A long time ago, nine goddesses ruled and cared for the humans. Of those goddesses, Johra was the Mistress of all of them. Balance between the humans and goddesses were at ease, until Khadayha, proud and arrogant, retired as goddess of the forest.

Johra concluded that the only way to choose a proper heiress to Khadayha is to choose a human, not a goddess, to become the new ruler of the forest. The first human to gather the seven artifacts from the land will become the new goddess. You play Jill, one of many champions striving to become a diety and save the forest from it's destruction...

Game Review

Graphics (n.) The use of animation and visual effects to stimulate the senses	vvvv (Very Good)	For people who may not have played it before, Jill the Goddess's graphics strike a pretty strong resemblance to Epic MegaGame's Jill of the Jungle. But WOPR2K didn't rip any sprites; all the artwork in Jill the Goddess was painstakingly drawn and re-drawn with a twist of Japanese art in mind, transforming Jill the Goddess into something a little more unique had WOPR2K decided to alter Jill's costume a little or at least change the name of the main heroine to something different from Jill. Another eye-popping feature in Jill of the Jungle is the adult-themed nudity. While there's no doubt that there is a way to seamlessly blending good platforming and nudity in a game, Jill the Goddess doesn't pull it off. Simply put, there's too much nudity in the game. The characters during the cut-scenes are naked, Jill (though skillfully covering herself) is naked on the  bottom of the game's main screen, and even the game's shopkeeper has a see-through top. This isn't to offend the quality of the art either. The graphics are definitely above par, but it can't hurt just to be a little conservative so that the game doesn't feel like too much of a guilty pleasure. Semblances and nuances aside, Jill the Goddess shines with impressive animation, excellent concept art, and varying landscapes. Backgrounds in the game's eight levels are intricate in design, purposely playing homage to the 16-color standard of old PC platform games while developing an identity all it's own. Flickers are absent, and movement of the characters and enemies is also pixel-by-pixel.
Sound/Music (n.) The smooth blend of atmospheric sounds and original harmonies	vvvvv (Excellent)	There's a lot for the eyes to enjoy, but the sound/music category is Jill the Goddess's high point. Jill of the Goddess's NES-style soundtrack is original and upbeat, clearly one of the best things about the game. Even though all the tracks were impressive, the introduction music and the music for the lava level in particular really helped to make the game that much more addictive. Comparatively, the sound effects also add to the game but not as effectively, since the sound effects are ripped out of Tomb Raider 2. There isn't anything more than grunts and shots though, so it's nothing so terribly familiar that it ruins the game experience. However, those who have computers which don't like QMidi may want to turn off the sound and music through Jill's set-up program before playing the game.
Gameplay (n.) The precision of control and involvement of character within its universe	vv (Average)	At it's best, Jill the Goddess boasts an impressive level design with varying aspects of the game revealed at every turn. The ice level and the lava levels are particularly fun because they feature some interesting block types - in the ice level, there are blocks that slip you up, and in the lava level there are blocks that crumble beneath you. Combined with a decent physics engine, the gameplay added by having shops featured in the game, and the adrenaline rush you can get from well-timed jumps, Jill the Goddess really ought to get a lot more in the gameplay category than it does. Unfortunately, there's no quicker way to bring down the gameplay score of any videogame than having bugs and other strange gameplay features. There are a large number of bugs in Jill the Goddess. For example, you lose most of your money when you start the lava level. In other instances, some of the shops don't work: sometimes when you buy more than one life in a shop you don't get your lives (but still lose your money). Another bug occurs when trying the level 5 and 6 nudity trick, it gives you infinite lives instead of taking 5 lives, and in the final level, for whatever reason, I had infinite lives. Most of the bugs actually made the game easier, but it still reduces the overall impression the game has. The enemy engine in Jill the Goddess can also be quite annoying. The flying enemies can be a real nuisance, especially when they respawn in front of Jill and become inescapable. In other instances, the respawning time can also be irritating when you have to wait for enemies to respawn so you can collect gold pieces to buy items in the game. But perhaps the most discouraging aspect of Jill the Goddess's is in some of it's more unforgiving level designs. It's usually good etiquette in videogame design to allow the player a chance to back-track to a previous location if he or she fails to make it through a timed ordeal. In Jill the Goddess, this isn't always in the case; in particular, sometimes when purchasing the winged boots or jumping boots to help leap through long chasms, it's possible to run out of juice in the middle of two high pillars in the game. If this happens, Jill ends up being trapped and you're forced to quit the game regardless of how many lives you have left. With this being able to happen as early as the first few levels of the game, that combined with the other gameplay problems had with Jill the Goddess really hurt the overall score.
