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The Jungle Book is a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Game Boy, released in 1994. It is based on the 1967 animated Disney film of the same name.
Plot[]
The plot remains the same as the film.
Gameplay[]
The player controls a young Mowgli through various side-scrolling levels in a similar mold of Pitfall!. The Mowgli character must shoot, jump & bounce on or avoid enemies and navigate platformed levels and enemies by running, jumping, climbing vines and using the various weapons and powerups available during the game. Mowgli starts the game with a banana projectile, but may collect invincibility masks, coconuts, double banana shots, and boomerang bananas during the game.
Levels are completed by collecting a sufficient number of gems, then finding a specific character placed in the level, with a boss character being encountered every other level. The player scores points by obtaining gems along with having fruits and other items that contribute to the player's in-game score.
Stages are divided into chapters which, sequentially, comprise the plot. Each chapter opens with a description of the story at that point and the objective of the stage; some stages are completed by defeating a boss, while others have 'friendly' characters which the player is required to find after collecting sufficient gems.
The player has six minutes to complete each level. Depending on difficulty, the number of gems the player must collect to progress is either eight (easy), ten (medium), or twelve (hard), of a total of fifteen gems spread throughout the level.
Development[]
Development of the Genesis/Mega Drive version started in 1993 at Virgin Games USA and with programming duties taken by David Perry, but the game, which was intended to be released within that year along with the Master System version, wasn't finished at time because of David Perry and most of the team moving away to form Shiny Entertainment. The Genesis version was subsequently finished by Eurocom in 1994, keeping in the game most of the substantial work already done by Virgin Games USA. The levels were designed and put together using the application "The Universal Map Editor".
Reception[]
GamePro gave the Super NES version a mixed review. They remarked that "Mowgli's adventures are pretty repetitious, centering around his ability to swing on vines." They also criticized the limited use of Baloo, who they felt to be the film's best character. However, they asserted that the "lush" graphics and animation make the game worth playing. Electronic Gaming Monthly similarly praised the graphics and animation, and were also complimentary of the controls and huge levels. They scored it a 7.8 out of 10.
External links[]
- The Jungle Book at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The Jungle Book at The Disney Wiki, the Fandom wiki on Disney.
- The Jungle Book at GameFAQs