Written: 7.20.15 Acquired: 1.25.06 Status: Cart only Price: $4.99
Pub: Ocean
Nov. '94
Dev: Ocean
16 MEGS
JURASSIC PARK MANIA swept the universe in the summer of 1993. After the smashing blockbuster hit, dinosaurs were back and bigger than ever. Later that October, Ocean released Jurassic Park the video game to rave reviews. A year later they were back at it again with a sequel. But this time, rather than an overhead or first person view, it was a "basic" side-scrolling shoot 'em up, like a mix of Alien³ and Contra, proving that going back to basics can be for the best Sometimes, going back to what works is the prudent thing to do
REWINDING THE HANDS OF TIME BACK TO JANUARY 25, 2006
I never did play Jurassic Park 2 back when but I fondly recall the crazy 6-page preview EGM ran in their December '94 issue. When I got back into the Super Nintendo nearly 10 years ago (on January 17, 2006 to be more precise), JURASSIC PARK 2was one of the earliest games I bought. It's a fond memory as it fell on the first day of the spring semester of my final undergrad semester at my ol' University. It was Wednesday, the best day of the week as I only had one class: 9-10:15 AM. After class concluded that day I had a couple girl friends go buy some books with me at the local campus store. Afterward it was 11:30 and I decided to drive to a nearby Game Crazy to see what SNES goodies they might have that day. Game Crazy was a hub attached to Hollywood Video back when these old relics used to exist. There was a time when Game Crazy was actually pretty damn good. They used to carry a solid variety of top-notch SNES games in excellent condition, before things went corrupt and downhill. On this particular afternoon, I found much to my delight The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues and The Lost Vikings, which I got free as part of their buy 2 get 1 free deal back then. Talk about kickstarting my final undergrad semester off with a BANG!
I remember asking the cashier that day too if he had any Saturn games in storage. I don't know why but I asked him, and boy, am I glad I did. He told me he got in a stash of games recently but that they had not yet display. He pulled out this thick black binder, unzipped it and there were a bunch of harder to find Saturn titles. I ended up buying Shining Wisdom and Iron Storm for $2.99 each while getting Saturn Bomberman for free. Talk about highway robbery! It was one HELL of a deal First day of my last college semester and this? LIFE WAS GOOD
Here's a shot of the actual Hollywood Video from my childhood town. Man, this picture brings back many memories. The mountains in the back. How TARGET was right across the street and just to the right of the Target sign was a classic mom and pop rental shop VIDEO MART. One time my mom was shopping at Target and I decided to sit on the little lawn right there by the Target sign, reading Goosebump book #26 "My Hairiest Adventure." Man... for some reason that sticks out in my mind. Good innocent times from a bygone era. It's really a shame kids these days only know of Redbox and NetFlix. I like those modern conveniences too, but damn if it'll ever match the pure joy and wonder of visiting the local rental store on a Saturday afternoon. If you were a kid growing up in the early-mid 1990s, it was a ritual and a way of life. It was how we experienced the bulk of our games since our parents didn't buy us more than 3 titles a year -- if that. There's something incredibly sacred about those old video stores and memories
I took this shot myself on a cold rainy Monday night roughly in 2006. This was one of my favorite stores to visit as a kid. I wasted hours going up and down the long aisles staring at the back of horror movie VHS boxes and the latest 16-bit games. It was a big part of my childhood, and it saddens me the kids of today will never know what it's like to roam through a video store. This location finally died off in 2009. It was one of the last relics remaining from my youth. Thanks for the memories! Farewell dear old friend. Long live 16-bit and horror movie boxes
It's a day I'll never forget. Can't believe it's been almost 10 years...
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
The only SNES "movie game" that came out before the film did... and when I said jungle, I meant it. This is BALLS TO THE WALLS
I got these tips down, especially the last one [Nah, too easy -Ed.]
THE STORY GOES...
"Good luck, my regards to Ellie." THE NERVE of the old bastard!
Heh heh, the manual said, "ASSES." Sorry, I am easily amused...
He had a brief scene in the film but Dodgson is a key book figure
Little do the BioSyn soldiers know... they're on a suicide mission
The eerie night sky is illuminated by the soft glow of a full moon
"IF IT BLEEDS, WE CAN KILL IT"
Oddly, the intro focuses purely on the bad guys. That might be a first in SNES history. The best thing about this game is its 2 player co-op mode. Player 2 controls Michael Wolfskin, a character entirely made up for the sake of this game and has no canon to either the film or novel. JP2 really excels when playing with a buddy
With the stage set, it's now time to kick some dino | BioSyn asses
I just LOVE how the raptor claws at the screen for the II mark ^_^
You can even bring your partner back from the dead if you wish
There are six weapons you carry. They're split into two categories: lethal and non-lethal. Lethal guns will kill dinosaurs and humans. The thing is, there's a dino counter that keeps track of the amount of dinosaurs on Isla Nublar. It starts at 100 and each time you kill a dinosaur (excluding raptors and the T-Rex), that number drops. If the stock drops too much, the game will end. Now should you kill a lot, know that the stock will rise over time due to natural reproduction. It is best to kill dinosaurs with your non-lethal weapons. But when you face humans, non-lethals has zero damage potential. The good news... you start off with all six weapons and can switch on a dime!
