Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (arcade game)

Not to be confused with the console title Pitfall II: Lost Caverns.

Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns
European arcade flyer
Developer	Sega R&D2
Publisher	Sega
Series	Pitfall
Platforms	Arcade, SG-1000
Release	Arcade JP: February 1985 NA: May 1985 SG-1000 JP: July 1985 [1]
Genre	Platform
Mode	Single-player
Arcade system	Sega System 1

Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns is a 1985 platform game developed and published by Sega for arcades. It is based upon Activision's two home console games Pitfall! (1982) and Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (1984) for the Atari 2600. It has been described by historian Brett Weiss as a "rare occurrence" of an arcade game being influenced by a console game. ^[2] The game was later ported to the SG-1000 console in Japan.

Gameplay

Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns focuses on Pitfall Harry locating three treasures hidden in large caverns. The player must maneuver the character within a time limit to earn extra points and additional playtime. When Pitfall Harry interacts with a key, a hole opens which allows the player to continue into a new cavern allowing for bonus points and more time allotted on the timer. ^[3]

Development and release

Sega licensed the Pitfall name from Activision to develop Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns. ^[3] The arcade combines elements of both Pitfall! and Pitfall II: Lost Caverns as well as introducing unique obstacles such as lightning and volcanic rocks. ^[2]

Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns was released to Japanese arcades in February 1985. ^[4] It was released in the United States by Sega USA in May 1985. ^[5] The game was among Sega USA's earliest releases, which were games that were no longer turning a profit in Japan. It was not a significant hit in Sega USA's market. ^[6] The game saw a home release on Sega's SG-1000 console in July of that same year in Japan. ^[1]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine   [ ja ] listed the arcade version of Pitfall II: Lost Caverns as the most successful table arcade unit of February 1985. ^[7]

From contemporary reviews, Computer and Video Games declared the game to be "as good as, if not better than" the original Atari 2600 games. ^[8]

From retrospective reviews, Earl Green of AllGame stated that the game boasted more detailed and colorful graphics than either of the Atari 2600 Pitfall games, with enough twists to challenge console veterans. ^[9]

References

1. "70 Sega Home Software(Japanese, top-right)" (PDF). Game Machine Magazine 1st May '86. Amusement Press Inc., Osaka, Japan. 1 May 1986. p. 10. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
2. Weiss 2014, p. 171.
3. Pitfall II - The Lost Caverns (arcade flyer). Sega. 1984. Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Archive.org.
4. "ピットフォール 2". Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs . Retrieved June 12, 2023.
5. Akagi 2006, p. 131.
6. Horowitz 2018, p. 86.
7. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)" (PDF). Game Machine  [ ja ] (in Japanese). No. 255. Amusement Press, Inc.  [ ja ]. 1 March 1985. p. 21.
8. "Arcade Action". Computer & Video Games . No. 46. August 1985. p. 108. ISSN   0261-3697 . Retrieved June 12, 2023– via Archive.org.
9. Green.

Sources

• Akagi, Masumi (2006). "海外編" [Overseas Edition]. アーケードTVゲームリス 国内 • 海外編 ( 1971 - 2005 )ト[Arcade TV Game List Domestic/Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. ISBN   978-4990251215.
• Green, Earl. "Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns". Allgame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
• Horowitz, Ken (2018). The Sega Arcade Revolution: A History in 62 Games. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN   978-1-4766-7225-0.
• Weiss, Brett (2014). The 100 Greatest Console Video Games 1977-1987. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7643-4618-7.