Bongo

The Good
The beautiful Princess Legia has been kidnapped by Batrus, the evil sorcerer who scattered her five precious diamonds across each level; and it is up to a mouse called Bongo to recover each one. But there is a catch: only one diamond is visible at a time, and the next diamond does not appear until he gets that one. When Bongo manages to collect all of these diamonds, him and Legia fall in love, and he proceeds to the next level. As well as getting diamonds, he can also collect individual letters that spell out his name for 1000 points.

The front cover of the game is well designed, with a huge graphic of Bongo climbing a ladder and reaching Legia. The two main characters look nothing like their in-game counterparts. Bongo looks like a poor version of Superman, cape and all, while Legia resembles Barbie in a revealing position. The back cover gives a run-down of the storyline, controls, and loading instructions.

Each level consists of a series of slides, platforms, and ladders reminiscent of Miner 2049’er, in which the slides themselves will take you down to the connecting platforms. Batrus’s henchmen are chasing you around, and these slides provide a quick getaway, as well as the warp tunnels on the sides. These henchmen have great artificial intelligence; not only do they know exactly where you are, but they have the ability to jump between platforms to get to you. Bongo can also jump around the maze, but there is a catch. He can only jump from platforms designated by red arrows.

There is a reason why this game requires 16KB. The loading screen does not just contain some text typed out on a bland background. (This is the case for most VIC-20 games I reviewed.) Instead, the copyright information is displayed against a black background. This is followed by the same Donkey Kong cinematic as the one in the game, then the score advance table is displayed. There are also smooth transitions and huge sprites added to the mix. Sound-wise, there is only one piece of music that plays. The sound effects are restricted to Bongo’s footsteps. There is also a sound effect that plays when you come into contact with one of the henchmen.

The game is customizable, with the player being allowed to select the number of players and the difficulty level. The latter actually determines the number of henchmen on the screen at once. If you have completed all the levels in the game, then perhaps you like to try again with two or three henchmen. In a two-player game, you and a friend take turns trying to retrieve all the diamonds in the level without getting caught.

The Bad
This game is quite difficult, and new players are going to die a lot. To illustrate this difficulty: when you have nearly collected all the diamonds but then get killed, you have to go back and start again.

The Bottom Line
Bongo is an addictive platform game that should appeal to any VIC-20 owner out there with at least 16KB. The object is to outrun the baddies preventing you from getting the diamonds needed to rescue the princess. Various elements are around each level to help you, including slides and warp tunnels. Although it is difficult, you should know exactly where to go in the level once you have completed the same one once or twice.