Arcade Archives Donkey Kong

Genre: Arcade / Platformer

Players: 1-2 (Local Alternating), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

The classic Arcade-style Platformer, Donkey Kong, was originally released in Arcades in 1981, and would later go on to be ported to almost every major Nintendo platform in some form or another. However, most later ports featured a changed version of the game, with slightly-altered visuals and sound, and even missing one of the game’s four stages, the cement factory stage. This release of the game, a part of Hamster Corporation’s Arcade Archives series, is one of only a select few home console ports of the game to be truly accurate to the arcade game.

For those who have somehow missed the original Donkey Kong, that is one impressive rock you’ve been hiding under. However, for the sake of being comprehensive, this game is a classic of the Platforming genre, where the titular ape has kidnapped a helpless damsel named Pauline, who must be rescued by the plucky carpenter (yes, carpenter) Mario, who must climb various structures to reach Pauline at the top while avoiding hazards along the way.

It bears mention that this game’s success is something that Nintendo owes its entire videogame empire to. Donkey Kong was not Nintendo’s first videogame, but without Donkey Kong, there would very likely be no Nintendo today (or at the very least, Nintendo may well have shuttered its videogame development and stuck with the simple toys and playing cards they were known for making prior to their work on videogames).

The original Donkey Kong is not just the first appearance of the titular ape, but also the first appearance of Mario, amusingly named Jumpman in the Japanese release of the game and only getting the name Mario upon the game’s release in America. While this was not technically the first Platformer (it is preceded by the games Space Panic and Crazy Climber), it was the first one to include jumping as a primary game mechanic, making this game the grandfather of pretty much every Platformer ever made.

Its claim to fame isn’t just being the first, though. Donkey Kong still to this day has incredibly iconic pixel art visuals and chiptune sound design (though both differ slightly from the Nintendo Entertainment System port of the game that Nintendo has usually favored when porting the game to other platforms), and the level design here is superb as well.

Having said that, we are talking about a videogame that’s over 40 years old, and it definitely shows its age considerably. The controls are stiff and at times seemingly unresponsive. The physics are extremely unforgiving, with poor Mario dying from falls of just a few feet. And the game’s extremely short length and infinite repetition really limit the game’s appeal with modern audiences who may be shocked to find that they can see everything the game has to offer within the span of five minutes. Still, both as a history lesson and a nostalgia trip, Donkey Kong is at the very least a very enjoyable five minutes.

This release of the game is surprisingly comprehensive in that it includes three versions of the game – an “Early Version”, a “Later Version” that featured some minor changes, and an “International Version” that changed the stage order. I suppose this isn’t an absolutely comprehensive collection of all versions of the game, since the Nintendo Entertainment System version of the game, the Game & Watch version of the game, and the far, far superior Game Boy version are all absent here, but I suppose none of those would really fit the “Arcade Archives” product line. There is also a new “Hi-Score Mode” that challenges players to make as many points as they can on one life. There is also a new “Caravan Mode” that does much the same, but with the limit being five minutes rather than one life. In addition, this release of the game gives players a decent array of options, including various display options, sound options, challenge modifiers, button mapping, and online leaderboards.

So there are only two remaining elephants in the room to discuss. First: Is this game worth its $8 price tag? And second, is it worth buying if you already subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online, which includes a version of this game on its Nintendo Entertainment System app. The latter question is easier to answer, as the butchering of the NES version of the game makes this release clearly superior to the one that came on Nintendo Switch Online. However, that $8 price tag seems steep for a game that’s over 40 years old. One can argue that this being a rare opportunity to own the game on a home console might help justify that price, but… we’re still talking about a dated game that you can complete in five minutes.

Despite that this is the best version of Donkey Kong available on the Nintendo Switch (at least until the Game Boy version gets added to the Nintendo Switch Online app), I simply cannot see it being worth the price for anyone except the most diehard of Nintendo fans, collectors, and completionists. This is one of the most important videogames ever made, but it has aged quite a bit, and while the Nintendo Entertainment System app’s version of the game is clearly inferior, it should be sufficient enough for most players looking to experience the game.

tl;dr – Donkey Kong is an absolute classic Arcade-style Platformer, albeit one that definitely shows its age, and most modern players won’t be eager to buy a game you can complete in five minutes. On top of this, the price seems too steep, especially with the NES version of the game being easily accessible on Nintendo Switch Online’s NES app. As a result, while this is still one of the most important videogames ever made, it’s a game that almost no one will find worth buying.

Grade: C

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