Disney’s The Jungle Book is a series of platform video games based on the 1967 Disney animated film of the same name. The game was released by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1994 for the Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Gear, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and MS-DOS. While gameplay is the same on all versions, technological differences between the systems forced changes – in some case drastic – in level design, resulting in six fairly different versions of the ‘same’ game. This article is largely based upon the Genesis version.
Tag: Adventure
Crash Team Racing
Crash Team Racing (stylized as CTR: Crash Team Racing) is a 1999 kart racing video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the fourth installment in the Crash Bandicoot series. The game’s story focuses on the efforts of Crash Bandicoot, Doctor Neo Cortex, and other ragtag team of characters in the Crash Bandicoot series, who must race against the egomaniacal Nitros Oxide to save the Earth from destruction. In the game, players can take control of one of fifteen Crash Bandicoot series characters, though only eight are available at first. During the races, offensive and speed boosting power-ups can be used to gain an advantage.
Crash Team Racing was released on October 19, 1999, in North America, and on October 20, 1999 in Europe. It was praised by critics for its gameplay and graphics, though the audio was met with mixed opinions. A successor, Crash Nitro Kart, was released in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and N-Gage. A remaster of the game, titled Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, was announced at The Game Awards 2018 and was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on June 21, 2019.
Crash Bandicoot – Warped
Crash Bandicoot: Warped, known in Europe as Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, is a 1998 platform game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the third game in the Crash Bandicoot video game series following Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back.
The game’s story takes place immediately after the events of the second game. When the ruins of Doctor Neo Cortex’s space station crash-land on Earth, they unleash an evil entity known as Uka Uka, Aku Aku’s evil twin brother, who joins with Cortex and the time-obsessed Doctor Nefarious Tropy as they plan to gather powerful crystals that lay scattered across time, and use their energy to enslave the Earth. The game follows the main characters Crash and Coco Bandicoot as they travel through time and prevent the villains from gathering the crystals by collecting them themselves.
Crash Bandicoot: Warped was lauded by critics, who noted a high quality in many areas, including gameplay, graphics and audio, and the game has been considered one of the best video games of all time. It went on to sell nearly 6 million units, making it one of the best-selling video games for the PlayStation. In Japan, the game surpassed the sales of its two predecessors and became the first non-Japanese PlayStation title to sell over 1 million copies in the country. A remastered version was included in the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy collection for the PlayStation 4 in June 2017, and ported to other platforms in June 2018.
Crash Bandicoot 2 – Cortex Strikes Back
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a 1997 platform game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is a sequel to Crash Bandicoot (1996), and is part of the Crash Bandicoot series.
Taking place on a fictional group of islands near Australia, Crash Bandicoot 2 follows the adventures of the anthropomorphic bandicoot named Crash. Crash is abducted by series villain Doctor Neo Cortex, who tricks him into thinking he wants to save the world. Crash is thrust into several parts of N. Sanity Island in order to gather crystals that will allow Cortex to contain the power of an upcoming planetary alignment and keep the planet from being destroyed. Crash’s sister Coco and Cortex’s former assistant Doctor Nitrus Brio try to warn him about Cortex, with the latter urging Crash to gather gems instead of crystals.
Cortex Strikes Back received positive reviews from critics and is widely considered to be superior to its predecessor. Much of the praise went to the game’s graphics, controls and music, while criticisms focused on the trial-and-error gameplay, lack of level variety, easy boss levels and lack of innovation as a platform game. The game went on to become one of the best-selling PlayStation video games of all time and replaced its predecessor as the highest-selling Western title in Japan at the time, selling more than 800,000 copies in the country by April 1998. A remastered version was included in the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy collection, released on the PlayStation 4 in June 2017, and ported to other platforms in June 2018.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid II
The Little Mermaid II is a Action video game published by Blitz Games, THQ released on December 25th, 2001 for the PlayStation.
Casper
Casper is a series of action-adventure games based on the 1995 film of the same name. Two different games were released in 1996 and 1997 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, by different publishers, in different regions. A third game was released for the 3DO (the final release for that system), Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and Game Boy Color, published by Interplay Productions. There was also a Game Boy game developed by Bonsai. A PC game, Casper: The Interactive Adventure, and a Game Boy Advance game, simply titled Casper, were released in 1997 and 2002 respectively serving as sequels.
