Who would have thought it had been 30 years since the first Jurassic Park movie? As much as this cult flick had an impact on the film industry and popular culture in general, its mega-popularity in the 90s was also reflected in gaming. There were a lot of Jurassic Park titles out there that were only superficially sticking to the source material, but if you were young back then – you wouldn’t care! Just give me some dinosaurs to shoot at or… play as!
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original film’s debut, Limited Run Games has announced Jurassic Park: Classic Games Collection – let’s look at all titles included in this compilation and in which editions it will be available.
All Games Included in the Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection
This collection comes with only two Jurassic Park games but in several different versions:
- Jurassic Park (1993, NES)
- Jurassic Park (1993, Game Boy)
- Jurassic Park (1993, SNES)
- Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues (1994, Game Boy)
- Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues (1994, SNES)
The first Jurassic Park game was released for all then-current Nintendo systems and is quite different on each platform. Developed by Ocean Software, this top-down shooter title puts the player in the role of Alan Grant, who shoots chibi-like dinosaurs through a quasi-3D isometric environment and aims to destroy all the velociraptor nests. What I remember most from this game is the amazing soundtrack, which, although it has nothing to do with the Jurassic Park movie, just slaps.
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Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues is a non-canonical continuation to Jurassic Park – it happens when no material is left to use, but you need that sequel. As the new Jurassic Park film did not appear until 1997, the time in between was filled with such titles. This one sets the platforming/shooting action in a 2D plane. The story revolves around the evil corporation BioSyn, which, although not mentioned in the first film, comes directly from the novels. The game is not that remarkable, but Jurassic Park fans who played it back in the day no doubt have nostalgic memories about it.
It’s a real shame that the SEGA Jurassic games from the Genesis era were not included in this collection; Jurassic Park (1993) and Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (1994) were much better games, and you could even play as a Raptor! Let’s hope Genesis games will be added as DLC later or in another collection.
All Editions of Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection
In addition to the standard physical version of this compilation, there are also Classic and Prehistoric Editions.
- The Standard Edition ($39.99) comes in a regular box with brand-new cover art.
- The Classic Edition ($64.99) comes with a SteelBook that features a Jurassic Park VHS tape design.
- The Prehistoric Edition ($99.99) adds a physical edition soundtrack (yes!) as well as mini replicas of the Nintendo cartridges the games came on.
Jurassic Park: Classic Games Collection is coming out on September 1, 2023, for Xbox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch via Limited Run Games.
For more retro games here on Prima, check out All Retro Capcom Games Available in Street Fighter 6 Game Center
