…………………………………………………

Donkey Kong Game Review

Donkey Kong is a 1981 arcade platform game made by Nintendo for arcades and later ported to many other systems including the NES. It’s a short, but classic game that is still fun to play to this day.

The plot is simple. A carpenter (an early prototype of Mario) has to climb the stairs to reach a princess who is trapped by a titular giant gorilla. The basic concept and title are somewhat similar to ‘King Kong’, which is why Universal sued Nintendo for copyright infringement.

………………………………………………….

This is said to be one of the earliest games in the platform genre and it has stood the test of time fairly well as it is still widely entertaining to play, though not particularly lasting in engagement, but more on that later. The player has to jump over obstacles and climb the ladders until he reaches the final floor where the princess is being held.

There is this very useful hammer power-up that is especially great in the second stage where you get to destroy those ghost-like creatures very efficiently. You also get to collect certain objects that belong to Pauline such as parasols and purses. Those calculate into your overall score. The object of the game is to beat all levels, but then they are repeated with bigger difficulty, and you basically chase the highest score every single time. I got around the fourth cycle of levels myself.

Donkey Kong has four levels, but I personally played the Nintendo Entertainment System version that has only three levels with one level missing, so I will review the three present stages. The first level is the most iconic of the bunch. This is where you jump over barrels until reaching the highest floor, and this is somewhat easy at first, but it gets very difficult in repeat playthroughs. It’s the most entertaining level there is.

………………………………………………….

The second level is much easier. Yes, this is one of those games where the first level is harder than the second. Only the timing here is essential and that fire enemy can be a nuisance, but once you get to learn it, it’s very easily beaten. It requires much more jumping, though.

The third level is easily my favorite. This is the most ingeniously designed level that is so much fun every single time. This is where you can get that hammer, which is very important to kill those ghost nuisances. But the mechanism of removing eight rivets that then lead to Kong’s platform lifted and him plunging to death was brilliant. It requires some strategizing and it is just a wonderful level through and through.

The sound is pretty good and the graphics are also fine for its time period. Jumpman looks great for ’81 and the same goes for Kong. The colors are also very well utilized as the palette is changed from red to blue depending on the level, giving us some variety, which was refreshing for the early eighties.

………………………………………………….

Donkey Kong is creative and interesting in its platforming that requires going from down to top floor. A lot is put into just one screen, which is commendable. The controls are also smooth. My main issue here is that the game is very short with just three or four levels depending on the version with chasing the highest score not being all that interesting to do. Thus, the game has very low repeat value. It’s fun at first, but later it becomes repetitive.