Donkey Kong (1981)

As I'm starting to notice about this list of videos games I "have" to play, there happen to be several games that I used to play as a kid that happened to be arcade/console classics. Donkey Kong is no exception. Not only is it the origin of two of Nintendo's most memorable characters, it's also more proof that arcade games were unforgiving as hell.

All that lies at the top is disappointment every time

This also goes to show evidence of how porting games can change gameplay entirely. In my day, Donkey Kong on the Game Boy was actually a combination of Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) as well as original puzzles of its own. You could back flip onto your hands and then flip back to your feet, giving you a farther jump, or stay in standing on your hands to bounce certain objects, pick up and throw certain objects at enemies, and you could throw you hammer up in the air in order to resume use if caught again.

Though the resemblance is uncanny.

You'd think that those few changes wouldn't change the gameplay of the original seeing how even in the first few levels you can only use half of those abilities. You'd also be dead wrong. Tossing a hammer up to the next level was a Godsend in the Game Boy port because of how small the level was but the first time I tried playing I actually lost a guy trying to do just that. When the barrels would be two deep, being able to flip over them would have been awesome and the bouncing objects in the second level wouldn't need the amount of precision to avoid them if you could bounce them in a headstand instead. But no. Donkey Kong makes me work for every pixel leading to him.

He looked a lot smaller from down there...and all I brought was this hammer.

This really is one of the hardest games I've played though honestly is there a classic arcade game that isn't? Developers had to make sure people kept those machines full of quarters by pushing the gamer's limits and patience. Is Donkey Kong impossible without the additions in the Game Boy port? No but it tests the player in recognizing patterns and being able to make quick judgements such as doubling back or attempting to jump two consecutive barrels. The game is fun in trying to get a bit farther; it just loses appeal with me because I'm used the same challenge but with more options in approaching them.


Final Judgment: 6/10