A Dinosaur's Tale

For the unreleased Game Gear version, see We're Back (Game Gear).

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A Dinosaur's Tale
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Hi-Tech Entertainment
Developer: Funcom
Licensor: Universal City Studios, Amblin Entertainment, MCA/Universal Merchandising
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1993-09 T-112036

A Dinosaur's Tale is a 1994 platformer for the Sega Mega Drive, developed by Funcom and published by Hi-Tech Entertainment, tying into the 1993 movie We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story.

The game was only released in the US. It is unrelated to the Super NES and Game Boy games based on the film (which are actually named after the film).

Story

An inventor named Captain Neweyes has gone back in time to bring four dinosaurs back from the Jurassic period to modern New York City so that he can put them in the Museum of Natural History for children to see them. Neweyes' brother, Professor Screweyes, is trying to capture the dinosaurs for his own Eccentric Circus. Two children, an orphan boy named Louie and an upper-class girl named Cecilia, find the dinosaurs falling into the Hudson River and decide to help them find the museum.

Gameplay

Character select

Wishing Circle

The game is a side-scrolling platformer played as either of the two child protagonists, Louie or Cecilia. The kids walk with or , duck with , and jump with . If they collect the Red Sneakers item, they can run by holding . If they find a Boomerang item, they can throw boomerangs with . There is also a Blue Sneakers item that increases their jump height. Item effects last until the player loses a life. They climb ladders (after jumping on them) with or .

Enemies are defeated by jumping on them or throwing boomerangs at them. Defeated enemies leave behind bubbles, which can be collected and used to buy items. During gameplay, the player can open the Wishing Circle by pausing the game with  START , which is a wheel of items that can be purchased with bubbles.

Some levels use a 3D perspective, played as one of the dinosaurs, which must dodge items and collect bubbles. The levels scroll forwards automatically, and the D-Pad moves the dinosaur in any direction. The vertical controls are inverted for the flying levels, similar to a flight sim (but this can be changed in the options).

The kids have three hit points, depicted as red caps for Louie or blue bows for Cecilia. If they lose all of their hit points, they lose a life the next time they take damage. Long falls and spikes instantly cost a life. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but there are unlimited continues. There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard).

Items

Items are found in the levels or purchased from the Wishing Circle by pressing  START .

	Bubble
	Bubbles float up after an enemy is defeated. They can be collected and spent on items.
	Red Cap (Louie) or Blue Bow (Cecilia)
	Restores one hit point to Louie or Cecilia. Costs 5 bubbles.
	Blue Sneakers
	Increases Louie or Cecilia's jump height. Costs 10 bubbles.
	Red Sneakers
	Allows Louie or Cecilia to run by holding while moving. Costs 10 bubbles.
	Boomerang
	Gives Louie or Cecilia boomerangs that can be thrown at enemies with . Costs 5 bubbles.
	Blue Bubble Shield
	Temporarily makes Louie or Cecilia invincible. Costs 15 bubbles.
	1-Up
	Awards the player an extra life. Costs 25 bubbles.
	Key
	Find keys to unlock the cages in the final level.
	Checkpoint
	Checkpoint where Louie or Cecilia restarts after losing a life.

Levels

Louie plays the River Docks level first and the Cecilia's Apartment level third. Cecilia plays the Cecilia's Apartment level first and the River Docks level third. Their level order is otherwise the same.

	River Docks
	Flying over Central Park
	Played as the Pteranodon Elsa.
	Cecilia's Apartment
	To the Museum
	Played as the Pteranodon Elsa.
	TV Studio
	Scooter Ride
	Played as the Triceratops Woog.
	The Parade
	This is an autoscrolling level.
	Pick-up Skating
	Played as the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
	Central Park at Night
	Circus Grounds
	Circus Tent
	Circus Cage Room
	The children must find keys and open the cages. The final boss is defeated by releasing the birds from their cages one at a time by touching the animated one. Then the bird can attack Screweyes by touching it again when it flies to the middle of the screen and pressing to send it to attack.

Production credits

• Programming: Roar Flolo, Morten Ofstad
• 3D Programming: Morten Ofstad
• Editor Programming: Eivind Eklund, Ivar J. Olsen
• Additional Programming: Carl H. Skaarstedt, Olav Morkrid
• Background Graphics: Ole P. Rosenlund, Joachim Barrum, Tore Blystad, Ronnie Jensen
• Sprite Graphics: Ole P. Rosenlund, Erik Bakken, Lars P. Arnfinsen, Joachim Barrum, Tore Blystad
• Main Character Animation: Ole P. Rosenlund
• Level Editing: Erik Bakken, Tore Blystad, Ronnie Jensen
• Music: Kim Jensen
• Game Design: Bjorn Roestoen, Gaute Godager, Ian Neil
• Producers: Henning Rokling, Seth W. Rosenfeld
• Executive Producer: Erik Gloersen

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: A Dinosaur's Tale/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 75

	75
Based on 1 review

A Dinosaur's Tale

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Technical information

Main article: A Dinosaur's Tale/Technical information.