Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1991 video game)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a video game released in 1991 by Taito, for the NES based on the film with the same name.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | |
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NES cover art | |
Developer(s) | Software Creations |
Publisher(s) | Taito Corporation |
Designer(s) | Michael Crick[1] |
Programmer(s) | John Seghers Michael Crick |
Artist(s) | Michael Crick |
Composer(s) | Geoff Follin, Tim Follin |
Platform(s) | Nintendo Entertainment System |
Release | March 1991 |
Genre(s) | Action |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
In the game, the player controls protagonist Indiana Jones going through levels taken directly from the film, albeit with a shortened and simplified plot. The game begins in 1938, with Indy receiving a package from Venice, Italy, that turns out to be his father's Grail Diary. At the same time, he receives a telegram from Marcus Brody telling him the Cross of Coronado is on a ship off the Portuguese coast. The player is then presented with the choice of recovering the Cross of Coronado or going to Venice.
When Indy goes to recover the Cross, he boards a ship and must defeat a certain number of Panama Hat's goons before fighting the boss himself. He can also head to Venice where he is presented with a sliding puzzle challenge which he must complete before a fire, traveling through the tunnel, engulfs the room. By solving the puzzle in time, Indy receives a sketch showing the true holy grail. After finishing his first mission, Indy will receive a telegraph from Sallah telling him that Henry Jones, Sr. was taken captive by the Nazis is being held at Brunwald Castle and Marcus Brody has gone missing. After finishing his second mission, he will receive another telegraph telling him the location of the Holy Grail.
Saving Marcus takes place on top of a German tank in Iskenderun where Indy has to kill Nazis before the tank plunges over a cliff. At Brunwald Castle, he must navigate a convoluted maze to find Henry Jones Sr.
In several of the missions, if the player fails, the Nazis steal Henry's diary and Indy must travel to Berlin to recover it via a motorcycle riding sequence.
In the final level of the game, Indy finds himself at the Lost Temple. He must carefully navigate the floor to spell out the word "Jehovah". If he steps on the wrong tile, it falls, and if he takes too long, the torch goes out. Afterwards, he reaches the final sanctum containing the Knight and several grails. If the player has the sketch from Venice, it will aid in identifying the correct grail. Choosing the correct Grail will show the ending.
The game presents bitmapped pictures of the real movie actors, such as Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.
Reception
Robert Swan of Computer and Video Games gave the game an 89 percent rating. Swan praised the graphics, music and sound effects, and stated that the game "has got to be one of the best" NES games released up to that point.[2] Nintendo Power noted that the film's action scenes "translate well" to the game.[3] Skyler Miller of AllGame praised the graphics and music, as well as the cutscenes, but she criticized the gameplay and gave the game two and a half stars out of five.[4]
References
- "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Credits". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- Swan, Robert (December 1990). "Review: Indy 3". Computer and Video Games. p. 116. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- "Now Playing". Nintendo Power. March 1991. pp. 74–75. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- Miller, Skyler. "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2018.