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»Classic NES Series: Donkey Kong
"Monkeys aren't donkeys! Quit messing with my head!"
Since its release in 1981, Donkey Kong has been released on
many consoles and hardware. The arcades, NES, various Atari consoles,
the N64 (as a bonus game in Donkey Kong 64), the GBA and will be
hitting the Wii’s Virtual Console soon. Like most Classic NES games,
this is a great game to own - if it were $15.00 cheaper.
Donkey Kong is a classic among classics, viewed as one of the
most revolutionary games ever created, and is the key weapon in
Nintendo’s arsenal which won them the industry from the then-screwed
Atari. Donkey Kong has one single objective - reach Donkey Kong
and Pauline at the top of the level until, in the final level, you
defeat him and rescue Pauline. The only controls used are the A button
(to jump) and the d-pad (to move).
There are three levels, the first being the one that everyone recalls. You start out at a construction site, which Donkey Kong
has climbed with Pauline in hand. When he reaches the top, he smashes
the construction site up (making it difficult to climb) and begins to
throw barrels. You then have to make your way up it. There are several
ladders littered across the level, some which can be climbed up, while
others can only be used to get out of the way of a rolling barrel.
However, it is not always safe to do so since barrels can roll down
ladders, making the long way there easier (but takes longer). You will
likely cross paths with a barrel, so the only way to avoid it would be
to simply jump over it. There is also a hammer in this level, which can
be used to destroy enemies (but making you unable to jump). Once you
reach DK, he will escape to another level. Each level is very different
- the second level features DK throwing springs and working with birds
to defeat you, while the final level features switches that must all be
cleared to complete the level while avoiding fire creatures. Donkey Kong’s gameplay design is unique and classic, holding up to this day.
There is a major flaw in the game - it is a port of the NES version of Donkey Kong
and not the arcade version. If you don’t know why, let me explain - the
NES version had to eliminate a level from the arcade version called the
“Pie Factory”, probably my favorite of the four levels. I can imagine
that Nintendo would have very little trouble adding this into this
Classic NES game as a perk, but I guess they thought it was better to
stay as true to the NES version as possible. What can you do?
The visuals are pretty decent. While the back and foregrounds have
nothing special about them, the characters and objects move at a decent
pace. The visuals are extremely simple; so much so that Miyamoto was
forced to give Mario a hat because they couldn’t animate hair well. The
audio quality isn’t really worth noting; the background music isn’t
very good, and there aren’t many sound effects.
There’s some decent replay value. You play the first three levels
(fun), then you play them again - but harder! (slightly less fun), and
again… (not so great). I mean, it can be fun, but the design isn’t as
well-suited to be replayed as other arcade-style games.
Overall, Classic NES Series: Donkey Kong is an enjoyable
game that does not actually exist on the GBA or GB/C already (a rarity
among the better Classic NES Series games). Even still, the only excuse
they could come up with for not making this a port of the arcade
version just isn’t good enough. As it stands, the only games that the
Pie Factory level has appeared in are the arcade version of Donkey Kong
and the Game Boy sequel of the same name. Where’s our Pie Factory,
Nintendo?! AAUGUGOOOARGHUGHOOOAOAOUGH
Article by: Alttp
Posted on: Dec. 2nd, 2006 |
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Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| A good game, but pretty pointless if they’re not just gonna give us the arcade version for once. |
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Graphics |
| Good for an NES game. |
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Sound |
| Average, I guess. |
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Replay Value |
| Even though it’s really short and all you can do is loop through the levels over and over, it’s not too bad. |
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