Atari Kangaroo

aeroflott

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I'm looking for some opinions on Kangaroo for a piece I'm writing.

This isn't a game I'm familiar with, but based on what I can establish, it was a licence that Atari bought from Sun Electronics giving them the rights to distribute the game, and they spewed out 9,800 of the things from the factory.

So questions to the floor:

1. Was this a popular game with players? It seems very "un-Atari" to me looking at the gameplay.
2. Was this Atari's quick-fix attempt to ride off the success of Donkey Kong?
3. How do the numbers produced stack up with its legacy? It's hardly regarded as a classic in the same mold as a Missile Command or a Centipede. Or maybe it was more popular than I am assuming?

Any Klov thoughts appreciated.

Cheers
 
Surprisingly, I have the impression that more KLOV'rs like 'Roo than those that hate it.

FWIW, for a raster, I put it in the same category as Atari's Arabian. Released one year apart. :aetsch:
 
Cool looking cab art, but the game play is not.
 
Personally I love it as do my wife and kids. It's the only game my wife says i can't sell as I lighten the game list in prep of our move.

It's pretty difficult even as simple as it looks. Very underrated in my opinion.
 
Personally I love it as do my wife and kids. It's the only game my wife says i can't sell as I lighten the game list in prep of our move.

It's pretty difficult even as simple as it looks. Very underrated in my opinion.

I haven't played it since '84..... but Odyssey had one(really wish it had survived this long.... but oh well), and I played it a LOT. I really enjoyed the game, and didn't see anything "off" in the gameplay.

It's definitely on my "Want!" list, and pretty high up there, too.

I'm actually hoping that it remains "unpopular", as that may keep the price down. :D
 
If one popped up locally I would grab it. It's on the level of Congo Bongo to me. Kangaroos artwork is pretty good too. A bit underrated maybe.
 
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I don't see the appeal of it. However, it's my wife's favorite classic game. That's why I've spent the past year looking for one to buy!
 
Funny, I've got two. I like the game, but I'm also thinking of downsizing.
I've got one in average condition and one that looks really nice.
Message me if anyone is interested. Also might consider a trade maybe.
 
I don't see the appeal of it. However, it's my wife's favorite classic game. That's why I've spent the past year looking for one to buy!

Yup, and keeps my the wife happy in this crazy hobby is tre importante :)

Edit: sorry I have no valuable input to help this next topic friends, but I can say I love the game too.
 
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I've always thought that Kangaroo is Atari's version of Popeye.
Meaning that people seem to like it or hate it. And the gameplay is hard.
Doesn't quite feel like an Atari game, even thought the cabinet art is pure Atari.
I've always thought it was a neat game to own. Odd and weird. Great artwork.
 
Surprisingly, I have the impression that more KLOV'rs like 'Roo than those that hate it.

I get that feeling too. I was bugging Glitch all weekend at CAX about how stoked I was to play his Kangaroo there. I even demanded that Kalan play a game against me so I could learn from one of the best. It is definitely my favorite game out of all of those that I don't own. I forsee the value of Kangaroo going up as the current market price is way to low right now.
 
Funny, I've got two. I like the game, but I'm also thinking of downsizing.
I've got one in average condition and one that looks really nice.
Message me if anyone is interested. Also might consider a trade maybe.


If only you were a little closer. I dig the game. It is a little tough to play but I dig it.
 
I forsee the value of Kangaroo going up as the current market price is way to low right now.

If people start paying big bucks for a Kangaroo then the crazy arcade prices people are always speculating about are officially here.

I turned one down for $200 not that long ago.
 
so I remember as a kid I was drawn to kangaroo, as most games I loved the crazy atari side art, and I like the music. (and I still do really think the cabinet and much of the game is awesome)

However I could not get into kangaroo game play, as someone else mentioned the controls seemed very laggy or slopy and what's worse, they had some really bad sprite hardware. when two sprite overlapped (like when the kangaroo jumped up to hit the bell or strawberry) you' could see the sprite block borders as the block was all black. even as a kid this bugged the heck out of me.

I've made a video in mame showing what I"m talking about. it's interesting as I never saw any other video game that had this issue and I'm not sure why they did. so historically that might be interesting to you or not.

here's the video on google drive
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxQMpcsrCd4USzI5cVIyWmt0Y0k/view?usp=sharing

-brian

I'm looking for some opinions on Kangaroo for a piece I'm writing.

This isn't a game I'm familiar with, but based on what I can establish, it was a licence that Atari bought from Sun Electronics giving them the rights to distribute the game, and they spewed out 9,800 of the things from the factory.

So questions to the floor:

1. Was this a popular game with players? It seems very "un-Atari" to me looking at the gameplay.
2. Was this Atari's quick-fix attempt to ride off the success of Donkey Kong?
3. How do the numbers produced stack up with its legacy? It's hardly regarded as a classic in the same mold as a Missile Command or a Centipede. Or maybe it was more popular than I am assuming?

Any Klov thoughts appreciated.

Cheers
 
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If one popped up locally I would grab it. It's on the level of Congo Bongo to me. Kangaroos artwork is pretty good too. A bit underrated maybe.

Hah, my two young childhood favorites and on my list to acquire! That ape is a real dick...
 
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