Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition

Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition is the sequel to BlueSky's Jurassic Park game for the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis. Released just over a year later, it fixes many of the original game's common criticisms, and focuses on intense action rather than careful platforming.

Gameplay[]

Both the Jurassic Park games for the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis are single-player, side-perspective 2D platformers. The player navigates complex terrain while defending themselves against dinosaurs and soldiers.

The player can choose whether to control Dr. Alan Grant or a Velociraptor. If playing as Grant, the player uses a wide variety of weapons, and can ride (or be carried by) a Gallimimus, Pteranodon, Triceratops, and rubber dinghy at certain points in the game. If playing as the raptor, all attacks are delivered in melee: biting, kicking, tail-whipping, and mid-air body-bashing. With no guns to collect, the raptor can instead chew boxes of lysine to enter brief periods of invulnerability.

There are three difficulty settings, and the story typically takes around half an hour to complete.

Story[]

"A Mission of Dinosaur Proportions!

Having survived the chaos of Jurassic Park, Grant escapes Isla Nublar on an InGen helicopter. As they lift away from the island, Grant sees flames erupting - the Costa Rican Army is blowing up sections of the island to destroy any remnants of the park's genetically-engineered dinosaurs.

But Grant also catches sight of another helicopter's stealthy arrival to the island. He sees that its occupants are a well-armed team of InGen field agents. What are they doing here?

Grant thinks the field agents are probably collecting any remaining dinosaur eggs, embryos and DNA samples before everything goes up in smoke. With those specimens, they could start another park somewhere else or they could create an uncontrollable army of dinosaurs - the possibilities are endless! Grant must put a stop to this frightening plan!

As Grant seizes the helicopter radio to warn the Costa Rican military, he has to fight off the pilot, who attempts to stop him. In the ensuing conflict, the copter goes down.

Grant survives the crash and flees the burning wreck, realizing he's been thrust back into the prehistoric nightmare he thought he had just escaped.

InGen operatives are quickly covering the island searching for dinosaur specimens. To make matters worse, the Costa Rican military has planned air strikes to rid the island of living dinosaurs. Under the threat of certain death at the hands of dinosaurs, field agents, or military air strikes, Grant charges toward his mission.

Grant - Stop the Enemy!

As Grant, you must seek out all the dinosaur eggs from heavily-guarded nests, and destroy them before the InGen agents get to them. Agents who already have specimens must be stopped from getting off the island.

You have to be on your guard at all times, because everywhere you turn, a dinosaur or enemy agent will try to defeat you. Arm yourself with a variety of weapons to defeat rampaging dinosaurs and enemy operatives. And get off the island alive!

The Raptor - Survival of the Species!

Jurassic Park and Isla Nublar are burning! As the Raptor, your main concern is to gather all the dinosaur eggs and guard them from the two-legged creatures who will stop at nothing to take them from you. If you fail to defeat these enemies, they will destroy your species!

It's every dinosaur for itself as the island slowly burns. Survival is of the utmost importance. Use your physical power to defeat armed agents and deadly dinosaurs.

If you can get on that departing cargo ship, you might find a safe place to nest the eggs..."

—US manual^([[1]])

Grant's story picks up immediately after the previous game's: he's already survived Isla Nublar, and was on the brink of escape, but has returned to stop hostile agents plundering the island. The raptor character is presumed to be a different one to the previous game, and has no interest in Grant - it's racing to escape its home before the island is burned to the ground by the military.

Levels[]

Both characters travel to most of the same places around Isla Nublar, but with different item and enemy locations. The first three levels can be played in any order.

