"Soon, Kali Ma will rule the world…"

The Indiana Jones film franchise swept through movie theaters throughout the 80s, making the fedora-wearing, whip-wielding adventurer one of the most-beloved icons of the big screen. It was, therefore, no surprise that the hero would soon forge a path into territory - the local video arcade. A year after the release of the second film in 1984, gamers got their first glimpse of the coin-op version of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Along with Indy, the game featured such familiar faces as Mola Ram, the evil Thuggee cultists, and a gaggle of Mayapore slave children, although songstress Willie Scott and pint-sized Short Round were conspicuously absent.

Players selected one of three difficulty levels before beginning their quest through a quartet of adventures. The first took Indy underneath Pankot Palace, to battle within a slave labor camp. The hero battled his way past pursiung Thuggee guards, menacing cobras (his worst fear) and other menacing obstacles in an attempt to free imprisoned slave children from their cages. If that weren’t enough, the sinister high priest Mola Ram would randomly appear from a puff of smoke, hurling deadly flaming hearts at the hero.

Success of this initial level led Indy to a treacherous ride on a familiar mine cart. Players marginally controlled this cascading vehicle as it made its way downward in a jagged diagonal direction, leaning Indy from side to side to attempt to steer his way along the safest path. Along with avoiding obstacles and switching tracks at just the right moment, one had to take care to avoid abruptly ending tracks, and in later levels also make numerous split-second jumps, all while fending off attacks from big bats and a Thuggee Giant. Luckily, Indy had his trademark whip to assist in his survival.

"We walk from here…"

Assuming Indy survived his mine cart excursion, he arrived at the Temple of Kali, which protected the sacred Sankara stones. Indy pulled out his trusty whip to swing fearlessly across a fire-filled chasm, leading to an enormous statue of Kali. Timing was of the essence as he attempted to grasp each of three precious gems from beneath the base of the statue, while trying to avoid a plung into a fire pit, not to mention another group of Thuggee Guards and Mola Ram who attempted to thwart his efforts.

Once all three stones were in Indy’s possession, the fourth challenge awaited – a rickety rope bridge, with Mola Ram waiting on the other side. Making it to the high priest was no easy feat, as he produced a steady steam of flaming hearts to fling at you, and his Thuggee helpers attacked from both sides of the bridge. A successful traversing of the bridge led to a final showdown with Mola Ram, and then the whole adventure started again from the beginning – with some fresh surprises awaiting the adventurer.

With increasing levels of difficulty, accentuated by plenty of digital audio clips from the movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom enticed movie fans to leave a steady offering of quarters. And yet, even with the enormously successful release of the third film in 1989, a sequel-based arcade counterpart never materialized.