Based on the classic SNES game, the Game Boy Advance version of Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure is a perfect-plus port. You play Pitfall Harry, Jr. as he traverses dangerous jungles, swamps, and caves of South America. This is the basic sidescroller you would expect, but with all the bells and whistles of the Super Nintendo version, plus some.

Harry battles alligators, warriors, jaguar, and more as he tries to find Mayan gold. It’s always good to see a politically correct game on the market. Still, what makes this game exciting isn’t the genre or story, but the technical quality. Pitfall looks gorgeous on the GBA. The game is full of visual details, from Harry’s clothes rippling in the wind, to the excellent level and enemy designs. The game sports ten game worlds, each with multiple levels, so it should be quite a bit longer than we’re used to for Game Boy side-scrollers. Movement and control are very quick and natural, and the game runs at a smooth framerate.

That’s really the most impressive thing about Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure for GBA – the quality. The port is perfect, and little touches have even been added to make the game that much more visually compelling. The animation of Pitfall Harry, Jr., as well as the backgrounds and enemies, is excellent, and feels very contemporary in an odd way. At any rate, we’ll be playing the hell out of it come GBA launch.

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure will be available for the launch of the GBA, on June 11.