He does more than just swing through the trees. Tarzan is the king of the jungle, and that means he must work his way through many dangerous situations using his intellect and skill.

Tarzan – Return to the Jungle is an action/adventure game for the GameBoy Advance from Disney and Activision. This is a game that is a side-scrolling arcade game that will delight fans of the animated series while playing to the arcade action fan.

In this game, based upon the animated movie and television series, Tarzan learns from Terk and grows from boy to manhood throughout the missions. Queen La is the fearsome boss monster, but along the way the king of the jungle will battle hunters and jungle creatures. Jane and her father, Professor Porter, are along for the ride.

This game is, because of the side-scrolling arcade nature, is extremely linear, but as Tarzan, game players will have to use an array of gifts, from leaping to swinging and swimming.

The opening levels are akin to tutorials, with Terk beginning the game and showing Tarzan how to use speed burst, jumping, swinging and aerial skills. From there Tarzan must work through a variety of levels, avoid or battle beasts while collecting power-ups.

Extremely arcade in nature, the game is flat graphically. Small graphical elements are well animated and the sound is less than the GBA can offer, but still the game looks good and plays well.

The game’s control elements are simple and easy to use. The learning curve is, maybe, 10 minutes. The A button is jump, B is for running or surf, the L button initiates the famous Tarzan yell, while the R button is for attacking.

While the game is a joy for Tarzan fans, it is a somewhat typical arcade game. The missions are little more than weaving through levels that are vertical, as well as horizontal. There are challenges along the way, but this game – while trading on the Tarzan theme – is merely average.

This is a game that will cater to younger players, and while veteran GBA players may find some challenge, the game itself merely average.

Tarzan is an enigmatic character, capable of great physical feats, and while this program tries to capitalize on that, it translates as merely an average journey into his fantastic world.

This game is rated for Everyone.

Gameplay: 7
The side-scrolling nature of the game is a bit of a letdown considering the platform, and – because of the nature of the game, is linear. The maps are finite and you must complete every mission before moving along.

Graphics: 7
The animation is very nice, and the environments are well done, but, again, the nature of the program leaves little to the imagination.

Sound: 6.8
This game is only average in what the GBA can deliver, and most of the mission set-ups are type.

Difficulty: Medium
This is a reflexive game. You must get from point A to point B, collecting power-ups along the way. The challenge is there in terms of fast fingers.

Concept: 7.8
The game features a nice player interface, and the controls are player friendly. The first levels are training tutorials that coax players through the control elements of the game.

Overall: 7
This is a nice game for Tarzan fans, but may not appeal to strictly action/adventure fans that want something a little more from a game. It doesn’t take full advantage of the GBA capabilities, but still has some charm and is enjoyable and challenging. Well the game plays off the Tarzan series and movie, it is very linear in nature.