Super Pitfall

Nintendo console exclusive

Pitfall Harry returns to adventuring in this "Super" sequel to Pitfall! and Pitfall II: Lost Caverns. Harry’s mission: to recover the famed Raj Diamond, and also to rescue his niece Rhonda and loyal lion sidekick, Quickclaw.

Released: 5 September 1986
Platforms: NEC PC-8800 series NES PC-8800 Series TRS-80 TRS-80 Color Computer
Genres: Metroidvania Platformer
Developers: Micronics
Publishers: Pony Canyon
Series: Pitfall
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB E
Languages: English

About

Super Pitfall 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 line 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.

Keywords

metroidvania
fan translation - portuguese

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

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.

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 (1986) and 1942 (1984). Stuart Hunt of Retro Gamer described the game as a loose port of the Atari 2600 game Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (1984).

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.

Reception

A reviewer in the Japanese video game magazine Beep described the game as average with some obvious flaws such as slower screen transitions.

Reviews in Famicom Hisshoubon and Computer Entertainer complimented on the large scale of the game. All three reviewers in Famicom Hisshoubon complimented on the large scale of the maze, with one suggesting it would have been better with a focus on the maze exploration. 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 the game to be a "higher quality" form than previous entries in the Pitfall series.