Congo Bongo Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]

Developed and published by Sega in 1983 Sega's answer to Donkey Kong, Congo Bongo certainly outdoes Nintendo's barrel-jumping platformer in the visual department. The isometric viewpoint and crisp graphics still hold up really well, and there's something strangely satisfying about just how smoothly the screen scrolls when transitioning between levels. The game is extremely simple: dodge the monkies, snakes, coconuts and just about anything else that might harm you, and time your jumps over obstacles. As is typical of the time, the game has no ending, simply increasing in difficulty each time you complete the fourth and final stage. I played through to the end of difficulty level 5, and having seen no appreciable difference by stage 6, decided to end the explorer's intrepid adventures by throwing him off a cliff. I also suspect that this is the game had some influence on the design of the protagonist in Spelunky (i.e. the hero's bulbous red nose!). #arcade #retrogaming #congobongo