Jill of the Jungle

Review by Ofisil

"It's a small jungle"

Jill Of The Jungle is a Platform game developed by Epic Games. This game came out in the age of Commander Keen and Duke Nukem, 2 popular Shareware games of the time. It's not as good as these titles, but I did enjoy it. However some minor and one big flaw prevent it from being a truly great game.

Gameplay: 6.5/10
Replay Value: 2/10

You control Jill the Amazon, a female Tarzan wannabe, through 16 levels, (13 with some bonus, if I remember right). A very solid platformer where you run and jump around, collecting apples for health and points, killing enemies, etc. The levels are very simple mazes, impossible to get lost or find it hard to traverse through them and the mobs that dwell there are a piece of cake to kill. The weapons are quite innovative, too bad the game was so small and with so little enemies to use them on. You can find a spinning blade that bounces around or a dagger, (can hold up to 2 I think), that you can throw and then move around while it comes back to you like a boomerang killing bad guys on the way back.

Jill Of The Jungle is mostly an exploration game. You must find the key that opens the door, push some buttons, avoid traps and reach the end of each level. You can also find items that transform you into a bird or fish and fly\swim in order to find the items needed. I like these kind of games and this one is good at it, but there are 2 problems. First of all the longevity of the game… it is extremely small, took me 30 minutes on my first playthrough and secondly it is very easy. The only reason playing it again is to find the few secrets or reach the highest score possible something equally easy.

Graphics: 6.5/10
Design: 6/10

The thing I like the most in this game is the animation of Jill which while not the best of its time its quite good… she even reminds me of the NES suit-less Samus! Now the level design is simple and very retro…ish. Simple textured jungles, forests and dungeons. My point is don't expect something extraordinary in the graphics section. I like it because I'm a nerdy-nostalgic-handsome-sexy-whatever-retro-guy, but I know that some people might find it dull.

Sound: 5.6/10
Music: 6.5/10

The sounds are quite good but somehow they are a bit out of place, not that I care but it is a bit strange when you hear a turntable scratch in a jungle themed game. The music is quite good but a bit unbalanced, there are themes that are very repetitive and unoriginal and some that are quite atmospheric and catchy not to mention that they sound a bit like another great game of the same company named… Unreal!

Positives:
-Nice exploration-type platform
-Nice Music & Animation

Negatives:
-Way too small and easy

Also Play:
Bram Stoker's Dracula (NES, SNES)
Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon (GBA)
Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night (Playstation)
Commander Keen (PC)
Duke Nukem (PC)
Jill Of The Jungle 2, 3 (PC)
Mega Man (Series)
Metroid (Series)(NES, Game Boy, SNES)
Prince Of Persia (PC)
Super Mario Bros (Series)(NES)
Super Mario World (Series)(SNES)
Xargon (PC)

Overall: 5.5/10

Despite giving it a low score I've enjoyed the game a lot. If only it was a bit longer or at least more challenging I would consider it a true classic.