Aviary	Both characters can choose Aviary as one of their first three levels. This tall glass and steel cage is filled with jungle terrain. One of the trees divides the map in half, with a Pteranodon nest at the top. Grant begins the level being carried by a Pteranodon up to the nest, and must make his way down to the ground to finish the level, but the aviary is filled with Pteranodon, any of which can grab Grant and carry him back to the nest. The raptor begins on the left side of the dividing tree, so needs to jump upwards from branch to branch until it's high enough to find a path to the right half of the level, then drop down to ground-level to exit. The most obvious path between the halves of the map is near the top, at the Pteranodon nest, but there is a small gap in the dividing tree that can be found much lower down.
Savanna Hunt	Both characters can choose Savanna as one of their first three levels. This level is a vast horizontal expanse; the player must travel at high speed from the left to the right end, leaping over rocks, and trying not to take too much damage from passing enemies. A unique enemy in this map is the military helicopter, which fires missiles in front, and bombs beneath it; it can keep up with the player, but departs when it takes enough damage. Grant can ride a Gallimimus (the only time it appears in any Genesis game), which easily outruns everything except the helicopter. However, enemy agents have set up several wire barricades which can knock Grant off the Gallimimus; these can be avoided either by jumping over or ducking under them. Use of the Gallimimus is optional and it can race through the level quickly, but once Grant hitches a ride, Velociraptor will periodically appear from the left of the screen to harass the duo if they slow down.
Cargo Ship	Grant can choose Cargo Ship as one of the first three levels; for the raptor it's the fifth and final level. This level is divided into distinct sections: the player first proceeds from left to right along the upper deck of the ship, then descends inside, moving through engineering, cargo storage, refrigerated or flooded areas, and finally reaching the crew quarters on the leftmost side. When playing as Grant, the ship floods shortly after reaching the crew quarters, resulting in a quick dash up ladders to find the exit. When playing as the raptor, the level has some major layout differences, and there is no flooding. Instead, the final boss is lurking in the depths of the ship: a hostile, red raptor.
Hidden Ruins	For Grant, Hidden Ruins is the fourth level; the raptor can choose it as one of the first three. This ancient temple complex resembles Angkor Wat, and is nestled in a ravine deep in the jungle. The players begin above the temple, and must make their way inside; all routes converge at a fire-spitting mechanism above an egg, before leading to the exit in the lower-right. The only death drops in the game are along the western underground route (found by taking either of the first two entrances underground). As Grant, there are three Triceratops underground which can be jumped onto, and will smash through any walls in the way. The westernmost Triceratops stops immediately before a death drop - the way across the chasm is to jump off the Triceratops, and hit the jump button again in mid-air to extend the length of the leap. Another Triceratops must be used to charge through the walls blocking the level exit.
Raptor Rapids	Called River Run in the game menu, this is the fifth level for Grant, and fourth for the raptor. Raptor Rapids is a gargantuan labyrinth of pipes and waterfalls. As the player moves deeper into the level, the color palette changes; first darker, and then brighter, until finally reaching a burning orange in the second half. Grant plays the entire level in a motorboat, dropping between waterfalls from one pool to the next. Unlike the first game, the motorboat doesn't need refuelling, and can't become grounded. The raptor doesn't interact with the water at all, instead clambering on the network of pipes (use down+jump to drop below the narrower pipes), but both players should be particularly wary of swimming Triceratops. Both characters start and finish in different locations, but the general goal (especially for Grant) is to keep going downwards. A map of Grant's version of the level can be found in the gallery.
Burning River	This final level is exclusively for Grant, who is still confined to the dinghy from Raptor Rapids. The river is Grant's route for escaping the island as it's incinerated by the military, but he's not alone. This simple, flat waterway is home to the game's sole Tyrannosaurus, which must be repeatedly driven back with gunfire to prevent it swallowing Grant whole. There are no pickups, so the player is limited to the ammunition they had when they arrived. Any weapon can be used to briefly repel the Tyrannosaurus, but the most effective option is the Rocket Launcher, which can hit beyond the length of the screen, and doesn't require Grant to turn around for lengthy periods of time.

Controls[]

All of these buttons can be remapped in the Settings menu.

Grant

A: switches weapons. Grant starts with just the Tranquilizer Dart Gun, a weak weapon with infinite ammunition, but as more weapons are acquired, they can be cycled between by pressing A. The icon in the top-left corner shows which weapon is selected, and the green gauge behind it shows how much ammo is available.
B: fire weapon. Most weapons fire a single shot each time B is pressed, but there are also some rapid-fire weapons which keep shooting while the button is held down: the Machine Tranquilizer Gun and Flame Thrower.
C: jump. Grant can jump slightly higher by holding down the button. There is a small number of hook-like objects in the game which can't be stood on, but can be used to vault from by tapping C again in mid-air. One example is in Cargo Ship: there's a 1-Up at the top of the ship's funnel, which can only be reached by vaulting off the top of a nearby pole. Most hooks are very hard to spot, and they don't all look the same.

Grant can fire weapons diagonally or upwards by combining A with the D-pad. Ladders can be climbed up or down using the D-pad. Jumping can be used to ride Savanna Hunt's Gallimimus and Hidden Ruin's Triceratops. The Triceratops can be hopped off at any time by jumping again, but Gallimimus and Pteranodon can't be manually disembarked. After riding a Triceratops as far as possible, it is possible to perform multiple mid-air jumps.

