Jurassic Park: Genesaurus Does?

Often in the 16-bit generation licensed games wouldn’t just be versions across multiple consoles, but completely different games. Where the SNES Jurassic Park was by Ocean, the Genesis game was Blue Sky/SEGA. It brings the argument of ‘which is better’ beyond simply performance issues to a comparison of content as well. For instance, the Genesis game’s biggest selling point was that you could play as a Velociraptor – which was pretty exciting for the time – which was not an option on the SNES Jurassic Park.

As it turned out, I played way more of the Genesis game than I did the SNES game growing up. A friend owned a Genesis and this game got a lot of play. We never finished it to my recollection, I don’t think we gave it enough time to pass the midgame. But I had memories of it being pretty alright. When I eventually picked up my own Genesis and Jurassic Park years and years later, I felt the game was sort of a mess. But after beating the SNES game, I went on to clear this one too. My tune has changed once again.

The Genesis game doesn’t just differ a little from the SNES game – it’s completely different. Where the SNES game was sort of open world, the Genesis game is dividied into discrete levels. To its credit this game also features a password system and a description of what you are doing in each level. Even though your task in each level is “reach the end” it’s still nice to have a little context.

Jurassic Park is a sidescrolling game where you guide either Dr. Grant or a Raptor from the beginning of a level to the end. There are ledges to climb, items to find, and jumps to jump. The levels are full of dinosaurs and pitfalls, and most of them are pretty self-explanatory. However I will lay this caveat down right now – this game has attrocious collision detection at times and that’s a detractor when jumping is so important. It’s mostly okay, but there’s a few trouble areas. Platforming that is ill-designed within the constraints of the game.

There are also a few blind drops. You have the option to hold down to look below you, and this usually works. Sometimes, however, the camera will not move. So you have to drop down and hope you land on something and that your momentum doesn’t cause you to slip off the edge. Again, they only happen a few times but with the option to check below you they really shouldn’t happen as much as they do.

Dr. Grant is the core of Jurassic Park, and his mode is the most fleshed out. He has seven levels to conquer, a wide arrangement of weapons, deals with more types of dinosaurs than the Raptor, and has more complicated levels.

For the most part Grant’s levels feature the good Doctor moving all about the environment. Exploration leads to ammunition dumps and health kits. You will encounter a number of situations – a Tyrannosaurus has bust through a wall, there is steam erupting from that pipe – the solutions aren’t difficult but it requires you to observe the environment to plot your course. It should be mentioned that your weapons are largely nonlethal. You can stun that Tyrannosaurus for a moment, and that Raptor you hit with darts is going to get back up in a few seconds. So there is often a sense of urgency.

The most involved platforming Dr. Grant partakes in is the midgame level the Pump Station. I don’t recall ever taking him past the Pump Station in the past. It’s convoluted and features a number of tricky jumps – including one from the head of a submerging Brachiosaurus. Aside from a couple of tough spots this level isn’t as bad as it seems, however. It has great atmosphere and I can appreciate the level of involvement.

The other sore spot is going to be the level just prior to the Pump Station, the River. This level has you collecting fuel to pilot a series of rafts down a river frought with waterfalls. The first thing you will probably do in this level is die. Then, you will probably die again and say “what?” Then you will realize you have to speed up over waterfalls so as not to fall into them. This level is a huge trial-and-error festival, and the raft has a lot of idiosyncracies that you must learn… or perish. The level’s not so bad once you start to see the route take shape, but it is largely unintuitive and I can see it be a big blocking point for kids in ’93.

It’s funny that after the River and Pump Station, the last three levels move quickly and are much more straightforward.

Quick levels and straightforward paths are the name of the game for the Velociraptor. The Raptor is much easier but I believe this is not as an afterthought but because of its size and capabilities. It can’t fit as many places as Grant, and it is very fast and mobile. I mean, it can do a Legend of Kage jump for crying out loud. I wish they made up two completely new environments to bring the Raptor up to Grant’s 7 but I still really appreciate that there is a Raptor mode period.

Unfortunately the Raptor really only has three enemy types – Compsognathus, Dilophosaurus, and armed guards/military so there is a sore lack of variety here. However, the Raptor can eat the Compys for health, and the humans have most of Grant’s arsenal making them very dangerous enemies. I like the humans honestly, they force you to jump at them from afar or find an angle to get past them without getting shot. They might be armed to the teeth, but they are not resistant to the Raptor’s long distance Mario Stomp.

Again the midgame, the Raptor’s version of the Pump Station, is the most complex and difficult of the pack. It’s only really made dicey by a couple of blind drops and jumps and a few jumps to thin platforms which are not the Raptor’s forte. But once you know these spots the level is really straightforward as well.

So I would say that this game is a fairly good platformer. It has its moments that seem sketchy – poorly executed – but overcoming challenges, and managing resources, and thinking through encounters, and seeing how some levels fold in on themselves – pretty cool. It has its moments, you know? Even a few scripted moments that I won’t go into here.

The music is really good, and the graphics are on point for the most part – particularly animations. Environments are quite detailed but some backgrounds, like the Canyon’s orange sky, seem to clash with the sprite style. Still, it does pretty well.

So which one is better? SNES or Genesis? These days I don’t really think they can be compared, to be honest, they are so different from one another. JP SNES is an open world exploration game and JP Genesis is an action-heavy platformer. The Jurassic Park experience? Well both have their moments in that respect as well. They are both good games with obvious flaws. I have more feelings and memories for the Genesis game, I suppose.

The Genesis game is definitely more accessible to people unfamiliar with Jurassic Park, but both are decent plays for fans.

While I thought this game was a mess the last time I played it, I just think someone was littering in the park now. You find litter here and there but you deal with it, put it in the bin and enjoy the rest of the sights. It’s not a bad play, just a little rough around the edges. So pop it in your Genesis and hold onto your butts!