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Jungle Hunt

[Coin-Op] Arcade Video Game by Taito America Corp. [Elk Grove Village, IL, USA]

Type of the game: [Coin-Op] Arcade Video Game
Jungle Hunt © 1982 Taito American Corp.

In Jungle Hunt, players take on the role of a safari-suited jungle explorer complete with pith helmet, jacket, and shorts.

PICTURE :

Click to enlarge (members only)

Jungle Hunt used the familiar 'Taito Classic' cabinet which was used for a variety of early 1980's games. This was a rather short cabinet, and had a monitor that was laid back at more than a 45 degree angle. Most of these cabinets featured the same painted side-art which consisted of an ornate border and a 'Taito' logo. Many other early Taito games will plug right into the machine without modification (although the board-sets for these early games tend to be expensive). The marquee to this title showed a 'Jungle Hunt' logo, surrounded by a couple of green lines (they were produced very quickly, and cannot compare to the "Jungle King" marquee). The monitor bezel was decorated with a green design, while the control panel overlay also had a few green line graphics. All in all, this machine was not nearly as attractive as the "Jungle King" one was, probably due to the fact that Taito rushed this one out the door in a few weeks.

Prom Stickers : KNxxa

Main CPU : Z80 (@ 4 Mhz)
Sound CPU : Z80 (@ 3 Mhz)
Sound Chips : (4x) AY8910 (@ 1.5 Mhz), DAC

Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 1 (JUMP/KNIFE)

Released in October 1982, this reworked version of "Jungle King" was the end result of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Taito by the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan.

Here's what makes Jungle Hunt different from "Jungle King" :
* Music is played at the places where the Tarzan yell was originally heard - at the beginning of the game and at the end of the avalanche stage - the same music that plays upon completion of the river stage.
* The player character is a safari-suited jungle explorer clad in a pith helmet, jacket, and shorts, instead of the Tarzan look-alike.
* The life-lines that the player character swings on between the trees in the first stage are ropes instead of vines.

Michael Torcello holds the official record for this game with 1510220 points.

The original version of the game, known as "Jungle King", featured a character who looked like the well known (and very much copyrighted) Tarzan. The character even sounded like Tarzan when he bellowed out the famous scream after finishing the boulder stage (and at the beginning of the game). So, for legal reasons, the name was changed to 'Jungle Hunt' and the player character was changed to resemble a classic safari-suited jungle explorer complete with the standard issue pith helmet, jacket, and shorts. The bellowed scream at the end of the boulder stage was also entirely removed, replaced by the music from the end of the river stage.

For more comprehensive details about the game itself, please see the original Taito "Jungle King" entry, but note the changes listed above.

A Jungle Hunt unit appears in the 1983 movie 'WarGames'.

MB (Milton Bradley) released a board-game based on this video-game (same name) in 1983.

Successful jump between vines : 100 points
Killing Crocodiles : 100 points/crock
Each Crocodile killed after four in a row : 200 points/crock
Jump over small (or large) rock : 200 points
Run under large rock : 50 points
Jump over cannibal : 100 points
Finish rounds 1 to 3 : 500 points
Finish round 4 (jump into girl) : timer bonus

* Swinging :
1) The main thing to remember on this screen is timing. Some vines swing faster then others. As you go farther into the game, the vines will really start to swing fast so you must be able to time your jumps accordingly.
2) The best place to catch a vine is in the middle or lower (ideally the bottom of the vine is the best). This way, you give yourself enough jumping room to get to the next vine.
3) Don't just start jumping to the vines without looking. If a vine is moving away from you, wait until it's halfway to you, then jump.
4) At the later levels, monkeys will appear on the vines. Try to catch a vine and hit the monkey, you will be on the ground.

* Swimming :
1) On this screen, you will swimming through a jungle river. Things to remember are to keep track of your Diving Display. If the bar goes all the way to the left, your man will become a floater. Go up every now and then for a breath of air.
2) The biggest hazards are the crocodiles. Fortunately, you have your trusty knife with you. Now, in order to kill the crocodiles, their mouths have to be closed. If they aren't, you will become free food. Also, if you hit any part of the crocodile, you will die.
3) Another hazard is the air bubbles. If you happen to swim into them, they will push you immediately to the surface regardless of what hazards may be in your way. The best way to work around this is vary your man's speed by moving the joystick left and right and time it so that there are no hazards above the air bubbles.

* Avalanche : This is probably the easiest screen. All you have to do is jump the small boulders and duck under the big ones. If a small boulder is really bouncing, you can run under it. This is a pretty straightforward level.

* Natives : Probably the hardest screen because you have to time your jumps in between the two natives...
1) Get right next to the first native. Keep in mind, you can only jump when their spears aren't in the air or you will be skewered.
2) Also, watch your woman on the vine. It also is going up and down so you have to time your jumps for both the natives and your woman.
3) Another thing that occurs is that the natives get close together, then spread out again.
4) Now, you have to jump between the natives, then jump up when your woman is at the lowest point on the vine. This will require timing and there is no pattern or trick. Just keep in mind that if you can't get to her, jump back to your original position or the second native will get you.
5) On the later levels, everything moves much quicker.