Jill Of The Jungle

Jill of the Jungle is an adventure platform game developed and published by Epic MegaGames in 1992 for MS-DOS.

The title is the first part of a trilogy; the following year, the three titles were relaunched as one in Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy.

Epic MegaGames, the company responsible for developing games such as Overkill and Jazz Jackrabbit, changed its name to Epic Games in 1999. Then, it developed titles that made history, such as Unreal and Gears of War. Before taking this direction, the company broke with the conception that was held with regards to female characters at the time, pushing them to a primary role.

Tim Sweeney, developer and game designer, had the idea and started to develop the platformer, but he was missing the graphics and the music. So he hired four people to complete the title. That's how Epic (Mega)Games was founded.

Jill of the Jungle was completed, and, over time, it became one of the company's most recognized installments.

The gameplay is simple but diverse. First of all, Jill must go through 15 platform levels, attacking all the animals that she comes across. On her way, the protagonist has several weapons, such as ninja stars and even attack birds. Another particular aspect of the adventure is the ability of the main character to transform into animals and thus change the game style completely. In this setting, she can become a frog that jumps higher or even a bird that can transit air levels. This eliminates the repetitive factor and makes the entrance feel fresh at all times.

The graphics are really excellent. During the journey, it is possible to appreciate environments with intense colors, but always using two or three at the same time. This prevents the mix of colors and brings a lively but calm aura. On the other hand, the feeling of tranquility is intensified when you notice the absent background. With the sky painted black, the focus is only on the elements with which the protagonist interacts.

Also, the music was a great success far beyond its time. The songs composed by the composer Dan Froelich contain warm jungle rhythms at times. In other cases, they become melodies of terror at the moment of entering a castle. Thus, all the audiovisual content is merged and unified to appreciate the title as a whole.

Back in the day, there was a misconception that women have to be the characters rescued at the end of the hero's journey. Jill of the Jungle was one of the first female figures to inspire the future generation of heroines who proved this wrong, like Lara Croft, Jill Valentine, or Chun-Li. If you want to know this cult game as revolutionary as fun, this is your chance to try it.