THE GOOD:Arcade-perfect graphics, sound, and control. Simple yet challenging gameplay. 2 skill levels and 2 player alternating modes.
THE BAD:
The "pie factory" level from the arcade didn't make it in due to memory limitations.
SUMMARY:
Donkey Kong was more than just a game in the arcades-it was the birth of an eternal rivalry that continues to this day, the feud between Donkey Kong and Mario (then known simply as Jumpman). In the game, DK had captured Jumpman's girlfriend, Pauline (who would alter become Princess Peach), and Mario climbed through 3 different levels to get her back, dodging barrels and fireballs that DK constantly rained down on him. Jumpman's only weapon, beside his jumping skills, were hammers scattered throughout the levels to smash the barrels & fireballs with.
The game is almost exactly on the NES like it was in the arcade-same graphics, sounds, levels, plus a 2nd skill level and 2-player alternating play. Controls are very easy-move and climb with the controller and use one button to jump. The gameplay started out easy but each time you "cleared" the game (completed the 3 stages), you started over and the game got a litle more difficult each time. One notable omission is the "pie factory" level; due to memory limitations of NES Game Paks at the time, this stage had to be left out of the final version, and to this day the level only exists in the arcade version and various ROM versions for old 1980s PCs like the Commodore 64 & Amiga. It's an understandable omission but not a popular one because the factory made the game more challenging and enjoyable.
Despite the omission, this is a fun one to play if just to relive how the Mario-DK rivalry began. It was also released for NES in 2 versions: The original and also "DK Classics", which included Donkey Kong Jr. as well. DK is also now available on GBA as part of Classic NES Series-no, it unforunately doesn't have the Pie Factory stage.
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