You have been hired by the National Chronographic Society to help collect photographs for their latest book "Dinosaur Safari: Dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era". Your assignment is to photograph and videotape dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles to document for them.
As a result, you will frequently be required to travel to various points in history ranging from the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous time periods in the National Chronographic Society's Chronosphere, and locate the dinosaur you have decided to document. If you return to the building with the photograph and/or videotape of the selected dinosaur, you will be rewarded for your efforts with Energy Credits, which power the Chronosphere, and Data Crystals, with which you can record more dinosaur data. But please be certain not to run out of the former, or else your assignment will become impossible.
Dinosaur Safari was released in 1996.
Dinosaur Safari contains examples of:
- Always a Bigger Fish: Plesiosaurus is shown to be one of the more dangerous reptiles in this game, being an aggressive reptile that attacks your pod. When Kronosaurus is encountered, it's shown eating a plesiosaur that's tiny compared to it.
- Anachronistic Animal: Pterodaustro, an Early Cretaceous pterosaur, is shown in the Late Jurassic. And conversely, Camptosaurus is in the Early Cretaceous rather than the Late Jurassic. Also Carnotaurus, Pteranodon and Quetzalcoatlus are in the Early Cretaceous when they should be in the Late Cretaceous.
- Headbutting Pachy: Pachycephalosaurus is encountered headbutting another of its kind in combat. Unlike traditional portrayals, it is shown heatbutting its opponent in the side rather than the head.
- Herbivores Are Friendly: Only two herbivores (Triceratops and Ankylosaurus) will attack your pod and cause you to lose energy. Most will leave you alone.
- Jump Scare: Megalosaurus and Plesiosaurus are the first two prehistoric reptiles capable of attacking your pod, causing a sudden "bump" noise that can give many players a shock.
- Lizard Folk: A reptilian humanoid (likely based on Dale Russel's "dinosauroid") acts as your guide for the National Chronographic Society.
- Predators Are Mean: A number of the dinosaurs can attack you, causing you to lose energy. These include the carnivorous Megalosaurus, Plesiosaurus, and Carnotaurus.
- Raptor Attack: Velociraptor is depicted as featherless (due to the game being released in 1996) and resembling Deinonychus in this game.
- Temper-Ceratops: Triceratops is one of two herbivorous dinosaurs that will attack the player.
- Terrifying Tyrannosaur: Downplayed. Tyrannosaurus will roar at the player upon encounter, but not attack.
- Time Machine: The Chronosphere, which allows you to travel back in time to photograph dinosaurs.
- Time Traveler's Dinosaur: In the National Chronographic Society's Chronosphere it is the job of the player to document dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles while traveling throughout the Mesozoic era.
- Tough Armored Dinosaur: Ankylosaurus is one of two herbivorous dinosaurs that will attack the player. Averted by the other armored dinosaurs which will just do their own thing.
- "Have a nice vacation! Goodbye!"
