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Donkey Kong

Developer / Publisher: Nintendo
09 July 1981
Donkey Kong - cover art
Glitchwave rating
2.83 / 5.0
0.5
5.0
 
 
879 Ratings / 4 Reviews
#3,215 All-time
#8 for 1981
A huge ape named Donkey Kong has kidnapped the beautiful Lady and is wreaking havoc on a construction site full of girders, barrels, cement and other hazardous materials and tools. You, as a humble, mustachioed carpenter(originally named Jumpman) have to climb huge obstacles to reach the ever-rising Kong. Divided into four stages, this progenitor platformer brings the first appearance of future video game icon Mario.
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1981 Nintendo  
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1981 Nintendo  
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1982 Nintendo Coleco  
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US 07693002451
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1982 Nintendo Coleco  
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1982 Coleco  
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1982 Coleco Nintendo  
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US 07693002471
1983 Coleco CBS  
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1983 Atarisoft  
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XNA 0 77000 88514 2
1983 Atarisoft  
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1983 Atarisoft  
Floppy 5.25"
1983 Nintendo Atarisoft  
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1983 Coleco CBS  
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GB 5 010799 762578
1983 Nintendo Coleco  
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GB 5 010779 752593
1983 Nintendo Atarisoft  
Floppy 5.25"
1983 Atari  
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1983 Nintendo  
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JP HVC-DK
1985 Nintendo  
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JP 4 902370 832082 HVC-DK
1986 Atari UK  
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GB 5 013156 010675
1986 Nintendo  
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1986 Arcana Ocean  
Floppy
1986 Nintendo Sentient  
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DE FR IT GB 5 013156 110368
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1986 Nintendo  
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1987 Atari  
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1987 Nintendo Sentient  
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1987 Nintendo Sentient  
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ES
1987 Arcana Erbe  
Floppy
ES
1988 Nintendo ITDC  
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XNA 0 77000 50210 0
1988 Atari Atari  
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1988 Nintendo ITDC  
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1988 Nintendo  
Floppy
JP FMC-DKD
2002 Nintendo  
5xGame card
XNA 0 45496 73222 6 PES P DKA1
ドンキーコング ファミコンミニ
2004 Nintendo  
Cartridge
JP 4 902370 506709 AGB-FDKJ-JPN
Donkey Kong Classic NES Series
2004 Nintendo  
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XNA 0 45496 73405 3 AGB-FDKE-USA
Donkey Kong NES Classics
2004 Nintendo  
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XEU 0 45496 73405 3 AGB-FDKP-EUR
2006 Nintendo  
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2012 Nintendo  
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2013 Nintendo  
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Donkey Kong Original Edition
2014 Nintendo  
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2018 Nintendo  
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Title
Definitely a very notable and historic game but the NES version of it is an incomplete port and simultaneously one of the worst aging games on the system. There's honestly very little to get out of it now when there are so many better versions, more complete successors (like Donkey Kong [ドンキーコング]), or just other games in the Donkey Kong franchise both new and old to play over it. Honestly, I'd even recommend playing Donkey Kong Jr. instead because it has more levels and more interesting things happening within those levels.
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Sothras 2024-01-02T22:34:33Z
2024-01-02T22:34:33Z
1.0
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Despite the very stuff, clunky controls this has I must say that Donkey Kong handles it all very well by feeling as if it properly designed a lot of the challenges the game had to offer around such mobility rather than almost feeling as if they swept it under the rug and didn't consider it, which was a common issue for quite a few games around the time. That said, despite never feeling as if I was directly fighting against the controls being the reason I died, I still don't really think that this game is all that amazing as anything beyond something that's a bit of fun for half an hour or so. The main reason for this is that the game really just sometimes decides to make you lose due to a multitude of random elements unfavourably converging upon the player. While the unpredictable nature of the falling barrels is there to keep you on your toes and dissuade you from just beelining it to the top without a second thought, the seemingly random nature of this ends up making things feel pretty frustrating at points.
While I also like the way this game cycles between 4 levels rather than the 1 or 2 that a lot of other arcade games from the time seemed to have done, I'm not especially fond of the others for various reasons, mostly because they feel pretty mindless until they decide to screw you over in one way or another. The most flawed of these is definitely the 25m stage with the moving platforms that have parts dedicated to slightly more precise platforming , but fall damage that triggers from almost no height whatsoever. This combined with it otherwise being a stage that feels 100% solved every time makes for a rather unsatisfying time waster that feels strangely out of place as a result. All in all one of the better early arcade games I've played but the whole design mentality behind them of being a short, addictive experience made to want to keep paying for each attempt to overcome the game's nonsense stops me from 100% getting into basically any of them for something more than a quick half hour play session.
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Kempokid 2022-09-30T10:15:20Z
2022-09-30T10:15:20Z
2.5
1
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One Small Jump
Donkey Kong is such a neat little game. Coming out in 1981, it obviously doesn't contain much, content-wise. But it makes up for in addicting gameplay.

Donkey Kong puts you in the shoes of Jumpman (Soon to be known as Mario). Donkey Kong has taken your girlfriend, Pauline. It is your job to rescue her. The gameplay is extremely simple as you would expect for a game to have come out in the early '80s. You run up a set of platforms by climbing ladders while avoiding Donkey Kong's barrels. You can use a hammer to destroy the barrels but this prevents you from climbing. Make it to the top and you win. There are 2 additional levels afterwards. The second requires tricky platforming and the 3rd requires you to destroy the platforms to rescue Pauline. After the 3 levels, it goes and repeats them but the difficulty slowly ramps up.

