high voltage Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 What an excellent game. Bit flickery, quite difficult, but very enjoyable. And the music is awesome. One of my new favorites for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
random7100 Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 cos its SEGA, which is a byword for awesomeness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 that is so true: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Loved the colorful graphics and addictive theme song as a kid. Still gets a lot of play today because its a pretty decent port of those two levels, plus you get that sweet cut scene setting the ape on fire! I used to play marathons of this and Jungle Hunt when I was in an adventure mood back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tin_Lunchbox Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I was really impressed by this too, because A) it's a good game unto itself, and B) it's an ingenious and creative port of an arcade game that I really wouldn't have considered portable to the 2600/Video Arcade hardware. It was programmed by (not a joke, keep straight face) Phat Ho (who also did Up and Down) and Steve Beck (who also did Save the Whales). The first level if you look at it just does amazing things to faithfully interpret the arcade game which had many elements (you have the steps, the gorilla is rolling coconuts at you, you have the waterfall, you have the slide, the monkey jumps on your back, and oh my gosh this is all in isometric perspective) and overall it looks very nice and pleasing to the eye. The second level decides to forgo the isometric perspective but just look how interprets that with really artistic use of rainbow colors and keeps the elements mainly. I think this is a lesser-known title that serious 2600 enthusiasts should acquaint themselves with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Never really liked CB on any system. The arcade machine is probably the only one I would put some miles on Someone has to not like it, otherwise it will get all smug and over confident right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 What an excellent game. Bit flickery, quite difficult, but very enjoyable. And the music is awesome. One of my new favorites for sure. Steve Beck, is that you? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I too like the 2600 version and really appreciate the ambition level here, but ever notice these particular carts are almost always in excellent shape? I don't know if that means people rarely ever played it or maybe it was a cart that everyone's always cherished and took especially good care of... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRV Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 The 2600 version is fine. It's just way too short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 The 2600 version is fine. It's just way too short. All the cartridge versions were way too short. I have no idea why they couldn't add at least one more screen to pad it out a little. Only the disk versions had all four screens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I never liked Congo Bongo and by that I mean the arcade version. So naturally, I took a pass on all home ports. However Stan mentioned above that the 2600 version had the cut scene? Wow! Now I'm going to have to check that out.. that's more closure than 2600 DK ever had.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bohoki Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 congo bongo sucked on every system i think you are a kook - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800Lover Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Are you crazy? The Atari 2600 port stinks like unwashed underwear on a hot and humid summer day. The Atari 2600 is not good at doing a 3/4 isometric view. Why did anyone get the bright idea to program the game for this console? It's proof that complex games SHOULD NOT be attempted on inferior hardware. And the game only had two levels instead of the arcade's four levels. You were only getting half the game...I prefer the arcade version. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I think we'd ALL prefer the arcade version. I can't think of a VCS game that is superior to its arcade counterpart. As for only having two levels, I'm pretty sure that was a necessary cut and not just a bitch move by the programmer. You can't compare apples to apples with the 2600 and the arcade, you have to ask how well does the port convert the original. And I say, with the first screen and the last screen, plus the cut scene, CB does a fine job of brining the essence of the arcade home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleman jack Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I like the 2600 version a lot. Maybe I'm odd. The 400/800/5200 version has great graphics, but terrible controller detection issues. And the arcade version is great. I wonder if an excellent 7800 version is possible? Pac-Man Plus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyHW Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 cos its SEGA, which is a byword for awesomeness Totally plagiarized from Donkey Kong, but whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyHW Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 The 2600 version is fine. It's just way too short. All the cartridge versions were way too short. I have no idea why they couldn't add at least one more screen to pad it out a little. Only the disk versions had all four screens. It is unfortunate. Unfortunately many disk versions also had painful loading times between screens. Ah, the 80s... