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System:
Arcade
Genre:
Platform
Publisher:
Nintendo
Developer:
Nintendo
Players:
1-2 (1 simultanesouly)
Release date/year:
1982
Other systems:
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- Donkey Kong Jr.
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1982 Nintendo - Nintendo - Arcade
- Donkey Kong Jr. is a game that you have to play knowing that there really isn’t all that much challenge to it and under the influence of previous Kong games. In this little outing, you have to send Donkey Kong Jr. after his father, who has been captured by the nefarious fat plumber Mario. Through several different stages, you’ll have to avoid enemies that come at you from above and below as well as from the side, all while trying to save dear old dad.
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The Game Play
Donkey Kong Jr. is easy enough to play as long as you can get good with the controls. You take Donkey Kong Jr. through several different stages that all have different sets of vines and platforms in which you have to push keys up the vines into locks at the top of the stage. In the meanwhile, you have to avoid different enemies that are coming at you in the form of birds and little crocodiles that speed down the vines at you. Once you’ve gotten the timing down though, you should be able to clear the game like a pro without ever having to continue!
Controlling the little ape is nothing difficult as long as you remember that he can’t jump worth a crap. You use the joystick to send him up vines, either one at a time, which is slow, or you can grasp two of them and move quickly. However, you have to be careful that the little ape doesn’t lose his grip, or else a long fall will cause you to lose one life. Once you get used to that, then you can avoid enemies above and below, while using different fruits to knock the vine crawlers out to give you an easier time!
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The Visuals
Simple in the Donkey Kong way, you’ll find that Junior is wearing a little bib and that he moves with a diaper. The stages are all set up differently throughout the game, with the different locations not really having too much of a theme to them other than jungle. With that being said, the enemies all have a little bit of animation to them, and letting Donkey Kong loose is a trip to see. However, the key point of the visuals is watching Junior fall and then get a weird look on his face as he’s dying!
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The Audio
Nothing like Donkey Kong Country, you’ll find that the simple MIDI format of the audio is there simply to keep you progressing through the stages. Like Donkey Kong, the same theme has a tendency to repeat itself throughout the game, so don’t look for too much variation here. The sound effects are also kept to a minimum, focusing more on the game play than the audio presentation. Your standard beeps and bloops as well as a couple of chimes when you do something right is what rounds out the roster here.
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Why you might not like this game:
Donkey Kong Junior has little challenge for an experienced gamer and has a kid tone to it that is near sickening. The stages themselves aren’t all that hard to figure out, but the way that you must go about them is enough to drive you mad based on the fact that you’ll probably spend too much time overthinking the situation! Add this into the fact that the game has a tendency to eat all of your quarters if you’re not careful, leaving you broke in the process.
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The Verdict
Donkey Kong Junior is a great game to play if you’re into the Donkey Kong series and want to know if DK ever had a kid. With the action that goes on, you have to be on your toes at all times and with enough practice, you can breeze through the game with little or no problem. The simple visuals and audio compliment the easy to learn game play and control to make for a classic quarter crunching machine worthy of any classic gamers time!
7/10
//KasketDarfyre
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