Congo Bongo

, also known as , is an isometric platformer arcade game released by Sega in 1983. The game includes a ROM that contains a message indicating it was likely coded at least in part by the company Ikegami Tsushinki. The game is viewed in an isometric perspective, like Sega's previous game "Zaxxon" (1981).
The player takes the role of a red-nosed safari explorer who tries to catch an ape named "Bongo". The explorer seeks Bongo to enact revenge for an apparent practical joke in which Bongo set fire to the hunter's tent, giving him a literal "hotfoot". He must pursue the ape across four different screens, with the goal of moving from the lower left corner to the upper right corner of every screen. He must overcome obstacles like falling coconuts, charging rhinos, and avoiding falls into the water.
Gameplay.
Concept.
The employs the same isometric perspective that was made famous by Sega's previous game "Zaxxon" (1981). The game has come to be seen as Sega's answer to Nintendo's highly successful "Donkey Kong" game that was released two years prior, as it contains many similarities to the former ape game to be purely coincidental. Both games involve primates who throw objects at a player from a vantage point on top of a structure. Both games involve a large nosed protagonist whose only ability is the ability to jump. And both games have four different levels composed of one screen that re-start with a higher difficulty once completed. Even the graphics of the bonus timer look extraordinarily similar to Donkey Kong's.
Stages.
The game repeats from the first level with increased difficulty.
Story.
A safari explorer arrived in the jungle one day, and the animal inhabitants decided to cook up a scheme to get rid of him. Bongo the ape volunteered to chase him out with fire. One night, while sleeping peacefully in his tent, the explorer awoke to a fiery sight: the large ape Bongo had lit his tent on fire, but this didn't scare the explorer away. It only strengthened his resolve to push deeper into Bongo's domain and exact revenge for the cruel joke.
Ports.
"Congo Bongo" was ported to the Apple II, SG-1000, MSX, Intellivision, ColecoVision, Commodore 64 (first as a cartridge, then later to disk), VIC-20, IBM PC, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit family, and the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. Sega's ports for the Atari 2600, 5200, Atari 8-bit, Intellivision, and Commodore 64 (cartridge version) include two of the four levels from the arcade original, while the ColecoVision release is missing the "Snake Lake" level.
Reception.
In Japan, "Game Machine" listed "Congo Bongo" on their June 15, 1983 issue as being the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. In the United States, "Time" magazine initially reported in 1983 that the arcade game was a commercial failure, before it went on to become a popular arcade game according to "Computer Games" magazine in early 1985. The game went on to have a number of home conversions, which were commercially successful in the United States.
"Computer and Video Games" magazine gave the arcade game a generally favorable review. They called its concept of "Donkey Kong" (1981) "in three dimensions" a "fascinating idea" while also noting the final level has similarities to "Frogger" (1981).
The home conversions received a mixed reception. The ColecoVision, Atari 5200 and Intellivision versions were awarded "Best Videogame Audio-Visual Effects" at the 1984 Arkie Awards. "Ahoy!" in 1984 stated that "Congo Bongo" for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 "is fraught with problems; gameplay is repetitive, frustrating, tedious, inconsistent, and at times confusing, and the music not only got on my nerves but stomped on them. Plus, the whole thing is derivative". "Computer Games" magazine gave the Atari VCS version a C- rating, calling the "VCS version of" the arcade game, "for the most part, a disappointment." "ST. Game" readers named the Atari version of the game the worst Atari program of 1983, even worse than the notorious "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial".
Legacy.
The original arcade release is included in the PlayStation Portable version of "Sega Genesis Collection" (as an unlockable game) and "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. An enhanced remake was released for the PlayStation 2 under the Sega Ages label as a part of "Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 23: Sega Memorial Selection".