Nerdicus NES Review #183: Donkey Kong Jr.

Title : Donkey Kong Jr.

Publisher : Nintendo

Developer : Nintendo

Genre : Arcade

Players : 1 / 2 Players

Release Date : 1986

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $15 - $20

Happy Monday, folks! Sorry for the delayed review (and short because holy cow I'm actually swamped at work! That's a shocker). We're moving on to Donkey Kong Jr. which is a nice little twist from the original Donkey Kong. And no, Donkey Kong Jr. isn't Diddy Kong or anything. In fact, I forgot what it was from the cartoon series...but isn't Donkey Kong Jr. the Donkey Kong from Donkey Kong country, or am I completely wrong?

Remember? That CG cartoon that used to be on TV? It had that old Kong, that I actually think was the Donkey Kong from the arcades, and DKC DK was DKJR....looks like I have some research to do, unless someone wants to fill in the blanks for me lol.

This was another one of those games that tortured me. Why? Because it's insanely difficult, and the game just tortures you left and right. Me and Arcades do NOT mix. AT ALL>

Still, look at that one piece underwear bit he's wearing. So cute...SUCH A CUTE LITTLE MONKEY..er ape..

Instead of rescuing a damsel in distress, you actually are tasked with rescuing DONKEY KONG from the clutches of the vicious Mario. Think about it. Mario just kills everyone with no regard for anybody's feelings. He's the real bastard.

The concept otherwise remains the same. Get Donkey Kong Jr up to the top of the map and vanquish Mario (temporarily) in order to rescue your pops. Of course, Mario will be tossing anything he can at you in order to halt your progress. I'm talking flaming barrels, electric balls, and killer spikes. Oh, and you also have crazed wild animals to deal with like annoying birds and what I think are mosquitos. At least I think they are. Or maybe they're floating alligator heads on ropes. WHO KNOWS! The game is bizarre with their enemy slection.

There's four stages, each with a different theme that repeat every time you cycle through them. Difficulty of course increases with each pass through in terms of the rate of speed at which enemies come at you, and the randomness. Hell, I have a hard time getting through the first pass.

The only difference between the goals of the four stages, is that on the fourth stage you need to to unlock the cage that DK is trapped in. Sort of like how in the first DK you need to remove the pillars in order to have DK fall.

Some people may think that this is just a copy and paste of DK, which it sort of is, but the play through as DK JR and the redesigned levels still give the game a fresh look and feel. Controls seem to be a tad bit smoother and ab it more user friendly, and I didn't find myself having as hard of a time dodging the incoming projectiles.

Still, the game is also one of the most difficult arcade games out there, as well as being one of the most famous ones. I still have a few more DK games to get through, so bear with me on this. But trust me, I'm having fun reliving the torture that is DK. GOOD TORTURE.

Now someone explain to me who DK JR is again....

Final Score (out of 5)



Until Next Time, Keep On Gaming!