Story (n.) The creativity and presentation of the game's critical plot	vvv (Good)	Good. Even though the name of the main character isn't original at all, WOPR2K really makes an effort to make an entirely new storyline appropriate to the Jill the Goddess universe, meaning that the well-thought out introduction and game endings really feel very much like a part of the game. The cutscenes are also well-done; everytime you finish a level you're presented with an artifact and a lesson from the presiding goddess about the qualities that a good goddess should have. It's a nice touch. On the downside, some poorly spoken English and grammar mistakes give Jill the Goddess's otherwise interesting story a somewhat amateurish feeling. In addition to this, some of the "lessons" that the goddesses give when you finish the levels in Jill the Goddess are somewhat silly.
Replay Value (n.) The timelessness of the gamer's delight, such that the experience can be repeated again and again	vvvv (Very Good)	Very good. One thing Jill the Goddess seems to have more of than any other game is a number of in-game secrets, including a nudity cheat (as if there wasn't already enough nudity in this game). Also, once you've mastered shooting down flying enemies, making difficult jumps,  and learning how not to get stuck in your quest, this game can be very interesting and a lot of fun to go back and do it again. Being able to save your game between levels also helps. Jill is a fairly lengthy game with a lot of variety, and being able to save your quest to more than one slot allows to revisit levels, or go back a level to build up better stats before proceeding to the next level. And even if back-tracking isn't required, sometimes enjoying the aesthetic qualities of the game's earlier levels can also be somewhat enjoyable.
Challenge (v.) To strike the mental nerve in such a way as to stimulate human thought and reflexes	vvvv (Very Good)	Jill the Goddess is an intense platform-jumping experience, backed by a good learning curve and a level design that begs to be conquered. If you're the kind of gamer who like games like Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog because of the platforming involved, then Jill the Goddess's hole-packed level design will really tickle your fancy. However, gamers who like level design because of the way enemies are cleverly placed might not like Jill the Goddess as much, since they tend to appear randomly and oftentimes in front of you. The constant distractions come either too frequently or infrequently, depending on whether you need gold or simply need to pass the level. In any case, it can get fairly irritating when enemies spawn right in front of you.
Fun Factor (n.) The overall entertainment value as maintained throughout the adventure	vvvv (Very Good)	A lot of people will probably download Jill the Goddess because it's a nudity-packed game aimed towards older gamers, but to be honest, WOPR2K's game really doesn't need the extra eye candy to be a serious contender. Up to this point, there hasn't really been an exploration-type platformer game in QB. Most other QB platform games tend to use the Mario formula of gameplay, giving you limited firepower or the ability to step on creatures for points, then prompts you to travel from left to right in search of the finish line. Jill the Goddess doesn't quite do that-- instead, it takes some of the gameplay elements of a less popular PC game, throws in a level-select feature, and adds some of the elements that make QB games unique, creating a type of feeling that is all it's own. Jill the Goddess Reviewed by Terry Cavanagh and Vance Velez
Players	1 player	Genre: Platform Game
Rating		To solve: 9-10 hours Final Rating: 26/35

Download

To download Jill the Goddess (683KB), click here. wIf you're unzipping this program in DOS, you may have to use the -d option. wBefore you run the game, make sure you run "SETUP.EXE" to change the game's sound settings. wTo play Jill the Goddess, unzip the file and run "JILL.BAT".

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The Highs: Most of the game is good level design, boasting new challenges with every turn.
The Lows: Quite a bit of the game is poor level design, which at times can hurt the gameplay experience.

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