Congo Bongo
Encyclopedia
Congo Bongo is an isometric platform arcade game
released by Sega
in 1983. Strong evidence from analysis of the game's ROM claim that Ikegami Tsushinki also did development work on Congo Bongo. The game has come to be seen as Sega's answer to the highly successful Donkey Kong game that was released two years prior. The player takes the role of a red-nosed safari
hunter who tries to catch an ape
named "Bongo". The hunter seeks Bongo to exact revenge for an apparent practical joke
in which Bongo set fire to the hunter's tent, giving him a literal "hotfoot". Game was named by Pete Gorrie who was the CFO at that time.
and Donkey Kong, but is viewed in an isometric perspective
, or oblique
perspective in some versions. The protagonist has no offensive abilities and thus, the player must jump to avoid enemies (and obstacles) to complete a level.
Screen 1: Primate Peak – This level most resembles Donkey Kong; the player must travel to the top of a hill while avoiding coconuts being thrown by a large gorilla
. Also walking around the level are several small monkeys who attempt to grab the player. They can be shaken off by jumping in place, but if three of these monkeys attach to the player, the protagonist
will be thrown off the cliff face.
Screen 2: Snake Lake – This level contains a grassland that is connected to a series of square platforms with thin pathways between. The player must avoid scorpions on the grass, snakes on the platform, and time movement with hippos
in order to complete the level.
Screen 3: Rhino Ridge – This level takes place in a wide-open Savanna
h environment where the player needs to navigate around rhinos
charging in different directions. Oddly enough, stepping in the puddles results in death, but the player can hide in the empty holes. The rhinos can also be jumped over.
Screen 4: Lazy Lagoon – This level closely resembles Frogger
, as the player must cross a body of water by walking on and off various lily pad
s, logs, hippos, and large fish.
Despite being a commercial failure when it was initially released Congo Bongo has been ported to nearly every major gaming platform of the day, including MSX
, Intellivision
, ColecoVision
, Commodore 64
(twice - by Sega in 1983 and by U.S. Gold
in 1985), IBM PC
, Atari 2600
, Atari 5200
and Atari 8-bit computers
. Sega's ports for the Atari 2600, 5200, 8-bits and the C-64 featured only two of the four levels from the arcade original, while the ColecoVision release is missing the level "Snake Lake". The Intellivision
port features all 4 of the game's original levels. An emulated version of the original arcade release is featured as an unlockable in the PlayStation Portable
version of the Sega Genesis Collection
(Sega Mega Drive Collection in PAL regions). This version was also featured in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection
(Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection in PAL regions) for Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
. Recently, an enhanced remake
was released for the PlayStation 2
under the Sega Ages label as Sega Ages 2500 Vol 23: Sega Memorial Collection.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
released by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
in 1983. Strong evidence from analysis of the game's ROM claim that Ikegami Tsushinki also did development work on Congo Bongo. The game has come to be seen as Sega's answer to the highly successful Donkey Kong game that was released two years prior. The player takes the role of a red-nosed safari
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
hunter who tries to catch an ape
Ape
Apes are Old World anthropoid mammals, more specifically a clade of tailless catarrhine primates, belonging to the biological superfamily Hominoidea. The apes are native to Africa and South-east Asia, although in relatively recent times humans have spread all over the world...
named "Bongo". The hunter seeks Bongo to exact revenge for an apparent practical joke
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
in which Bongo set fire to the hunter's tent, giving him a literal "hotfoot". Game was named by Pete Gorrie who was the CFO at that time.
Gameplay
Congo Bongos gameplay is similar to other popular arcade games of the time, most notably FroggerFrogger
Frogger is an arcade game introduced in 1981. It was developed by Konami, and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one. To do this, each frog must avoid cars while crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of...
and Donkey Kong, but is viewed in an isometric perspective
Video games with isometric graphics
In video games, "isometric" refers to some form of parallel projection where the viewpoint is rotated slightly to reveal other facets of the game environment than are visible from a top-down perspective or side view, thereby producing a three-dimensional effect...
, or oblique
Oblique projection
Oblique projection is a simple type of graphical projection used for producing pictorial, two-dimensional images of three-dimensional objects.- Overview :Oblique projection is a type of parallel projection:...
perspective in some versions. The protagonist has no offensive abilities and thus, the player must jump to avoid enemies (and obstacles) to complete a level.
Levels
Like Donkey Kong, the levels are composed of a series of four single screens that loop in a higher difficulty when completed.Screen 1: Primate Peak – This level most resembles Donkey Kong; the player must travel to the top of a hill while avoiding coconuts being thrown by a large gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
. Also walking around the level are several small monkeys who attempt to grab the player. They can be shaken off by jumping in place, but if three of these monkeys attach to the player, the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
will be thrown off the cliff face.
Screen 2: Snake Lake – This level contains a grassland that is connected to a series of square platforms with thin pathways between. The player must avoid scorpions on the grass, snakes on the platform, and time movement with hippos
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
in order to complete the level.
Screen 3: Rhino Ridge – This level takes place in a wide-open Savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
h environment where the player needs to navigate around rhinos
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
charging in different directions. Oddly enough, stepping in the puddles results in death, but the player can hide in the empty holes. The rhinos can also be jumped over.
Screen 4: Lazy Lagoon – This level closely resembles Frogger
Frogger
Frogger is an arcade game introduced in 1981. It was developed by Konami, and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one. To do this, each frog must avoid cars while crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of...
, as the player must cross a body of water by walking on and off various lily pad
Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight genera. There are about 70 species of water lilies around the world. The genus...
s, logs, hippos, and large fish.
Legacy
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
, Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
, ColecoVision
ColecoVision
The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
(twice - by Sega in 1983 and by U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold was a British video game publisher and developer from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, producing numerous titles on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms.-History:...
in 1985), IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
, Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, Atari 5200
Atari 5200
The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, commonly known as the Atari 5200, is a video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc. as a higher end complementary console for the popular Atari 2600...
and Atari 8-bit computers
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
. Sega's ports for the Atari 2600, 5200, 8-bits and the C-64 featured only two of the four levels from the arcade original, while the ColecoVision release is missing the level "Snake Lake". The Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
port features all 4 of the game's original levels. An emulated version of the original arcade release is featured as an unlockable in the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
version of the Sega Genesis Collection
Sega Genesis Collection
The Sega Mega Drive Collection is a video game compilation for the PlayStation 2 and PSP, compiled and emulated by Digital Eclipse and released in the U.S. in 2006 and Europe and Australia in 2007...
(Sega Mega Drive Collection in PAL regions). This version was also featured in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, known as the Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection in PAL regions, is a compilation of video games developed by Backbone Entertainment for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles...
(Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection in PAL regions) for Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. Recently, an enhanced remake
Enhanced remake
A video game remake is a game closely adapted from an earlier title, usually for the purpose of modernizing a game for newer hardware and contemporary audiences. Typically, a remake shares essentially the same title, fundamental gameplay concepts, and story elements of the original game...
was released for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
under the Sega Ages label as Sega Ages 2500 Vol 23: Sega Memorial Collection.
External links
- Congo Bongo at Phosphor Dot Fossils