We have had many Jurassic Park games over the years with some just trying to re-tell the story of the movie video game style while others taking many liberties and even others that try to fit as interquels happening between movies. For the most part you can see them all trying to adapt the same adventures but they have enough original adventures to be called their own continuities and many have more than one game to their belt. We also have the games that heavily tried to tie into the movies exploring the lore and others that ended up influencing the movies so here we have a full look.
Now, here we’re trying to put all the different continuities and the games that form part of those continuities. Some liberties need to be taken since some aren’t “officially” connected. Now we won’t be connecting all the games into one big Jurassic Park video game canon but the ones that are clearly defined as one or seem like continuations and/or benefit from them will. All of this will be explained but in general we won’t shove continuities unless it makes sense and we can just assume that some of this continuities could work well together even if not specifically linked below.
A little more context: For the most part continuities are going to be linked by developers/publishers, if a company made various games it’s more likely that they were meant to be one story. This is not necessarily true in all cases, in some cases it is, in some it isn’t and in others there’s no real link so it’s up to anyone to decide. If a game has various ports, it’s the same story/event even if some elements are a little different between ports though there might be exceptions. It’s also worth noting that even if we don’t see previous events happening we can assume similar events to the movies happened in each of these games, after all they’re licensed games based on the movies. If anyone has any suggestions or found something not in here feel free to contact me and I’ll revise it. It’s a work in progress after all.
Jurassic Park video game canon timelines continuity:
Genesis continuity:
The Genesis continuity includes their game Jurassic Park and the direct sequel Jurassic Park Rampage Edition by Bluesky Software. While it might appear because of its name that Rampage Edition is just an upgraded version, it actually starts off from where the original left off in the ending.
Timeline:
Jurassic Park -> Jurassic Park Rampage Edition
Interquels:
The following games don’t really have a continuity with other games but they really try hard in trying to be canon with the films. Now the films will never acknowledge these stories and there are contradictions but a lot of love and care was put into them so they deserve to be recognized and are CUPO in most aspects.
Jurassic Park for the Sega CD features a sequel story.
Jurassic Park The Game features a direct sequel to the movie, it’s a bit fantastic but feels in fun gaps and in a way expands the universe of the games.
Jurassic Park Trespasser for PC is a sequel to The Lost World, it mixes the continuity of the book and the movie but provides tons of backstory and lore.
Jurassic Park – The Ride Online Adventure (technically canon with Jurassic Park the Ride)
They’re just mini games Continuity:
I guess any of these could take place in pretty much any timeline since there’s barely any story to tell and are mostly mini games of scenes from the movies or inspired by:
Jurassic Park Interactive
Jurassic Park: Paint and Activity Center
Jurassic Park Tiger LCD game
Other Jurassic Park LCD games
Raptor Run TLW LCD Game
Final Flight TLW LCD game
R-Zone The Lost World Jurassic Park
T-Rex Nano pet/Tamagotchi
Jurassic Park Institute Tour: Dinosaur Rescue
The Lost World Game.com
The Lost World R-Zone
Jurassic Park Explorer DVD Adventure
Ocean Continuity:
A retelling of Jurassic Park with a lot of elements from the book, it came out on NES and Game Boy with a SNES and DOS/Amiga port releasing later. While there are some differences between versions it’s clearly the same story. There was a sequel by the same developer which can be considered as part 2 but there’s a case to be made that it deserves its own timeline.
Timeline:
Jurassic Park -> (Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues)
Chaos Continues Timeline:
Developed by Ocean, their sequel to the original game is very different, so different in fact that while I think it could be seen as a sequel to the original in the timeline, I prefer to separate it since the Game Boy version of Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues is actually a retelling of Jurassic Park and the SNES is a sequel to that game. They have the same name but are different stories, one timeline. Though I guess you can count the first game canon to this one as well.
Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues GB -> Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues SNES
Ludia Continuity:
The Ludia Jurassic World games clearly take place in one continuity, well at least their two Builder games. Jurassic Park Builder came first and later Jurassic World The Game which is also a builder game. You can see the wreck of the original map/park in the Jurassic World game and some dialog makes a few small references. Jurassic World Alive doesn’t really have many references but it deals mostly with the Dinosaur Protection Agency but the style of writing is very similar so we can see it as the official continuation. The story here is about having a functional park of Jurassic Park after the events of the first two movies but something happens since it’s destroyed by the time the Jurassic World game happens and you still successfully runt hat park for a while, at least until the events of Jurassic World Alive where you’re rescuing dinosaurs.
