High Score Competition #171: Kangaroo

[yamatetsu]

I expect to get a better score, so far I haven't managed to string a good run together. The 115,600 was about 108k on the first life, followed by two rapid and stupid deaths 
Right now I'm frustrating myself by restarting if my score is below 50k on the first round, which happens too frequently for my taste.

[WakiMiko]

Question : Do you really want to see a score that's almost better than your's and a half ?

Of course. I would immediately realize that I'm missing something/doing something wrong.

Second question : What does it matter when I post my highest score ? I play the game for two weeks to get the highest score possible. For me it doesn't matter if you post the highest score one week into the competition or at the last second. If my score is better than the rest, fine. If not, also fine.

If I were playing just to beat everyone else by a hair, I'd have to accept that it might backfire. Sooner or later someone would hold back a better score until the last moment and then I'd be screwed.

Deliberately under-performing is just bad sportsmanship in my opinion. Now this obviously can't be enforced, but I will always post a new high score as soon as I get it.

Guess I'm going for 3rd, since I don't know the secret knock.

The secret is to stand just the right distance from the playfield border to always make the big ape spawn right in front of you so you can punch him right as he appears and before he has a chance to attack you. At least that is my strategy, dunno if yam found something else.

I position myself so that the tip of the kangaroo's foot is in the middle of the left bar of the ladder. Then you just spam punch. When done correctly you can hit the monkeys climbing up the tree at the same time.



Only thing to watch out for is the apples from the top and occasionally a monkey might throw an apple from the side, but they generally don't while the big ape is in the lane. You can get like 40-50k on your first life in the first level. Works in the second level too.

[yamatetsu]

That's the strategy. That's also what takes the fun straight out of the game. I can play the game, get to level 4 round 3, make 46k, OR I can stand around in level 1 round 1, spam punches and get around 50k. Whoopee.

[popsicle]

Yea, I found this trick on another forum about an hour ago.  Already getting 90k.  But I'll echo that a broken game exploit like this sucks the fun right out of it.

[popsicle]

119,300

[WakiMiko]

That's the strategy. That's also what takes the fun straight out of the game. I can play the game, get to level 4 round 3, make 46k, OR I can stand around in level 1 round 1, spam punches and get around 50k. Whoopee.

Told ya to pick a shmup 

[yamatetsu]

That would imply that shmups are fun.

[harveybirdman]

Blasphemy!

[yamatetsu]

Woe unto me, I seem to have offended a priest of the Holy Church of Shoot 'Em Ups ! Seriously though, I have played thousands of games, the only shmup I have in good memory is Battle Squadron on the Amiga. That one I played to death. That, however, was about 30 years ago. Nowadays you won't catch me playing a shmup voluntarily.

[yotsuya]

Nowadays you won't catch me playing a shmup voluntarily.

But you'll sit there for 15 minutes just to punch a monkey? 

 

[yamatetsu]

If that's the only way to get the highest score in a competition, yes. Outside the compo, I'd try to get as far into the game as possible.

[yamatetsu]

124,500. Exploiting the exploit seems to make the game harder. I had a monkey throwing 4 apples in a row at me on lvl 1 rnd 1. That should normally happen first at lvl 4 or 5.

[RayB]

Trivia: Sun Electronics (Sun Denshi) is the same Japanese company later known as Sunsoft. Best known for the awesome Batman game for NES.

[yamatetsu]

137,300

[yamatetsu]

139,900

[yamatetsu]

151,500

[popsicle]

We all knew you enjoyed 'punching the monkey', yam, but you're out of control.

[yamatetsu]

Now I'm confused. Memory is fuzzy but I think that someone told me to post good scores 

[yamatetsu]

200,200

[pbj]

You guys are scaring me.  I've yet to crack 2,000 on this one ever.

[popsicle]

It's a parlor trick, Jim.  Watch the video at the bottom for hot and heavy monkey punching action.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/207503-arcademame-hsc-season-52-kangaroo/page-2

[jasonbar]

I'm still waiting for my 2nd submitted score to be posted...it totally blows away my first score...

[yotsuya]

I was going to try this challenge because I love Kangaroo, but if I'm gonna punch the monkey for a half hour,  there's going to be some sweet, sweet porn involved.   

[yamatetsu]

The 'punch the monkey' strategy only is possible because one of the MAME devs. The game is missing one ROM, which happens to contain the code for the big ape behavior. So in order to get the game running, one of the devs wrote his own code for it, thus enabling the exploit.
I specifically chose this game because it has a simple score system, a timer, and no extra lives, making it ideal for this challenge. That went really well 

The scores.

  yamatetsu      200,200   

  2.    popsicle         119,300

  3.    WakiMiko       90,200

  4.    jasonbar        19,300


Waki, it's your shot for the next game.

[yamatetsu]

Unofficial scoreboard.

[pbj]

How is this game possibly missing one ROM?  I used to see this turd at Super Auctions all the time, surely the boardset is reasonably easy to find.

[yamatetsu]

Because apparently nobody was able to dump it correctly.

[WakiMiko]

Sorry for no new score, been quite busy IRL, plus I just couldn't be arsed to punch the monkey any more 

200k is quite impressive, exploit or not.

Does anyone want to pick the next game in my stead? I won't have any time this week to try out new games.

[harveybirdman]

how bout by committee?  I'd have half a mind to pick a SHMUP just for punishment.

suggestions....

Mirax (Gold Leader Standing by)
Rod Land (Because I want to see pbj play a game called "Rod Land")
Jungler (Head On style game that hopefully won't be an exploit fest like Fast Lane was)

[yamatetsu]

Punishment ? I had to suffer through two weeks of Wizard of Wor, that punishment enough.

The only other game I was considering for this round was, oddly enough, a shmup called Ordyne.

   

   

So that would be my suggestion.

[harveybirdman]

that's a fun little game.  and we've not played many horizontal SHMUPS.

[WakiMiko]

how bout by committee?  I'd have half a mind to pick a SHMUP just for punishment.

I like that suggestion. 

Yam: That ooks nice.

I haven't played any of these 4 games so I'm fine with all of them. I'm out for today guys. Feel free to pick what you want <3

[yamatetsu]

Soo, after having had a look at Harv's suggestions :

Mirax. I flat out refuse to play anything that uses a movable crosshair for aiming. I even quit one of my all time favorite games (Dead Space), because some idiot decided to put a crosshair shooting sequence into a survival horror game. That guy himself should be shot.

Jungler. Another feast for all who don't have a 4 way stick. I've had enough cheap deaths in Wizard of Wor because of that.

Rod Land. Too similar to Saboten Bombers and Tumble Pop, but should at least be playable.

For me it's either Rod Land or Ordyne, with Ordyne being the favorite.

[harveybirdman]

Ordyne it is man, make the thread.

[yamatetsu]

I obey. High Score Competition #172: Ordyne