NON-LETHAL WEAPONS
LETHAL WEAPONS
THE MISSIONS
It's nice being able to choose the order you wish to play the game
Before each mission begins, you get a briefing of mission goals and objectives
Alan Grant is fairly agile and he can shoot diagonally, too. Sweet
Cattle prod and rifle both have unlimited ammo, hence the "999"
The game features some exploring to be done. BUT, be careful...
These aren't your dumb clueless blind raptors from the first game
John Hammond I swear... if I see you again I will WHUP DAT ASS
You activated the gas... now the clock ticks. Get the hell out fast!
The gas saps your health, plus leaping raptors galore. Good luck
A show-off, that Alan. Love how you can leap from behind ladders and swing around
It's so fun killing these bastards. Doing so will blow their sorry asses SKY HIGH. Boom
These toys came out in the early '90s. A golden time to be a kid!
There was even almost a TOXIC CRUSADERS game on the SNES. But it got canned. It looked awful-ish, but I'm curious nonetheless
Radiation Rangers were my favorite of all the "foot soldier" types
Well, on the bright side, at least he didn't bust out the selfie stick
Emergency missions are a BITCH. Believe that
You also get a briefing before each emergency mission to let you know what to do
And to make them even more challenging, they're bloody TIMED
Literally
Flamethrower from the front, grenade explosion to the back. Ow!
It's fun, but EXTREMELY tough. Best shot is to play it with a bud
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID
Jurassic Park 2 received a whoppin' 6-page preview in the December '94 issue of EGM. The very next month they gave it ratings of 8, 7, 7 and 6. GameFan oddly chose never to review the game despite giving JP2 a spiffy preview. Super Play gave it a score of 83%. All in all, the sequel didn't get the same kind of hype or praise that the first game did, despite it being WAY better than the first one. I guess being based off the actual movie, the original naturally had more hype. It's interesting to note too that Jurassic Park 2 is the only SNES game (at least that I can think of) that's a sequel to a film that hadn't already been produced. It speaks to the mega brand of Jurassic Park and how strong it was that Ocean could make another game despite the movie sequel having yet taken place. It makes Jurassic Park 2 a unique footnote in SNES history if nothing else, and that voice-laden intro rules! Bloody hell... where's Godzilla when you need the big guy, huh?
It's far from perfect, but it's a quality game to add to your library
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Jurassic Park 2 is a solid action shoot 'em up. It has a little of the intense run 'n gun action of Contra III but it also has a little bit of the exploratory aspects of an Alien³. Oh, and dinosaurs. The visuals are quite good. Raptors look a thousand times more realistic and menacing than they did in the first game. Guns fly off of BioSyn's soldiers as you mow them down. Some of the stages have a striking look. Sound and music is both rock solid with lots of nice loud explosions and unsettling dinosaur roars. The game's harder than a two dollar steak, however, and that may turn off some players. Memorization and knowing when to fire which gun is key to your success. Perseverance will lead to a fairly rewarding experience, especially if you can find a dino-blasting buddy to join in. Not too shabby, Ocean You guys made amends for the disappointing first game, sort of
It's been nearly 10 years since I bought this game. For 20+ years I have been curious about JP2 and one of my favorite things about this hobby is the ability to travel back in time to quell these childhood curiosities of your youth. Sometimes these experiences can go south. Other times they'll bring a smile to your face, as if your 10-year-old self is vindicated in some way. I like this game quite a bit. I love how you receive all 6 guns right away. Also love how you can select any of the 6 initial stages to play. There's plenty of running and gunning but it also has some exploring to be done. Although each mission has an objective or goal, it usually happens naturally at the end of each level. Therefore, it's not quite like Alien³ where you had one big hub with several missions to complete within that hub. Still, the mission objectives give each level a nice goal other than survive and make it to the end. The dinosaurs look fantastic and, for the most part, the game plays smoothly. The 2-player option is also a nice bonus. Here's what I'm not crazy about: a lack of a password / save option, the nutty difficulty, and the annoying timed emergency missions that pop up after each level you beat. All in all, Jurassic Park 2 is a solid 2-player romp. It's not often talked about and seems to have been largely forgotten. It's not great, but it's definitely a worthy addition to any SNES library
Graphics: 8 Sound: 8 Gameplay: 7.5 Longevity: 6.5
Overall: 7.5
Bronze Award
He'll never see me lying here...
