The Jungle Book
Sega Genesis
Nostalgia won't play a factor in this review. I never had this game as a kid, and I didn't even play it until just now at the ripe old age of 36. I don't have any nostalgic memories of the movie to share either. I know I saw it one time, but that was a lifetime ago.
Once again, a shout-out to my cousin Ryan for loaning me his Genesis collection to play and review, because this is one of those Genesis games. Just eight more to go, then you can have your box back!
Story:
I don't remember the movie AT ALL, but I assume this game works like all 16-bit movie to game adaptations: it loosely follows the plot of the movie but takes several liberties along the way.
At the beginning of the game, short comic book style still-shots recap the story of Mowgli, a boy raised in the jungle by wolves. The game begins as he heads out on a journey to defeat Shere Khan and find human beings like himself.
In between stages, the game fills you in with a sentence or two of minor plot details as Mowgli moves forward on his quest. Don't expect any big twists or shocking moments. The story for this game is as basic as it can possibly get. It only serves the function of bridging one stage to the next. In fact, you could remove the story segments altogether and it likely wouldn't have impacted my enjoyment of the game one tiny bit.
Gameplay:
When I first turned on The Jungle Book, it immediately reminded me a lot of the Lion King. The graphics, the sound, the presentation, the controls, everything. It didn't take me too long to realize that although they have a lot in common, they are both very different games.
First off: the puzzles. The Lion King had a lot of crazy, difficult puzzles to solve. Remember that frustrating level where the monkeys had to fling you around the stage in a very specific order? I sure do. The Jungle Book has none of that. The layout of each stage is pretty much the same. You have a beginning point, and you have an end point. A lot of times you can race right through the stage directly to the exit in just a couple of minutes. The catch? You can't actually exit the stage until you've collected ten gems. Each stage has a large number of gems in it (16 or so if I remember correctly). You have to fully explore each stage, collect at least ten gems, and then make it to the end of the stage, which is usually indicated by the presence of a classic Jungle Book character like Bagheera or Baloo.
The game is also much easier than the Lion King. I probably could have beaten The Jungle Book on my first play-through, without the aid of any kind of online help, if the game didn't freeze on me at the end of stage eight. Rather than play the whole entire game again, I just said "f that" and looked up level skip codes on the internet to return to where I left off.
Basic game controls are very easy to get a hang of. Controlling Mowgli, you move left and right. You can jump, climb up on ledges, and swing from vines. You attack your enemies by throwing bananas at them or just jumping on their heads. As you play, you collect projectile upgrades, like the double banana launcher, boomerangs, and rocks. These upgrades do more damage than your standard banana launcher. You also collect extra lives, hearts for extra health, and fruit pieces for points.
Stages are large, expansive, and encourage exploration. After exploring each stage and collecting ten gems, you proceed to the end of the stage. At this point, the stage either ends completely or you have to fight a boss character. The boss characters in this game are fun and challenging. Each of them has a unique strategy you must employ in order to defeat it. I looked forward to seeing what the game was going to throw at me with each one. The Louie battle was probably my favorite. Although I died many, many times while facing off against him, once I figured out his pattern I felt it was well worth all the trouble and I took him down with absolute glee.
At just ten stages long, the game shouldn't take you long to beat if you are a 2D platforming veteran like myself. The game does have its challenging moments, and it wouldn't shock me if I found out that there were people out there who consider this a difficult game. I am not one of them. This game is DEFINITELY nowhere near as challenging as the Lion King. Nowhere. And I think it is better for that. It is more accessible to players. It doesn't frustrate you. It's challenge level is just enough to encourage you to keep going on, rather than scaring you off. Quite frankly, I had a really good time with this game.
Graphics:
Considering this game came out in 1993, it looks absolutely fantastic. Big sprites, detailed characters, colorful backgrounds, terrific animations. Everyone is recognizable from their movie counterpart. The stages are all varied and unique. Many of them even sport cool weather effects like rain and lightning. I couldn't be more impressed with the game's visuals. This is 16-bit 2D platforming at its finest.
I know that retro is in lately. Not that people should stop with the 8-bit style games, but I'd love to see more indie titles done in the style of classic Sega Genesis games. It is a charming look, and one that I feel has a timeless appeal.
Sound:
The Jungle Book's music and sound effects fit the game's aesthetic like a glove. Right off the bat, you hear a 16-bit rendition of Bare Necessities at the game's title screen. What can I say? It does its part masterfully. It really puts you in the mood to play some goddamn Jungle Book.
The whole game is full of really good music that sets up each stage perfectly. The Jungle Book's soundtrack isn't as iconic as the Lion King, so I won't go so far as to say that this game's music is better than the Lion King. But the makers of the game do a fantastic job with the hand they were given.
The sound effects are a perfect fit as well. I could go on and on about the game's presentation. It is very impressive. Graphics, music, sound effects, overall atmosphere, just the game's whole look and feel - this is a really well made game.
Overall:
I didn't expect much from The Jungle Book. I thought it would be a nice, fun game that I would play and review and forget about in three days time. Instead, I ended up enjoying it so much that I played the whole thing from beginning to end twice in one day. That is almost unheard of for me.
It's a shame I wasn't familiar with this game as a kid. I would have adored it. Knowing how I am such a sucker for nostalgia, I would probably be shouting to the hills about how The Jungle Book was the best and most underrated game in the entire Sega Genesis library.
I still think that might be the case. You always hear about how Aladdin was such a great game for the Genesis. Some people say it is one of the best 2D platformers ever made. I played it and I thought it was just okay. I gave it a B-. I thought The Jungle Book was much better. Better than Aladdin, better than The Lion King, better than any Disney based game that I played in the 16-bit era.
If you are a fan of the genre, you definitely need to check out The Jungle Book. It is not a perfect game. It's short, it can be beaten in one sitting, and there isn't a whole lot of replay value to it once you've played it and beaten it. But it's damn good fun while it lasts. I am very happy I got to play and review this game. You know that saying "where have you been all my life?" I feel that way about The Jungle Book.
Final Score:
A
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