Hudson Entertainment's mobile division is playing it safe, porting proven franchises from its days as a third-party NES developer. The latest of these wireless conversions is Adventure Island, in which you reprise the role of Master Higgins, a portly safari enthusiast who's no stranger to danger. Whether on foot or riding his signature skateboard, Higgins must navigate the unforgiving jungle, dodging or dispatching predatory pests in the process. The resulting game is a simple platformer, periodically punctuated by some perfunctory boss fights (which are all essentially the same). This is a strong port, with superior graphics to the NES original. Gameplay problems result from the autofire implemented to compensate for mobile's inferior control, but Adventure Island still remains a fun game that has been effectively adapted for the platform.

 

Adventure Island is divided into levels and worlds, which can be sequentially completed by guiding Higgins to their conclusions, each of which is marked with a "G" flag, for "Goal." Inhibiting your progress throughout these stages are myriad jungle creatures, like snakes, birds, and... gremlins, which can throw you off by attacking from behind. In a game that's so unyieldingly oriented from left to right, that kind of switch up can be a big deal. You'll also have to bound over obstacles, like bonfires, stationary rocks, and rolling boulders--each of which can be turned off in the options menu. Adventure Island defaults to feature all these environmental dangers, and this tends to present the right amount of challenge. Players can control the game's difficulty levels by turning obstacles on or off in the options menu. Master Higgins' ultimate goal is to save his girlfriend Tina, who's being held by a malevolent witch doctor at the end of eight levels. The eight levels are each broken up into four worlds and a boss fight, and the levels represent a decent amount of gameplay for mobile, lasting average gamers several hours, assuming all obstacles are left enabled.