Kangaroo

Name:	Kangaroo
Company:	Atari
Model #:	CX-2689
Programmers:	Kevin Osborn & Josh Littlefield (GCC)
Year:	1983
Released?	Yes
Notes:	The original arcade game was created by Sun Corp. and licensed by Atari.

While Kangaroo may look like a cute kiddie game at first glance, there's more to it than meets the eye.  What lies beneath Kangaroo's furry exterior is a challenging platform game that will give even the most experienced player a worthy challenge.  You control Momma Roo (not to be confused with Quintana Roo), who must rescue her baby from a evil gang of villainous monkeys.  Momma Roo is armed only with a pair of boxing gloves which she can use to punch out monkeys and to block apple cores.  Sound intriguing?  Read on..

You must get Momma Roo to the top of each screen where your baby is waiting for you.  Momma Roo can reach the top by climbing ladders (in a tree?) and jumping from platform to platform (not as easy as it looks).  Once you reach the top of the tree you are reunited with your baby for a few seconds and its off to the next board. Along the way up the tree you can grab various fruits for points.  These fruits appear when Momma Roo hits one of the bells hanging from the tree (exactly what kind of tree is this anyway?). Each time a bell is hit a new type of fruit appears and is worth more points, but hanging around eating fruit all day isn't what the game is about.  You've got a baby to save!  

Screen 1

This is the easiest screen in the game, and consists only of ladders and platforms without gaps (lucky for you).  While climbing up the ladders make sure the bouncing apple at the top of the screen doesn't bean you as you're basically defenseless.  Along the way you can hit the bell for some extra fruit, but don't take too long or the monkeys will begin to gang up on you.

Screen 2

Despite being only the second screen, this one is the toughest of the three.  The reason this screen is so tough is that Momma Roo must make some spectacular jumps that require pin point precision.  There's an odd glitch in the 2600 version where Momma Roo will sometimes hesitate before jumping the first gap on the middle platform and fall.  It's unknown what causes this, but it's best to make a quick jump before trying to jump to gap in order to prevent this.  With a little luck and practice Momma Roo will be up the screen in no time.  Just be careful on the edges of the steps, as even as small fall will kill Momma Roo.

Screen 3

This is the last screen before they begin to repeat.  This screen isn't too difficult, but it's easy to accidentally fall off a platform so be careful.  The monkeys are fairly relentless on this screen so be quick about getting to the top.  Although the layout may look confusing, there's really only one way to the top.  Ignore the bell as getting all the fruit on this screen is too difficult to make it worth the time.

While it wasn't a smash hit at the arcades, Kangaroo fared much better on the console scene.  The 2600 version is a good translation which features 3 of the 4 arcade levels, decent graphics, and pretty good control (there's a minor bug on the second level that's worth noting).  So if you missed it in the arcades, give Kangaroo a try on the 2600.  You'll find that its more fun than a barrel of... well you know...  

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