From the Manufacturer
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The arcade classic Donkey Kong is back by popular demand! The
famous ape has kipped Pauline and climbed to the top of a
perilous skyscraper. Challenged by many perils and unending
puzzles Mario must reach his arch rival. As he makes his way
Mario will need to gather disappearing keys to unlock doors of
hidden rooms. Donkey devised evil tricks to confuse and trap him.
Our heroic plumber has his hands full this time!
Review
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Known as Donkey Kong '94 in Japan, this is actually more of a
Mario game than one featuring our favorite monkey. The writers
obviously were on vacation when the plot was being thought up.
Donkey Kong kips Pauline, and Mario must rescue her. She's
obviously not a 90's woman. Anyway, our intrepid plumber must
chase everybody's favorite misunderstood primate through 100
mind-bending levels before finally putting an end to Pauline's
incessant screaming. With superb control, excellent cinemas, and
even a bit of speech, Donkey Kong proves to be one of the best
games you could possibly get on any machine. The first four
stages in Donkey Kong will be a bit of a retro trip for some of
the crustier gamers out there - it's an almost byte-for-byte copy
of the original Donkey Kong arcade machine! As you would assume,
it's pretty simplistic, but introduces the first-time player to
the basics of climbing ladders, jumping over obstacles, and using
the hammer. Most levels require you find a key and its close
friend the door before moving on. It's not as simple as that
though, because the key is usually tucked away in a tricky spot
behind dangerous creatures and traps! In many ways, this is like
a puzzle game, where winning is dependant on figuring out how to
get past all Donkey Kong's tricks. For someone that's short, ,
and old, Mario can really bust some moves. In addition to his
usual array of jumps, the world's most popular video game
character can do backflips, handstands, and high-jumps! What a
guy! Making a guest appearance in some levels is Donkey Kong Jr.,
who just loves to play with switches to give Mario even bigger
headaches! These switches are usually used to change the
direction of moving platforms and conveyor belts, but can
sometimes unlock bolted doors. Just for those few who care, the
Donkey Kong Jr. in this game grows up to become the star of
Donkey Kong Land, and his dad becomes Kranky Kong. Interesting,
isn't it? No, I didn't think so, either. In each normal stage,
there are three items that Mario should collect if he wants to
get into the extra lives business. There's an umbrella, a piece
of jewelry, and a rather fetching safari hat. Grab them all, and
after you finish that round, you get to play a bonus game where
you can stack up a dump-truck load of extra lives. The first one
plays like a poker machine, and the other requires a bit more
skill as you must time your button press correctly to get the big
rewards. Tap any button just as the number of lives you want
flashes, and the spinning should stop right there a lap later.
It's simple. Every fourth level pits you directly against our old
pal Donkey Kong. Early on, it's a simple task of jumping up the
platforms and reaching Pauline, but later, things are complicated
somewhat with broken ladders, almost impossible to jump
platforms, and DK Jr. making life extra hard. Beat him enough
times, and he finally gets the hint that kipping isn't cool.
Donkey Kong is an excellent game to show off your Super Game Boy
and Game Boy Color hardware. Every screen has tons of color in it
and is constantly changing the mood. Desert levels are full of
orange sand, while the jungle stage has lush green scenery to
keep your eyes amused. It looks excellent. --Cameron Davis
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review
- Classic levels from the arcade.
- jump over barrels or smash them.
- new levels.
- manipulate key to get through exit door.
- collect items like rivets, purses, and umbrellas.