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{{short description|1986 video game}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2008}}
{{Infobox VG {{Infobox video game
|title = Super Pitfall |title = Super Pitfall
|caption= North American boxart |caption = NES box art
|image = ] |image = Superpitfall.JPG
|developer= ] |developer= Micronics (NES)
|publisher= ], ] |publisher= {{Video game release|JP|]|NA|]}}
|designer = |designer =
|programmer = '''Color Computer 3'''<br>Steve Bjork<br/>'''PC-88'''<br>Makoto Ichinoseki
|engine = |engine =
|released = {{vgrelease|JP=September 8, 1986|NA=1987}} |released = '''NES'''{{vgrelease|JP|September 5, 1986|NA|November 1987}}
|genre = ] |genre = ]{{sfn|Marriott}}
|modes= ] |modes = ], ]{{sfn|Metzger|1987|p=2}}
| platforms = {{plainlist|], ], ]}}
|ratings=
|platforms= ], ], ]
|media = ]
|requirements =
|input = ]
}} }}


{{nihongo|'''''Super Pitfall'''''|スーパーピットフォール|Sūpā Pittofōru}} is a 1986 ]ese ] for the ] and ] by ]. It was released for the Famicom as platformer with seamless scrolling in September 1986. Two months later, the PC8801 version was released with switching screens. The game was released in the US in 1987 by ] for the ]. {{nihongo|'''''Super Pitfall'''''|スーパーピットフォール|Sūpā Pittofōru}} is a 1986 ] non-linear ] for the ] (NES). Despite the title screen stating that it was reprogrammed by ], the development of the NES version was handled by Micronics, a Japanese developer who mostly ported arcade games to the NES.


''Super Pitfall'' was the first game that Activision published as a third-party developer for the NES. Following the original release of the game, ports were made in Japan by Makoto Ichinoseki for the ] liner of computers and by Steve Bjork for the ]. The game initially received positive reviews from '']'' and '']'' while ] wrote in '']'' that the game did not control well and did not stand out well in a market of '']'' clones. Retrospective reviews of the NES game from game critic Brett Weiss and Stuart Hunt of '']'' found the game a step down from the previous ''Pitfall'' games on the ], with both faulting low quality graphics and game design.
It was the first game ever that Activision published for a console made by Nintendo and it was based upon Activision's earlier ] series for the ]. The game was later silently re-released without the "Rev-A" title by video-game publisher ]. This game was also ported to the ]. A sequel titled as Super Pitfall II was planned, but then was cancelled a short time later. It was going to be the localized version of ]'s Famicom title, ].


Activision initially was going distribute ]'s '']'' in the United States in a rebranded form as a sequel to ''Super Pitfall'' on the ]. This release did not happen.
==Game play==

⚫ ]
==Gameplay==
''Super Pitfall'' is a loose ] of '']'', in that the object is to move Harry through the mazes to find the Raj diamond, and rescue his niece Rhonda and sidekick Quickclaw, both of whom have become lost in the caverns. However, Pitfall Harry's quest becomes tougher when he sees that the faithful Quickclaw is imprisoned in a cage and a ] must be found, and that when Pitfall Harry finds his niece Rhonda, she has been turned to stone and he must locate a magic potion that will turn her back into a little girl. In ''Super Pitfall'', however, Harry must also return to his starting point after accomplishing these objectives. Like the original Pitfall, but unlike '']'', Harry has a limited number of lives. This time, Harry is also equipped with a gun with which he can shoot the various deadly creatures that inhabit the caverns. He has limited ammunition and must find additional bullets that are scattered. Arguably the toughest enemies are three ] which require more than one bullet to eliminate. Gathering gold bars results in extra points. Completion of this game requires the memorization (or mapping) of numerous hidden keys and warp zones and revealing each secret requires a precise jump, so the exploration portion of the game is very difficult.
⚫ ]
The game features Pitfall Harry as the ].{{sfn|Metzger|1987|p=1}} Equipped with a gun, he seeks to recover the Raj diamond from a vast subterranean dwelling in the ] and rescue his niece Rhonda and cat friend Quickclaw the Lion who are trapped deep in the caverns.{{sfn|Metzger|1987|p=1}} The goal is to move Harry through a nonlinear cave maze finding the two trapped friends and collect the Raj diamond and return to the starting point.{{sfn|Marriott}}{{sfn|Metzger|1987|p=4}} While playing, Harry will find that Rhonda has turned to stone and Quickclaw is trapped and both require items to be freed. To return home, Harry must collect a photograph of the Underground Kingdom for a clue on how to return entrance.{{sfn|Metzger|1987|p=4}} Harry begins with three lives and on touching an enemy or a hazard he loses one. Lives can be earned from collecting 50,000 points, and then 80,000 the next.{{sfn|Metzger|1987|p=6}} Points are collecting by shooting and defeating enemies and collecting gold bars and other items.{{sfn|Metzger|1987|p=8}}

