Welcome to a new edition of Retro Corner and a new Jurassic movie is out in theaters. However, when Jurassic Park (the first film) came out in 1993, it was an impressive feat of CGI and good movie making. I'm going be truthful and say I haven't been into the series since the second film got released. Back in the 90s, for some odd reason dinosaurs was the pop culture fad along with roller blades. It wasn't just Jurassic Park but also "We're Back" and The Land Before Time series. However, Jurassic Park was the defined film for dinosaur adventuring as a group of scientists try escaping the island. The scope of the story made the plot believable in so many ways that it might be possible in real life. Like any successful license, publishers were already lining up to make a game based off the new brand. Ocean Software was the company to buy the rights to develop both the NES and Super NES games. The studio during the 80s and 90s produced mostly license based titles until they went defunct in 1998. Gameplay The game plays like an overworld where you navigate across the island in its many areas. You play as Dr. Alan Grant who must go across the park collecting dinosaur eggs and retrieving items to progress to others areas. There is several weapon types to choose from when fighting off the enemies. At the start, you are giving the Cattle Prod as a default weapon but it can also be used to open gates. Along the way you will find other weapons like tranquilizer guns (for knocking them out) and shotguns for close range. There's also explosive bolas (good for giving one hit kills for Raptors and Dilophosaurus (poison spitters) for long-range). The gas grenade launcher will also put them to sleep as a long-range projectile. Of course, there is the missile launcher and similar to the bolas you can also instant kill an enemy. For once, a game studio gets the variety of weapons right and allows the player many ways to get passed the dinosaurs. My favorites are naturally the explosive bolas and missile launcher especially the latter. The bolas just has a better wide range compared to other weapons and can take out a couple of enemies in a row. The overworld challenges were solid as the player will need to overcome falling rocks, rivers, and electric fences and patches. Most of the well-known dinosaurs will appear on the overworld which includes the Raptors, Dilophosaurus, Triceratops, and even the Tyrannosaurus Rex its self. Raptors quickly lunge at you with claws, Dilophosaurus spit poison globs, Triceratops charge at you in corridor areas and the T-Rex can one hit kill the player. It's truly a diverse cast of enemies as each one has their own challenges to overcome. Probably the most unique feature is the FPS mode when entering the buildings. Sometimes I love when a studio mixes it up by using multiple genres to make a unique experience. Sega did something similar in Phantasy Star where the player would move across the overworld, but it would switch to a 3D style. The best part comes from exploring these areas and here you must find the characters' ID card. As the player ventures further, they will have to fend off two kinds of dinosaurs while completing their goals. I always had some fun in these areas with blasting any dinos. I find it interesting they choose to use this style before Doom even came to the Super NES. The Super NES version does come across better compared to the others of the same license. Unfortunately, the gameplay isn’t following the golden standard when it comes to the 3D dungeons. I have played Doom many times, but Ocean Software didn’t seem to take Id’s example. In these sections, the challenge is truly shallow, and I literally can one hit kill any raptor or Dilophosaurus (poison spitters) that crossed my path. It's even worse during the 3D dungeon like levels where only a raptor and Dilophosaurus gets used for these stages. It's one thing for the overworld’s enemies to have this level design trait. However, when a designer tries inserting other genres like an FPS then its concept must create a different design. That’s all you will encounter every time in these areas and these dinos will consistently have the same tactics. They could have made each one with a different trial aside from running with claws or spitting poison. Even Wolfenstein had better enemy challenges that made the player think how they would get passed each stage. If it isn’t delivering one shot attacks, then the dumb A.I. is another thing that holds back the gameplay. The A.I. is really stupid here as even when you open the doors they will stand there or pace back and forth not at all reacting to the player. You could literally shoot them from the door way very easily and they won’t even attack. There literally is no diversity among their single attacks but mindless inputs. After playing Doom, it becomes clear how shallow these sections come off. The only obstacle in the buildings is the dark rooms and they player depends on night vision goggles. In Doom, there were more than dark rooms to avoid so I can’t understand why Ocean Studios didn’t follow Id’s standards. The following thing that nearly killed it for me was the lack of a password system. It’s downright ridiculous how the player must beat the game in one setting. If the studio didn't want to spend money on a battery pack, they would often create a password system its place as affordable option. Ocean Software was clearly being lazy here as it takes two hours to complete this game. Rating: 8.2/10 Graphics/Presentation The overworld had many lush environments from the jungles to the mountains areas that appeared in the movie. The islands vast number of places from the film appears on