Welcome to the Jungle

Most of the levels in Crash Bandicoot are set in jungle environments, so it’s difficult to single out just one stage for this list. The majority of the stages place the camera behind Crash’s back and require players to move forward, but a few of them mix things up by forcing Crash to run toward the screen. “Boulder Dash” is the second of two stages in which Crash is chased through the jungle by giant boulders. The scene draws obvious inspiration from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the comparison is made all-the-more obvious since Crash is running toward the player for the entire time. The level is filled with obstacles and pitfalls, and players aren’t given a lot of time to react. You’ll have to rely almost entirely on reflexes if you don’t want to be flattened. The level is unforgiving, and the slightest mistake will result in death. Some insist that it’s unfair, but I feel that the game’s narrow corridors are perfectly suited for a chase scene. The stage is devoid of enemies, but it’ll still get your adrenaline flowing.

Yoshi’s Island is a geographically diverse game, and its third world focuses primarily on jungle environments. “Welcome To Monkey World!” is an appropriately named level that plays out exactly like you’d imagine. You’ll encounter dozens of monkeys as you progress through the stage, and they have many inventive ways to attack you. They’ll jump around erratically, hang from vines, and throw spiky balls at your head. Some of them will literally drop bombs on you! These guys are not playing around! The tireless simians can also eat watermelons and spit seeds at you with the intensity of a machine gun. You have to appreciate their creativity, if nothing else. The monkeys live in a world of chaos for the most part, but they occasionally cooperate with each other. In the final stretch, they will group together and form swinging monkey chains with each other in an effort to steal Baby Mario off of Yoshi’s back. Many of the jungles on this list have a distinct lack of monkeys, but Yoshi’s Island picks up the slack in this regard.

By the time you reach the fourth stage of Strider, you’ve already worked your way through a futuristic Soviet city, the Siberian wilderness, and an aerial battleship. An outlandish Amazon adventure is par for the course, but it’s still a memorable excursion. During the stage, you’ll run across parabolic terrain, cross a crumbling bridge, and use vines as makeshift springboards. You’ll also have to be mindful of rolling boulders, spike-lined walls, and tribal warriors in loin cloths who swing into action like Tarzan. Halfway through the stage, you’ll hitch a ride on a brontosaurus and slice through pterodactyls with your laser sword before encountering a mechanical T-Rex that breathes fire. It’s a scientific fact that dinosaurs make everything better, and this applies to robot dinosaurs as well. You can race through the stage in a couple of minutes if you know what you’re doing, but I appreciate the frenetic pacing. Did I mention the robot dinosaurs?

The ninth stage in Sonic Adventure 2‘s dark story sees Shadow the Hedgehog racing to the goal before Eggman has a chance to blow up the island. Shadow will traverse the stage with the assistance of zip lines and springboards, and he’ll be able to build incredible momentum by swinging on vines along the way. Most of the levels on this list let you run through the trees in a figurative sense, but Sonic Adventure 2 takes this concept to its logical extreme by letting you run inside the trees. Rest assured, it’s a lot of fun to use hollowed-out trees as half-pipes. The prevailing mist gives the stage a unique look, and the background music is a perfect fit for the frenetic action. There are countless jungle zones in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and many of its levels are lined with palm trees. Any number of Sonic stages could have been mentioned on this list, but none of them get the heart pumping like the White Jungle does.

Uncharted was overshadowed by its sequel, but it was a key title for Sony in the waning years of the PlayStation 3. The game follows the exploits of a thief treasure hunter named Nathan Drake as he seeks the lost treasure of El Dorado. Most of the game takes place on remote tropical islands that are covered with lush jungles, but we’re going to focus specifically on the third chapter for the purpose of this list. During the chapter, you’ll swing from vines, scale cliffsides, and fend off mercenaries as you work your way through an overgrown temple. This is all standard fare for the most part, but the focal point of the chapter is a German U-boat that’s inexplicably abandoned in the middle of a waterfall basin. It’s not unusual to come across ancient ruins while exploring a jungle level, but 20th-century technology really stands out. Nate puts it best when he describes the submarine as “something you don’t see everyday.” Unfortunately, he accidentally blows up the U-boat with a torpedo shortly after discovering it. I guess he wouldn’t be Nathan Drake if he wasn’t leaving a wake of destruction behind.

