How to play Congo Bongo online
- Walk and climb: arrow keys
- Jump: Space bar
- One or two players (taking turns): F11 (Select); Player 2 uses T/F/G/H and A
- Start a game: F12 (Reset) or Space
- Number of lives: F4 (left difficulty switch): B gives five lives, A gives three
- Hunter’s speed: F9 (right difficulty switch): B is slow and easier to control, A is fast
Gameplay
Jungle Mountain. You climb a series of steps while Congo throws coconuts down at you from the top. There is a safer path close to the wall, but it gets narrower on later levels, and the coconuts aim at you more closely. After the bridge you jump a chasm; don’t wait on its edge, because the ledge caves in. On Monkey Plateau two chimps try to jump on your back and slow you to a crawl. Jump twice to shake them off, then jump the river and climb the last steps to Congo’s perch.
The Great Jungle River. This stage was redesigned as a vertical screen, a little like Frogger. You hop from lily pads to hippos to safe islands, then across the backs of large fish. Hippos and fish only carry you for a short time before tipping you into the water, and the fish change colour just before they dive. On the far bank, dodge the charging rhinos and walk up to Congo. As a reward, the hunter gives the gorilla a hot foot, and the game moves on to the next, harder level.
Each screen starts with a bonus that counts down by 100 points. When it hits zero you are out of time. The bonus starts at 5,000 on level 1 and rises by 1,000 per level up to 9,000. You also score 10 points for every step and 500 for jumping the chasm, and you get an extra life at 10,000 points.
Tips
- Start on the far left. At the bottom of the mountain there are spots on the left edge where coconuts can’t reach you.
- Time the bridge. The coconuts come in waves, so cross in the gap between them.
- Jump the river away from the white water. You can jump it anywhere along the bank, and the further from the white edge, the safer.
- Land in the middle of the lily pads. They float and sink, and landing on the edge can drop you in the water. Avoid fish tails too.
- Try slow speed first. Setting F9 to B makes the hunter much easier to place on small platforms.
About the arcade original
The arcade Congo Bongo appeared in early 1983 and ran on hardware related to Sega’s Zaxxon. Historians credit Ikegami Tsushinki, which had also worked on Nintendo’s Donkey Kong, with development work, and its climbing stage and an ape throwing things from the top often draw comparisons with Donkey Kong. The arcade game had four stages. Several home conversions kept only two of them, and the 2600 version also reworked the river stage into a vertical layout. The 2600 cartridge was poorly received: Computer Games magazine gave it a C− and called it a disappointing conversion.