Donkey Kong is a great little game to play when you are bored or just interested in what started a gaming icon. To those who saw my Sonic The Hedgehog retrospective and to those who haven't. This is the first game in my next retrospective. A Super Mario retrospective (Which will take a whole lot more work).

Here We Go!
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OvalsOk 2021-06-24T17:04:17Z
2021-06-24T17:04:17Z
3.0
1
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Equally as fun as a real barrel of monkeys
Watching that monkey fall too his death so mario can get some Coochie is an all time great game ending.

The music is classic, the visuals are classic and the game play is classic everything here still stands up. Every time I pick the game up I must make it to the last screen because as simple as it seems getting your timing right is so fun. Especially is putting your whole body into the arcade version slamming the joystick and buttons.
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StoneColdScrin 2018-10-02T05:02:11Z
2018-10-02T05:02:11Z
3.0
1
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And with this, platformers have become a thing, and Mario heralds it.

This game is also incredibly merciless on MAME. Play the MAME Japanese version! It always features all four stages in a cycle. The NES port is way easier, plus the arcade version adds in a level to spice things up a bit. It's really interesting how many standard platformer tropes has this game brought, from the casual use of ladders and platforms to jumping inbetween those, enemies with different patterns and power ups you need to use skillfully. Fantastic gameplay mechanics that still feel fresh to this day.

Atari 2600 port's profound blockiness makes its Donkey Kong far easier to categorise, and also disfunctional. Only two levels, too, the second of which feels like a laundry-list task with the flame monsters being incapable of climbing ladders. Colecovision is sweet and worthwhile if you can't play the NES port. The ZX Spectrum version is a coding wonder and a fairly competent rendition of the game that's worth playing, and it was probably how a lot of UK kids were first exposed to Mario. A real stunner has to be the Atari 800 port, which even further randomises barrel placement and also picks up the pace, it's a very unique port that makes the game feel different. It also retains all four levels!

The Intellivision one is pretty bad.
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Clownboss 2016-07-23T19:39:21Z
2016-07-23T19:39:21Z
4.5
3
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Jumping over barrels
Its certainly a very iconic game. You play as the plumber trying to rescue a princess from Donkey Kong. There are multiple stages in the game, and you need to climb stairs and jump your way to the top, dodging barrels and other hazards. It controls well enough, and the game makes the player use both skill as well as planning ahead in order to reach the objective. That said, its a concept that gets old pretty fast, and the game isnt that long either. Miyamoto would go on to do much better designed games than this, but i feel that some of the core principles are already found in here. The damsel in distress, fun gameplay for the all family and cartoonish visuals. Its definitly worth playing, but not that good of a game nowadays.
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Threntall 2016-06-15T15:09:49Z
2016-06-15T15:09:49Z
2.0
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Catalog

zakduece Donkey Kong 2024-03-28T12:13:44Z
3DS
2024-03-28T12:13:44Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
100%ed
public_transport Donkey Kong 2024-03-27T21:47:19Z
2024-03-27T21:47:19Z
3.0
1
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
6
tooliot Donkey Kong 2024-03-22T01:39:43Z
2024-03-22T01:39:43Z
3.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
PopVulture Donkey Kong 2024-03-20T21:18:51Z
2024-03-20T21:18:51Z
3.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
GuySamstag Donkey Kong 2024-03-19T02:25:03Z
2024-03-19T02:25:03Z
2.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
spookypurpp Donkey Kong 2024-03-18T02:56:06Z
2024-03-18T02:56:06Z
3.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Eztak Donkey Kong 2024-03-17T15:58:15Z
Arcade • US
2024-03-17T15:58:15Z
1.5
1
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
RikuNeto Donkey Kong 2024-03-17T13:52:30Z
2024-03-17T13:52:30Z
3.0
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
kaifmo31 Donkey Kong 2024-03-15T14:37:15Z
2024-03-15T14:37:15Z
1
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
NG4100 Donkey Kong 2024-03-15T00:58:41Z
NES • XNA
2024-03-15T00:58:41Z
6.1
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
NG4100 Donkey Kong 2024-03-15T00:58:23Z
Arcade • JP
2024-03-15T00:58:23Z
7.2
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
foxx Donkey Kong 2024-03-14T07:40:43Z
2024-03-14T07:40:43Z
2.5
In collection Want to buy Used to own  
Also known as
  • ドンキーコング
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  • Previous comments (1) Loading...
  • ... 2018-02-18 04:59:41.323686+00
    Billy Mitchell on sudoku watch rn
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  • Toadfan64 2019-01-13 08:17:43.349928+00
    This rating makes me sad. Besides Galaga, this is probably my favorite arcade game.
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  • ... 2019-08-14 22:58:51.015578+00
    hide Removed by mod
    This post was removed by a site moderator.
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  • RomanDogBird 2020-08-27 01:26:43.697294+00
    I don't have time to play with no stupid Donkey Kong when there are real %!$@ that are waiting to be kicked around.
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  • unj 2021-08-17 02:36:51.655565+00
    Average rating on this one is potentially low as nearly all the ports (early Atari and even NES ports) are either ugly or missing levels.
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  • Diugo 2023-03-07 10:32:29.088469+00
    One of the most important games in gaming history. Not a lot of fun in 2023, but still as important.
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  • plexure 2023-05-02 16:05:19.512435+00
    this is very specific but the RNG of the flames in the atari 2600 port is so laughably unfair, they can change directions while you're in mid air jumping over them
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  • zakduece 2024-03-28 12:13:33.941666+00
    Best Port is Arcade, OR 3DS/Wii Virtual Console vers. Play the pie factory level!
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