Donkey Kong

Arcade 1981, Nintendo Switch 2018
Publisher and Developer: Nintendo

It took almost forty years to get a proper standalone version of Donkey Kong on a home console. Donkey Kong is a very famous game that has been released dozens of times over the years, but they have never gotten it quite right on console. It is supposed to have four screens, but almost every home version has only two or three. The poor cement factory always gets left out. Nintendo has had plenty of chances over the years to release a complete version, but they have always saddled us with the fun but inferior NES version. Probably the most familiar four screen version is the one hidden in Donkey Kong 64 which is an extra in a game that not everybody played to begin with. Thankfully Hamster Corporation finally righted the ship and gave us arcade Donkey Kong on Nintendo Switch in 2018. It’s been a long wait, but the modern release does a great job of showing off what makes the game great.

(The cement factory!)

What really surprises me playing the game in 2020 is just how action packed it is. There is hardly a second to rest. The game’s most famous level, the barrel stage, is one of the most difficult single screens in all of classic gaming. There are just so many barrels and they don’t all move in the same patterns. It’s not like the same ones go down the same ladders every time. It requires the player to pay attention to the whole screen at once. There are hazards everywhere in the other three screens as well from the moving platforms of the cement factory to the springs in the elevator level to those deadly moving flames in the girder level. It’s a game that requires fast reflexes and some good luck. It’s also a game where speed is a must because the bonus counter is constantly depleting. I still don’t know if getting the hammers is a good idea or not. I guess it depends on how many enemies are on the screen versus how much time is left. I usually try to maximize points early because I am not good enough to get through too many rounds. It really is something that I think about a lot.

This game is so much fun that I haven’t even mentioned Mario yet. In this version he reverts back to being called Jumpman, but it is still our favorite Italian handyman making his first video game appearance. Donkey Kong has about as much personality as a simple arcade game can have, and after it came out every game tried to have distinct characters and more interesting settings. Its simple story laid the groundwork for narrative gaming. There were of course games with complex stories before Donkey Kong, but in the realm of arcade games it was a novel concept. After Donkey Kong every game had to have a story of some kind. It’s the reason even some of the cheapest mobile games will have some sort of plot. It’s always nice to play a game that is both fun and important.

So you can probably already tell but I am ranking this game very high. It easily goes past Pac-Man because of its variety and even past Exodus because it’s simply too much fun to no be ranked higher. I still think I am going to keep Galaga at #2 because I think it’s more fun to play for a long period of time. So that means there are now two Mario games in the top five of the 21 games I have ranked. I have a feeling as I rank more games this number will continue to grow. I hope you don’t get tired of hearing me gush about Mario games. That’s what happens when you write about games. It’s a responsibility that I take very seriously.

1. Super Mario Odyssey

2. Galaga

3. Donkey Kong

4. Exodus: Ultima III

5. Pac-Mania

6. Pac-Man

7. Mickey’s Racing Adventure

8. Metro-Cross

9. Gaplus

10. Dragon Spirit

11. Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour (GBC)

12. Red Sea Crossing

13. Baraduke

14. Gamma-Attack

15. The Legend of “Valkyrie”

16. Galaxian

17. Evoland

18. Defunct

19. Gyruss (2600)

20. Looney Tunes Racing

21. Birthday Mania