''Pitfall II: Lost Caverns'' is a

platform video 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 ...

originally released for the

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

in 1984. It is the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to ''

Pitfall! ''Pitfall!'' is a platform video game designed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released by Activision in 1982. The player controls Pitfall Harry and is tasked with collecting all the treasures in a jungle within 20 minutes. The world con ...

'' (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 The Atari 5200 SuperSystem or simply Atari 5200 is a home video game console introduced in 1982 by Atari, Inc. as a higher-end complement for the popular Atari Video Computer System. The VCS was renamed to the Atari 2600 at the time of the 520 ...

ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...

TRS-80 Color Computer The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer and sometimes nicknamed the CoCo, is a line of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Com ...

, Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, MSX, Commodore 64, and the IBM PCjr (as a cartridge). In 1985, Sega released an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

remake 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 The is a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. Developed in response to a downturn in arcades starting in 1982, the SG-1000 was created on the advice of Hayao Nak ...

console in Japan. The game's plot was loosely remade into '' Super Pitfall'' for the Famicom/NES.

Gameplay

In ''

'', Pitfall Harry avoids crocodiles,

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 en ...

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 bir ...

and

quicksand Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...

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 The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

, and Rhonda, his adventure-seeking niece. Both characters were created for the '' Saturday Supercade'' cartoon based on ''Pitfall!'' a year before this game was released. Upon collecting Rhonda, Quickclaw, and a

diamond Diamond is a 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 chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

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 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 Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...

Reception

'' Computer and Video Games'' 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 ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

'' 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. '' Computer and Video Games'' 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