''Kong Strikes Back!'' is a 1984 platform

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

published by Ocean Software in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

for the Amstrad CPC,

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

. While its predecessor, ''Kong'', is a '' Donkey Kong''

clone Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...

, ''Kong Strikes Back!'' is a clone of '' Mr. Do's Wild Ride'' with ''Donkey Kong''-inspired graphics.

Gameplay

The player must rescue a

damsel in distress The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motiv ...

on a

rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

in a fairground, and the goal of each level is to reach the top of the level to save her from Kong, a large ape. The player must avoid rollercoaster carts and various hazards by climbing up ladders on the track, and then climbing down and continuing up the track after the hazards pass.

Development

''Kong Strikes Back!'s '' graphics are inspired by '' Donkey Kong'', while its gameplay is a clone of '' Mr. Do's Wild Ride''. ''Kong Strikes Back!'' was released in the EU in mid-November 1984, and TV advertisements for the game aired around Christmas 1985. To promote the release of ''Kong Strikes Back!'', Ocean ran a

caption contest A caption contest or caption competition is a competition between multiple participants, who are required to give the best description for a certain image offered by the contest organizer. Rules and information about the competition process are also ...

in ''Home Computing Weekly'', with the winners receiving a copy of either the Commodore 64 or the ZX Spectrum version of the game. ''Kong Strikes Back!'' appears on both the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions of the 1986 video game compilation '' Off the Hook'', which donated all proceeds to the charity The Prince's Trust to help fight

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

. ''Kong Strikes Back!'' is one of the first games with music composed by Martin Galway.

Reception

Amstrad Action ''Amstrad Action'' was a monthly magazine, published in the United Kingdom, which catered to owners of home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console. It was the first magazine published by Chris Anderson's Future Publishin ...

'' gave the Amstrad CPC version of ''Kong Strikes Back!'' an overall score of 83%, praising its "slick" graphics, "great" music, and "intense" action gameplay. ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

'' gave the ZX Spectrum version an overall score of 73%, criticizing the lack of a backstory for the game, further expressing that the game's graphics are "old fashioned" and "quite plain", particularly criticizing the damsel's "ugly" sprite. ''Crash'' praised the game's difficulty curve, as well as its "fast" movement and 'intuitive' controls, further calling ''Kong Strikes Back!'' "definitely above average". ''

Sinclair Programs ''Sinclair Programs'' was a magazine published in the United Kingdom, initially by ECC Publications of London and subsequently by EMAP. It was originally dedicated entirely to listings for programs for the Sinclair Research ZX80, ZX81 and ZX Spectr ...

'' gave the ZX Spectrum version an overall score of 65%, praising its "addictive" gameplay as well as its difficulty, further calling ''Kong Strikes Back!'' a "well-thought out and immaculately constructed" game. ''Home Computing Weekly'' gave the Commodore 64 version four stars out of five.

References

External links

* *
''Kong Strikes Back!''
at Spectrum Computing *{{IAg, Kong_Strikes_Back_1985_Ocean 1984 video games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games Single-player video games Video game clones Video games scored by Martin Galway ZX Spectrum games Ocean Software games Video game sequels Video games developed in the United Kingdom