The Bermuda
Triangle, that ominous space off Florida’s coast, has claimed thousands of
pilots and seamen’s lives. Why? Could it be that the hurricane-prone area is
where dozens of sea and air routes intersect; thus creating a long list of
coincidences due to the sheer number of vehicles and storms in the area? Of
course not! It’s dinosaurs, I tell ya’!
SNK, the
developer behind the Neo-Geo -- which coincidentally caused its own list of
plane and ship wrecks due to its massive cartridges – was first and foremost an
arcade developer in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Among these titles were such classics as
Metal Slug, Samurai Showdown and Fatal
Fury. Yet buried deep inside the collection, and probably hidden in the far
reaches of arcades, was the little known Prehistoric
Isle in 1930.
Story/Design
As the name
would imply, Prehistoric Isle takes
place in 1930, after a series of disappearances off the coast of Florida inspires
the government to send a group of pilots to investigate an island in the Bermuda
Triangle. But unlike other disappearances in the Caribbean, these aren’t
committed by human traffickers. Rather it appears all sorts of dinosaurs have
been hiding out in the region for the past 65 million years and have become
quite peeved with all the recent traffic. You play as one of two possible
pilots in what seems like less of an investigation and more of a dino-genocide
as you tear through the island’s bullet-vulnerable reptiles.
Admittedly,
the game’s off the wall premise of biplanes
blowing up dinosaurs was the main reason I purchased the cabinet. At the
time (1989), it was equally unique, especially due to Prehistoric Isle being one of the few non-space themed shoot ‘em ups
available. If you ever get a chance to pop a few quarters into one of these bad
boys, do it; even if it’s just for the novelty of watching a strangely combustible
allosaurus explode.
Story 8/10
Gameplay
Prehistoric Isle is a horizontal shoot
‘em up; think 1942 or Time Pilot. Most sh’mups task you with shooting
down enemies that fly; dinosaurs tend not to do that, leaving the bulk of the
enemies to be pterosaurs, bats, and flying crustaceans, you know the kind I’m
sure. That’s not to say walking enemies are a rarity, however. Along the bottom
of the screen, all sorts of dinosaurs, cavemen, crustaceans, and other beasties
are lying in wait, ready to bring you down. Cavemen are especially annoying.
They attack like “excited-to-see-their-dad” children clinging to their father’s
leg, leaping onto your plane and dragging you towards the ground.
Each level
has platforms scattered about for non-flying creatures to prowl on; platforms
that also work as areas to avoid whilst dodging enemies and attacks. The level
movement strays away from traditional right to left and occasionally has the
player ascending and descending along a vertical plane. This along with the platforms serves to
further distance Prehistoric Isle
from more conventional linear shooters.
Combat is
particularly strong. Every shot fired moves at a comfortably fast rate while
still being slow enough to predict where each will land. Likewise, enemies have
reliable health that can easily be assessed while taking damage. There are your
normal cannon fodder enemies that take one hit and travel in choreographed
swarms, larger less common, usually ground based enemies, needing either
multiple hits or bombs to blow up, and lastly, large enemies that can take a
beating before ultimately being destroyed. The game utilizes each type of
creature in dozens of combinations to create a wide variety of airborne
battles. Luckily the method of firing your weapon is equally varied in possibilities.
The starting weapon is a traditional single shot low damage attack. However,
there are power-ups scattered about the map concealed in eggs. After breaking
an egg, there may be either a weapon power-up or a money symbol that grants a
set number of additional points. The weapon add-on is an R-Type style ‘orb-thing’ that hovers close you your plane. You can
switch its placement around your fighter by hitting the option button. The orb
has eight possible directions to fire from, such as; forward which shoots a
more powerful single shot and diagonally down which launches bombs. Provided
the player hasn’t blown up and lost their weapon, another add-on power-up will make
the one equipped more powerful. The game throws all sorts of situations and
combinations of enemies at you, so having the ability to fire in more than one
direction becomes an almost puzzle solving endeavor. While rewarding if you’re
prepared, this can be very frustrating when your fighter isn’t equipped enough
to take on more challenging areas.
Prehistoric Isle’s biggest flaw, and one
that was likely implemented for financial reasons, is player speed. The
movement of each plane is egregiously slow; to the point of frustration, far
slower than human reaction speed. You often
feel as if you’re dragging the plane around the screen instead of controlling
it. Now I own the machine; I can hit the coin drop sensor as many times as I
need to. In order to complete the game, which is very short (only five levels),
I hit the sensor 47 times. That’s almost 12 dollars in coins! And I was playing
co-op, so double that, considering there’s a second player. Granted, the first two levels are reasonably
difficult when held to the standards of their time, but the last three are a
marathon of continues and additional quarter drops.
Gameplay 7/10
Presentation
Prehistoric Isle begins as a massive
T-Rex rises up roaring, the logo proudly displayed behind him. I did notice
that the roar is the same audio file as the 1998 American Godzilla film’s. Does this mean that Roland Emmerich is a lazy
director comparable only to Michael Bay by reusing audio and video clips? I
don’t know. I’m no film critic. Yes. Moving on.
Each of the
five levels have their own distinct color pallet and atmosphere. The beginning
level takes place in a tropical rainforest full of deep greens as vibrant blue
glows overhead. A catchy upbeat theme plays as pterodactyls meet their airborne
doom. Level three takes place underwater in submarines, serving as a mid-point
for gameplay. The tranquil soft tones and cool hues, as well as an atmospheric
song serve to grant the player a short respite from the non-stop frantic
action.
Character
sprites are primitive compared to today’s standards, resorting to mimicy work-arounds
due to limitations, while maintaining a crisp and satisfying level of detail.
Some bosses even use repeating sprites to make moving body parts such as tails
and necks, while other bosses are static. The final boss is just one sprite
moving back and forth making for an anti climactic ending. A truly great ending
was only a few animations away. I did however find the plane strafing movements
satisfying. When banking or descending, they tilt from side to side creating a
great feeling of three dimensionality.
Presentation 6/10
Overall
Prehistoric Isle in 1930 is an anomaly; original,
but unimaginative; fun to play, yet frustrating; great looking though primitive.
I definitely recommend seeking one out, if only to see an example of the stranger
arcade games that flew under the radar back in the ‘80s. Just be sure to bring
plenty of quarters.
Prehistoric Isle in 1930 7/10
Game Info
Platform: Arcade
Publisher: SNK
Publisher: SNK
Developer: SNK
Release Date: 1989
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