Donkey Kong (1982, Game & Watch)

Format: Game & Watch
Developer: Nintendo Research & Development 1
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: June 3, 1982
Playtime: 5 minutes (played in easier difficulty (game A); played until I successfully cleared the screen and then until I ran out of lives)

Originally I just assumed that Donkey Kong for the Game & Watch was just a port of the arcade game. However, in simplifying the game down to its simplest form the developers really made a new game. For those who aren't familiar, the Game & Watch were essentially LCD games released in the 1980s by Nintendo which were popular in the era before the original Game Boy.

Basically you have to jump over barrels as you work your way to the upper screen. Once up there you have to flip the switch which turns on the hook to the right. If you successfully swing across the hook before it stops again then you clear the screen and it starts over at a higher difficulty. The game is very simple as you'd expect from an LCD game. Jumping over the barrels however is much harder here because there are many things or platforms above you which stop you from jumping. Due to this you are stuck standing in a clearing and waiting for the barrels to come to you then waiting for an opening to run for it.

This game is pretty good by Game & Watch standards but it is pretty difficult and honestly it is pretty pointless in 2017. Unless you are going after it as a collectable I cannot really recommend it. In addition to tracking down the original Game & Watch the game is also included in Game & Watch Gallery 2 for the Game Boy or Game Boy Color. I wouldn't recommend this version though as it is taking a dual screen game and putting it onto a single screen which looks awkward. It is also in Game & Watch Gallery 4 for Game Boy Advance which is a more accurate port but has the same issue with the screens. The best way to play is the Game & Watch Collection for the Nintendo DS. In addition, the game has been remade twice (in each of the Game & Watch Gallery collections for the Game Boy) which I will cover at some later date.