Line #1 VideoGame/Pitfall


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7	A classic Creator/{{Activision}} franchise created by David Crane. The original ''Pitfall!'' was released on the Platform/{{Atari 2600}} in 1982 and established the foundations of the multiscreen {{Platformer}} genre: running and jumping over obstacles as you travel from left to right.
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9	The only real sequel followed in 1984, also for the 2600; ''Pitfall II: Lost Caverns'' introduced elements like exploration, true scrolling, and an [[MickeyMousing interactive soundtrack]] that reflects how well you're doing. It also received an arcade adaptation by Creator/{{Sega}} in 1985, which was a hybrid of the first two games with two completely new areas added. ''VideoGame/SuperPitfall'', a sequel/loose remake of ''Lost Caverns'', was released in 1986 for the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem.
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11	The series was revived on the Platform/{{SNES}} and Platform/SegaGenesis in 1994's ''Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure,'' a platformer in the same vein as ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' and ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim''. Two more revivals came later, this time in 3D: 1998's ''VideoGame/Pitfall3DBeyondTheJungle'' on the Platform/PlayStation, and 2004's ''VideoGame/PitfallTheLostExpedition'' on the Platform/{{PS2}}, Platform/{{Xbox}}, and Platform/NintendoGameCube (and ported to the Platform/{{Wii}} in 2008 as ''Pitfall: The Big Adventure''). All of these games include the original ''Pitfall!'' as an EasterEgg; ''Lost Expedition'' and ''Big Adventure'' contain ''Pitfall II'' as well.
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13	In August 2012, the series celebrated its 30th anniversary with an UsefulNotes/{{iOS Game\|s}} in the EndlessRunningGame genre, the first product by Activision's mobile studio The Blast Furnace.
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15	''Pitfall!'' has also left its mark on television. In its first season, the Creator/RubySpears ''WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade'' cartoon featured segments based on the game, and a 1982 commercial for ''Pitfall!'' starred a young Creator/JackBlack.
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17	No relation of course to the GameShow of [[{{Series/Pitfall}} the very same name]].
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19	!!The ''Pitfall'' series features examples of:
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21	* ActionizedSequel: ''Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure'', as the movements are snappier, the protagonist can fight back, and there's a lot of enemies.
22	* AdaptationExpansion: The arcade game, strangely enough produced by Sega, featured enhanced versions of the overworld of the first ''Pitfall'' and the underworld of the second, and added MinecartMadness and TempleOfDoom stages. The Atari 800 computer version of ''Pitfall II'' was also expanded.
23	* AdventurerArchaeologist: Pitfall Harry and his son. His niece Rhonda in the cartoon as well.
24	* AnimatedAdaptation: The ''Saturday Supercade'' cartoon series.
25	* {{Balloonacy}}: Harry uses a balloon to traverse a large open area in ''Pitfall II''.
26	* BreakingTheFourthWall: In ''The Mayan Adventure'', if you make Harry Jr. jump into a quicksand, he ''waves goodbye at you'' while being sucked down.
27	* CanonImmigrant: Harry's niece Rhonda and CowardlySidekick TeamPet Quickclaw the Mountain Lion were originally created for the aforementioned ''Saturday Supercade'' adaptation, but appeared in ''Pitfall II'' afterwards. Quickclaw also appeared in ''The Lost Expedition'', now a talking jaguar.
28	* CaptainErsatz: To ''Franchise/IndianaJones''.
29	* CheckPoint: in ''Pitfall II'' Harry can't technically die; touching an enemy just slides him back to the last checkpoint, shown as little red marks on the ground.
30	* ClassicCheatCode: On the Sega Genesis version of ''The Mayan Adventure'': the level select cheat was B, Right, A, Down, Right, Up, B, Left, A, Up, Right, A. Which, of course, makes one wonder just who Brad and Laura are...
31	* ContinuityReboot: ''The Lost Expedition''.
32	* CowardlySidekick: Quickclaw, though it was more of an InformedAttribute in ''Pitfall II'', since all he did was stand in one place (though you can see his knees shaking).
33	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Pitfall 3-D: Beyond the Jungle''
34	* DarkReprise: If Harry dies in ''Pitfall II'', a slower minor-[[{{Tonality}} key]] version of the ThemeMusicPowerUp plays.
35	* DirectContinuousLevels: The arcade game does this.
36	* DungeonBypass: It's possible in ''The Mayan Adventure'' to jump your way through the arenas where the second and third bosses are fought and get to the exit without triggering the boss fight (though this was removed in at least the Sega CD version.)
37	* EasterEgg: The Creator/{{Atari}} 8-bit and 5200 versions of ''Pitfall II'' had an entirely new level after you beat the game that was ''longer than the actual game itself.'' This may be the largest relative Easter egg in any game.
38	* EmbeddedPrecursor: Ever since the 16-bit days, it's traditional for ''Pitfall'' games to include the original 2600 game buried in there somewhere.