Mini-games
Fatso’s Creature Feature is a simple puzzle game with players completing puzzles that result in brief animations once finished. “Easy” has the player assembling Casper and his uncles, while “medium” has the player assembling puzzles featuring the Ghostly Trio in different shapes, colors and patterns. As explained upwards, the hard difficulty puzzles consist of stills from the film which when completed, play a scene relating to that image.
Stretch’s Shake Rattle and Roll is a spelling game in which players have to free Casper from the kitchen stove chimney (Stretch had trapped him down it) by spelling words in a Tetris-like fashion. Players have to use the arrow keys to put each letter into the correct boxes and each time a word is completed, Stretch moves Casper up a level until he reaches the top. On higher difficulties, the letters will fall faster and even appear in different orientations, so players must also use the up and down arrows to turn the letters. If no letters match any in the current word, they can be given to Fatso, though he will also eat any letters that are incorrectly matched or are in the wrong orientation even if they are matched.
Stinky’s Peek-A-Boo has the player help the ghost version of Dr. Harvey (who is trapped in the Lazarus) catch Stinky, who has stolen the Cellular Integrator for the Lazarus in an attempt to keep Harvey as a ghost. Stinky will turn himself into random shapes and players have to click on different tiles on a board to find words or objects (based on the current difficulty) that match the current shape he has become or something within the shape itself (i.e. a day of the week). The higher the difficulty, the more words/objects the player has to match to catch Stinky.
Sega Saturn, 3DO, PlayStation, and Game Boy Color game
The version published by Interplay and developed by Funcom plays as a top-view action-adventure game with pre-rendered graphics. The game features an alternate rendition of the film’s plot (with some of its dark elements retained) spread across three acts, consisting of Casper finding tokens of friendship for Kat and Dr. Harvey, then finding the pieces for the Lazarus machine (which the Ghostly Trio had disassembled to prevent Casper from using it) and assembling it, and finally finding the Cellular Integrator with which to restore Harvey (which is stolen by Carrigan, leading to the final challenge), while exploring the mansion, collecting jigsaw pieces to solve puzzles for morph icons, eating food for morph points and dealing with the Ghostly Trio. Unlike other versions, other than the Ghostly Trio and Carrigan, there are no enemies. The game instead focuses mainly on solving puzzles. Like in the Brainy Book, Casper and his uncles were reprised by their respective voice actors, whilst Kat and Dr. Harvey were voiced by Tanya Krievins and Blair Bess (again replacing Ricci and Pullman), with Bess providing narration for each act’s introduction as well as reading out several hint parchments found throughout the game. Carrigan’s voice actor remains uncredited (due to her appearing at the end and her only line being “I’ll take that!”).
In an odd seeming oversight, in the game, no matter what one does, the player seems to wind up with an extra red key.[2][3] Players have scoured the manor with no luck finding an extra red door. After combing through the games information, it seems there truly is no extra red door or room in which to use it. It is possible and likely that the extra red key was an oversight in the fact that it may have supposed to have been a gold key. If the player uses one of the gold key’s in the wrong intended order, it softlocks the player out of the latter half of the game’s secrets. It is also possible, but less likely, that it is merely a red herring.
The Game Boy Color game is a scaled-down version of the Saturn/3DO/PS game with the only puzzles and morph icons being the ones required to reach the ending and the sound and graphics are rendered for handheld.
Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time
Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time is a 1999 platform video game developed by Behaviour Interactive, published by Infogrames, and released for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is based on the Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes characters by Warner Bros. Entertainment. The game follows the titular character, who finds himself in a time slip and is tasked with gathering clocks in order to return to the present.
An indirect sequel, Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters was released for the same platforms in November of the following year.
Plot
The game stars Looney Tunes cartoon character Bugs Bunny, who finds and activates a time travel machine (mistaking it for a carrot juice dispenser) after taking a wrong turn at Albuquerque intended for Pismo Beach. He ends up in Nowhere, home of a sorcerer named Merlin Munroe. Merlin then informs Bugs that he is lost in time, and that he must travel through five different eras of time in order to collect clock symbols and golden carrots, which will allow him to return to the present.
