While the Jurassic Park series has dominated the box office with each new entry, the video games that followed haven’t exactly gone over as well. Sure, the Sega games – especially the Lost World arcade game – have been excellent, but the others were above-average licensed fare at best.
Still, that didn’t stop Limited Run Games from bringing back the collection (well, some of it) to new consoles, with Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection. This one contains seven titles from the old-school JP lexicon, including the NES Jurassic Park, the Game Boy Jurassic Park, the SNES Jurassic Park, the Genesis Jurassic Park and its Rampage Edition, and the two versions of Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues.
There are some notable omissions that would’ve been great to see here, but at least the developers treated this one with loving care, as the games are pretty much the same as their classic iterations. Now whether that’s your cup of dino brew, though, really depends on your love for the franchise. Fans should dig in without hesitation, but others may want to do their research first.
A Presentation Outta the 90s
First off, kudos to the devs for doing a bang-up job with the game’s presentation. The emulation on each of the titles is well done, even if some of the games – like the NES and Game Boy titles – haven’t aged that well.
The visuals are really done well in each, especially the Genesis games, which look just as good as its original brethren. We’re also digging the numerous filters that are included with each game, as well as custom backgrounds so you’re not just looking at barren black on the sides of the screen. And the rewind feature is great, coming across like an old-school VCR effect as you make up for mistakes.
That said, some games do look a bit…aged. The SNES Jurassic Park, for instance, has great overhead segments. But then you get into the 3D Doom style sequences and it’s, um, a bit too blocky for its own good. Not to mention that the Jurassic Park Part 2 games do little to establish themselves over the originals.
But, hey, Limited Run still did a bang-up job with presentation here, and it does take a page out of the book of the 90s. For some, that’s more than enough to justify the $30 price tag.
But How Do They Play?
Honestly, the two biggest draws here are the Genesis games. The original Jurassic Park is still very well done; and Rampage Edition offers some extra goodies.
But the others aren’t too bad either. Again, the NES and Game Boy games are pretty standard, and Jurassic Park Part 2 isn’t amazing by any means. But they offer carefree fun; and the SNES Jurassic Park has its moments as well. Not to mention you get access to bonus maps that make it a little easier to get around, a nice bonus with a compilation such as this.
That said, I can’t help but think more could’ve been added. I know cramming the arcade games into this compilation would’ve been difficult, but what about The Lost World: Jurassic Park for Sega Genesis, with its awesome scaling effects? Or for that matter, the Sega Saturn port, which was actually kind of fun? And maybe a bit of Operation Genesis from the PS2 era?
I suppose there’s room for another release, so we’ll have to wait and see. As it stands, there’s still more than enough to do here. It just really depends on how much you got into the older games.
Well, There It Is
While Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection doesn’t entirely have winners, what’s here provides a suitable amount of variety for your buck. The Genesis games are great to see again, and some of the other games have merit here and there too. But it’s clear that some of them are barely up to Mr. DNA’s standards.
Still, kudos to Limited Run for emulating them just right, and packing just the right number of extras. It’s a good start to what will hopefully lead to a greater collection in the future…but this is enjoyable enough for now. So, yeah, hold onto your butts.
GAMERHUB RATING: 3.5 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
Thanks to Limited Run Games for the review code!