AW SHIT
That can is in honor of one, Dennis Nedry. May he rest in peace...
JURASSIC PARK MANIA swept the universe in the summer of 1993. After the smashing blockbuster hit, dinosaurs were back and bigger than ever. Later that October, Ocean released Jurassic Park the video game to rave reviews. A year later they were back at it again with a sequel. But this time, rather than an overhead or first person view, it was a "basic" side-scrolling shoot 'em up, like a mix of Alien³ and Contra, proving that going back to basics can be for the best
I never did play Jurassic Park 2 back when but I fondly recall the crazy 6-page preview EGM ran in their December '94 issue. When I got back into the Super Nintendo nearly 10 years ago (on January 17, 2006 to be more precise), JURASSIC PARK 2 was one of the earliest games I bought. It's a fond memory as it fell on the first day of the spring semester of my final undergrad semester at my ol' University. It was Wednesday, the best day of the week as I only had one class: 9-10:15 AM. After class concluded that day I had a couple girl friends go buy some books with me at the local campus store. Afterward it was 11:30 and I decided to drive to a nearby Game Crazy to see what SNES goodies they might have that day. Game Crazy was a hub attached to Hollywood Video back when these old relics used to exist. There was a time when Game Crazy was actually pretty damn good. They used to carry a solid variety of top-notch SNES games in excellent condition, before things went corrupt and downhill. On this particular afternoon, I found much to my delight 
I remember asking the cashier that day too if he had any Saturn games in storage. I don't know why but I asked him, and boy, am I glad I did. He told me he got in a stash of games recently but that they had not yet display. He pulled out this thick black binder, unzipped it and there were a bunch of harder to find Saturn titles. I ended up buying Shining Wisdom and Iron Storm for $2.99 each while getting Saturn Bomberman for free. Talk about highway robbery! It was one HELL of a deal
Here's a shot of the actual Hollywood Video from my childhood town. Man, this picture brings back many memories. The mountains in the back. How TARGET was right across the street and just to the right of the Target sign was a classic mom and pop rental shop VIDEO MART. One time my mom was shopping at Target and I decided to sit on the little lawn right there by the Target sign, reading 
I took this shot myself on a cold rainy Monday night roughly in 2006. This was one of my favorite stores to visit as a kid. I wasted hours going up and down the long aisles staring at the back of horror movie VHS boxes and the latest 16-bit games. It was a big part of my childhood, and it saddens me the kids of today will never know what it's like to roam through a video store. This location finally died off in 2009. It was one of the last relics remaining from my youth. 
Jurassic Park 2 received a whoppin' 6-page preview in the December '94 issue of EGM. The very next month they gave it ratings of 8, 7, 7 and 6. GameFan oddly chose never to review the game despite giving JP2 a spiffy preview. Super Play gave it a score of 83%. All in all, the sequel didn't get the same kind of hype or praise that the first game did, despite it being WAY better than the first one. I guess being based off the actual movie, the original naturally had more hype. It's interesting to note too that Jurassic Park 2 is the only SNES game (at least that I can think of) that's a sequel to a film that hadn't already been produced. It speaks to the mega brand of Jurassic Park and how strong it was that Ocean could make another game despite the movie sequel having yet taken place. It makes Jurassic Park 2 a unique footnote in SNES history if nothing else, and that voice-laden intro rules!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
It's been nearly 10 years since I bought this game. For 20+ years I have been curious about JP2 and one of my favorite things about this hobby is the ability to travel back in time to quell these childhood curiosities of your youth. Sometimes these experiences can go south. Other times they'll bring a smile to your face, as if your 10-year-old self is vindicated in some way. I like this game quite a bit. I love how you receive all 6 guns right away. Also love how you can select any of the 6 initial stages to play. There's plenty of running and gunning but it also has some exploring to be done. Although each mission has an objective or goal, it usually happens naturally at the end of each level. Therefore, it's not quite like Alien³ where you had one big hub with several missions to complete within that hub. Still, the mission objectives give each level a nice goal other than survive and make it to the end. The dinosaurs look fantastic and, for the most part, the game plays smoothly. The 2-player option is also a nice bonus. Here's what I'm not crazy about: a lack of a password / save option, the nutty difficulty, and the annoying timed emergency missions that pop up after each level you beat. All in all, Jurassic Park 2 is a solid 2-player romp. It's not often talked about and seems to have been largely forgotten. It's not great, but it's definitely a worthy addition to any SNES library
Overall: 7.5
