hunt with several cosmetic modifications:[8][9]

  1. The main character is an explorer wearing a pith helmet and safari outfit.
  2. The swinging vines have slightly different visuals to pass them off as ropes.
  3. The Tarzan yell at the start of the game is replaced by the music from the end of the river scene.

Ports

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Sir Dudley jumping between vines (Atari 2600)

Atari, Inc. published home ports in 1983 under their own brand for the Atari 2600,[10] Atari 5200, and Atari 8-bit computers. Ports for other platforms were released under the Atarisoft label: Apple II, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, VIC-20, IBM PC compatibles, and TI-99/4A. In the Atari branded versions, the hero is named Sir Dudley, and the girl, married to Sir Dudley, is Lady Penelope.

The Apple II and IBM PC versions were developed by Sierra On-Line.

Reception

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In the United States, Jungle King was the top-grossing upright arcade cabinet on the monthly RePlay charts by October 1982.[11] Jungle Hunt had also topped the RePlay charts by January 1983.[12] By July 1983, it had sold an estimated 18,000 arcade cabinets in the United States, and it was one of the six top-grossing games during that period.[13] Jungle King went on to be one of the thirteen highest-grossing arcade games of 1983.[14]

Bill Kunkel reviewed Jungle King for Electronic Games magazine in early 1983, writing that it could become Taito's "biggest hit since Space Invaders" as it follows "the classic formula for successful videogames: easy to learn, difficult to master." He said it was "an undeniable kick the first few plays, but doesn't seem to hold up for extended periods of time" and called the graphics of the vine-swinging segment "downright hideous", but noted "gamers seem to be enjoying it."[15]

Raymond Dimetrosky of Video Games Player rated the Atari VCS version a B+, calling it "quite good" considering the limitations of the VCS.[16] William Michael Brown reviewed the Atari 5200 port in the September 1983 issue of Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, rating it a 3 out of 4. He called it a significant improvement over the "disappointing" Atari VCS version, saying it looks and plays better and brings "much of the coin-op challenge."[17]

Jungle Hunt received a Certificate of Merit in the category of "Best Adventure Videogame" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards in January 1984.[18]: 42 

Legacy

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In November 1982,[6] Taito released another version of the game in arcades as Pirate Pete with the same gameplay.[19] The player character is now a pirate; the vines are replaced by ropes swinging from the masts of a very long ship; sharks swim in the water instead of crocodiles; and sword-wielding pirates take the place of cannibals.[20]

In 1983, Milton Bradley published a board game version of Jungle Hunt where ropes are a key element.[21]

Jungle Hunt is included in the Taito Legends collection for Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.

Notes

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  1. ^ ジヤングル・ハント, Jiyanguru Hanto
  2. ^ ジャングル・キング, Jiyanguru Kingu

References

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  1. ^ "Video Game Flyers: Jungle King, Taito (USA)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Jungle King (Registration Number PA0000147344)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 40–46 (42). ISBN 978-4990251215.
  4. ^ "Video Game Flyers: Jungle King, Taito (Germany)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  5. ^ Fujihara, Mary (25 July 1983). "Inter Office Memo". Atari, Inc. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.
  6. ^ Jungle Hunt at the Killer List of Videogames
  7. ^ Johnson, Kevin (February 1983). "Bungling in the Jungle". Video Games. 1 (5): 18.
  8. ^ "Arcade Action". Vidiot. Vol. 1, no. 3. May 1983. p. 24.
  9. ^ "Atari 2600 VCS Jungle Hunt". Atari Mania.
  10. ^ "RePlay: The Players' Choice". RePlay. October 1982.
  11. ^ "The Top Ten". Electronic Fun with Computers & Games. Vol. 1, no. 3. January 1983. p. 91.
  12. ^ Fujihara, Mary (July 25, 1983). "Inter Office Memo: Coin-Op Product Sales" (PDF). Atari, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  13. ^ "AMOA Votes On Annual Game Awards". Cash Box. October 29, 1983. p. 60.
  14. ^ Kunkel, Bill (February 1983). "Insert Coin Here: Jungle King". Electronic Games. Vol. 1, no. 12. p. 62.
  15. ^ Dimetrosky, Raymond (November 1983). "Video Game Buyer's Guide: Jungle Hunt". Video Games Player. Vol. 2, no. 2. United States: Carnegie Publications. p. 54.
  16. ^ Brown, William Michael (September 1983). "Jungle Hunt". Electronic Fun with Computers & Games. Vol. 1, no. 11. pp. 49–50.
  17. ^ Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (January 1984). "Arcade Alley: The Arcade Awards, Part 1". Video. 7 (10). Reese Communications: 40–42. ISSN 0147-8907.
  18. ^ Phillips, Scott (April 1983). "The Arcade Beauty Pageant". Joystik. 1 (5): 11.
  19. ^ "Pirate Pete". Arcade History.
  20. ^ "Jungle Hunt Board Game". Board Game Geek.
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