Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure

Released in 1995

Available in

Genre: Platforming

Originally released for several consoles in 1994, Activision decided to release The Mayan Adventure for some more consoles in 1995, including the 32X. The 32X version is very similar to the Genesis version, but features more colors, some new levels and a different sprite for Harry Jr. The story of the game has Harry and his son Harry Jr looking for a relic in a temple, but Harry gets captured. Harry Jr.'s new quest is to find his Dad and defeat the one who took him.

The original versions of the game received mixed reviews, as whilst parts of the graphics were praised -particularly the animation of Harry Jr. -the game is overly difficult due to frustrating and unresponsive controls. There are many precise jumps to make, but you can often be running along and then hitting the jump button, but you don't jump and end up falling or getting killed. Some stages are especially bad simply because if you fail to jump or land on a platform, you can be sent back to the beginning, or close to it.

The 32X version wasn't well received either. It has the same problems as the Genesis version, but then adds even more issues. The game can slow down a lot at times and the colors, despite being more of them, still look dull and drab, even on the daytime levels. This is yet another case of if you already have the Genesis version, you don't need the 32X version. And if you don't have the Genesis version and are absolutely desperate for a 32X platforming game, try Tempo instead.

Contents
1) Info
2) Cheats
3) Trivia


Info

Harry Jr. runs around at a fast pace, and can also jump. If you see a vine, he will automatically grab it when you jump towards it. By holding down and the d-pad Harry Jr. will duck. Whilst ducking, press the B button to lie down flat, allowing you to crawl. Weapons wise Harry Jr. is armed with a sling (press the C button to use it) and some limited use projectile weapons: stones, boomerangs and a bomb. You can collect more special weapons be searching for them throughout each level.

Harry Jr. can take several hits before losing a life. In the top right corner of the screen there is a picture of him being chased by a crocodile, each time he gets hit, the croc will move in closer. When the croc is right next to him you won't be able to take any more hits. There are health items to be found in each level, and if you run out of lives, you have two continues to carry on the game with.

Each level is filled with enemies, including snakes, bats and skeleton warriors. The enemies take different amounts of hits to kill, such as the snakes only taking one hit whilst the skeletons take several. In addition to the enemies, there are various hazards to look out for, such as quicksand, spiky platforms water -many of these traps can result in instant death, regardless of how many hits you've taken.

Cheats

All of these codes must be entered at the main menu, and have to be inputted fairly quickly to get them to work.

Level select:
Press C, A, C, A, down, up, down, left, down, up, up. Beneath the Pitfall title "CEIBA JUNGLE" should appear. Use up and down on the d-pad to cycle through the levels, then highlight start and press the start button to go to the selected level.

Atari 2600 Pitfall:
Press down, then press A 26 times and then finally press down again. The original Pitfall will then start.

Infinite continues:
Press C, C, C, C, left, A, down, up, down

99 of each special weapon:
Press right, A, down, B, right, A, B, up, down

A, B & C lever stage:
Press B, A, down, C, right, A, B

Go to the credits:
Press C, right, down, C, right, down, C, right, down

Trivia

This was the only game to see a separate release on the Genesis, SEGA CD and 32X. The SEGA CD version seems to be the favored one from the reviews I've read, but the reasoning seems to be that it has the best music.