the overworld from the Visitor’s Center to the Raptor Pit. I remember recognizing these places back then after watching the movie many times. The sprites had a solid design to them and keep up with the standard found from most license games. I also love the broad detail each one had and its one of the define features of the sprites. The animation was another feature for these sprites that saw great frame work. Whether they charged with an attack or walked around when you entered their territory, it's great to see realistic animation. The most surprising graphics from this version was the FPS 3D style of Id Software. It was one of my favorite parts of the game as I always loved exploring the buildings and shooting the dinosaurs inside. That is how I got into FPS games since this was before I discovered Doom and after playing a little of Wolfenstein. The sprites in these areas saw a major jump and both the Raptors and Dilophosaurus looked amazing for its time. Just seeing a Raptor charging at the player with claws was like it came straight out of the movie. The presentation is nearly non-existent when it came to the story and no form of writing is ever used for Dr. Alan Grant. The only forms of dialogue I found were through these electric posts that tells you where to go next on the overworld. However, these are more like hints than dialogue as none of the characters appear to speak. Despite the lack of the film's plot, the buildings' objectives still follow the movie's narrative. I mean who plays a good license game for its story when we buy them for the gameplay and to an extent its graphics. It's really awesome to see the locations from the film appear on the overworld. These locations did create a cinematic feel to them compared to other license titles during the early 90s. The soundtrack was actually decent and matched the environments they played in these areas. I don’t have a favorite as they are mostly decent for what the soundtrack has to offer. However, it's disappointing that the Main theme is no where near in this version. Of course, using Doom's 3D style for the buildings might have looked good in 1993 but that isn’t the case today. The 3D dungeons haven't aged that well as they are actually set on a one height plane. Every wall texture is the same as the last and often repeats together. Id corrected this mistake in Doom when Wolfenstein had the same issue. The studio obviously didn’t do their homework enough especially when the information was there to look up. I can't grasp why they would place the screen ratio in a goggle form and it came across as a slight distraction. They probably set it in this form to keep the frame rate at a minimal, so it doesn't slow down. That was an obvious issue in the Super NES port of Doom, but I am not saying this is better by any means. I’m just comparing the frame rates to each other to make a point. Rating: 7.8/10 Features/Content The content is actually simple and a typical play through takes around two hours to complete. It’s the usual standard found in most adventures titles akin to Neutopia (Zelda clone) and the Zelda series. The replay value is there for this version as it makes the player fight their way through dinosaurs they come across. With the FPS sections made this a great surprise for a license game to have as not many existed of its kind. However, aside from the main goal, the biggest issue is there are no other side quests. There are no secrets areas to find on the overworld or hidden bosses to fght. All you get is a vanilla experience of finding dinosaur eggs and the film's objectives. Ocean Software really dropped the ball here as this was a standard during the 90s to have extra content in adventure titles. Every time I think of an RPG or an adventure title, it's not hard for any gamer to think of extra stuff. For a game this size is truly disappointing to not have any kind of side quests. Rating: 7.3/10 Final Rating Jurassic Park on the Super NES is a lot better than most license games at the time. Ocean Studios took key features of the adventure genre and produced good gameplay. The overworld played the same as any adventure game does with hunting for the next objective. The player would face the best-known dinosaurs from the film as they adventure through the various terrains. The FPS style was a unique feature for the buildings when entering inside. These places are where the goals took place and followed the film's story. The graphics on the overworld did breathe some life into each area as this provided a feeling like you were at the island. The 3D effect in the buildings was an awesome feature to have in this section of the game. The developers obviously took notes from Id Software considering they created first person shooter genre. The Super NES version does have some problems with no save feature of any kind. The game takes over a couple of hours to complete so it's hard to know why they couldn't add a password system. The gameplay did feel shallow at times when you can kill anything with a single hit. It's even worse inside the building areas with only two dinosaurs to face and no other obstacles aside the dark rooms. I still have to give it to the developers here to take some examples and produce a quality license title. Gameplay: 8.2/10 Graphics/Presentation: 7.8/10 Features/Content: 7.3/10 Final Rating: 7.6/10 Good
0 Comments
|
Retro Gamer has over 25 years of gaming experience and played many classics since the Golden Age. She has been an avid fan since the day the NES graced her life and changed it forever.
ArchivesCategoriesThe social media icon images and Vector Designs by Vecteezy, Medium and Onextrapixel
For More Please Click Below |