King Atari Posted October 27, 2002 Share Posted October 27, 2002 Right now, Congo Bongo is as the top of my 5200 want list. So, can anyone tell me how it plays? Better or worse than the Colecovision version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calamari Posted October 27, 2002 Share Posted October 27, 2002 Never played the CV version, or even the arcade version.. but I've never found 5200 Congo Bongo to be that fun. You can always test it out on an emu to see if you like it. calamari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 I always liked it on the Atari 400 which is the same as the 5200 version. The biggest drawback is that it only has two screens when it could have handled all four. The Colecovision version is by far the closest to the arcade with 3 screens. Strangely the 5200 version is also missing the little animation of the explorer lighting Congo Bongo's foot on fire, even the 2600 version had that! Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmi Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 better have 5200 controllers that work great, otherwise it sucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted October 28, 2002 Author Share Posted October 28, 2002 You can always test it out on an emu to see if you like it. I could, but that takes some of the magic out of it, don't you think? better have 5200 controllers that work great, otherwise it sucks , but I did expect that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voiddweller Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 I've played both. IMO, the CV version is MUCH better!!! - VD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 I really do NOT like 5200 Congo Bongo. Typical of SEGA's 5200 games like the ultra-bad Buck Rogers and the average Star Trek, Congo Bongo shows a lack of understanding of the hardware and a certain laziness. 2 levels were just NOT enough. CV CongoBongo is better by far. I bet it's a bigger ROM than the 5200 version, which was typical of lots of CV games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 You thought the 5200 version of Buck Rogers was really bad? I always liked it (it was one of the first games I got for my Atari 400). Of course I found it was more fun to see how long you could survive going full speed through the gates than playing the actual game... Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron_Albanese_Again Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 Hey All, Sorry if this isn't coneected to the 1st thread ... CB for the 5200 may be vastly inferior to the CV version, but it rules anyway! Ah, I recall saving up my allowance to buy this abby, and it made me happy to play it bewteen games of the almighty Mario Brothers ... I didn't try the CV Bongo until a few years ago, and couldn't understand why the 5200 is much less in terms of graphics and gameplay. CB has always been a tricky game ... So, it's not as pretty as the CV, and short on screens, but it's playable ... Now, how about that Intelly one? Never have tried it ... Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron_Albanese_Again Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 Hey All, Sorry if this isn't coneected to the 1st thread ... CB for the 5200 may be vastly inferior to the CV version, but it rules anyway! Ah, I recall saving up my allowance to buy this abby, and it made me happy to play it bewteen games of the almighty Mario Brothers ... I didn't try the CV Bongo until a few years ago, and couldn't understand why the 5200 is much less in terms of graphics and gameplay. CB has always been a tricky game ... So, it's not as pretty as the CV, and short on screens, but it's playable ... Now, how about that Intelly one? Never have tried it ... Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 You are the only person I've ever heard defend the game. Nope, I never liked it. It just seemed too watered down from the local arcade version. It's been a while since I played it, but doesn't it suffer from poor control on 5200? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 See there you go, I never played the arcade version (I actually never even knew there WAS an arcade version uptil a few years ago). Lots of games are like that, you think it's a good game until you actually play the arcade machine it's based off of. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 Sega often had deluxe cabinets in the arcades, and Buck Rogers had one too IIRC. Sit down in cab, big flight joystick on it, and that awesome 80's scaling that Sega's games boasted. Think Hang On or Space Harrier type of scaling, that's what coin-op Buck Rogers had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron_Albanese_Again Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 Oh yeah, from a production standpoint, Congo Bongo is a mess ... the graphics certainly are, making judging where you are on ledges and stuff hard. I like it from a nostalgic standpoint, I guess, and I liked the artwork, too. Back then, I'd accept something that was inferior to the arcade ... I guess I shouldn't mention my salve-like devotion to Kangaroo? Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 I also hate the hue used for the first screen's bg. Kangaroo? You know, it's a good port on the 5200, but I still don't like it much. First of all, the music GRATES MY CAFFEINE-ADDLED NERVES. It's too loud and picks up a disorted quality -- Atari should've knocked each channel down a notch and it would've sounded sweeter and not so harsh. I assume many don't know what I'm talking about, because lots of people don't notice it. My ears pick it up every time and I almost cringe as I defeat each Kangaroo level, waiting for that tune. (it is a version of "old suzanna"). The other reason I am at odds with 5200 Kangaroo is the 5200 controller. Few games are ruined by it IMO, but Kangaroo is one of them. It's too easy to jump when you don't want to, getting nailed by an apple. On the 2nd screen, those jumps should be easy but the analog non-centering 5200 stick turns it into a white-knuckled experience! How many, many times have I died trying to clear a simple jump in 5200 Kangaroo! Other than these 2 faults, the game is really good. The programmer did a great job of capturing the essence of this admittedly weak coin-op platformer. Note by way of contrast the controls of Miner 2049'er (great!) -- I never die because of the stick in that game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron_Albanese_Again Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 So, is there anyone out there that knows Congo Bongo inside and out, has kicked monkey and ape rear, as the bootleg-lookin Jungle hunt guy? Now that I think about it, the repetitve, high-pitched bongos kinda grate on one while playing ... As for Kangaroo, did that include all of the arcade screens? Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 yes, it did. all 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 5200 Congo Bongo is one of the worst games for the system. The only game that sucks more is James Bond 007. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted October 29, 2002 Author Share Posted October 29, 2002 So, don't worry about getting the game (unless it's really cheap in the wild)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted October 29, 2002 Share Posted October 29, 2002 If it's cheap and you'd like to complete your 5200 library, sure. Otherwise, focus on other games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted October 29, 2002 Share Posted October 29, 2002 I kinda liked the arcade version of CB and since most of the arcade ports for the 800 were decent I was looking forward to this one - DOH! Watered down colors, crappy control(no it wasnt the 5200 sticks that hurt this one), choppy animation, horrid graphics make it tough to understand where on a ledge you are, etc..... The jump across the river can be maddening sometimes - and the Rhino screen - GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR These kind of 800 ports made the system look like a 2600 in sheeps clothing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted October 29, 2002 Share Posted October 29, 2002 I have to say I liked the 2600 one better... But that ain't saying much.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughjack Posted November 5, 2002 Share Posted November 5, 2002 Congo is one of the games I own for the 5200 and like others have written, it sucks. The system was capable of soooo much more. The music was grating, the colors were totally muted and washed out and devoid of detail. Only 2 screens, and the isometric angle was very poor. But....it was a closer adaption to the arcade version- when compared to the Coleco. Why? As in Zaxxon- Coleco designed it's own "version" of the game. At least 5200 color- albiet ugly, tried to present the brown hues of the original. Coleco went with this lighter, yellowish tint. Totally different. And what was up with the main character? His feet moved about a thousand times faster than he was actually walking. Very wierd. It did have extra levels, and there were some well done sound effects, but again- a matter of taste. By the way- Commodore 64 had a nearly flawless version on disk if anyone was wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted November 5, 2002 Author Share Posted November 5, 2002 I love the 2600 version as well, very well done for the system, and a whole lot of fun. You can only imagine how the game would've turned out on the 7800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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