Donkey Kong

"Looking for a Bad Game? Then Stay Away From This Game."

Donkey Kong...People say it was the first Nintendo game, and really, it sort of was. (Mr. Game & Watch was before that, but this is a Donkey Kong review.) For the arcade it wasn't the most stunning game in the world, but then it came out for the GameBoy (with a lot more levels), and I got it. When I got it, I didn't like it. But, years later, I was playing through my old games and came across Donkey Kong. I popped it into my GameBoy and began to play...

Gameplay: 10/10
Classic games aren't always good. Oh wait, this isn't a classic. This game is an astounding addition to boring ol' Donkey Kong for the arcade. There are more moves and way more levels. You go through levels, advancing and advancing, then fight Donkey Kong, and then keep advancing, advancing, until you complete the area. You travel through a city and a desert and even an airplane, having a heck of a good time the entire way. And just beating the level isn't all of it. In every level, there is a hat, an umbrella, and a purse. If you collect them all and beat the level, you get an extra life. That is Donkey Kong's form of a ''side quest.'' So the side quest is bad. Big deal. The game is still a blast.

Story: 8/10
Mario games do not excel with the stories most of the time. This one is not very different from all of it's sequels. Donkey Kong, the huge evil ape, captures Paulina and wants to marry her (or whatever). Mario wants to save Paulina from the evil ape. In most Mario games, Donkey Kong is Bowser, the evil Koopa King, and Paulina is Princess Toadstool Peach. Not too much of a difference. It is rated 8/10 only because it is a recreation of the original Donkey Kong, which was the first game in its series, so it was original. If this was the only Donkey Kong, this would have a lower score.

Graphics: 8/10
Considering the GameBoy's power, it is a very impressive graphics display, especially in the animation department. They are very comical graphics, but look good at the same time. Mario looks good, especially since he takes up about 1/50th of the screen. So does Donkey Kong. He looks quite good with the lighting and shadow effects (on himself).

Music/Sound: 10/10
The sound, first of all, although there isn't a huge variety of them, the ones that are there sound very good.
The music, second of all, might be the best music on any GameBoy system (except for the GameBoy Advance). The songs are so good, you want to hum them, and they sound very cool, and you almost want to listen to the music instead of play the game because the sound effects get in the way.

Play Time: 8/10
This is a long adventure game, so you can play for quite a long time. But once you have beaten this game, you really have no reason to play it again unless you are bored. If this game was shorter, it would have a lower score.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/02/03, Updated 07/02/03