Raptor

A: bite. The raptor can bite while crouched, which is used to eat lysine boxes.
B: kick. The raptor can also kick while in mid-air, and drop-kick by holding down+B while high in mid-air. While on the ground, back+B can be pressed to tail-whip enemies behind the raptor.
C: jump. The raptor can perform a higher jump by holding up+C, or perform a horizontal long-jump by pressing down+C. While in mid-air, C can be pressed again to perform a double-jump, which damages enemies and extends the jump's distance.

The raptor moves at a walking pace when the D-pad is pointed left or right, but can run by pointing the D-pad diagonally up-left or right. All attacks deal the same amount of damage.

Both characters can crouch by pointing the D-pad down, and crouch-walk by moving the D-pad diagonally down-left or right. Both characters can drop beneath some thin ledges by pressing down+C. Doors are opened by attacking them.

Items[]

All pickups in Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition are non-randomized, so even the weapons that enemies drop are set by the level designer, and occur in the same place on each playthrough.

Weapons (Grant only)[]

	Firing mode	Damage	Range	Rarity	Notes
Tranquilizer Dart Gun	Single-shot	Weak	Long	Starting weapon	Infinite ammo
Shot Gun	Single-shot	Moderate	Short	Common
Machine Tranquilizer Gun	Rapid-fire	Moderate	Long	Common	Each projectile deals slightly more damage than Dart Gun's
Flame Thower	Rapid-fire	High	Short	Unusual
Shock Rifle	Single-shot	Extreme	Short	Unusual	Can hit targets through walls. Nearly all enemies caught directly in the beam are instantly neutralized
Rocket Launcher	Single-shot	High	Long	Rare	Explosive
Gas Grenades	Single-shot	High	Short	Common	Explosive

Despite some weapons being named "tranquilizers" in the manual, everything in Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition permanently neutralizes enemies. Similarly, "Gas Grenades" cause explosions, rather than the temporary knock-out gas of the first game.

Rapid-fire weapons keep shooting as long as the B button is held down. However, single-shot weapons can fire similarly fast if B is tapped rapidly.

Long-range projectiles can theoretically have an infinite range if they remain on-screen, but the game removes the projectile when it travels too far off-screen.

Explosive weapons cause damage to anything close to the impact site - including Grant. Use them carefully.

The Rocket Launcher is by far the rarest weapon: the only level with multiple pickups is Raptor Rapids, and Cargo Ship has none.

Health[]

	Candy Bar	Restores a portion of health.
	Med Kit	Restores all health.
	1-Up	Restores all health, and gives an extra life. Grant yells "yee-haw!" when acquiring one, and they're rare; 0-2 per level.

Points[]

These items have no objective purpose, but show up on a tally screen after each level, so can be used to gauge how thoroughly you've explored. There is only one egg per level (except Burning River), but the other types are more common. If the player dies, all items and enemies in the level respawn, so it is possible to collect the same "points item" more than once.

	Egg
	Embryo Container
	DNA Sample

Power-ups[]

	Lysine	Lysine boxes are dotted liberally around most levels. If destroyed, they explode. These boxes mainly exist for the raptor player, who can bite them, causing a meter to fill up in the top left corner of the screen. When the raptor has eaten enough lysine to fill up the meter, it enters Raptor Rage: during this period, the screen turns orange, the player is invulnerable to damage, all enemies except the final boss are dispatched with a single hit, touching enemies deals damage, and running speed and jump length are increased. For Grant though, lysine boxes are just explosive crates.
	Ammo belt (Grant only)	Not described in the manual, this extremely rare pickup fills the ammo supply of whichever weapon Grant has selected - make sure not to have the Dart Gun out when picking up one of these! Grant yells "yee-haw!" when acquiring one. The only two ammo belts are both in Aviary: there is one on each side of the level, somewhat high up, but not as high as the Pteranodon nest. The belt on the left-hand side of the level is halfway across the third bridge down (non-bending, with no holes in the middle). The belt on the right-hand side is on the extreme right edge of the level, perched on a crate, and can be reached by bunny-hopping up a steep slope, or steering a Pteranodon while grabbed. A map of the area around the right-hand ammo belt can be found in the gallery.
	Armor vest? (Grant only)	Not described in the manual, this power-up is as rare as it is mysterious. A blue item that appears to be an armor vest, Grant "yee-haw!"s when picking it up (like the ammo belt and 1-Up), but it has no known effect.^{[citation needed]} It's hard to spot even on the game's item list (the icon is on the bottom left, where its blue/black coloration blends with the background), and only appears twice in the game. The first is concealed at the very top of Aviary: from the Pteranodon nest, head right, jump onto a dangling piece of foliage, jump up into the high canopy, and head left, hopping over obstacles, as far as possible; just a small piece of blue will be poking through the foliage. If playing as the raptor, the same location instead has a 1-Up. The second location is in the Raptor Rapids. When the level starts to brighten after going very dark, keep as far left as possible; it's shortly before the rivers turn bright orange.

