Game #1014: Tarzan

 I'll have none of your monkey business!

 While I don't think I thought it was a great game, back when I was younger, even though I didn't watch the movie nor was I interested in it, I'd play Tarzan all the time, albeit the PC port. Having given it another go yesterday, I can understand why, as I feel this is one of Disney's better licensed games I have played recently.

 The story covers the plot from the movie, while using a fair amount of scenes from it, they even kept some songs! That in and of itself makes it a fantastic licensed game. As for the gameplay, it's a 2.5D platformer. All the graphics are in 3-D, and it looks quite good for the PS1, but you move strictly in 2-D, even if there are a few twisting paths here and there than play with the third dimension. Near the end of the game there are 2 stages in which you actually get full 3-D movement, but they are fairly short and the exception to the rule.

 It's not particularly hard, but you'll probably want to be careful and try to amass as many lives as you can, as every single animal in the jungle is out to get you. While Tarzan can jump and swing like the best of them, you get two forms of attacks: Low and High fruit throws as well as a knife attacks, if you can find the knife in each level. The thing is... all your attack animations are super slow, so you'll probably get hit a bunch of times before you actually hit the enemy. Movement feels a bit janky too, and sometimes it's hard to spot enemies before getting hit. Like I said before, it's not too hard, but there's a certain challenge here... but it doesn't feel quite like getting hit is your fault most of the time.

 Jankiness aside, I feel like the game is fun. The levels you explore are entertaining, and since you'll want to gather as many lives as you can you'll find yourself exploring them in order to find the collectibles so that you can play the bonus levels. While about 10 of the 13 levels take place in the jungle, somehow they managed not to make the game feel repetitive, I think it has to do with the obstacles you have to face as well as the unique segments each level has. The music is absolutely delightful, which probably helps in making everything feel so charming.

 It's not the best platformer game you can find on the system, that's for sure, but I think the game manages to be at least competent and it succeeds as a licensed game by adapting the movie. The fact that we get scenes AND songs from the movie only makes it better.

 6.0