*********************************************************************** Jungle Hunt *********************************************************************** The FAQ Written by Ian Rogers mr_bean88@hotmail.com Drop me a line if you have a question, comment, or just want to say hi. ________________________________________ Jungle Hunt FAQ for the Atari 2600 Version 1.5 8/21/00 ________________________________________ Revision History: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.5 8/21/01 Nearly a year after this FAQ was first finished, I am extremely pleased to bring you an updated version, filled with new information from the manual itself. I've added in the original storyline (along with the hero's name) as well as the true level names, and a host of other info. Also of interest is a story about a lawsuit that resulted from the original arcade version of the game, which helps tell how Jungle Hunt came to be. Check it out if you're interested. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.0 9/2/00 Well what do you know, the first version of my Jungle Hunt FAQ is complete. Actually, it's not that surprising, but it's here to stay, so I'm not complaining. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "You wrote a FAQ for an old Atari game? Surely you must be joking!" No, I'm serious. And don't call me Shirley. Humorous comments aside however, yes I'm really here to write the only FAQ that will probably ever exist for the Atari 2600 game Jungle Hunt. And I mean ever, because Atari FAQs aren't that easy to find nowadays. Anyway, I'm done with my short introduction, so sit back, relax, and enjoy my FAQ for Jungle Hunt. Table of Contents ____________________________ 1. Storyline 2. Level 1: Deadly Forest 3. Level 2: Reptile River 4. Level 3: Boulder Field 5. Level 4: Cannibal Camp 6. The Second Quest 7. A Tale of the Original "Jungle King" 8. Frequently Asked Questions 9. Acknowledgements and Copyright Info ____________________________ And with that in mind, let us begin. ======================================================================= 1. Storyline ======================================================================= (This comes straight from the manual folks, I didn't make this up) Let me introduce myself: Sir Dudley Dashley is the name, and big game hunting is my game. It was, anyway, until yesterday afternoon at 4:00 (teatime, you know) when my wife, Lady Penelope Dashley (Lady P. for short) was kidnapped from camp. It simply ruined my whole tea service! Seems that a couple of savages saw Lady P. and decided to cook her up for their own tea! Soon after Penelope was captured, the jungle drums started beating. My porters translated the message-they tell me it's some sort of jungle memo: To: The Cannibal Community From: The Cannibal Restaurant Society RE: Teatime We have a special on today's menu! Our soup du jour is Englishwoman broth, made fresh today and served promptly at 4:00. Don't miss this special teatime treat, brought overseas from the wilds of England! Directions to today's meal are as follows: Take eleven vines through the deadly forest, turn right into reptile river, go past fourteen crocodiles and emerge on the edge of the boulder field until you reach Cannibal Camp. Jump past the two guards (watch out for spear tips), turn left, and...you're there! Bon Appetit! *********************************************************************** Just so you know, for every level of the game I'll be giving a basic description, the controls, scoring information, and finally a few of my usual notes that should help you succeed. Now that we're all clear on the formatting, let's cut to the chase! ======================================================================= 2. Level 1: Deadly Forest ======================================================================= Description: To cross through the tall treetops you must swing across ten vines, each one swinging at a slightly different speed. Controls: Joystick: No Function Red Button: Jumps on to the next vine Scoring: Successfully swinging on to a vine: 100 Points End of Level Bonus: 500 Points Notes: This level is pretty easy, seeing as how it's the first one and everything. Swinging from vine to vine is no problem at all, but for best results wait until the vine that you are currently on is as far to the left as possible, then jump. ======================================================================= 3. Level 2: Reptile River ======================================================================= Description: Swim through a crocodile infested river (14 of them to be exact), either dodging or killing stray alligators as they come at you. But don't forget to come up to the surface for air! Controls: Joystick: Moves around in the water Red Button: Stabs the alligators Scoring: Slowest Crocodiles: 100 Points Crocodile with partially open jaws: 200 Points Fastest Crocodiles: 300 Points Ending Bonus: 500 Points Notes: Although this level is a bit trickier than the previous one, it's my favorite level of the game. Some people like to simply dodge the crocodiles in order to get to the end of the level, but in order to get the most points possible you'll probably want to stab some of them too. Stabbing the crocodiles is tricky, but it can be mastered with practice. Upon pressing the red button, you'll stab upward for about a second. While stabbing, simply swim underneath a crocodile to kill it and get an easy 100 points. Just make sure that you swim UNDER the crocodile, as you won't be able to stab it head on. Don't try to kill every crocodile that you see, as you can wind up getting killed yourself very easily. If you want you could just stab the ones that are in your way, or you could try avoiding the crocodiles altogether. Take note of the fact that those fast crocodiles that will quickly swim up an down will give you a good 300 points, so try to go for these guys if you want to get a better score. If a crocodile has it's mouth about halfway open (and is dangerously close to eating you) you can stab it and pick up 200 points instead of only a