Congo's Caper is a Platform Game, created by Data East for the Super Nintendo in 1992.
The game begins a group of Monkeys chilling and having fun in the Jungle, until a magical stone falls from the sky, turning two of the monkeys into evolved Half-Human Hybrids. A boy and a girl. An evil demon-kid then swoops in to grab the Monkey girl and take her away. The Boy, dubbed Congo the Super-kid, embarks on a mission to rescue her.
Congo's Caper plays pretty standard like most games its Era. Congo runs and jumps through levels in his mission to rescue his girlfriend. He can gather golden gems that reward him with extra lives, as well as Magical Orbs that power himself up and reward him extra hit points. Congo can whack enemies with his club, or step on them and send them careening into enemies. His adventure takes him thought five different rounds, all leading up a final confrontation with the Demon-Kid.
In Japan, this game was actually a sequel to Joe & Mac, as its called Tatakae Genshijin 2: Rookie no Bouken with Congo being Joe and Mac's ancestor. This was completely lost in translation when the game came to America, as Congo's Caper is treated as its own game.
This game contains examples of:
- Big Bad: The Demon-Kid. He kidnapped Congo's girlfriend.
- Damsel in Distress: Congo's monkey-girl girlfriend.
- Dub Name Change: The protagonist is named "Rookie" in Japan. The American release changed his name to "Congo".
- Flame Spewer Obstacle: Some Lava Pits shoot out flames at regular intervals.
- Lava Pit: Common hazard in this game are red lakes of lava.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: An almost literal example of this trope are the four caveman bosses you must fight after the intro stages. 2 of them are actually a ninja and pirate, respectively. One is technically a vampire, but is nonetheless undead like a zombie, and the last guy isn't a robot, but he is a Mad Scientist who builds a dinosaur robot out of wood and stone.
- Prehistoria: The general setting. Cavemen and dinosaurs are both present.
- Smashing Hallway Traps of Doom: Late in the game there are spiked crushers that move up and down.
- Spike Balls of Doom: Red spiky spheres sometimes appear in levels, moving back and forth.
- Spikes of Doom: One of the most common obstacle in this game is spikes.
- Standalone Episode: In Japan, this game is treated as a sequel to Joe & Mac due its title Tatakae Genshijin 2: Rookie no Bouken. But aside from sharing similar gameplay, it's a completely different game.
- Treasure Is Bigger in Fiction: Most yellow gems that can be collected are almost as big as Congo's head. Larger gems are larger than Congo himself.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Congo succeeds in rescuing his girlfriend at the end of the first world from the Demon-Kid. But it turns out the adventure isn't over yet, (which makes sense, since it would too short) as the Demon-Kid enlists the aid of a Quirky Miniboss Squad and re-kidnaps the Monkey Girl again.
