Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1991 video game)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Developer(s) Taito Corporation
Publisher(s) Taito Corporation
Composer(s) Tim Follin
Platform(s) Nintendo Entertainment System
Release date(s) March 1991
Genre(s) Action

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1991 video game) is a video game released in 1991 by Taito for the NES based in the film of the same name. NOTE: There was also a NES game with the same title released by Ubisoft in 1993 that was a completely different game in itself, but based on the movie.

Gameplay

In the game the player controls protagonist Indiana Jones going through levels taken directly from the film, albeit with a shorten and simplified plot. The game begins in 1938 with Indy receiving a package from Venice, Italy that turns out to be his father’s Grail Diary. At the same time he receives a telegram from Marcus Brody telling him the Cross of Coronado is on a ship off the Portuguese coast. The player is then presented with the choice of recovering the Cross of Coronado or going to Venice.

When the player goes to recover the Cross, they are on a ship and must defeat a certain number of Panama Hat’s goons before fighting the boss himself. By recovering the cross Indy will receive a telegraph from Sallah who knows the location of the Holy Grail. Afterwards the player can head to Venice where they are presented with a sliding puzzle challenge. The player must complete the puzzle before the fire, traveling through the tunnel, engulfs the room. By solving the puzzle in time Indy receives a sketch showing the true holy grail. Another telegraph arrives from Sallah telling that Henry Jones, Sr. was taken captive by the Nazis is being held at Brunwald Castle and Marcus Brody has gone missing.

Saving Marcus takes place on top of a German tank in Iskenderun where Indy has to kill Nazis and Colonel Vogel before the tank plunges over a cliff. If the player fails, the Nazis steal the diary and Indy must travel to Berlin to recover it via a motorcycle riding sequence. At Brunwald Castle the player must navigate a convoluted maze to find Henry Jones Sr, although if caught they again must travel to Berlin to recover the diary.

At the Final level of the game, the player finds themselves at the Lost Temple. They must careful navigate the floor to spell out the word “Jehovah”. If they stand on the same tile for too long it falls or if they take too long the torch goes out. Afterwards they reach the final sanctum containing the Knight and several grails. If the player has the sketch from Venice it will aid in identifying the correct grail. Choosing the correct Grail will show the ending.

The game presents bitmapped pictures of the real movie actors, such as Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.

Reception

the Taito version revcieved positive reviews. the Ubi Soft version was universally panned.

External links