Jurassic Park

Overview

Jurassic Park is an action game released on multiple systems to tie-in with the movie of the same name. In each version of the game the player takes on the role of Dr Alan Grant and follows the events of the movie (and the book it is based on).

There are numerous differences between the various versions. The titles on Nintendo's platforms were handled by Ocean Software while Sega's titles were developed by BlueSky Software.

The 1993 Sega CD version, which is an a point and click adventure game rather than an action game, has a separate page here.

SNES Version

The SNES version of Jurassic Park is incredibly different from its Genesis counterpart. In the game the player controls Grant from a top down perspective and is given the task of collecting a number of velociraptor eggs before they hatch. Along with a much more cartoony and brighter look, it also has first-person indoor sections in the same vein as Doom where Grant has to collect key cards and codes for use outside.

For the most part, the game is very open-ended, not unlike some earlier Zelda games. The game requires Grant to do a lot of backtracking and hunting for items which helps progress the player through the story. Unfortunately the game has no save or password function so the player would have to collect all of the eggs in one sitting, a very daunting task with lots of trial-and-error gameplay involved.

Game Boy & NES Versions

Like the SNES Jurassic Park, the Game Boy and NES versions were also developed by Ocean Software. Also similar to the SNES version, the main goal of each stage is to simply collect a certain number of dinosaur eggs, opening access to the next area. Blocking progress through these stages is an assortment of dinosaurs, including main enemies like velociraptors, procompsognathus, and dilophosaurus. To deal with these threats, the player is given one primary weapon, bearing a strong resemblance to a rocket launcher. As Grant kills dinosaurs they drop ammunition for his armament. Interspersed between levels are boss encounters, including a sequence where the player is required to dodge stampeding triceratops, as well as a fight where Grant does battle with a Tyrannosaurus.