Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but in the video game world, it can also present perfect fodder for a copyright infringement lawsuit. Such was the case with poor ol’ Jungle King, the first game to ever lose such a court challenge. To be fair, the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs had plenty to complain about, as the similarities to their Lord of the Jungle were undeniable, and as a result, Taito was forced to undergo a major redesign of their 1982 arcade adventure game.

Jungle King originally featured a loincloth-clad hero, who swung along treacherous vines to save his kidnapped lady friend. If that weren’t enough similarity to the literary Jungle Lord, his trademark yell at the beginning of each adventure, removed all doubt. As a result of the lawsuit, significant changes were made to the game, re-outfitting the adventurer in a pith helmet and shorts, changing the vines into ropes, and removing the guttural yell entirely, in favor of an exotic soundtrack. What emerged was a “new” game called Jungle Hunt.

Fans of the original noticed little difference in the gameplay. Like before, the action started with the hero swinging from rope to rope, with each leap requiring careful timing to avoid plunging to the earth below and certain death. From there, it was on to a treacherous river, filled with hungry crocodiles. Luckily, our fearless adventurer was armed with a sharp knife, but timing was just as essential, as the crocs could only be killed if their mouth was closed or partially open. Making things more difficult, large bubbles continuously rose from the riverbed, each capable of capturing the hero and making him incapable of defending himself, while carrying him perilously close to the hungry crocs. He did have the ability to submerge himself, offering some protection, but one can only hold their breath for so long.

Making it successfully across the river led to a mountain ridge that needed to be climbed. Complicating matters was a never-ending avalanche of rocks, both big and small. The little ones were easy enough to jump over, but perfect timing was required to leap over their big brothers. Sometimes ducking was the best option, but that also required a carefully-timed press of the button. At the top of the mountain (the final stage,) the damsel in distress was waiing, dangling dangerously over a boiling cauldron and closely guarded by a pair of menacing cannibals armed with spears. Again, careful timing was required to dodge both natives and spears, but if successful, the hero saved his sweetheart from becoming a tasty stew.

At this point, the game started over, but with additional challenges. Those once-empty ropes now contained mischievous monkeys, eager to knock anyone off who dared share their space. The rivers contained more crocs, the mountain, more rocks. And if two cannibals didn’t present enough of a challenge in the final stage, this time a trio of tribesmen awaited his arrival, with the third member capable of throwing his spears.

Jungle Hunt remained a great game, just like its predecessor. The problem was, the name change confused many of the fans that had once flocked to the original version. Luckily, a renewed popularity eventually emerged when the game leapt successfully to the home console. As a result, it is still fondly remembered to this day, although any comparison to Tarzan is probably still ill-advised.