Donkey Kong
REDISCOVER RETRO GAMING - CLASSIC 8-BIT NINTENDO NES
NINTENDO NES
Game Title:Donkey Kong
System:Nintendo NES
Players:1-2 Players
Genre:Platform
Developer(s):Nintendo
Release Date(s):1986
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Donkey Kong is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Mario (originally named "Jumpman") must rescue a damsel in distress named Pauline (originally named Lady), from a giant ape named Donkey Kong. The hero and ape later became two of Nintendo's most popular and recognizable characters. Donkey Kong is one of the most important titles from the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games, and is one of the most popular arcade games of all time. We're talking big business here!.
The game requires you to jump between gaps and over obstacles or approaching enemies, setting the template for the future of the platform genre. With its four unique stages, Donkey Kong was the most complex arcade game at the time of its release, and only the second game to feature multiple stages, following 1981's Gorf by Midway Games.
The game is divided into four different single-screen stages. Each represents 25 meters of the structure Donkey Kong has climbed, one stage being 25 meters higher than the previous. The final stage occurs at 100 meters. Stage one involves Mario scaling a construction site made of crooked girders and ladders while jumping over or hammering barrels and oil barrels tossed by Donkey Kong. Stage two involves climbing a five-story structure of conveyor belts, each of which transports cement pans. The third stage involves the player riding elevators while avoiding bouncing springs. The final stage involves Mario removing eight rivets which support Donkey Kong. Removing the final rivet causes Donkey Kong to fall and the hero to be reunited with Pauline. These four stages combine to form a level. Upon completion of the fourth stage, the level then increments, and the game repeats the stages with progressive difficulty. For example, Donkey Kong begins to hurl barrels faster and sometimes diagonally, and fireballs get speedier. The victory music alternates between levels 1 and 2. The 22nd level is colloquially known as the kill screen, due to an error in the game's programming that kills Mario after a few seconds, effectively ending the game. Downer!. And the Verdict is...
An absolute classic!. This basically was the building blocks for so many of today's most loved games. This is where it all began. Basic but enjoyable!. Well worth a play. |