Gameplay
The game finds the player (Bugs Bunny) in a race to collect time clocks. To progress in the game, Bugs must complete stages and various objectives which earn them; stages may also contain clocks out in the open in which Bugs can collect, as well as golden carrots. If the player meets a certain threshold of clocks or golden carrots, they’ll be able to unlock new stages or a new time era (serving as the game’s hub worlds), which become accessible by means of a time machine.
The player starts off in an area titled “Nowhere”, which acts as a tutorial level; Bugs will learn the basic moves he needs to use to progress through the game. He can kick, jump, pick up objects, roll, jump into rabbit holes to move underground, tiptoe to avoid alerting other enemies, climb ropes, and use his rabbit ears like propellers to slowly descend to the ground from high places. Bugs can also move some objects to get to certain places. Enemies in the game are mostly simple to beat. Some can be defeated with a kick or a jump, while others may require Bugs to be chased by an enemy until they run out of breath, then they can be kicked in the back. There are also special abilities for Bugs to learn from Merlin much later as he progresses through the game.
While in the time machine, there are five different eras (spanning 21 levels in total) for Bugs to visit. They are the Stone Age, Pirate Years, The 1930s, Medieval Period, and Dimension X. Each level has a varying amount of clock symbols and golden carrots for Bugs to find. There are also normal carrots for Bugs to pick up, which act as his health. Carrots can be collected by finding them scattered in a level. He can hold up to 99 carrots. After completing a level, Merlin will appear and the player can decide if they wish to save their progress up to that point.
102 Dalmatians – Puppies to the Rescue
Disney’s 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue is a platform video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Dreamcast, and Game Boy Color. It is loosely based on the live-action Disney movie 102 Dalmatians.
Plot
Story
Console version
Two Dalmatian puppies, Oddball and Domino, are out in the backyard looking for treasure. They find a toy buried in a park that was made at one of Cruella de Vil’s toy factories; this alludes to the fact that Cruella’s toy sales are down. Facing financial ruin from lack of sales, Cruella sets a plan in motion: to reprogram her toys to capture any pets in sight so she can freeze them in “Super-Gloop” and sell them as a new line of realistic animal toys. Oddball and Domino are the only puppies in their family who have not been captured when they return from the park. Their parents, Dottie and Dipstick, set out to rescue their puppies, commanding Oddball and Domino to stay home. Instead, the puppies set out to save their siblings, and their parents, who are captured along the way.
Game Boy Color version
Cruella de Vil has reprogrammed the toys of her toy factory into kidnapping all the Dalmatian puppies and locking them in cages to power the factory once they get older. Two of the puppies, Oddball and Domino, were able to escape through their cages due to their small size and must free the puppies and escape the factory.
Setting
Similar to the film, the game is set in London, England. There are various levels in the game that are based on well-known places or monuments such as Regent’s Park, Piccadilly, Big Ben, and Stonehenge.
Gameplay
The player can choose the role of Domino (voiced by Frankie Muniz in console versions) or Oddball (voiced by Molly Marlette). Over the course of the game, the player has several opportunities to collect ‘stickers’ towards a virtual sticker book which can be accessed through the level menu. Various actions within the game will unlock stickers. Generally, there is a sticker for exiting every level, collecting 100 bones at each level, and rescuing all the puppies at each level. Each level has its own individual tasks which will also grant stickers: completing a chore, defeating a henchman, and solving puzzles. There are six stickers per level, excluding Cruella levels, which combine together with mini-games for their own sticker image. The stickers are like puzzle pieces that create a realistic picture.
Puppies to the Rescue is a 3-dimensional game with the ability to angle the camera in whichever direction will make it easiest for navigation. The player must avoid and bark at enemy toys to short-circuit them or tumble into them to smash them.
Checkpoints within a level are places where the player will be sent back if a life is lost and are marked by a parrot named Waddlesworth. If a toy hurts the player four times, a life is lost. If a checkpoint has not been reached before a life is lost, the player is sent back to the starting point. Unlike the Game Boy Color version of the game where the toys are active after being broken, toys the players break stay broken. To regain lost health, the player can collect food.
