Classic NES Series: Donkey Kong

"Why was THIS released?"

When I first read an article about the classic NES series, I jumped for joy at the chance to play such classics as Zelda, Super Mario Brothers, and all other classic titles that Nintendo could and would issue. But as I went down the list, I had to do a double take - surely I read something wrong.

But as I read over the list, I quickly began to realize my anger: Nintendo was issuing E-Reader cards in Game Boy Advance carts for four to five times the price. I have to admit, this made me quite angry. Having the once-US$40 adaptor and all 13 NES-e cards, I felt insulted that I was being cheated out of my money.

After a month or so of steaming, I eventually caved in. Having US$20 and the cravings for a new game, I went out to my local dealer to buy a new NES game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). With three of them already in my possession and no Bomberman available, I grabbed Donkey Kong, if only so I could fit it in my pocket.

The fact that Nintendo pulled this stunt forced me to knock a few points off of this score, but the only by three or so. The real reasons for a five are below:

The graphics, to be honest, are quite primitive by even old Game Boy standards, but at the same time are nowhere near as bad as, say, the Atari 2600 and Intellivision versions of old. You can see everything quite clearly, and the details are nice for an NES port. I am dissapointed that Nintendo did a strait-up port (like the E-Reader) and did not add extra animations for the intro or the conveyor belt level, but that is a gripe for the NES series (and NES-e seires) as a whole.

The sound is, well, annoying. The sound affects are not as good as the Donkey Kong game for the Game Boy (the puzzler which, by the way, had all four levels of the old one), and some sounds are almost inaudible because of other sounds drowning them out. But the music is classic, and worth listening to if you do play it.

Game play is, to be honest, dated and aggravating. Compared to modern games (heck, compared to games released in 1995), the controls are very stiff and sluggish, and require massive ammounts of patience and time to grow used to, and you will gripe more than once when you try to move Mario left after climing the first ladder, only to be hit by a barrel because he was still needing to go up.

Also, one of the most aggravating parts of the game, if not THE most aggravating part, is the second level, which has the bouncing spring boards. Trying to dodge these is more of a matter of luck than skill, and can become quite stressful.

I have NOT tried multi-player, as I can not find someone to play it with me. That aside, once you beat the three levels, it repeats, and it gets harder and harder after each time. Once with the NES-e version I got to "level six," but my skills must have rusted since then, as I can only get to level five before I become frustrated. This high ammount of irritation almost kills the replay value, though if you wish to shoot for a high score, there is a battery back-up for it, unlike the NES-e version.

To recap, Nintendo ported an old NES game in a GBA body for US$20 after releasing a US$5 (now around US$2.50) for a US$40 adaptor that can do other things, which is down three points. The graphics are NES and authenic, and acceptable. The sound is a classic yet annoying, but not to where it is irritating. However, the age and frustration take it down two more points to a mediocre grade of five (5) points.

If you must have this game, get it on the E-Reader if possible to save money in the long run. If you are willing to pay the price, and not just the money to get the game, then it is worth the effort.

Final note - The instruction booklet, like all other NES GBA games, is wonderfully done for a black-and-white budget package, and the box is great.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/30/04