The Jungle Book was first introduced as a classic novel many years ago by Rudyard Kipling. It almost instantly caught on and was soon translated into almost every language spoken in the world. Throughout the years it was retold and revamped into many different forms and genres. Now we reach the newest translation: the Super Nintendo video game. Disney worked in conjunction with a game developer in order to bring us this game, which is based on the Disney movie version of the story, rather than the original.
The story line of this game is fairly simple, and is almost identical to the movie. Years ago, an explorer came to the rainforests of Africa with his son. During one of their expeditions, his son became lost. After much searching, his father eventually had to abandon all hope and retreat back to his home. The boy was soon discovered by a wolf pack, and was accepted by them as one of their own. The boy was raised with the wolves and learned to live and speak like they do. He was named Mowgli and was considered a member of the rainforest kingdom. In his life he also met a fun-loving bear named Baloo and a wise panther named Bargera. One day Mowgli was sitting under a tree and began to be hypnotised by a snake named Ka. Baloo and Bargera rescued Mowgli, but the time had come to tell Mowgli about the evils living in the forest. A lion named Shair Kahn lives in the forest, and he is a fierce animal with a fearful stranglehold on the forest. Mowgli was also told that King Louie and the monkeys were involved somehow and he was told not to go near them. But Mowgli was defiant and he embarked on a journey to the monkeys’ lair. Once there, King Louie tried to kill Mowgli because he was a human. Mowgli managed to escape, but now he's caught in a battle against the evils of the forest, with only Baloo and Bargera to help him.
This game is a standard side-scrolling adventure. Put simply, you start at one point in a level, and you work your way to another point. Mowgli has two methods to defeat his enemies: He can jump on his foes, killing them instantly or he can throw bananas at them as a projectile, which takes multiple hits to kill with. Because this is a rainforest, Mowgli also has to deal with climbing and swinging in trees. There are swinging vines and hanging ropes for Mowgli to climb and manoeuvre on. The high altitude playing sometimes makes for a difficult experience, but the challenge is welcomed. There are many different types of enemies out to get Mowgli, all of which are typical rainforest inhabitants gone bad. There are dragon flies which can knock you off of vines, bouncy monkeys, carnivorous plants, and much more. At the middle of each level you will meet Baloo, who will mark your point. If you happen to die, you will start from where to met Baloo rather than back at the beginning of the level. You have four lives per round, and five continues which allow you to retry a round. There are save points at various milestones in the game.
The graphics are very well executed in this game. There are three standard layers: The fixed background, which is a scenery picture showing trees and vines. There is the moving background, which contains things like the trees which you can climb. Finally, there are the moving objects, which include Mowgli and the objects which can be manipulated to your advantage. The deep background is very beautiful; There is a very high level of detail, with the vines, leaves, trees, and sky all illustrated perfectly. The moving scenery is also very well done. It has a 3D effect which can even rival a mediocre game on the most advanced of consoles. The wooden bridges are the perfect example: Completely moss-ridden and filled with cracks and broken boards. Mowgli and his foes' movements are very realistic. When Mowgli jumps he uses his arms and head in an attempt to propel himself forward, and many of his movements are perfectly prototypical of his animalistic upbringing.
The sound and music are also very well suited. The mood is very upbeat and the tempo is fast. The many sounds used are perfect examples of tribal music, which fits perfectly with the rainforest surroundings. The sounds of melons and homemade wooden bongos are used, as well as some less-complex instruments which are likely native to the setting of the game. There aren't that many tracks in the game, but there are different groups of levels based on their settings, and each group has it's own piece of background music in an attempt to have setting-friendly music. The sound effects are also very well executed, with very realistic noises being utilised. When Mowgli is in the midst of some fast-paced jumps, the sounds of the air whistling past him and his breath can be heard. A good job.
Overall, this game is quite well done. While there were some flaws in the challenge level with it sometimes being too hard to navigate the complex areas, many gamers would welcome such difficulty. The replay value is very high, because there isn't much to be spoiled when you play it again, and the game is just a lot of fun to play. Some days when you have nothing to do and it's rainy outside, this is the perfect time eater. You'll find yourself becoming engulfed in completing some levels you can't seem to get through, and time will fly by with no trace. Simplicity can be great, Jungle Book proves this almost flawlessly.