Harry is maneuvered with the directional pad to move left and right and can climb and swim upwards with the up arrow. He can jump and fire his gun with the a and b buttons respectively.{{sfn|Metzger|1987|p=2-3}} Harry can collect items shaped like playing card suits to open rock doors as well as spare pistols and items that make him invulnerable to enemies. Items in the game are invisible and can only be grabbed at certain moments while jumping.{{sfn|Metzger|1987|p=5}}

==Development==
''Super Pitfall'' was developed by the Japanese company Micronics.{{sfn|Hunt|2012|p=84}} Micronics predominantly did work in outsourcing tasks and generally made ] (NES) versions of popular arcade titles such as '']'' and '']''.{{sfn|Alpert|2010}} Stuart Hunt of '']'' described the game as a loose port of the Atari 2600 game '']''.{{sfn|Hunt|2012|p=84}}

In Japan, the game was released for the PC-8801MKIISR model in the ] of home computers. It was designed by Makoto Ichinoseki.{{sfn|BASIC|1987|ref=basic}} Steve and Monique Bjork contributed to the ] (CoCo 3) port of ''Super Pitfall''. Steven had written the code for it and over 20 Tandy and Color Computer programs, while Monique contributed to the graphics in the game.{{sfn|Parker|1989|p=75}}{{sfn|Olive|1988|p=132}} The CoCo 3 version, three difficulty options are made available, in expert mode: the items Harry seeks are invisible while in explorer mode Harry has unlimited lives and treasures remain visible.{{sfn|Olive|1988|p=132}}

==Release==
''Super Pitfall'' was released in Japan for the ] on September 5, 1986.{{sfn|Family Computer Magazine|1986|ref=FCM}} ''Super Pitfall'' was the first game published by ] that was released on the NES.{{sfn|Computer Entertainer|1987|ref=CE-Sep1987}} It was released in the United States for the NES in November 1987.{{sfn|Computer Entertainer|1987|ref=CE-Avail|p=14}} It was later released for the ] and required 512K of memory to operate.{{sfn|1989 Tandy Computer Catalog|1988|p=45|ref=TandyCat}}{{sfn|Goodman|1990|pp=75-76}}

Activision was going to release ]'s '']'' rebranded as a sequel to ''Super Pitfall'' on the ]. It never received a release in the United States.{{sfn|Fielder|2003|p=68}} A fan ] of ''Super Pitfall'' by Nesrocks was released in 2016. The new version of the game changing the visuals, redesigning levels and even including all new music.{{sfn|Lopes|2016}}