39	* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Actually sort of averted in the first game - I mean, those crocodiles can hardly be blamed if they open their mouths while you're standing on them. Played straight for the rest of the series, though.
40	* FlameSpewerObstacle: ''Mayan Adventure'' has sections on the wall that are on fire and shoot out flames regularly.
41	* FlipScreenScrolling: The first game had nothing ''but'' Flip Screen Scrolling. The sequel introduced smooth scrolling, but only when traveling vertically.
42	* JungleJapes: Right down to the swinging vines.
43	* {{Mayincatec}}: ''The Mayan Adventure''
44	* MickeyMousing: The second game was the first example of a full soundtrack that also changed based on activity. The normally light-sounding background music changed to a heroic theme if an item was collected and a minor-key version of that same theme if Harry was injured. The soundtrack changed to "Over The Waves" when grabbing a balloon, changing back to the normal background music when the balloon popped.
45	* MinecartMadness: The third area in the arcade game.
46	** Two stages in ''The Mayan Adventure'' have a gimmick around this. The first of the two, Tazamul Mines, has a skate car which Harry Jr. can make go fast or slow by hitting the brakes. The second one, Balankache Mine, is more of a traditional runaway mine cart level.
47	* MoneyForNothing: The treasures that Harry finds are only good for ScoringPoints, with the exception of ''The Lost Expedition''.
48	* ParentsInDistress: In ''The Mayan Adventure'', the objective is for Harry Jr. to rescue his kidnapped father, who appeared in the original games during the 8-bit era.
49	* PitTrap: Pits just love to open under you. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hence the name]], I guess.
50	* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: Subverted in ''The Mayan Adventure''. Boomerangs are one of three weapons in the game, follow an improbably far-reaching curved path, and float around in the air upon return. They do disappear if you don't grab them again, however... and they ''don't'' return if they hit an enemy.
51	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: In the second game, the background music would change to the generic carnival tune "Over the Waves" if the player collected a balloon.
52	* ReformulatedGame: The Atari 5200 version of ''Lost Caverns'', complete with its second EasterEgg level, counts, as the only reason that level exists is that the Atari team had to wait for the Commodore 64 team (who had to code the game from scratch instead of using 2600 code as a base) to finish in order to release both ports simultaneously, and in the interim the Atari team created the second level.
53	* {{Retraux}}: In ''Mayan Adventure'', when Harry Jr. finally finds his dad, [[spoiler: Harry Sr. looks exactly as he did during the original 8-bit games. As in, literally a few featureless pixels in the rough shape of a man, using only four colors. Strung up on a highly detailed, realistically shaded 16-bit altar. (And remarks "What took you so long?")]]
54	* ShoutOut: In the original game, Harry yodels like Franchise/{{Tarzan}} when swinging on a vine.
55	** Also in the original game, when you lose a life, the first few notes of [[Franchise/{{Dragnet}} "Danger Ahead"]] — the theme from Dragnet, also recognizable as the opening theme to the original arcade Donkey Kong — plays.
56	* SimonSaysMiniGame: ''The Mayan Adventure'' has a similar game involving pull-levers in some bonus levels.
57	* SmallReferencePools
58	* SoNearYetSoFar: Can happen in ''Pitfall 2''. You only need to pick up three things to finish the game: Quickclaw, Rhonda, and the diamond ring. The game automatically ends when you pick up the last one of these. Quickclaw is visible from the beginning of the game, right below your starting position, but you have to go around the long way to get to him, making Quickclaw the last thing most people pick up.
59	* StockMoneyBag: In the original game, one of the four types of treasure you can collect are money bags with $ symbol on them.
60	* SuperDrowningSkills: Played straight in the first game.
61	* SuperMode: The pepper in ''Mayan Adventure'' gives extra speed and high enough jumps to ''flip''.
62	* SuperNotDrowningSkills: ''Pitfall II'' had elaborate parts where you swim — and this is an Atari 2600 game.
63	* TempleOfDoom: If you're indoors in a ''Pitfall'' game, you're probably inside one of these. The arcade game had one for its final stage.
64	* ThemeMusicPowerUp: In ''Pitfall II'' every time you grab a treasure or rescue someone a galvanizing, heroic, upbeat theme vaguely reminiscent of the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' anthem plays. (It's based on some of the Pitfall cartoon's incidental music) One of the oldest ones in the book, as it was the first console game to feature PSG music, and in fact the only 2600 game to have a custom sound chip.
65	* VideoGame3DLeap: ''Pitfall 3D''
66	* VineSwing: Pitfall Harry occasionally runs into vines to swing over ponds and bottomless pits that open up in the ground. The sound effects replicate the Tarzan yell whenever he does this.
67	* WatchForRollingObjects: Rolling metal barrels that move from right to left are a common hazard Harry needs to watch out for.
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Context VideoGame / Pitfall