Donkey Kong (1981, Arcade) (Japanese version)

Format: Arcade
Developer: Nintendo Research & Development 1
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: July 9, 1981
Playtime: 17 minutes (DIP switches set to easiest settings; completed all four levels to see ending then played until I ran out of lives)

Both the Mario and Donkey Kong series began here with the original Donkey Kong arcade game. In it you play as Mario as you must rescue your girlfriend Pauline from a giant ape named Donkey Kong. This is an early example of the platformer genre as you are jumping over obstacles and from platform to platform.

The game is made up of four levels. In the first level Donkey Kong throws barrels when roll down toward you. You can either jump over the barrels for points or grab the hammer power up and smash them. The hammer only lasts for a few seconds and is your only way to defend yourself. However, you are unable to climb ladders while using it so it often ends in standing around waiting for it to wear off. This level can be difficult because the barrels will either roll all the way to the end of a row or they will roll down any ladder at random. Due to the randomness it is difficult to know when to climb a ladder and take that risk.

The second level is known as the pie factory. Here there are many conveyor belts which make it difficult to move and some fireballs which go after you. Third is a level with many moving platforms. You have to use them as elevators. Oddly enough you cannot touch the floor or even fall a very small distance without dying. I wish there wasn't a floor at the bottom so that it would be more obvious that you can't land there. In the final level you must avoid the fireballs while walking over all of the rivets to cause Donkey Kong to fall to his defeat. From there the game loops infinitely with increasingly difficulty.

The platforming here is a lot of fun and is well done for the time. The randomness in the game allows for more replayability. My only real complaint is that you can't fall more than a few inches without dying and that there is no indication of when a barrel is going to roll down a ladder in the first level. Other than that it is an excellent game and a classic for the time. It even has cutscenes which were a rarity in video games in the early 1980s.

Compared to the many video game ports that game later, this original arcade version is the way to go. Unfortunately there is no official way to get the arcade game so beyond unofficial emulation you're going to have to track down an arcade machine or play one of the inferior ports. The closest thing that there is is that the arcade game appears as a mini-game with Donkey Kong 64. Even among the arcade there are two versions. In the original Japanese version it goes through all four levels and then loops.

However, in the U.S. version it goes levels one and two, then loops back and goes one, two, three, then loops back and goes through all four. So essentially to even see level four you have to play through nine levels with increasing difficulty which is difficult to do. So basically the Japanese version is easier and allows you to see the other levels much sooner. If you have access to it definitely go with that version.

EDIT (1/24/2017): I have decided that reviewing each of the individual ports is pretty pointless as I've already covered the game. Instead, I am talking about each one briefly below.

Outside of the arcade version the game was ported to a ton of systems with varying results. The Atari 2600 version has only the ramp and rivet levels. The gameplay is good on this port but the graphics are toned down a lot for the system. The Intellivision version is a horrible port with a big green blob for Donkey Kong and slow and unresponsive controls. It also only has the ramp and rivet levels. The Colecovision fared the best from that generation as it has some impressive graphics for the time. It has three of the four levels (although in a different order): ramp, rivet, and then elevator. The Coleco Adam computer also got an identical version but with the conveyor belt stage put back in and the ability to save your score.

In the next generation of systems the Atari 7800 version has some decent graphics and all but the conveyor belt stage. From what I've heard the music sounds off though. The NES version on the other hand is one of the more accurate ports of the game. It has (again) all but the conveyor belt stage. It has accurate gameplay and graphics and is even available in a compilation cartridge titled Donkey Kong Classics which also includes Donkey Kong Jr. This NES version had a straight port to the Game Boy Advance and e-reader as part of the "Classic NES Series". The Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary red Wii also came preloaded with the NES rom along with the conveyor belt stage added back in.

Moving away from consoles, the Atari 8-Bit version features all four levels. The graphics look good except that Mario looks kind of like a dwarf. The Commodore 64 got two versions. One in the U.S. by Atarisoft and one in Europe by Ocean. Both of them look really accurate for the system and include all four levels. The European Ocean version is slightly better though. The Commodore VIC-20 also has a port which surprisingly includes all four stages. The graphics look decent by VIC-20 standards although I see no reason to play this version today. Next up is the TI-99/4A version. This version is similar to the American Commodore 64 version with all four levels and decent graphics.

The Apple II version is very rough. It was a decent attempt for the computer but the graphics look weird as the creators had to resort to dithering to get the colors even close to right. Again, all four levels are included. The final official version is the Amstrad CPC version which is the same as the European Commodore 64 version but with a better color palette. This makes it the best home port if you have to choose one. Lastly, there is an unofficial port for the TRS-80 Color Computer titled Donkey King. All four levels are included and the graphics are decent. The game was also has a port for the Coleco tabletop. This is a sort of portable LCD arcade machine. It is a pretty rough port to play today and I wouldn't recommend it (except as a collector's item).

Overall, Donkey Kong is a great arcade game that I think is still worth playing even today. The gameplay is fun even with a few flaws. If you can't get a hold of the arcade version then any of the ports (other than Intellivision) should do fine although my personal recommendations are either the NES or Amstrad CPC versions.