Pitfall II.... by SEGA? I never knew there was an arcade version! Did you?

[Torr]

 

 

 

I'm sure I'll never get to play the arcade version. But I'd love to play that SG-1000 version.

 

Times like this I like emulation!

 

We've been talking about Everdrives in another thread and apparently the new SMS Everdrive can play SG-1000 ROMs... I think I'm finally at my buying point.

 

However, since SG-1000 cards can't be played directly on an SMS, how DOES the Everdrive do it? Are there converter cards for SG-1000 to SMS like PC-E to TG-16?

 

Back to the game... so who HAS heard of this (probably quite a few...)

So, who has actually seen a cabinet or played one?

 

Any good? The screenshot on the back looks like this could have been the foundation for building Super Pitfall on NES... man... I hope it's not that bad...

 

 

oh, and for those who haven't heard of it... it's NOT a direct port of Pitfall II: Lost Caverns... it's level oriented, combines both Pitfall 1 and 2 and has a boss at the end apparently.

 

From Sega Retro:

Sega's version of Pitfall II was tweaked significantly from its western counterparts released for the Atari 2600, ColecoVision etc. The gameplay is largely the same, but there are many additions. These include a Lives system, mine-carts, balloons, and a final Demon boss.

 

 

EDIT: Images from and more info at http://segaretro.org/Pitfall_II:_The_Lost_Caverns

Edited May 17, 2017 by Torr

[enoofu]

Believe i seen this at a hotel in myrtle beach South Caroline was next to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

 

Can't recall the game play since i used a lot of my time on the Indiana Jones machines

[zzip]

I remember it. It was one of the rare times a home game got ported to arcade rather than vice-versa.

[+GoldenWheels]

Just googling to see what the arcade game looked like...man the screens all combined as almost a map look very cool. I always wanted posters of games like this:

 

[Cynicaster]

Played this in the Atariage MAME HSC a few years back and wasn't a fan. This type of gameplay is not a good fit for an arcade game, IMO.

[killersquirel]

I saw the arcade at Seaside Heights in NJ in early, mid '90s. I didn't know it before then.

[mbd30]

I don't recall the Pitfall arcade game. It must not have been popular.

[Kurt_Woloch]

I did know... it was put up at one of our arcades back in late 1985. I did own the Atari 2600 version and also had the C-64 version of it, so the differences were obvious.

 

They did some changes to orient it more towards arcade players, and it seems a bit less adventurous. The gameplay felt definitely more linear than on the Atari 2600, and it's also a bit faster and more hazardous. Unlike the original Pitfall II, you really lose a life if you collide with something instead of being transported back to the last "cross". Although the map is roughly the same size as on the Atari 2600, here it's divided into 4 levels, which means that if you get to the end of one level, you start at the beginning of the next one and can't go back although the end and start points are actually close to one another in the map. And there's also the trick that Level 1 feels more like Pitfall 1 and actually consists of the same 8 screens repeated 4 times with added difficulty and additional hazards, but there's no warping by going the underground passage.

 

All in all I thought it was a fair translation. It was one more "Sega reprogrammed game". The other one they did was "Choplifter" by Broderbund which came out at about the same time as "Pitfall II". For me Sega was known for reprogramming the games by not sticking too close to the original version, which they also did when porting their own arcade games to home consoles and computers, and even when porting their arcade games to their own consoles, so I was used to changes being made.

[MrMaddog]

I actually played this game a lot at the arcade my dad took me to. In fact I played this version before the original 2600 cart due to me not getting the game by the time the Crash happened. The cabinet was so narrow that I was actually rocking the machine without realizing it till my dad told me...even though I was a skinny 10 year old! Only thing I hated was the vine swinging part where you have to get it at the exact perfect spot or you'll die a lot. Otherwise the graphics and music were so perfect.

 

 

 

However, since SG-1000 cards can't be played directly on an SMS, how DOES the Everdrive do it? Are there converter cards for SG-1000 to SMS like PC-E to TG-16?

 

 

Ok geek time here... The Japanese SMS uses the same cart cases as the SG-1000 so it plays those games unlike the Western SMS. The Genesis has the same hardware as the SMS (Z80, 8-bit sound chip & VDP with an extra 16-bit mode). All the Power Base Converter was is a way to play square peg carts/cards in the Genny's round hole. So no surprise that the Everdrive can load 8-bit ROMS that the Genesis can easily run. To play SG-1000 carts on a SMS, all you need is a converter to play Japanese SMS games.

 

 

[high voltage]

Yes

[Pixelboy]

The SG-1000 version was ported to ColecoVision back in 2010.

[dj_convoy]

I did know, and sadly it doesn't quite live up to the 5200 version, I'm afraid. Still love it tho', as a marriage between my favorite video game company and probably my favorite video game.

[GameGirl420]

I knew about it,but only in recent years did I discover it.

 

 

I did even mention about it to David Crane in my interview with him back in 2015. I asked him what he thought about it,and David Crane dislikes the arcade game!! He thinks it sucks lol. He had nothing to do with it either.

 

 

Personally I think it's an okay game. Kind of a cute cartoony take on the Pitfall series. Better than Super Pitfall on NES at least.

[Crimefighter]

Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL has this one.

[ApolloBoy]

However, since SG-1000 cards can't be played directly on an SMS, how DOES the Everdrive do it?

The BIOS is the only thing preventing you from playing those actually. Basically the SMS BIOS looks for a special header that isn't present in SG-1000 games, and since the Master Everdrive contains this header that's how you can play SG-1000 games on a non-Japanese system. Cartridges are a different matter since there's no commercially available converter.

[schuwalker]

I recall coming across this at a 7-11 by my grandma's place. This was the only instance I have ever seen one *back then*. Apparently from my research, Sega system 8 boards/games are pretty rare here (states). looking at the list of games on that particular hardware, this and Choplifter were the only ones I came across bitd.

 

Couple years ago, I picked up the kit for a Pitfall 2 from a local collector sans the cab. I prefer the console take honestly... the game is frustratingly difficult and never I cared for those Sega's graphics back then and even now.