NES Works #101: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom & Rampage

Video Works by Jeremy Parish

A curious release this week, as we come to a game that shipped twice for NES: Once with Nintendo's approval, and once illegally. Ever the rogue, that Indiana Jones. Like Tengen's early conversion of Gauntlet, Temple of Doom adapts an arcade game but makes quite a few changes to its structure, format, and objectives. Capcom didn't have the monopoly on dramatic reinterpretations of coin-op titles for NES, it seems, although Temple of Doom is no Bionic Commando.

On the other hand, we also have Data East's disappointingly literal interpretation of Midway's Rampage. Of all the games that could have benefitted from some sort of enhanced gameplay loop or added depth for its console iteration, this is it. But no, Data East simply stripped it down and removed features, making for a game with little challenge or variety over its entire running length.

Production note: NES footage captured from @Analogue Mini. Arcade footage captured from MiSTer FPGA cores; special thanks to @MiSTer Addons . Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Audio quality may suffer due to this episode being produced with portable gear during travel.

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