Year Released:1981 (Arcade), 1985 (NES). Also made an appearance in Donkey Kong Classics(1988, NES), Donkey Kong (1994)(1994, Game Boy), Donkey Kong 64(1999, N64), Animal Crossing (2002, Gamecube), and as Donkey Kong-e (2002, GBA e-Reader).

Number of Players:1 or 2 alternating

Donkey Kong has kidnapped Pauline and it's up to Mario to stop him! Guide Mario through four danger-filled levels, each with its own design and hazards. Can you make it to the top?

Graphics: OK, to our spoiled eyes, the graphics and animation look like garbage, but they're very good for a game that's almost 20 years old. There won't be any trouble seeing things, because Mario, the hazards and other things are very easy to see against the black background.

Play Control: The play control isn't as quick as it could have been, but it's still easy to control Mario. It's easy to climb ladders and jump over barrels.

Sound: The sounds do get annoying after a while, like the sound Mario makes when he walks. The music isn't really worth mentioning either, except for that classic tune when Mario gets a hammer.

Challenge: This game just goes to show you how challenging games were back then. It sometimes requires a lot of strategy to get through a level, like thinking, "Should I climb the ladder, or can I jump over that barrel in time?" You also die after very short falls, and you can't jump high, but that just adds to the challenge. A complaint, though, is that you don't really get rewarded after finishing the four levels. Mario and Pauline kiss and the four levels just start over again!

The Bottom Line: If you're nostalgic, want to relive those happy days at the local arcade or want a challenging game, try this one. If you want a good ending or are easily frustrated, don't even bother.

Fun Facts: Mario was called "Jumpman" until this game was released in the US.

In Donkey Kong, Mario was a carpenter instead of a plumber!

The arcade game had a glitch in it to get infinite lives so you could play all day if you wanted to!

In the NES game, one of the levels was omitted because of limited cartridge space.

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Lists (Item List, Enemies List)

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Fan Art by Golem-Mario gets ready to smash a barrel

Fan Art-Mario by BBro