Lara Croft is a daring archaeologist who ventures into ancient ruins and seeks out treasure all around the world. She’s a lot like Nathan Drake in many regards, but Tomb Raider predates Uncharted by over a decade. Lara’s first adventure takes her to exotic locations ranging from a Greek palace to the lost city of Atlantis, and her journey through an isolated Peruvian jungle was an unforgettable experience. After descending into a valley that time forgot, Lara will have to navigate twisting passageways, shimmy across cliffsides, and jump across broken bridges. The valley is fed by several waterfalls, so it will also be necessary for Lara to swim through underwater caverns. The valley floor is lined with trees and overlain with the remnants of a lost civilization, and the creatures that reside there do not take kindly to strangers. Lara is pursued by a pack of wolves upon entering the valley, and things only escalate from there. As she ventures deeper into the jungle, she’ll encounter several velociraptors before coming face-to-face with a T-Rex! This scene was recreated in Tomb Raider: Anniversary, but they couldn’t recreate the surprise factor.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is set against the backdrop of a vast open world, and the terrain varies greatly from one region to the next. You’ll venture through deserts, swamps, volcanoes, and snow-capped mountains during your adventure, and each area feels different from the next. The Faron region is located in the southeastern part of Hyrule, and its largely comprised of tropical jungles and cascading waterfalls. It’s a great place to gather coconuts and bananas, but the environment is full of dangerous monsters. Constant lightning storms make it difficult to traverse through the area, and the torrential rain completely negates Link’s climbing abilities. If nothing else, the Faron region deserves a mention on this list for actually feeling like a proper rain forest. There are many shrines hidden in the jungle – you’ll even stumble upon a quaint beachside village – but the biggest reason I had to visit Faron was to chase down a dragon that would periodically emerge from one of the region’s many lakes.

Far Cry is centered around an ex special forces soldier who is stranded on a mysterious archipelago in the South Pacific. Many of the levels are set in jungle environments, but the third mission had the thickest foliage in the entire game. The dense rain forest provided ample cover and opportunities for concealment, and it allowed players to stealthily dispatch mercenaries without being seen. Your enemies could use the environment to their advantage too, so you had to be mindful of your surroundings at all times. Needless to say, the trees weren’t just there for decoration. Far Cry was one of the first games that really made you feel like you were in the middle of a jungle, and the missions required players to exploit their surroundings. This created an pronounced contradiction between your environment and your actions. The lush ecosystem looked like it belonged on a postcard, but the peaceful jungle sounds were contrasted by eruptions of gunfire, and the scenic backdrop was corrupted by violence. Even though you were in a veritable paradise, your only course of action was to shoot everything. It was an interesting dichotomy, to say the least.

The Nintendo Wii wasn’t nearly as powerful as the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360, but Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the most beautiful games of its generation despite being rendered in standard definition. Makna Forest is an especially picturesque location. Beneath the dense jungle canopy, you’ll find countless trees, complex valleys, sparkling pools, a network of hidden caves, an ancient tomb, and a treetop settlement that puts the Ewok Village to shame. Even the decaying areas are a sight to behold. I spent several minutes admiring the view once I reached Great Manka Falls, and the sporadic rainbows made everything look even more spectacular. Xenoblade Chronicles has proper day-night cycles and a dynamic weather system, and this makes Makna Forest seem even more diverse. The place would probably be a massive tourist trap if it wasn’t for all the deadly creatures that live there. There are nearly fifty types of enemies to contend with in Makna Forest, ranging from annoying insects to enormous dinosaurs, so you’ll have to proceed with caution.

You only have one chance to make a first impression, and Donkey Kong Country did not squander its opportunity. From the moment we saw Donkey Kong blast out of his tree house, we knew we were in for something special. The ACM graphics were revolutionary in 1994, and I love how the setting transitioned from day to night at the end of the level. The background music was outstanding too, and I can still hear the infectious jungle beats in my head. From a design perspective, “Jungle Hijinx” is a perfect introductory level. The stage is filled with an assortment of enemies that have to be defeated in different ways, there are multiple secret bonus levels to find, and the Kongs have the option of running along the treetops to search for hidden items. You’ll even have the opportunity to catch a ride on the back of a rhinoceros. (I’d like to see Lara Croft or Nathan Drake try that!) It’s a simple level with very few pitfalls, but “Jungle Hijinx” set the stage for an amazing adventure.