''Pitfall II: Lost Caverns'' is a platform video game originally released for the Atari 2600 by Activision in 1984. It is the sequel to '' Pitfall!'' (1982). Both games were designed and programmed by David Crane and star jungle explorer Pitfall Harry. ''Pitfall II''s major additions are a much larger world with vertical scrolling, swimmable rivers with deadly eels, music, and balloons for floating between locations. Published after the

video game crash of 1983 The video game crash of 1983 (known as the Atari shock in Japan) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985, primarily in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including ma ...

when interest in the 2600 was waning, ''Pitfall II'' was one of the last major releases for the console and one of the most technically impressive. The cartridge contained a custom "Display Processor Chip," designed by Crane, for improved visuals, and four-channel music instead of the two the system was normally capable of. ''Pitfall II'' was ported to the Atari 5200, ColecoVision, TRS-80 Color Computer,

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

, and the

IBM PCjr The IBM PCjr (pronounced "PC junior") was a home computer produced and marketed by IBM from March 1984 to May 1985, intended as a lower-cost variant of the IBM PC with hardware capabilities better suited for video games, in order to compete mor ...

(as a cartridge). In 1985,

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

released an arcade

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of ''Pitfall II'' with a new visual style and gameplay that combined elements from both ''Pitfall I'' and ''II''. It was ported to the SG-1000 console in Japan. The game's plot was loosely remade into ''

Super Pitfall is a 1986 side-scrolling platform video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, NEC PC-8801, and TRS-80 Color Computer 3 published under Activision's license. Despite the title screen stating that it was developed by Pony Inc, the actual ...

'' for the

Famicom/NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

Gameplay

In '' Pitfall!'', Pitfall Harry avoids

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

s, cobras,

bats Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

and

quicksand Quicksand is a colloid A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a ...

across a series of horizontal screens. ''Lost Caverns'' dramatically expands the scope of the environment, as Harry descends into a deep, vertically scrolling underground. Unlike the first game, Harry has unlimited time and lives, making it impossible to die or lose. When Harry touches a dangerous creature, he loses points as he moves back to the last

continue point A saved game (also called a game save, savegame, savefile, save point, or simply save) is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. From the earliest games in the 1970s onward, game platform hardw ...

(marked with a red

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

) he touched along his journey. ''Pitfall II'' has 27 horizontal levels. These levels span eight screens in width but are not openly accessible all the way across; some portions are blocked by cave walls that force Harry to travel through other areas in order to progress. Quicksand and tar pits are replaced by rivers and chasms.

Balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...

s let Harry ascend to new areas. Two characters debut in ''Lost Caverns'': Quickclaw, Harry's cowardly pet mountain lion, and Rhonda, his adventure-seeking niece. Both characters were created for the ''

Saturday Supercade ''Saturday Supercade'' is an American animated television series produced for Saturday mornings by Ruby-Spears Productions. It ran for two seasons on CBS. Premise Each episode is composed of several shorter segments featuring video game characte ...

'' cartoon based on ''Pitfall!'' a year before this game was released. Upon collecting Rhonda, Quickclaw, and a

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

, the game ends. Optional items can be collected for points. The maximum possible score is 199,000. Musical cues act as subtle rewards and punishments for performance. The main theme plays for a short while before reaching a loop of acoustic music. When Harry collects a treasure, the main theme begins again. When Harry returns to a continue point, a slower, minor key version of the theme plays. If Harry ascends using the balloon, Sobre las Olas ("Over the Waves") is played.

Ports

The Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computer versions, called the ''Adventurer's Edition'' on their title screens, contain additional content. Programmer Mike Lorenzen reused David Crane's code from the 2600 version and added an entirely new

level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...

to the game, which was playable after the initial game was finished. Marketing would not allow the two versions to be different so the new level was relegated to an easter egg.

Reception

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' magazine rated the ColecoVision version 81% in 1989. ''Pitfall II: Lost Caverns'' was named No. 1 in the "best 25 Atari 2600 games of all time" in issue 46 of '' Retro Gamer'' magazine. ''

Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...

'' included it as an open world game in their Game Design Essentials series. In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed the Sega arcade remake of ''Pitfall II: Lost Caverns'' on their March 1, 1985 issue as being the most successful table arcade unit of the month. ''

'' reviewed Sega's arcade remake of ''Pitfall II'', stating it is "an amalgamation of" ''Pitfall I'' and ''II'' that is "as good as, if not better than," the original games.

References

External links

''Pitfall II: Lost Caverns''
for the Atari 2600 at Atari Mania * * *
David Crane explains how the DPC sound chip works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitfall 02: Lost Caverns 1984 video games Activision games Apple II games Arcade video games Atari 2600 games Atari 5200 games Atari 8-bit family games ColecoVision games Commodore 64 games MSX games Open-world video games Pitfall (series) SG-1000 games Sega System 1 games TRS-80 Color Computer games Video game sequels Video games set in forests ZX Spectrum games Video games developed in the United States