Donkey Kong

"Fun with barrels."

Ladies and gentlemen, if you thought the debut of Mario was on the NES, you were wrong. This is the one that started it all. Back then, he was called ''Jumpman'', and Donkey Kong was his mortal enemy who threw barrels and springs at him! (Funny how they now play golf and tennis together). And no, Peach wasn't called Peach or even Princess Toadstool. She was called ''Pauline''. This was Nintendo's main mascot's true debut.

Even the earliest video games had some sort of storyline to them. The Princess has been kidnapped for the first time in history! (Soon to be a countless recurring event) And the one responsible is none other than a stinky, hairy gorilla - Donkey Kong! DK smash Jumpman! DK smash you all! Can Mario brave the dangers of barrels free-falling down ladders at random intervals? No problem!

The original Donkey Kong has 4 levels total. Donkey Kong is holding the princess prisoner at the top of each level. It's your goal as Mario, or Jumpman, to reach the top of each stage and save her! You'll start out at the bottom and work your way to the top. It's easy to learn, and no problem to master. There are many obstacles to hamper Mario's progress, such as rolling barrels, raining fireballs, and springing springs. You must either jump or maneuver around them to avoid them. Ladders can be climbed to reach the top faster. Hammers will make you temporarily invincible, as you'll be able to smash any barrels that roll your way.

Uh, oh. Jumpman's dead. If you get hit, you instantly die and have to start over. You also have a certain amount of lives with you. If you lose 'em all, you'll have to restart from level 1. Without quick reflexes and anticipation, the swift movement of the game will simply leave you in the dust. There is always a reason when gameplay is still classic almost twenty years later. Even for such a small and seemingly-ancient game, it has its fare of challenge.

So, how are the graphics? The year is 1981. The gaming industry has just officially started. What graphics do you expect? Resident Evil 4? Pffft. Everything's 8-bit, and no more than 10 colors are used in the game. Each character only takes about 2 or 3. But there are a few surprises. The barrels roll quickly, and the fire sparks out from the various flame barrels that you'll find scattered throughout some of the stages! The special effects are limited to the flames that come around when a barrel collides into the flame barrel and you'll be able to get sparking effects if you smash the barrels out of your way. But otherwise, it's what you'd expect from a game from the NES era. This is what people mean when they're talking about ''retro''.

Now for sound. Most of us can remember that 5-second medley at the beginning of each round. It sets Donkey Kong's stage. Mainly composed of sound effects, you'll hear a lot of jumping, and even the chime of smashing the barrels for points. Music is fairly repetitive, with a few random beeps every second, but the same that applies for the graphics applies for sound. There's not much diversity, it's fairly repetitive, and especially flat. The tune when you get the hammer is pretty catchy, though. A bit nostalgic, but not much else.

How long does it last? Until you run out of quarters! You may want to play it a couple times, but that's it. This is the game's weak point. It's actually pretty challenging, though, believe it or not. Donkey Kong's not quite as addicting as the Mario Bros arcade game.

If you haven't played this game already, why not hop on down to your local arcade with a few bucks and start playing? Of course, most arcades don't have this anymore. You know what some good ideas would be? A) Hunt down the NES version. B) Buy the remake for the GBA. C) Get Animal Crossing for Gamecube. It has classic NES games in it you can play, in addition to the original Donkey Kong Arcade game! D) Or you could get an e-reader, or even buy the direct port on GBA! Then you can play it as many times as you want! And for free! But if you can find the arcade machine, pop a few coins in for the ''true'' experience.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/11/06