Each level has a ‘spirit animal friend’ who will tell the player how to get through the level, and sometimes assign Oddball or Domino-specific tasks to do in return for a reward or assistance. Certain levels also feature one of Cruella’s three main henchmen from both films: Jasper and Horace from 101 Dalmatians, and Le Pelt from 102 Dalmatians. Unlike enemy toys, they are invincible from normal attacks and the player must perform a certain task instructed by the level’s animal friend in order to defeat them. After a specific number of levels has been completed, the player will face Cruella in a series of boss battles which will unlock a minigame to play upon completion.
Ghosts ‘n Goblins
Ghosts ‘n Goblins (Japanese: 魔界村, Hepburn: Makaimura, lit. Demon World Village) is a run and gun platform game created by Tokuro Fujiwara and developed by Capcom. The first entry in the series was Ghosts ‘n Goblins, released in arcades on September 19, 1985. The series has subsequently been ported to and released on a variety of game consoles and mobile platforms and spawned several sequels and spin-offs.
The main series focuses on the knight Arthur‘s quest to save princess Prin-Prin from the demon king Astaroth. The primary spin-offs include the Gargoyle’s Quest and Maximo game series.
The series as a whole has sold over 4.2 million units and stands as the 13th best-selling Capcom game franchise. It has gained a reputation among players for its high level of difficulty
The most recent game in the series, Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection, was released on February 25, 2021.
Tom & Jerry (and Tuffy)
A Tom and Jerry video game (also known as Tom and Jerry: The Ultimate Game of Cat and Mouse! or Tom and Jerry (and Tuffy)) was released by Hi Tech Expressions for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 and for MS-DOS in 1993. Tom has mouse-napped Jerry’s nephew Tuffy and locked him in a trunk in the attic. Usable weapons include bubble gum, meat cleaver, cups of water, moth balls, hammer, invisible ink and drill.
Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot is a 1996 platform video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the first installment in the Crash Bandicoot series, chronicling the creation of the title character at the hands of series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex and henchman Doctor Nitrus Brio. The story follows Crash as he aims to prevent Brio and Cortex’s plans for world domination, and rescue his girlfriend Tawna, a female bandicoot also evolved by Cortex and Brio.
Crash Bandicoot was released to generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the game’s graphics and unique visual style but criticized its controls and lack of innovation as a platform game. The game went on to sell over 6 million units, making it the eighth best-selling PlayStation game, and the highest-selling ranked on sales in the United States. A remastered version, included in the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy collection, was released for the PlayStation 4 in June 2017 and ported to other platforms the following year.
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario Kart is a 1992 kart racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. The first game of the Mario Kart series was released in Japan and North America in 1992 and in Europe the following year in 1993. Selling 8.76 million copies worldwide, the game went on to become the fourth best selling SNES game of all time. Super Mario Kart was re-released on the Wii‘s Virtual Console in 2009, and on the Wii U‘s Virtual Console in 2013. Nintendo re-released Super Mario Kart in the United States in September 2017 as part of the company’s Super NES Classic Edition.
In Super Mario Kart, the player takes control of one of eight Mario series characters, each with differing capabilities. In single player mode, players can race against computer-controlled characters in multi-race cups over three difficulty levels. During the races, offensive and speed boosting power-ups can be used to gain an advantage. Alternatively, players can race against the clock in a Time Trial mode. In multiplayer mode, two players can simultaneously take part in the cups or can race against each other one-on-one in Match Race mode. In a third multiplayer mode – Battle Mode – the aim is to defeat the other players by attacking them with power-ups, destroying balloons that surround each kart.
Super Mario Kart received positive reviews and was praised for its presentation, innovation, and use of Mode 7 graphics. It has been ranked among the greatest video games of all time by several organizations including Edge, IGN, The Age, and GameSpot, while Guinness World Records has named it the top console game ever. It is often credited with creating the kart-racing subgenre of video games, leading other developers to try to duplicate its success. The game is also seen as having been key to expanding the Mario series into non-platforming games. This diversity has led to it becoming the best-selling game franchise of all time. Several sequels to Super Mario Kart have been released, for consoles, handhelds, and arcades, each enjoying critical and commercial success. While some elements have developed throughout the series, the core experience from Super Mario Kart has remained intact.