Spectrum Computing

Review re-mix on ZX SPECTRUM - IT LIVES!!! at:

https://zxspectrumitlives.wixsite.com/h ... smic-kanga

Never rated it.

I paid 50p for it at a zx microfair in about 1984, mostly because I liked the inlay. Can’t actually remember playing it though!!

not "who"

WHAT

@clebin took one for the team and played it through to completion, so that the rest of us don't have to ever play it again

Morkin wrote: ↑Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:39 pm @clebin took one for the team and played it through to completion, so that the rest of us don't have to ever play it again

You'll come round one day Mirkin

I like it. Haven’t played it in eons, mind, but remember it fondly. And I can still play the tune in my head.

But Project Future…? Now you’re talking! I’ve come back to that a few times.

I've never played it until now. I'm very good at it, if the object of the game is to bounce around a bit and die.

Really nice article, @AlWo73.

@Lee P There's definitely a knack to Kosmic Kanga and loads of people seem to find it uncontrollable. For instance, in the Sinclair User review:

Controlling the kangaroo is rather haphazard and consequently zapping anything becomes a matter of luck as well as skill.

But don't believe a word of it!

The controls are very precise once you get used to them.

The secret is in using the down key to "cancel" your jump at the exactly the height you want. The down key is where ALL the control is, and you can use it to choose exactly where you want to land. If you're trying to control Kanga's jumps just using the "up" key - eg. tapping it more lightly for a shorter jump - you're definitely doing it wrong and you'll end up wildly out of control. Once you get it, 99% of the deaths in KK are self-inflicted.

(I originally wrote a much longer post about this but realised I was being a boring ****)

Fun fact: I played a bootleg version named "Batrax" that featured a frog instead of a kangaroo.

Kosmic Kanga is a brilliant game, but you have to spend some time with it to learn its “quirky” gameplay. I suppose that came from not owning many games back in the day, so you spent a lot of time with each one to try and get the most out of it.

The key thing I remember is using the down button more than the up button, meaning you spend a lot of the time on the ground, then let go of the down button to go a little higher. Pressing down and fire means you hit the ground based enemies easier. Also use the platforms and the then keeping pressing down to stay on the platform.

It’s one of the few games I remember completing and really going for a high score.

Only negative would be the rendition of “Tie Me Kangaroo Down” and it’s link with the disgraced performer Rolf Harris…. Although I liked the beeper tune at the time!

clebin wrote: ↑Fri Apr 05, 2024 10:56 pm Really nice article, @AlWo73.

@Lee P There's definitely a knack to Kosmic Kanga and loads of people seem to find it uncontrollable. For instance, in the Sinclair User review:



But don't believe a word of it!

The controls are very precise once you get used to them.

The secret is in using the down key to "cancel" your jump at the exactly the height you want. The down key is where ALL the control is, and you can use it to choose exactly where you want to land. If you're trying to control Kanga's jumps just using the "up" key - eg. tapping it more lightly for a shorter jump - you're definitely doing it wrong and you'll end up wildly out of control. Once you get it, 99% of the deaths in KK are self-inflicted.

(I originally wrote a much longer post about this but realised I was being a boring ****)

Thanks sir

You're spot on about the 'pressing down' thing, I've only just realised I do that automatically when playing it, so didn't mention it in my review, but in fairness that technique is a literal game-changer. This could convert some naysayers

Oloturia wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2024 12:42 am Fun fact: I played a bootleg version named "Batrax" that featured a frog instead of a kangaroo.

I think that might have come before KK and was the inspiration for it, sure I've read that somewhere..

AlWo73 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2024 8:42 am I think that might have come before KK and was the inspiration for it, sure I've read that somewhere..

How interesting! And a uMIA? Check your attic @Oloturia! Otherwise, let’s hope @Andre Leao and friends can uncover it for us someday…

It's erm, original!

clebin wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2024 9:39 am How interesting! And a uMIA? Check your attic @Oloturia! Otherwise, let’s hope @Andre Leao and friends can uncover it for us someday…

I will check this game in a few days

clebin wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2024 9:39 am How interesting! And a uMIA? Check your attic @Oloturia! Otherwise, let’s hope @Andre Leao and friends can uncover it for us someday…

Well it's featured on the magazine Run #7.
https://www.edicola8bit.com/giochi.php? ... a=run&id=7

Neither Edicola8bit nor hal.varese (which has an expired certificate problem right now) have split the tape into the various programs, so you'll have to browse the tzx through until you find the "BATRAX" headers. The first one is the instructions (in Italian).
I always thought it was a crack with custom sprites. Run did the same with Screaming Demons, the demons were different for each level.

Ah right, thanks. I must have been confused thinking that game came first! Apologies...

Shame it's not something more exciting, but I'm glad the mystery is solved.

They managed to change the final splash screen, too.

Everyone loves Kosmic Kanga, such a brill game