Home /
ColecoVision

Congo Bongo

ColecoVision

ColecoVision

Congo Bongo is an isometric platform arcade game released by Sega in 1983 and ported to the ColecoVision by Coleco Industries in 1984. Congo Bongo has similar elements and gameplay to Nintendo's Donkey Kong from 1981, with the isometric perspective from Sega's Zaxxon released in Japan in late ...

Download

0/5 Votes: 0

Report

Developer
Coleco Industries

Released on
1984

Size
1–2 Players

Version
ColecoVision

Requirements
ColecoVision

Downloads
Action

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

Wikipedia
View article →

Report this app

Images

Description

Congo Bongo is an isometric platform arcade game released by Sega in 1983 and ported to the ColecoVision by Coleco Industries in 1984.

Congo Bongo has similar elements and gameplay to Nintendo’s Donkey Kong from 1981, with the isometric perspective from Sega’s Zaxxon released in Japan in late 1981. Both Congo Bongo and Donkey Kong involve primates who throw objects at the player from a vantage point atop a structure. Both games involve a large-nosed protagonist whose only ability is to jump. Both games have four different, single-screen stages. The goal of the first stage in both games is to climb to the top. Even the graphics of the bonus timer are similar to Donkey Kong’s.

The ColecoVision release is missing the “Snake Lake” level from the arcade version.

Congo Bongo

Overview & History

Released by Coleco in 1983, the ColecoVision port of Sega's arcade classic *Congo Bongo* achieved remarkable technical fidelity for early '80s home hardware. While competing ports suffered from severe downgrades, the ColecoVision version preserved the distinct isometric perspective and whimsical jungle aesthetic. Players assume the role of Bongo, a mischievous little explorer who has set a stubborn gorilla's rear end on fire, prompting the irate ape to kidnap Bongo's companion and flee up a treacherous mountain. Across four unique, rotating isometric stages—starting with the boulder-strewn "Caves" and culminating in the final confrontation with Bongo—the game blends platforming precision with pseudo-3D navigation. Although Sega developed the original hardware, Coleco's in-house programming team successfully captured the vibrant colors, bouncy calypso soundtrack, and frustrating yet addictive challenge that made the arcade cabinet a quarter-munching phenomenon.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard side-scrollers, *Congo Bongo* utilizes a true isometric diamond grid, which fundamentally alters jump timing and movement physics. Navigating the diagonal pathways requires deliberate precision as players dodge rolling coconuts, leaping monkeys, and venomous snakes. The protagonist can move vertically and horizontally across inclined planes and leap over lethal gaps or charging beasts. Each of the four stages presents a distinct puzzle: the first demands vertical climbing while avoiding rolling hazards; the second involves crossing a river on the backs of erratic hippopotamuses; the third requires scaling rocky ledges while dodging angry rhinos; and the fourth features a puzzle where Bongo must jump between floating lily pads or climb platforms to finally corner the gorilla. Losing all lives resets the arduous trek up the mountain, testing the player's spatial awareness and joystick mastery.