Kong Strikes Back!

Kong Strikes Back! is a 1984 platform video game published by Ocean Software in 1984 for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. While its predecessor, Kong, is a Donkey Kong clone, Kong Strikes Back! is a clone of Mr. Do's Wild Ride with Donkey Kong-inspired graphics.

Kong Strikes Back!
ZX Spectrum cover art
Developer(s)Ocean Software
Publisher(s)Ocean Software
Producer(s)Jon Woods
Programmer(s)N. Alderton, J. M. Smith[1]
Platform(s)Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
Release
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

The player must rescue a damsel in distress on a rollercoaster 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.[3]

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,[2] and TV advertisements for the game aired around Christmas 1985.[4][2] To promote the release of Kong Strikes Back!, Ocean ran a caption contest in Home Computing Weekly, with the winners receiving a copy of either the Commodore 64 or the ZX Spectrum version of the game.[5]

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.[6]

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

Reception

Amstrad Action gave the Amstrad CPC version of Kong Strikes Back! an overall score of 83%, praising its "slick" graphics, "great" music, and "intense" action gameplay.[3] Crash 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".[1]

Sinclair Programs 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.[7]

References
  1. "Reviews: Kong Strikes Back". Crash. No. 13. Newsfield. February 1985. p. 130.
  2. "News: Roland's Rat Adventure". Home Computing Weekly. No. 83. Argus Specialist. October 1984. p. 6.
  3. "Amsyclopedia! - Arcade-Action - Kong Strikes Back". Amstrad Action. No. 1. Future Publishing. October 1985. p. 71.
  4. "News: Leading Ocean's games list for Christmas". TV Gamer. Boytonbrook. November 1984. p. 8.
  5. "Competition: Monkey Business". Home Computing Weekly. No. 99. Argus Specialist. February 1985. p. 8.
  6. "Off the Hook Magazine Advertisement". Computer Gamer. No. 14. Argus Specialist. May 1986. p. 97.
  7. "Soft Focus: Kong Strikes Back". Sinclair Programs. No. 30. EMAP. April 1985. p. 21. ISSN 0263-0265.
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