How to play Kangaroo online
Jumping is done with the joystick; the fire button is for punching.
- Hop left or right: left and right arrow keys
- Jump straight up: up arrow
- Duck: down arrow
- Super Leap: up plus left or right together (hold it for a higher leap)
- Punch: Space bar
- Start a new game: F12 (the consoleās Reset switch)
- Choose a game variation: F11 (the consoleās Select switch)
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0ā9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0ā9 loads it
Gameplay
Each level has three screens. On every screen the baby kangaroo waits at the top, and you finish the screen by reaching it. Monkeys climb about the trees and throw apples at you, and more apples fall from above. You can jump or duck to avoid them, or punch them away for points. Punching a monkey is worth points too. The first screen uses branches and ladders, the second asks you to Super Leap across gaps in broken logs, and the third mixes both.
Fruit hangs around the screen for extra points. A bell hangs on each screen as well: ring it, up to three times per screen, and a new set of fruit appears. The number at the bottom centre is the bonus timer. It starts at 2,000 each turn and counts down, so a fast rescue keeps more of it. If it reaches zero, you lose a kangaroo. You start with three kangaroos and earn another every 20,000 points.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Punch a thrown apple | 100 |
| Punch a falling apple | 200 |
| Punch a monkey | 200 |
| Strawberry | 100 |
| Tomato | 200 |
| Cherries | 400 |
| Pineapple | 800 |
Game variations
There are four variations: Novice and Advanced, each for one or two players. The Advanced game starts at the second level, where the monkeys throw more apples, and throw them faster. In two-player games the players take turns. The difficulty switches are not used.
Tips
- Punch rather than run. A thrown apple you punch is worth points and canāt hit you any more. Standing your ground is often safer than trying to outrun it.
- Ring the bell on the way up. Each ring gives you fresh fruit, and the pineapple is worth eight times a strawberry.
- Watch the timer. Fruit is tempting, but every second you spend on it comes off your 2,000-point bonus.
- Be careful on the middle platform. The 2600 version has a known glitch: the kangaroo sometimes hesitates before jumping the first gap on the middle platform and falls. Time that jump carefully.
The story behind Kangaroo
Sun Electronics made the arcade Kangaroo in 1982, and Atari licensed it for its home systems. It was one of the first arcade games to borrow the climbing style of Donkey Kong without being a direct copy. The 2600 version arrived in 1983. Prototypes show work on it from January to April of that year, starting with a simple movement demo.
The cartridge keeps three of the arcadeās four levels. It leaves out the level where you punch your way through a stack of monkeys, and the big ape who steals your boxing gloves in the arcade. The sprites also flicker when the screen gets busy. Even so, reviewer Charles Ardai wrote in Electronic Fun in 1983 that despite its āhorribleā graphics and sound, the home game played better than the arcade original.
