Donkey Kong Jr.

"Kind of neat, but too short."

In Donkey Kong, a gorilla protects a girl from Mario, but in Donkey Kong Jr., there is a reversal of roles. Mario has Kong in a cage, and Kong Jr., a cutesy mini version of Kong, must get him out. There are only two levels, both substantially different. In the first one, Kong Jr. must move from the bottom left to the bottom right, climbing from vine to vine and maybe jumping across some platforms, too, before going up and back left. Kong Jr. can hold on to one vine while climbing up or down, which is slower, or hold on to two vines, which puts him at greater risk for being caught by the snapping piranhas that Mario, who has a whip too, sends down. Kong Jr.'s main weapon is fruit; when he touches it, the fruit drops to the ground, and if it hits snappers, you get points. He can also jump when on solid ground, which is important to get back on the vines or to jump over piranhas.

In the second level, there are eight ropes that lead up to the top, and a platform on the bottom. Squares with keys on them are at the bottom of all eight ropes except the second and seventh. Kong Jr. must bring them all to the top by touching them and climbing with them. Again, it's quicker to use two hands, except the piranhas will come down. There are also birds that fly downward in a zigzag pattern, switching direction only when they reach the edge. With each key brought to the top, a bond breaks on Kong's cage. The reunion is amusingly touching, and then you are sent back to the first level, albeit with a potential extra 1000 bonus points. I feel the second level is creatively stronger, as the first really has a fixed pattern.

As mentioned before, the controls consist of jumping and a joystick. Each horizontal move of the joystick switches between three states: Kong to the left of the vine, Kong to the right of the vine, Kong potentially grabbing two vines. He falls off if he is half grabbing at air and you push him off the vine, and you don't want him to fall too far. With the piranhas as fast as they are, it's not easy to avoid them, but a little practice should neutralize them.

The graphics are amusing enough; Kong has a hopeful look on his face and Mario is a villain you can never take too seriously. The reunion after level two is touching and light-hearted, and the monsters, although a bit lightweight(piranhas are red or blue, but they strongly resemble chattering teeth, although the birds are better,) have nothing seriously wrong with them. There's not much to the sound, although knocking out a piranha will give the barrel smashing music from the original.

The drop from three major scenes to two was a disappointment and pretty much doomed this game to semi-obscurity, but what there was of it was quite creative fun, and it provided one of the more interesting twists in a sequel. But perhaps it was best for the gaming industry that Mario's excursion into animal cruelty(poor Kong! He looks so sad in the cage) is less known than his rescuing his girlfriend. It does put some of his motivation(money and beating up snails and crabs) for Mario Bros. in question, though. I'll let someone else write the defining moral treatise.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 04/08/01, Updated 04/08/01