Difficulty settings[]

The game's difficulty can be changed in the Options menu at the start of the game. Level layouts are the same, but certain variables change, such as enemy durability.

Difficulty variables
	Easy	Normal	Hard
Extra lives at start of game	5 lives	4 lives	3 lives
Human and Pteranodon durability	3 dart hits	5 dart hits	8 dart hits
Dilophosaurus durability	4 dart hits	6 dart hits	9 dart hits
Raptor durability	5 dart hits	8 dart hits	12 dart hits
Triceratops durability	9 dart hits	12 dart hits	13 dart hits
Damage to repel Tyrannosaurus	4 dart hits	5 dart hits	8 dart hits
Common enemy durability against raptor player *	1 hit	1 hit	2 hits
Lysine required for Raptor Rage	3 boxes	5 boxes	6 boxes

* When playing as the raptor, difficulty affects how many hits it takes to bring down humans, Pteranodon, and Dilophosaurus. Difficulty doesn't affect the durability of rare enemies such as Triceratops (2 hits), the helicopter (2 hits), or Hidden Ruins' fire-spitting mechanism (5 hits).

Cheats[]

There are no known official cheats for the retail build of Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition.

Unofficial cheats can be enabled by using a Game Genie or Pro Action Replay, which allow users to enter codes which modify the game's RAM values. A comprehensive list of codes can be found at GameHacking.org, but a small number don't work, or can cause glitches. For example, if using the "moon jump" code while riding the Gallimimus, their sprites become misaligned, and Grant will occasionally be unable to fire. Official ports of the game for modern systems don't have any functionality similar to a Game Genie.

In early prototype builds of the game, a cheat mode is built-in. Like debug mode in the first game, it's commanded by using the second controller. Using the D-pad can move the player to any point in the level, through walls or into the air. In the campaign map screen, pressing X selects the fourth level, pressing Y selects the fifth level, pressing Z selects Burning River, pressing A changes the player character to Grant, and pressing C changes the player character to the Raptor. And finally, using the first controller, the Z button functions as a "back up" command: while used in-game, it moves back to the campaign map. If used on the campaign map screen, it moves back to the SEGA logo. The last prototype build with the cheat mode is dated 13th July 1994, but it has bugs (pressing Up on the second controller will freeze the player). Earlier builds, such as 30th June 1994, have a more stable cheat mode.

Differences to the first game[]

Despite the name, Rampage Edition is not an update of the original Sega Mega Drive / Genesis Jurassic Park, but is instead a sequel. It uses the same 2D platformer format, but has a new story, and significant gameplay changes.

Performance is radically improved: there is far less slowdown, despite frequently having more enemies on-screen.
There are several new gameplay mechanics that are unique to one particular level, such as three different rideable animals, an attack helicopter, and a flooding ship.
There are very few movement puzzles to solve, and barely any death drops at all. Movement is generally faster.
Jumping is simpler: characters no longer climb onto ledges when they touch the edge, and there is no fall damage.
There is no more password system, but extra lives can now be found in the levels.
There are fewer levels, and with more layout similarity between Grant and the raptor's versions, but the levels are several times larger than any in the original game. Checkpoints are added, so that dying doesn't mean restarting the entire level.
Enemies are more common. Most of the enemy types are carried over from the original game, but this time Grant fights soldiers, the raptor eventually fights another of its kind, and there is only one appearance from the Tyrannosaurus. The Brachiosaurus does not appear, but a Gallimimus is added.
Enemies don't respawn after they're neutralized, unless the player dies. Most or all weapon effects are depicted as lethal, and Grant has a different selection of weapons.
Contact with an enemy no longer causes damage, unless they attack.
The dinghy in the river levels doesn't require any fuel to keep moving, can't be jumped out of, and no waterfalls are fatal.
The raptor's jumping system is changed. Crouch-jump now requires pressing down+C rather than down+B, up+jump doesn't provide as much extra height, and the raptor can now double-jump by pressing C in mid-air, pulling off a aerial flip which damages enemies as well as increasing jump distance.
The raptor has new attacks. There is no longer a forward+A bite-and-grab, and jumping no longer damages enemies on contact. Instead, the raptor can now tail-whip by pressing backwards+B, bite while crouched, kick while in mid-air, drop-kick by pressing down+B while in mid-air, plus the aforementioned double-jump.
The raptor can now enter Raptor Rage after eating enough lysine, so is now incentivized to search for more pickups than just health.
While many of the character sprites are carried over, the game is rendered in a slightly different style: brighter, less blurred, and with thick outlines around characters and items.
While the sound and music have the same composer (Sam Powell), the music is a different style (with tribal beats, menacing bass pulses, and aggressive guitar synths), the sounds are generally slightly sped-up, and the raptors have a roar adapted from the Tyrannosaurus'.
Grant doesn't appear in the raptor's campaign this time around.

