Donkey Kong

"Stop that crazy ape!"

Donkey Kong, which hit arcades across the world in 1981, was the first game to feature the world's most famous plumber, Mario, and was one of the premier projects from Nintendo's gaming genius, Shigeru Miyamoto. This simple game, starring a carpenter, a huge gorilla and a damsel in distress, has gone on to create many more games and series, like the DK series with games like Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong 64, Donkey Konga, as well as a series for Mario with Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, and many more. A cartoon series based on this game even came out in the mid-80s, because this arcade classic was rather short, but yet addictive and original.

The main objective of Donkey Kong is simple. As Jumpman, you have to climb four storeys of a construction site to rescue Pauline, who has been captured by Donkey Kong. However, Donkey Kong has a few tricks up his sleeve, and you must dodge some particular traps like rolling barrels, fireballs, high drops and springs with minds of their own. The only thing that can help you is a hammer, which Jumpman can use to beat some enemies and smash some of the things DK will try to toss at you. You can also pick up items left behind by Pauline to get extra points, and when you do reach her, Donkey Kong will take her to a higher level. So basically:

HOW HIGH CAN YOU GET?

Let's have a look at some of the ratings of Donkey Kong for the arcade:

Game Play: 8/10

Donkey Kong, like I said, is simple, but fun. The arcade version has four different levels, and your main objective is to reach the top whilst avoiding the traps. You can jump, move and use a hammer, which is about it. There are different strategies you can try to reach the top, as well. Each level is designed well. The first is climbing some sloped girders, the second is known as a "pie factory", the third is an area with some elevators, and the fourth has some girders you need to detach. There are some items to grab, and you can use a hammer to beat some of the tough obstacles you'll come across. Whilst it's simple, its fun and I always like to play it over and over every now and again, so yeah. Great!

Story: 5/10

Well, with a game that's got such great gameplay but a lousy story, you can always give the storyline the benefit of the doubt...I mean, Super Mario Bros. didn't exactly have the best of storylines (well, it's rather pretty much the same as the one here). Lady gets captured, hero must come to the rescue. Well, it's Jumpman's first adventure, but hey, they could have came up with something better than this...

Audio/Video: 6/10

There is little, and rather dull music in the game. There is a little tune for the "How High Can You Get?" screen, some hardly-noticeable background music while you play through the levels, and the Hammer tune (which you can't get out of your head when you listen to it). This is perhaps the biggest flaw of Donkey Kong, and it could definitely have been improved in this area. Yet again, this game was released a very long time ago, so what's there is bearable, but I still reckon there could have been room for improvement.

The graphics of this game, for 1981, are pretty good. The model of Jumpman (later to be Mario) has always remained the same ever since this game first came out. Due to the restricted amount of pixels the arcade screens would allow at that time, he was designed with a big nose, red overalls and a cap and a moustache. Donkey Kong's character model has changed a little from this game onwards, but he's still recognisable. The viewer can also identify objects like barrels, springs and fiery barrels, and the animation of the game is quite good. The layout and design of the levels is also fantastic for a game of its time.

Replayability: High

Although this game is very short it is fun, and has a good replay value. I have also played this title on the NES and Game Boy Advance in the NES Classics series, but I still reckon the original arcade edition is the best. If you can manage to find an arcade that has this game on it now (no, you won't find it down the gallaria or anything like that nowadays, you could perhaps purchase an arcade machine if you have the money), you could lose a lot of money on it if you got too carried away. I played this version from the N64 game Donkey Kong 64, and it's all here, in all its glory. Since there hi-scores to try and beat or time bonuses to try to reach, its always fun to try and beat old scores too.

Overall: 7/10

Yeah, yeah, I know, this game was 1981 and it's short and simple, but Donkey Kong has been the big milestone that started off 20+ years of success for both Mario and Donkey Kong. Even nearly 25 years later, it's just as fun to enjoy now as it was back then. Of course, if you can't get an arcade edition, there are many other versions of the game available on different systems, each just as fun as this. Well worth trying out.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/28/05