hundred. Oh yeah, and one more thing, you do have a diving meter that keeps track of how long you can stay underwater without drowning. If the meter gets too low, there will be a beeping sound, and if it runs out completely, you'll drown. To avoid this, try resurfacing frequently. ======================================================================= 4. Level 3: Boulder Field ======================================================================= Description: As you run down a very long path, many boulders will come rolling down in your direction, both large and small. Controls: Joystick Left/Right: Run Left/Right Joystick Down: Duck Joystick Up: No Function Red Button: Jump Scoring: Small Boulders: 200 Points Large Boulders: 100 Points Ending Bonus: 500 Points Notes: The majority of the boulders that come your way will be very small. Keep running forward, then simply jump when you get close to them. You should do a flying leap clear over the rolling boulder. The large boulders however, are a different story. Although it is possible (but EXTREMELY difficult) to jump over them, I recommend ducking under them. For best results, as soon as you see a large boulder, stop running forward and walk back a little bit. Now, duck down and the boulder should bounce right over you. On a side note, there are always a total of 17 boulders in this stage. Quite an odd number don't you think? Once you've beaten this, you can now enter the final level... ======================================================================= 5. Level 4: Cannibal Camp ======================================================================= Description: In order to rescue your girlfriend and complete the game you must successfully escape (i.e. jump over) two vicious jungle cannibals that jump from side to side. Controls: Joystick: Moves Red Button: Jumps Scoring: Jumping over a Headhunter: 200 Points Ending Bonus: Multiplied by the amount of time remaining Notes: Well here we are, the big bosses of the game! To easily jump over the Headhunter, just run forward as soon as you see it. If you're quick enough, you should be able to get close to the Headhunter as soon as he jumps over to the left. Quickly, before he can jump to the right, jump over his head! Now, simply run away before he catches you. The second Headhunter is exactly the same as the first, so there's no real secret to beating him. After passing the Headhunters, you can finally rescue your loving wife, Lady P, and get a huge ending bonus. The ending isn't much, you just reach her and the two of you do a little dance. Oh yeah, and here's one last tip. You can save a second or two by jumping over to Lady P instead of running over to her. Essential advice for those of you going for a high score. ======================================================================= 6. The Second Quest ======================================================================= As with most Atari games, as soon as you beat Jungle Hunt you will return to the beginning with your score intact. Now here's the twist; you're about to play a tougher version of the game that offers a new challenge. I like to refer to this as The Second Quest. In this section, I'll point out a few of the differences and things to expect throughout the levels. Level 1: To start off your more difficult journey, all of the vines are now swinging more slowly than before, making it more difficult for you to jump between them. To avoid this, follow my advice and jump as soon as your vine gets as far to the left as it's going to. Practice makes perfect! Level 2: The hardest thing about this level is that your diving meter will go down a lot more quickly, so you'll have to resurface more often. The crocodiles will also move a lot faster. I don't recommend going nuts killing crocodiles here, but just try to concentrate on moving onward, and try to kill only the ones that are in your way as you swim up for air. Level 3: Sheesh, this level is very hard! All of the boulders are now moving at twice the speed, and you'll have a very small margin of error when jumping over them as they seem to suddenly fly at you while you have no time to react. The large boulders are even more of a problem, you'll have to duck at exactly the right moment to get past them. Level 4: After the difficulty of the previous levels the final stage will seem strangely easy. The only thing that's changed is that the jumping patterns of the Headhunters will be slightly more erratic, but the difference is really not that much. Congratulations! You've now beaten the second quest of Jungle Hunt! Besides getting a whopping high score, you'll now have bragging rights and the ability to say that there's at least one Atari game out there that you've mastered. ======================================================================= 7. A Tale of the Original "Jungle King" ======================================================================= Long before Jungle Hunt existed on the Atari 2600, it started out in the Arcades, as many Atari and NES games once did. Except that the Arcade machines were originally titled Jungle King, and pictured quite a different character than our tea-loving friend Sir Dudley Dashley. The original Jungle Hero didn't wear a British explorers suit or drink tea. Instead, he donned only a loincloth and began the game by standing atop a tree, beating his chest and giving out a familiar monkey-like yell, his wild long hair hanging behind him. Have you gotten to where I'm coming from yet? When the good folks from the original Tarzan estate heard about this new arcade game, they weren't pleased at all. Taito (manufacturers of the game) went on to lose a very embarrassing lawsuit, and was forced to redesign Jungle King very quickly, or lose quite a bit of money. After some quick design changes, Jungle King eventually became Jungle Hunt, both in the arcades and on the Atari. And this is the version that we now remember, without it's Tarzan yell or loincloth-wearing hero. So if you ever come across a Jungle King Arcade machine in your travels, you'd be wise to hang on to