Do what you want ‘cos a pirate is free
Vintage gaming fans would be forgiven for thinking this week’s Arcade Archives release looks a mite familiar. Now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, Taito’sPirate Petebear more than a passing resemblance to an earlier Taito release. Perhaps the first-ever example of a video game remake? Not quite. The truth is simpler… and more litigious.
Released to arcades in 1982,Pirate Peteis a reworking of Taito’s ownJungle King, which hit the scene earlier that same year. Unfortunately, the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs took issue withJungle King‘s vine-swinging, loincloth-wearing, war-cry yelling hero, and the lawyers came a-knockin’ at Taito’s door. Taito would relaunch the game asJungle Hunt, replacing the main sprite with that of a colonial explorer. Later in the year,Jungle Huntwould be further re-skinned, keeping almost identical gameplay but changing out the setting entirely. Thus,Pirate Petewas born.
You can check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuberretrogameclips.
Much like its jungle-based brethren,Pirate Petefeatures four distinct stages, which see our hero swings ropes across a galleon, battle sharks in the deep blue sea, perform a mad dash up a landslide, and finally face off against a rogue group of swashbuckler, ultimately saving a lovely damsel-in-distress from… erm… being cooked in a pot (the only anachronistic holdover fromJungle Hunt‘s questionable “natives”). Saving the girl and the day awards the player with an 8-bit kiss and a declaration of love. A far superior ending toThe Last of Us Part II, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Pirate Peteis available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at $8.
