is a side-scrolling

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

published by Hudson Soft that was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. It is the third game in the '' Adventure Island'' released for the NES, following '' Adventure Island II''. Unlike the first two games in the series, the NES version was never released in Europe. A portable version was also released for the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

in 1993 titled ''Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima III'', renamed to ''Adventure Island II: Aliens in Paradise'' outside of Japan.

Gameplay

Higgins can crouch, an ability he did not have in the previous NES games, but he loses the ability to backtrack during a stage. Unlike the previous game, the boss does not move to a different stage when the player loses a life. The inventory system from the second NES game is still present, but this time he has eight items to choose from instead of just five. Higgins has a fifth dinosaur friend who can help him out: a

triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one ...

(summoned by a star card) that can defeat enemies with his rolling attack. The other new items include a boomerang weapon that can be used as an alternative from Higgins' traditional stone axe weapon, and a crystal that provides Higgins with one hitpoint when he begins a stage. There are different hidden rooms as well, such as a treasure room where Higgins can choose a new power-up, a surfing bonus round, a room containing a crystal (with an option to continue the level or skip it), and a room with the option of skipping a boss (which will also skip the stage) or not.

Version differences

The Game Boy version has a password system and an interactive map that allows the player to revisit previously completed stages to find new paths.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...

'' reviewers George and Rob stated that game was very similar to the previous ''Adventure Island'' games, with George mentioning it became "very challenging in advanced stages" while Rob considered the game likable, but not groundbreaking.

Allgame RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...

gave a review score of 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating "not much else has changed in this second sequel" noting only the addition of a new dinosaur partner and that the graphics, sounds and gameplay are on par with ''Adventure Island II''.

References

External links

* 1992 video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Game Boy games Adventure Island (franchise) Platformers Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Hirohiko Takayama Video games set on fictional islands Single-player video games Side-scrolling video games Now Production games Hudson Soft games {{platform-videogame-stub