After playing Coconuts, I felt inspired to check out other 'nut-tossing ape games for Atari. And so we have Congo Bongo.
This Sega title features a psuedo-3D landscape and two play screens, and generally looks decent. On Atari, this is somewhat impressive. Somewhat. The "bridge" that collapses, if that's what it is, looks like a fishing net; I really don't know what's going on there. And it's hard to see where those blinky coconuts will land. Having never played Congo Bongo, I took far too long figuring out the simple jump over the river.
Screen 2 offers a Frogger-style crossing over hippos and what look like giant tadpoles. The rhinos gave me no trouble. The jumping, however, gave me immense trouble. I nearly gave up after an embarrassing number of failed attempts. The jump controls feel floaty and inexact. Eventually, I succeeded by jumping directly forward and avoiding fancy diagonal leaps when possible. Once I figured out a strategy, crossing the river wasn't so bad.
After losing countless lives, I wouldn't have bothered with the river crossing, but I wanted to see the cutscene, in which our hero sets the ape on fire. Yup.
First, our hero lights a torch from a fire on the right. The titular ape appears to be tied to a chair.
Next, our hero sets the ape ablaze. How did this slip past the Atari Seal of Quality? Because there wasn't one.
A note about Seal of Quality: Nintendo wisely created the "Nintendo Seal of Quality," assuring that glitchy and inappropriate games would never be officially released. This didn't keep low quality games from store shelves, but it did keep away buggy and "adult" games. It's as though Nintendo learned this trick by viewing all the low quality games pumped out for the Atari 2600.
The arcade version of Congo Bongo begins with a scene of Bongo setting fire to the explorer's tent, so I suppose there's an imperative for the flames here. Sweet revenge!
Unlike many Atari collectors, I rarely compare Atari ports to their aracde originals. I was a nursing infant when the golden age of arcades peaked. By the time I was old enough to care, in the late 80s, classic arcade titles were already outdated, giving way to fighters and beat-em-up games.
As a result, I never originally experienced most arcade titles in arcades, but on the Atari 2600. This is why I thought Donkey Kong was great on Atari. I had nothing else to compare it to. This applies to many other titles, such as Asteroids, Pac-Man, and Crystal Castles.
Therefore, I prefer not to compare Atari ports to arcade counterparts. It feels unfair to me. That said, I will make an exception here. Watch (or play) the arcade version of Congo Bongo, and you can see the profound gulf in quality. Whereas other arcade ports maintain the spirit of the original with quality gameplay, Congo Bongo does not.
I give the developers credit for attempting the isometric view and the river scene. However, Congo Bongo is more tedious than fun, and too much of the arcade spirit was lost in translation.
Final Congo Bongo for Atari 2600 Review:
Congo Bongo is a curiosity, a port from an advanced aracde title, with two play screens and an isometric 3D view. And, let's not forget, a brutal cutscene. Atari nerds may find this title interesting for those reasons.
I recommend Congo Bongo to Atari Nerds and Collectors.