Stalvern wrote:The real inaccuracy is dismissing the underground path in the first game because it doesn't have treasure in it. There's no treasure, but you move three times faster underground, which is crucial in getting all the treasure within the time limit.
I am glad someone mentioned this. I beat the original Pitfall! with a mere 10 seconds left. It's one of those games you want to map out (with paper and pencil, kind of like Alien Vs. Predator for the Jaguar). If I recall correctly, you want to go right first to get one of the treasures before going left from there. The underground tunnels are useful for saving time and skipping past areas quickly in areas where there is no treasure above.
Pitfall! has got to be one of the very first platformers, coming out about two years before Super Mario Brothers for the NES.
I believe Pitfall! was also one of the very first games you could actually "beat" or finish (other than search games like Adventure or Haunted House).