''CJ's Elephant Antics'' is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

developed by Genesis for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

with conversions made for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

and

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

. All ports were handled by Genesis with the exception of the ZX Spectrum version which was handled by

Big Red Software The Big Red Software Company Limited, doing business as Big Red Software, was a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa, England, that was founded by Paul Ranson in October 1989. History Big Red Software was incorporated on 16 O ...

. The computer versions were published by

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...

in 1991, with the NES game arriving in 1992 as part of the unlicensed compilation cartridge '' Quattro Arcade''. The player controls a baby elephant by the name of Columbus Jumbo on his way home to Africa.

Plot

After being captured in Africa for the purpose of being put in a zoo, turbulence hits the plane transporting CJ to England causing his cage to open, he grabs a nearby umbrella and leaps out of the airplane while somewhere over France. After landing CJ realises he will have to make his way back home to Africa on foot.

Gameplay

CJ can jump, has an unlimited amount of peanuts he can fire as projectiles, and a limited number of bombs he can throw. An umbrella opens to slow down his descent when dropping from heights. The game also includes the option for two players to take part simultaneously in a co-operative fashion, though like many platformers of this era there are inherent problems in keeping both players on screen at once. CJ deals with this by only scrolling with player 1, and killing player 2 every time he leaves the screen; this system forces the players to move carefully in synchronization throughout much of the game. Elephant Antics has a total of four levels each of which includes an end of level boss fight. The levels throughout the game are all countries that CJ must traverse to reach home, the levels are France, Switzerland, Egypt, and finally Africa. There is also a bike riding bonus stage that takes place between levels in which the player must avoid hazards and collect balloons. This mode is missing from the Spectrum and NES versions.

Development

Reception

On release the 8-bit computer versions of ''CJ's Elephant Antics'' received consistently positive reviews from major publications of the time receiving a 94%at ZZap64 from ''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' is a computer games magazine covering games for computers manufactured by Commodore International, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazi ...

'', a 93% from Raze, 85% at

World of Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

from ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was la ...

'', and 81% at

from '' Crash''. ''CJ's Elephant Antics'' was also numbered #55 in Crash's retrospective top 100 ZX Spectrum games feature at

and #34 in its public voted Spectrum top 50 of all time. at

Reviews for the Amiga and Atari ST versions were more inconsistent and ranged from 83% in '' Amiga Force'' to much lower scores such as the 63% it received in ''

Amiga Power ''Amiga Power'' (''AP'') was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996. History The first issue of ''Amiga Power'' was publi ...

''.

Sequels

''CJ's Elephant Antics'' spawned two sequels: ''CJ in the USA'' for most home computers and ''CJ Elephant Fugitive'' for the

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...

. There were also two games in the series that were cancelled: ''CJ in Space'' at

and ''CJ's Island Antics''. ''CJ's Island Antics'' was outsourced by Codemasters to another team. Though the 3rd game in the series, ''CJ in Space'', was never commercially released, the 4th game did see a partial release in Germany for the C64 as a free cover game with one of CP Verlag's digital magazines under the name ''Jimbo''. at GTW64 Codemasters made several games similar to ''CJ's Elephant Antics'': ''DJ Puff's Volcanic Adventure'' and '' Stuntman Seymour''. Both were noted for their similarities to CJ by contemporary reviewers. at www.Zzap64.co.uk at www.Zzap64.co.uk

References

{{Reflist 1991 video games Amiga games Atari ST games Big Red Software games Codemasters games Commodore 64 games Multiplayer and single-player video games Platformers Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Allister Brimble Video games set in Africa Video games set in Egypt Video games set in France Video games set in Switzerland ZX Spectrum games Video games about elephants