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyHW Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) Are you crazy? The Atari 2600 port stinks like unwashed underwear on a hot and humid summer day. The Atari 2600 is not good at doing a 3/4 isometric view. Why did anyone get the bright idea to program the game for this console? It's proof that complex games SHOULD NOT be attempted on inferior hardware. And the game only had two levels instead of the arcade's four levels. You were only getting half the game...I prefer the arcade version. What's fascinating is that the Sega programmers didn't have the courage to do 3/4 isometric view for their own SG-1000, which was more advanced than the 2600. Yet, the ColecoVision, which is nearly identical to the SG-1000, had the arcade-style view. The C64, which is also roughly equivalent in power to the CV and SG, had at least two versions (possibly three) with the isometric perspective. The only one I remember playing back in the day was the 1983 Sega port for the C64. I read somewhere that Sega actually programmed all (or nearly all) the home ports for Congo Bongo as well, as opposed to licensing them out as they did for Zaxxon. Not sure why. Surprised that the SMS/Mark III didn't get a version, but I guess they thought people could just play the SG-1000 version if they wanted. Incidentally, I hate 3/4 isometric perspectives. All it does is mess up your sense of direction and make the controls harder in a stupid way. Edited July 4, 2012 by BillyHW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Are you crazy? The Atari 2600 port stinks like unwashed underwear on a hot and humid summer day. The Atari 2600 is not good at doing a 3/4 isometric view. Why did anyone get the bright idea to program the game for this console? It's proof that complex games SHOULD NOT be attempted on inferior hardware. And the game only had two levels instead of the arcade's four levels. You were only getting half the game...I prefer the arcade version. 1: I am not the slightest interested in your briefs. 2: Here's a person who never played the excellent Crystal Castles on VCS 3: Back then, something had to give, 2 levels are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I liked the 8-bit version back in the day even though it wasn't all that good. I never knew it was an arcade game until years later and saw just how bad it was. Later I got the Apple II version from a friend and thought it was pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaGtGruff Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) I never played, or saw anyone else play, Congo Bongo in the arcade, just seen screenshots in magazines. I always thought the 2600 version looks awful compared to the arcade game, and whenever I tried to play it I couldn't even complete the first screen-- couldn't even figure out how to complete it-- so naturally I thought the game stinks. I just tried it again and, after several failures, was finally able to figure out how to complete the first screen. I didn't see the "cut scene" people mentioned-- but then, I wouldn't know what it's supposed to look like, so maybe I saw it and didn't know it, I just know I didn't see any ape getting set on fire. Am I supposed to set him on fire? I thought a "cut scene" was where you couldn't do anything except watch the scene and wait for it to be over so you could get on with the next part of the game? I'll definitely keep at this game, now that I've figured out how to complete the first screen! Edited July 4, 2012 by SeaGtGruff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspicious_milk Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) The 2600 version was the 1st version I've ever played. I thought it was a fun game; nothing super special, but a solid game for my then smallish 2600 library. To this day, I've never seen (in person) or played the arcade version. Comparing it to other home version today, IMO - shows they did a hell of a job. http://youtu.be/RmGNh93Dpyg Edited July 4, 2012 by suspicious_milk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaGtGruff Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 The Apple 2 version looked pretty good, but that "in-game music" was the pits! I guess the "cut scene" comes after the second screen, not between screens 1 and 2? I wonder if a better/more complete homebrew version for the 2600 would be feasible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarilovesyou Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Coleco's version of this was a game that everybody talked about way back when; just comparing it to these other versions, I still think it's the most faithful to the arcade IMO. The 2600 version is fine if you look at it for what it is: the company's back then weren't going to say no to the money that people would gladly shell out for such a (let's be honest) inferior arcade port. But for a 2600 game, it's good. For instance, I still prefer Bump n Jump on the 2600 over any other version...not because it's like the arcade (and I did play and enjoy the CV version way back when) but there's just something fun about playing it. Gyruss is kinda the same way. It's too obvious to criticize the faithfulness to the arcade (or lack thereof). For what they are, there's nothing wrong with them. But that's also just my opinion, and I'm hobby retrogamer. I'll call a spade a spade in Congo Bongo on the VCS; it's a shadow of what the arcade game was (even that's being generous), but for a VCS game, it's not too shabby. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
random7100 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 cos its SEGA, which is a byword for awesomeness Totally plagiarized from Donkey Kong, but whatever. but, like whateverrrrrrrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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