Arcade Archives Donkey Kong Jr.

Genre: Arcade / Platformer

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

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Review:

The classic Arcade-style Platformer, Donkey Kong Jr., was originally released in Arcades in 1982, and would later go on to be ported to almost every major Nintendo platform in some form or another. This is a sequel to Donkey Kong that flips the script on the original game, casting Mario as the villain jailing the original game’s ape, with the player controlling Donkey Kong’s son and trying to rescue his dad while avoiding the mechanical traps and hostile animals Mario sends to take you out.

For those who have somehow missed prior releases of this game, 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, though not nearly as impactful as its predecessor, nor the Mario games that would soon come to follow this.

Donkey Kong Jr. 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. The physics are extremely unforgiving, with Donkey Kong Jr. dying from falls of just a few feet. And the game’s 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 fifteen minutes. Still, as a fun nostalgia trip, Donkey Kong Jr. is at the very least a very enjoyable fifteen minutes.

This release of the game is comprehensive in that it includes both Japanese and Western releases. I suppose this isn’t an absolutely comprehensive collection of all versions of the game, since the Nintendo Entertainment System version of the game and the Game & Watch version of the game are both 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. I’m going to have to say… probably not, on both counts. While there are minor differences between the original arcade version of this game and the Nintendo Entertainment System port, those changes are negligible, and not enough to justify a separate purchase. And it certainly isn’t worth the $8 price tag, especially when prior Virtual Console releases of the Nintendo Entertainment System release of the game sold for $5. No, it’s not exactly the same, but it’s close enough.

This is a classic game, a great nostalgia trip, and perhaps a must-have for collectors and completionists, but the average player will find themselves unimpressed with the dated game design and limited game length, and certainly they’ll see no reason to bother with this when they can just play a nearly-identical version on Nintendo Switch Online’s Nintendo Entertainment System app.

tl;dr – Donkey Kong Jr. is a 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 fifteen 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 a classic, it’s a game that almost no one will find worth buying.

Grade: C-

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