it! Not only could it be worth something to arcade collectors (about as valuable as an original Tengen Tetris is to an NES enthusiast) it's also a really cool piece of history. For more information (along with screenshots) check out these websites: http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/jungking.html http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/4798/jungle.html All information in this section was made possible by an extremely helpful reader and contributor, Sam and was brought to you with his help. ======================================================================= 8. Frequently Asked Questions ======================================================================= Q: What is the name of the Hero? A: Sir Dudley Dashley Q: Are the names to the levels that you gave real or did you just make them up? A: Yes, they're the real names, taken straight from the manual. Q: I can't stab those crocodiles! What am I doing wrong? A: The most common mistake is that you are approaching them from the side, which will always get you killed. Instead, simply hit them from underneath. Q: How many lives do you get in Jungle Hunt? A: You get five lives. Just thought I'd mention that. Q: Okay then, when do you get an extra life? A: You are awarded an extra life at 10,000 points. I don't know when you get your second extra life, but it isn't 20,000. Q: Have you beaten The Second Quest of Jungle Hunt? A: Yes I have. Q: How do I pause the game? A: I'm sorry, this is an Atari game, so you can't pause it. Q: What happens when the timer runs out? A: You lose the game and go back to the beginning. It's has never happened to me before, the only reason that I know this is because I let it run out intentionally once. But don't worry, you really have more than enough time. Q: Is it my imagination or does the timer start going faster as it counts down? A: No, it's really going faster. When you start, it's going about 10 per second, and by the end it's going more than twice that speed. Q: What does the Hero do with his shirt and hat while he's swimming in the river? A: We may never know the answer to that one. Q: Why did the Headhunters kidnap your girlfriend? A: To eat her, I guess. Or else they would something so horrible, so gruesome that it can't be listed here. Q: Does the Hero stab the alligators with his fist, or does he have a knife? A: When I first played the game I thought that it was a knife, but now I'm not so sure. It really does look like his fist. So I'm leaving you to form your own conclusions on this issue. (Authors Note: In the original Arcade game, it was a knife) Q: In Level 3, is it possible to jump over one of those large boulders? A: Yes, but it's very difficult. Q: What the deal with the strange amount that the timer adds to your high score? A: Upon doing it out on a calculator, I found out that the timer will add a little more than three times it's current amount to your score. The actual number is very strange however, so I can't really explain it. Q: When was Jungle Hunt made? A: 1983 Q: When your FAQ originally came out, didn't it have a silly, useless storyline that you made up as opposed to the one from the manual? A: Yes. And here it is: "You are the famous Unnamed Hero, protector of all that is good and true. You enjoyed saving others from the many evils of the world, and let me say that you were quite good at it But one day your girlfriend was kidnapped by a bloodthirsty tribe of headhunting cannibals. And of course, you being the Unnamed Hero and all, you must journey deep into the Jungle to rescue her. But before reaching the Headhunters camp, you must travel through high treetops, down a raging river, and past a mountain ripe with falling rocks. Are you up to it?" Q: Did you steal the "Second Quest" name from The Legend of Zelda? A: Yeah. Don't tell anyone. Q: Where can I get a copy of the original Jungle King Arcade Machine? A: I honestly have no idea. Try eBay. Q: Look I really want to know, why did you write a FAQ on an Atari game? A: I wrote this FAQ because the amount of Atari FAQs on Gamefaqs is very low, and a game without a FAQ could always use one to go with it. Even if no one ever really uses this FAQ for actual game help, it still might make for some interesting reading. And finally, I just enjoyed writing it. ======================================================================= 9. Acknowledgements and Copyright Info ======================================================================= The biggest word of thanks should go to Atari for making Jungle Hunt way back in 1983. Without them, there wouldn't be a game, and this FAQ wouldn't be here. Thanks a lot to Sam for single-handedly furnishing all of the information about the original Jungle King arcade game, as well as providing the websites. Another major word of thanks to Wade S. who provided me with a complete photocopy of the Jungle Hunt manual, which was able to answer all of my questions regarding the storyline, characters, and level names. Thanks a lot Wade! And of course, extra special thanks should go to GameFAQs for posting this FAQ and making it available online where someone might actually see it someday. *********************************************************************** Jungle Hunt FAQ Copyright 2000 by Ian Rogers No part of this FAQ may be reproduced in whole or in part, either electronically or physically. If you wish to post this FAQ on an Internet website other than Gamefaqs, you must have my prior permission. This FAQ may not, under any circumstances to copied into HTML. This FAQ is not to be used for any means of profit, or as an accessory to profit. And finally, this FAQ may not be altered in any way, shape or form, including removing this copyright notice, or changing or deleting my name as the author. And that's the end of one of the only Atari FAQs out there. But who knows, someday that may change. But until then, I'm still Ian M. Rogers, and you can still e-mail me regarding just about anything (my e-mail address is at the top of the FAQ). Well, I guess there's nothing else left to say. Bye.