Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade brings to the Master System an adventure based on the film of the same name and tries to convey the feel of the cinematic hunt for the grail through platformer-style levels interspersed with adventure elements and item hunting. As Indiana Jones, the player passes through locations known from the film, dodges traps and falling boulders, fights opponents with a whip or fists, and searches for key items needed to progress, with individual levels loosely following the key scenes of the film from Venice all the way to the final tomb with the grail. Along the way the player encounters both opponents and puzzle sections, where the right item must be used or a safe path chosen so that progress doesn't end in a lost life.

The Master System presentation is workmanlike and functional, with an emphasis on clarity of each screen and legibility of enemies and obstacles, though the game lacks the greater graphical flair of some other film adaptations of the time released on competing platforms. The music and sound effects try to evoke the film's adventurous atmosphere, though the console's technical limits obviously cap how much of the film's mood and famous musical themes could make it into eight-bit form. The controls remain simple, focused on basic movement, jumps, and whip attacks.

As a typical movie license of its era, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade never aspired to be a groundbreaking title, and today it's viewed mainly as an honest, if unremarkable, piece of period movie-tie-in merchandising based on a popular film. For fans of the series and collectors of movie games on the Master System it still remains an interesting reminder of a time when film tie-ins were a firm and expected part of the lineup of nearly every home console on the market, whether the result was a quality adaptation or just an attempt to capitalize on a freshly released film's popularity.

Why play: For fans of the series and collectors of movie games on the Master System who'll appreciate an honest, if unremarkable, reminder of the era of movie game tie-ins.