==Reception== ==Reception==
] wrote in '']'' found the playing character's movement was slow and floaty and that its gameplay and visuals were too similar to that '']'' (1985). Kunkel concluded that "there is nothing in the game itself to keep awake."{{sfn|Kunkel|1988|pp=44-45}} A review in '']'' found the game gave players plenty to explore, specifically noting large amount of secret areas and hidden objects and recommended it to fans of the two previous ''Pitfall'' games on the Atari 2600.{{sfn|Computer Entertainer includes The Video Game Update|1988|ref=CE-May1988|p=10}} '']'' gave the game a high grade of four for its action and lower points of two for its music and sound, declaring the game to be a "higher quality" form than its previous entries.{{sfn|VideoGames & Computer Entertainment|1988|p=43|ref=VGCE}}
The NES version wasn't very well received. A review in '']'' derided the game as "a <nowiki>]<nowiki>]</nowiki> rehash that most NES users will be able to play in their sleep. Certainly, there is nothing in the game itself to keep them awake." Further complaints were directed at the lack of any credit given to ], the original designer of ''Pitfall''.<ref name = "CGW">{{Cite news | date = August 1988 | last = Kunkell | first = Bill | periodical = ] | title = Video Gaming World | pages = 44–45 | postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref> Brett Alan Weiss of the game database ] gave the game a rating of one star out of five, stating that "'']'' is one of the best ] games; ''Super Pitfall'' is one of the worst ] games".<ref>{{cite web|author=Weiss, Brett Alan|url=http://allgame.com/game.php?id=1323&tab=review|title=Super Pitfall - Review - allgame|work=]|accessdate=August 23, 2009}}</ref>
Tony Olive in '']'' reviewed the CoCo port, praising the graphics as arcade-quality, with smooth movement, and finding the game to be fun and challenging.{{sfn|Olive|1988|p=132}}


From retrospective reviews, Stuart Hunt wrote in '']'' that the game was derided by most fans of the ''Pitfall'' series. Hunt specifically noted poor collisions detection, flickering sprites and stiff animation and that a lot of the game play involved frustrating trial and error. Hunt also found that having a weapon in the game was useless as it passed over most enemies heads and that the sprite of the player looked too much like ] in a safari hat.{{sfn|Hunt|2012|p=84}} Brett Weiss, in his book ''Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988'' (2009) found the game to have awful music and graphics and generic level design finding it far inferior to the previous Atari 2600 games.{{sfn|Weiss|2009|p=185}}
] criticized it for being "vague to the point of infuriating" and "a pure trial-and-error expedition of the underground", but noted that it had some early ] elements and could have been better if it had "a loose goal that couples true exploration with graphics and physics that are actually good" like its contemporary, '']'', and the present-day indie game '']''.<ref>, ]</ref>


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite web|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/production/retro-game-of-the-day-tiger-heli|work=]|title=Retro Game of the Day! Tiger-Heli|last=Alpert|first=Ron|date=July 24, 2010|access-date=December 4, 2023}}
* {{cite magazine|magazine=]|issue=165|date=April 2003|last=Fielder|first=Joe|title=Pitfall Harry|issn=1058-918X|publisher=Ziff Davis Media}}
* {{cite magazine|magazine=]|title=The History of Pitfall!|first=Stuart|last=Hunt|issue=107|year=2012|ISSN=1742-3155|publisher=Imagine Publishing}}
* {{cite magazine|magazine=]|title=Converting to CoCo|last=Goodman|first=Marty|publisher=Falsoft Inc.|ISSN=0746-4797|date=March 1990}}
* {{cite magazine|magazine=]|title=Video Gaming World|last=Kunkel|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Kunkel (journalist)|date=August 1988|pp=44–45|issue=50|publisher=Golden Empire Publications}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/09/super_pitfall_gets_the_fan-made_30th_anniversary_makeover_it_so_badly_needed|work=NintendoLife|title=Super Pitfall Gets the Fan-Made 30th Anniversary Makeover it so Badly Needed|last=Lopes|first= Gonçalo|date=September 9, 2016|accessdate=February 26, 2024}}
* {{cite web|title=Super Pitfall|last=Marriott|first=Scott Alan|access-date=February 17, 2024|archive-date=November 15, 2014|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=1323|publisher=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115040107/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=1323}}
* {{cite book|last=Metzger|first=Elizabeth|year=1987|publisher=Activision|title=Super Pitfall Player's Guide}}
* {{cite magazine|magazine=The Rainbow|title=Super Pitfall - Back in the Mines|last=Olive|first=Tony|date=December 1988|volume=7|issue=5|publisher=Falsoft Inc.}}
* {{cite magazine|magazine=The Rainbow|title=Seminars Educate, Enlighten, Entertain|date=September 1989|last=Parker|first=Jeffrey S.|publisher=Falsoft, Inc.}}
* {{cite book|last=Weiss|first=Brett|title=Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988|publisher=]|ISBN=978-0-7864-6937-6|year=2009}}
* {{cite magazine|magazine=BASIC|title=Super Pitfall|date=February 1987|language=Japanese|ref=basic}}
* {{cite magazine|title=Pitfall Harry Returns|magazine=]|date=September 1987|volume=6|issue=6|ISSN=0890-2143|ref=CE-Sep1987}}
* {{cite magazine|title=Availability Update|magazine=Computer Entertainer the Newsletter|date=December 1987a|volume=6|issue=9|ISSN=0890-2143|ref=CE-Avail}}
* {{cite magazine|title=Nintendo Software|magazine=]|date=May 1988|volume=7|issue=2|ISSN=0890-2143|ref=CE-May1988}}
* {{cite magazine|magazine=Family Computer Magazine|publisher=Tokuma Shoten|date=August 15, 1986|issue=18|title=スーパーピットフォール|language=Japanese|ref=FCM}}
* {{cite magazine|title=Color Computer Software|quote=NEW! Super Pitfall. The Nintendo Classic comes to your Color Computer 3.|p=45|magazine=1989 Tandy Computer Catalog|year=1988|ref=TandyCat}}
* {{cite magazine|magazine=]|title=Super Pitfall|date=December 1988|ref=VGCE}}


