Adventure Apes and the Mayan Mystery

About

Go Ape-bit with this fast-paced retro platformer, in which you work to recover a stolen magical artifact in the labyrinth of an ancient temple!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Adventure Apes and the Mayan Mystery screenshot

61%

Audience ScoreBased on 15 reviews

graphics3 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and enjoyable experience reminiscent of classic titles like Mega Man and Metroid, with a mix of linear and exploratory level design.
Controls are generally responsive, providing a challenging platforming experience for those who enjoy a tough gameplay.
There are plenty of collectibles and secrets to discover, making the game engaging for players who appreciate exploration.

The game is restricted to a small windowed resolution with no options to change it, making it difficult to play on larger screens.
Controller support is inconsistent, with issues starting the game and interacting with menus, leading to a frustrating user experience.
Platforming mechanics can feel awkward and imprecise, which detracts from the overall gameplay experience.

graphics
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The game features a blend of retro and fully rendered graphics, showcasing a revolutionary approach to animation and design for its time. While some elements may appear cheap or reminiscent of 8-bit graphics, the vibrant colors and charming character designs, particularly the monkey, add a unique appeal. Overall, the graphics are a notable highlight, despite some room for improvement in gameplay mechanics.
- “What makes this game so remarkable is that it's the first game created with fully rendered graphics!”
- “To put it in a nutshell: fully rendered means that the characters and all other graphics were created by computer modeling from all sides and angles of the objects.”
- “The game does look cheap or old school in an 8-bit fashion with better colors, but never judge a game by its cover. Some of the graphics, like that of the monkey, are really cute. This game is actually a nice gem of a platformer, lots of stuff to collect, and the gameplay itself is fun, but I could really go for an improvement by fixing the jumping to another mappable key besides up.”
- “The graphics are an example of a revolution.”
- “The animation of everything in the game, as well as all the backgrounds, were created with rendering techniques on the Silicon Graphics computer!”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is noted for its catchy jungle rhythm and adds significant value to the overall experience, though some find it repetitive and short-looped. Players are encouraged to enjoy it at high volume, and it can be purchased separately from Nintendo. Overall, while the music is appreciated, its limited variety may detract from long-term enjoyment.
- “The music also adds a lot to the game... play it loud in stereo, dude!”
- “His music is great for listening; just pause the game to hear the music without the game's sound effects!”
- “The music is decent, has a nice jungle rhythm to it. I like it, but it seems to be just a short loop.”
- “The music is repetitive.”
- “You can buy the music on CD from Nintendo if your Nintendo isn't hooked up to a stereo system.”
- “Cranky Kong remembers music from the old days, but Donkey Kong is truly with the times, so to speak.”
gameplay
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The gameplay is characterized by a retro platformer style that incorporates Metroidvania mechanics, allowing for exploration and navigation. Players appreciate the seamless transition where the next player can continue from where the last one died, enhancing the overall experience, despite some concerns about framerate consistency.
- “What's even cooler is the way the game lets the next player pick up where the last player died without interrupting gameplay.”
- “It's all monkey business in this retro platformer that apes the Metroidvania style mechanics of exploration and navigation abilities.”
- “Seen someone on YouTube with a similar framerate to mine in one of the gameplay videos, but in others, it seems to work much faster.”
- “It's all monkey business in this retro platformer that apes the Metroidvania-style mechanics of exploration and navigation abilities.”
- “The silly setup is of little concern if the design and gameplay work well.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's story revolves around the quest to reclaim stolen bananas from your stockpile, providing a fun and challenging backdrop for the gameplay. Players appreciate the inclusion of a narrative that enhances their overall experience.
- “Despite some issues, the game is fun and challenging, and I appreciate that it actually has a story to go along with it.”
- “The main idea of the story is that you're trying to get back the bananas that were stolen from your stockpile.”