Congo Bongo
1983 · Platform · Arcade
Overview
Congo Bongo (1983) is Sega's isometric platform game, in which a safari hunter climbs after Bongo, a gorilla who set fire to his tent.
Deep Dive
Four single-screen stages — Steep Peak, Snake Lake, Rhino Ridge and Lazy Lagoon — loop at higher difficulty once completed. Its fixed isometric view resembles Sega's Zaxxon, while critics compared its structure to Donkey Kong.
Developer Story
Sega released it in Japan in February 1983, with Sega/Gremlin handling North America. Ports reached a dozen home systems, from the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision to the Commodore 64 and MSX; the ColecoVision, Atari 5200 and Intellivision versions won a 1984 Arkie Award for audio-visual effects.
Did You Know?
- Ikegami Tsushinki, credited with its development, had earlier done programming work on Donkey Kong.
- A planned sequel was abandoned in the early-1980s market downturn.
Sources & further reading
- Congo Bongo — Wikipedia