Species featured[]

Procompsognathus	This particularly fragile enemy clings to the player, blocking any attacks and biting until it's dislodged by tapping B.
Pteranodon	An aerial enemy that follows the player for moderate distances, divebombs, and then flies away. Doesn't appear in Grant's version of Hidden Ruins. In Aviary, when Grant strays away from their nest near the top of the level, any Pteranodon that catches him will carry him back to the nest. The D-pad can be used to steer the Pteranodon left or right, or to slow its ascent.
Dilophosaurus	Spits globs of venom across the screen. The game's Dilophosaurus are larger than the film's, but still a little smaller than a real-life adult.
Velociraptor	Fast and versatile, raptors are capable of following the player even across vertical terrain, attacking in mid-air, and dealing out heavy damage in a variety of ways. In Savanna Hunt they repeatedly appear from the left side of the screen if Grant's Gallimimus slows down, but the raptor player only encounters one other member of its own species, in Cargo Ship.
Triceratops	Large herbivores that deal heavy damage if they become hostile. Triceratops always occurs singly, and has several different behaviour sets. In Cargo Ship and the raptor levels (Hidden Ruins and occasionally on land in Raptor Rapids), it begins placid, but will charge the player if attacked. In Grant's version of Hidden Ruins, it can be jumped onto, and used to charge through breakable walls; after jumping off, it is possible to jump again in mid-air to clear wide gaps. In Raptor Rapids, the Triceratops swims along waterways, causing extreme damage when it touches the player. The latter is particularly hazardous, because it's often hard to spot a swimming Triceratops, so the player can be dead before they realise what's happening.
Gallimimus	Grant can jump onto the Gallimimus and fully control it; the advantage is that it allows Grant to move very quickly, and jump much higher. It cannot cause or receive damage in any way, and if Grant dies, the Gallimimus will appear next to him when he respawns. Only appears in Grant's version of Savanna Hunt.
Tyrannosaurus rex	Grant's final boss, the Tyrannosaurus can't be killed, but damage from gunfire causes it to stop and roar. It's faster than the dinghy, and if it catches Grant, it can kill him instantly. Only appears in Burning River.

Human enemies[]

Soldiers	These green-dressed enemies typically crouch in place, and periodically fire bullets and throw grenades. When neutralized, they often drop Machine Guns, Shotguns, and Gas Grenades.
Agents	These blue-suited enemies tend to scurry around a lot more, again attack with bullets and grenades, and can sometimes drop exotic weapons when neutralized (Flame Throwers, Shock Rifles, and very rarely Rocket Launchers) as well as the simpler weapons. In some levels they can rappel down rope lines, and in Raptor Rapids they pilot motorboats around the waterways.
Helicopter	Occasionally looms out of the top of the screen, firing missiles ahead of it, and dropping napalm bombs below it (the only attack in the game that can kill other enemies). The missiles can reach the player a long way ahead, so attempting to outrun it is unwise; attack until it leaves. The helicopter only appears in Savanna Hunt.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Many elements of Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition seem to be inspired by the book, such as the Costa Rican government burning down Isla Nublar, the Tyrannosaurus pursuing Grant's dinghy along a river, dinosaurs stowing away on a cargo ship, a pterosaur aviary, and the inclusion of Procompsognathus. It even prefigures future entries in the series, with the homicidal human faction and hunt for eggs mirroring the BioSyn elements of Michael Crichton's The Lost World, chocolate-loving raptors feature in the same book, and the game manual's suggestion of a "private army of dinosaurs" is a notion that would later be used in the Jurassic World series.
Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition is one of the earliest games to feature a 'double-jump' move, releasing a few months after Sonic the Hedgehog 3. This feature would go on to be a core component of the Unreal series from 2003 onwards, and the Doom series from 2016 onwards, among others.
The only species in Rampage Edition that don't appear in the Jurassic Park film are Pteranodon and Procompsognathus, both of which feature prominently elsewhere in the series. (Even in Jurassic Park, the film does allude to some genus of pterosaur in the restaurant scene, and Procompsognathus was featured in most drafts of the script.) The only species in the film that don't appear in the game are Parasaurolophus and Brachiosaurus (the latter of which features in the first Sega Mega Drive / Genesis game).