Timeline:
Jurassic Park Builder -> Jurassic World The Game -> Jurassic World Alive
Arcade continuity:
They were made by 3 different companies but I feel comfortable putting them in one same continuity since clearly each one is a spiritual sequel to the previous one. This is without mentioning that because they’re all rail shooter game cabinets and they all share the same violent nature of that universe. Sega made Jurassic Park and The Lost World Jurassic Park, later followed by Jurassic Park 3 by Konami and Raw Thrills made Jurassic Park Arcade. They all feature silly but interesting stories to follow as you have fun that go on their own little side adventures with a special edition of TLW arcade following a few more parts of the main movie:
Timeline:
Jurassic Park -> The Lost World Jurassic Park -> Jurassic Park /// -> Jurassic Park Arcade
DreamWorks Jurassic Park continuity:
DreamWorks Interactive created 3 games with their The Lost World Jurassic Park license. While no real connection between them story wise they all feel like they came from the same place. Which makes sense because they had the same developer studio. They feel more cinematic and higher budget in a way. The two PS1 games both mainly deal with dinosaurs whether a loose re-telling of the movie or just an all around fighter, they feel like it could be the same game if you think about it. The PC game is an RTS that re-tells the movie story with some convenient differences to make it work as a real time strategy game. There isn’t a big connection here with the other titles except style:
Timeline:
The Lost World: Jurassic Park -> Chaos Island: The Lost World -> Warpath: Jurassic Park
The Lost World continuity:
These games have nothing in common with anything since they are different platforms, developers, style or all of the previously mentioned. I guess you could say the Game Boy game can be a sequel to one of the Nintendo timelines and the Game/GearGenesis one to one of the Sega timelines but they have no clear connection to anything.
The Lost World Jurassic Park Genesis
The Lost World Jurassic Park Game Boy
The Lost World Jurassic Park Game.com
Jurassic Park /// Continuity:
Konami released some GBA games with the Jurassic Park license for Jurassic Park 3. Both Island Attack and The DNA Factor can easily take place in the same continuity. The third game Park Builder makes more sense with the sega game but I guess you could put it in here if you wanted. Nothing too crazy here but if we want to get crazy then I’d say that .
Jurassic Park III: Island Attack -> Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor
Knowledge Adventure Continuity:
Released for PC, these are a bit sillier adventures but overall a fun little story of what a Jurassic Park series could be. Of course elements from these games appeared in a way in Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous to the dismay of many people.
Timeline:
Park III: Dino Defender -> Jurassic Park III: Danger Zone! -> Jurassic Park: Dinosaur Battles (Scan Command)
Jurassic World Evolution Timeline:
Here the park builders Jurassic World Evolution, Evolution 2 and all of its expansion packs which include the story of Jurassic Park, The Lost World and other movies would take place
Jurassic World Evolution -> Jurassic World Evolution 2
Jurassic Park VR Continuity:
Enjoy Jurassic World through Virtual reality in this VR centric continuity. Technically they could all go in any place but I liked grouping the VR Jurassic experiences together.
Jurassic World Expedition -> Jurassic World VRSE -> Jurassic World Aftermath
Single continuity:
Games not tied to any specific timeline.
Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
Jurassic Park (IV) 2010 mobile
Lego Jurassic World Continuity:
The Lego game plus the Lego open world toys to life game at least the Jurassic Park sections. I guess also the Lego TV shows would be in this continuity.
Lego Jurassic World
Lego Dimensions Jurassic World Dimension
How the Jurassic World Evolution game reunited the original film’s cast
You mentioned, as well, that this is an original story set after the original film. Do you have to worry about things like the wider canon, or are you off on your own?
Kind of. So with Jurassic World Evolution, we’ve always had this… the term we always use is ‘weird sideways timeline’. Because we’re not a Jurassic World canon game, because obviously the events of Jurassic World happen on Nublar, and in the game that’s one of the islands you build on. You build on all five. So we kind of kept everything slightly different, but we use the characters and some of the story beats in the narrative. We do our own thing with it, like with Doctor Henry Wu, we did our own thing that isn’t considered movie canon.
Jurassic Park Builder Continuity:
This continuity consists of Jurassic Park Builder and Operation Genesis, with the park from Builder being the park referenced in Operation Genesis.
Portable Continuity:
This continuity includes the two game gear Jurassic Park games:
Jurassic Park (Game Gear) -> The Lost World JP (Game Gear)
If we’re going to get a little crazy in joining the different continuities then we should I present you one continuity that compromises many of the games into one continuity that makes sense.
Alan Grant Action Hero Continuity:
In this continuity we follow a more aggressive Alan Grant that is fine with using guns and goes through the trouble of dealing with dinosaurs a bunch of times including with his friend Ian Malcolm
Jurassic Park (Genesis) -> Rampage Edition -> JP 2: Chaos Continues -> The Lost World Game Boy -> Island Attack -> DNA Factor – JP 2011
To fit the other games missing to a second continuity:
Jurassic Park (SNES) -> The Lost World (Genesis)
Working Park Continuity:
Sega Master System and Game Gear is the same game. In many ways it feels like a port of the Genesis game but it’s its own game and the story differs. Here it actually ends with the park operating. Konami released Jurassic Park Builder where you manage a Jurassic Park. Since the Master System game is the only one where the park is functioning I like to think of them as one timeline. Just for fun, nothing else.
Jurassic Park Sega -> Jurassic Park Builder
