Different Versions

While there are quite a few different versions for different languages. We identify 4 main different versions of the game. Console-specific differences are listed lower.

1. GameCube NTSC (North American)
2. PAL (European) and other consoles
3. Wii (aka The Big Adventure)
4. PC

GameCube NTSC (North American)

This is the first console release (February 2004) and main version used for speedruns. Every other version will be compared to this one.

GameCube PAL (European)

Released two days later. The only known difference specific to PAL is that the retro minigame actually runs slower, but the timer stays the same. See (untested whether this is a version number or region thing)

PAL and other consoles

Some clips are slightly harder. Namely:

• You have to spin kick multiple times to be able to walk out of bounds in BittenBinder's Camp
• The backup is not possible without Smash Strike
• You have to use the other side of the tree for Torch Skip part 1 (or use the vine)

Great Tree has an easier clip that only requires repeatedly rolling in a corner of a root.

Wii (aka The Big Adventure)

Re-released 4 years later. Both NTSC(September 2008) and PAL(February 2009). If using a GameCube controller, the game plays exactly the same as GameCube, but with "other consoles" difficulties. Differences includes:

• The game was strangely rebranded to "The Big Adventure" and given a new childish cover art
• Motion control if playing with Wiimote
• Opening the Wii HOME Menu creates lag, which allows for much higher raft jumps
• 16:9 aspect ratio
• Menu is navigated using the joystick
• Look mode does not recenter automatically
• L+R locks the camera rotation instead of following Harry
• Cleaner fonts
• Eels animation can often break
• It's possible to dismount the Raft in Mountain Sled Run by equipping a different item while going over, or simply rolling into, the trigger.

PC

7 months after the initial release, this was more than just a port. Lower down is an entire section dedicated to PC differences.

Consoles and load times

Excluding PC, the different consoles are: Playstation 2, Backward Compatible PS3, GameCube, Wii playing GameCube, Wii, Xbox and Xbox 360 using backward compatibility.

PlayStation dithering

The PlayStation version looks a lot more grainy due to heavy use of the hardware dithering for transparency and gradients. More information here:

Xbox

Most clips are much harder on this version (even than other consoles) for unknown reasons. Monkey Temple Skip is also nearly impossible to pull off.

Xbox 360 issues

The only notable console in terms of gameplay differences is the Xbox 360. While the game made the 360 compatibility list, it does not run well. It has obvious viewport issues, very bad framedrops making it unplayable and cinematics on boot are also all black with very choppy sound.

Loading times, from fastest to slowest

1. Xbox
2. GameCube on Wii
3. GameCube / Dolphin Emulator
4. Wii U
5. Wii
6. PS2
7. PS3
8. Xbox 360

For a detailed breakdown, take a look at the Pitfall console load times comparison spreadsheet.

We have not properly compared Xbox 360 loads, but we'll still put it last since the game even runs slower.

While not a "version", I'll still mention the Dolphin GameCube/Wii emulator. If you're playing on Emulator, make sure you are using a version 5.0-14514 or newer. Load times were fixed to be on par with a real GameCube. Before that, Pitfall's loading times have always been abnormally long in Dolphin, however there was a bug that hid this issue and made the load look more reasonable. In 4.0-9019, disc timings were corrected, which made Pitfall load extremely slowly (see Emulator Issues 12279).

PC specific differences

Textures were upresed, the controls adapted to fit both keyboard and controller, and the physics engine is different. With the changes in the physics engine, a lot of tricks have been affected:

• Harry can punch slightly faster

• Dashes last much longer, and have a bigger waiting window if you don't chain them

• Harry jumps higher, which obsoletes a lot of triple jumps, and changes how other jumps are approached in speedrunning

• Harry falls faster. Which makes certain jumps, like the Early Geyser™ dashless setup less reliable

• You can do "Standing Triple Jumps", which can get much more height than a regular one, without rolling. My current understanding is that there's two ways to do it:

  1. Land on an angled floor, harry will start walking at that angle in coyote time. I noticed it tends to happen on the same spots all the time.
  2. Frame perfect jump while moving.

• Some smash strike displacements used to walk up walls in 100% are impossible, but replaced by said triple jumps

• The Following tricks are much harder:

  • Native Fort OOB
  • Bittenbinder's Camp OOB
  • Torch skip part 1's tree clip has to be done from the other side of the tree
  • Torch skip part 2 is much more precise
  • Diveless setups of Early Geyser™ have to be adapted. The Dashless setup works as-is.

• The following clips are impossible:

  • Both Bittenbinder's Camp's OOB backup strats to get to the Mysterious Temple early
  • The old Monkey Temple Skip strat (the one that goes OOB)
  • Early Monkey Temple
  • The valley of spirit door clip

• The modern Monkey Temple Skip is much, much easier and faster

• Alt Alt skip skip is much easier

• Max swim speed is higher, assuming you mash like crazy

• Crocodiles and piranha are insanely fast, it's better to avoid swimming crocs altogether

• Collecting an Explorer Idol can leave you completely softlocked

• The in-game Atari2600 emulator for the retro minigames has minor sound issues.

• And probably more...