==External links== ==External links==
*{{StrategyWiki}}
*{{GameFAQs|type=/console/nes|num=587667}}
*{{moby game|id=/super-pitfall}} *{{moby game|id=/super-pitfall}}
*


{{Pitfall!}} {{Pitfall!}}


] ]
]
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]

Latest revision as of 17:02, 19 November 2024

1986 video game 1986 video game
Super Pitfall
NES box art
Developer(s)Micronics (NES)
Publisher(s)
Programmer(s)Color Computer 3
Steve Bjork
PC-88
Makoto Ichinoseki
Platform(s)NES, PC-88, Color Computer 3
ReleaseNES
  • JP: September 5, 1986
  • NA: November 1987
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Super Pitfall (スーパーピットフォール, Sūpā Pittofōru) is a 1986 side-scrolling non-linear platform game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Despite the title screen stating that it was reprogrammed by Pony Inc., the development of the NES version was handled by Micronics, a Japanese developer who mostly ported arcade games to the NES.

Super Pitfall was the first game that Activision published as a third-party developer for the NES. Following the original release of the game, ports were made in Japan by Makoto Ichinoseki for the PC-8800 series liner of computers and by Steve Bjork for the Color Computer 3. The game initially received positive reviews from VideoGames & Computer Entertainment and Computer Entertainer while Bill Kunkel wrote in Computer Gaming World that the game did not control well and did not stand out well in a market of Super Mario Bros. clones. Retrospective reviews of the NES game from game critic Brett Weiss and Stuart Hunt of Retro Gamer found the game a step down from the previous Pitfall games on the Atari 2600, with both faulting low quality graphics and game design.

Activision initially was going distribute Sunsoft's Atlantis no Nazo in the United States in a rebranded form as a sequel to Super Pitfall on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This release did not happen.

Gameplay

Pitfall Harry in an early scene in the game with an enemy frog

The game features Pitfall Harry as the player character. Equipped with a gun, he seeks to recover the Raj diamond from a vast subterranean dwelling in the Andes Mountains and rescue his niece Rhonda and cat friend Quickclaw the Lion who are trapped deep in the caverns. The goal is to move Harry through a nonlinear cave maze finding the two trapped friends and collect the Raj diamond and return to the starting point. While playing, Harry will find that Rhonda has turned to stone and Quickclaw is trapped and both require items to be freed. To return home, Harry must collect a photograph of the Underground Kingdom for a clue on how to return entrance. Harry begins with three lives and on touching an enemy or a hazard he loses one. Lives can be earned from collecting 50,000 points, and then 80,000 the next. Points are collecting by shooting and defeating enemies and collecting gold bars and other items.

Harry is maneuvered with the directional pad to move left and right and can climb and swim upwards with the up arrow. He can jump and fire his gun with the a and b buttons respectively. Harry can collect items shaped like playing card suits to open rock doors as well as spare pistols and items that make him invulnerable to enemies. Items in the game are invisible and can only be grabbed at certain moments while jumping.

Development

Super Pitfall was developed by the Japanese company Micronics. Micronics predominantly did work in outsourcing tasks and generally made Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) versions of popular arcade titles such as Ikari Warriors and 1942. Stuart Hunt of Retro Gamer described the game as a loose port of the Atari 2600 game Pitfall II: Lost Caverns.

In Japan, the game was released for the PC-8801MKIISR model in the PC-8800 series of home computers. It was designed by Makoto Ichinoseki. Steve and Monique Bjork contributed to the Color Computer 3 (CoCo 3) port of Super Pitfall. Steven had written the code for it and over 20 Tandy and Color Computer programs, while Monique contributed to the graphics in the game. The CoCo 3 version, three difficulty options are made available, in expert mode: the items Harry seeks are invisible while in explorer mode Harry has unlimited lives and treasures remain visible.

Release

Super Pitfall was released in Japan for the Family Computer on September 5, 1986. Super Pitfall was the first game published by Activision that was released on the NES. It was released in the United States for the NES in November 1987. It was later released for the Color Computer 3 and required 512K of memory to operate.

Activision was going to release Sunsoft's Atlantis no Nazo rebranded as a sequel to Super Pitfall on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It never received a release in the United States. A fan remake of Super Pitfall by Nesrocks was released in 2016. The new version of the game changing the visuals, redesigning levels and even including all new music.

Reception

Bill Kunkel wrote in Computer Gaming World found the playing character's movement was slow and floaty and that its gameplay and visuals were too similar to that Super Mario Bros. (1985). Kunkel concluded that "there is nothing in the game itself to keep awake." A review in Computer Entertainer found the game gave players plenty to explore, specifically noting large amount of secret areas and hidden objects and recommended it to fans of the two previous Pitfall games on the Atari 2600. VideoGames & Computer Entertainment gave the game a high grade of four for its action and lower points of two for its music and sound, declaring the game to be a "higher quality" form than its previous entries. Tony Olive in The Rainbow reviewed the CoCo port, praising the graphics as arcade-quality, with smooth movement, and finding the game to be fun and challenging.

From retrospective reviews, Stuart Hunt wrote in Retro Gamer that the game was derided by most fans of the Pitfall series. Hunt specifically noted poor collisions detection, flickering sprites and stiff animation and that a lot of the game play involved frustrating trial and error. Hunt also found that having a weapon in the game was useless as it passed over most enemies heads and that the sprite of the player looked too much like Mario in a safari hat. Brett Weiss, in his book Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988 (2009) found the game to have awful music and graphics and generic level design finding it far inferior to the previous Atari 2600 games.

References

  1. ^ Marriott.
  2. Metzger 1987, p. 2.
  3. ^ Metzger 1987, p. 1.
  4. ^ Metzger 1987, p. 4.
  5. Metzger 1987, p. 6.
  6. Metzger 1987, p. 8.
  7. Metzger 1987, p. 2-3.
  8. Metzger 1987, p. 5.
  9. ^ Hunt 2012, p. 84.
  10. Alpert 2010.
  11. BASIC 1987.
  12. Parker 1989, p. 75.
  13. ^ Olive 1988, p. 132.
  14. Family Computer Magazine 1986.
  15. Computer Entertainer 1987.
  16. Computer Entertainer 1987, p. 14.
  17. 1989 Tandy Computer Catalog 1988, p. 45.
  18. Goodman 1990, pp. 75–76.
  19. Fielder 2003, p. 68.
  20. Lopes 2016.
  21. Kunkel 1988, pp. 44–45.
  22. Computer Entertainer includes The Video Game Update 1988, p. 10.
  23. VideoGames & Computer Entertainment 1988, p. 43.
  24. Weiss 2009, p. 185.

Sources

External links

Pitfall video games
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