Donkey Kong Jr. Review – Another Early Single-Screen Platformer. Has the Genre Gotten Boring Now?

With this title, we come to the conclusion of our reviews of really early games I have on the NES Classic Edition. Like Mario Bros. (Review) and Donkey Kong (Review) before it, Donkey Kong Jr. is also a single-screen platformer. This time Mario is the villain, and has taken Donkey Kong captive as revenge for what he did in the previous game!

Donkey Kong Jr. Compared With Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong

Between the three games, Donkey Kong Jr. is most similar to the original Donkey Kong. Like its predecessor, it has a smaller variety of stages compared to Mario Bros., and is also a one-player game. One thing that Donkey Kong Jr. offers over the others is a larger main character sprite with more detailed animations. Each set of stages, or loop, is made up of 4 levels, which is 1 more than Donkey Kong on the NES as well.

Plus, I feel like this title has a faster pace than both of the previous games due to how you can go up and down vines and chains quicker than in Donkey Kong. The latter only had one speed of Mario going up or down a ladder, but this one seems a bit faster. Additionally, you don’t have to wait (at times) for enemies as much as in Mario Bros.

Some similarities between the two Kong games include,

• You need to reach a predetermined location near the top of the screen to beat the level.
• They both have items that you can collect to increase your score.
• Jumping over enemies also raises your score.
• Falling too far makes you lose a life.
• After you beat all the levels, they start over with a new loop that is more difficult than the previous one.

Moving up and Down Vines in Donkey Kong Jr.

One neat thing about this game is that it has a different feel compared to Donkey Kong. In that one, a lot of the movement is based on moving from left to right, jumping over enemies, and making it from one platform to another until you reach the top. Donkey Kong Junior has similar aspects (like I shared in the previous section), but it also has its own identity. Controlling Junior is more about navigating vines and chains effectively so you can avoid enemies and make it to the end of the screen. This involves climbing with both hands to go up faster, or to hang on just one chain to shimmy down quicker. Sure, level 3 has a good deal of movement from left to right as you avoid the sparky enemies, but most of the gameplay involves going up and down vines on 3 out of 4 stages.

Also distinct is the usefulness of items in the levels. In the first game, most of the items were just for points; they couldn’t be used for anything (other than earning an extra life). The only exception was the hammer. In this case, the fruit gives you points, but it can also fall down and hit an enemy. If it does, you earn a significant amount of bonus points. This mechanic is not present in Mario Bros. or Donkey Kong.

The Stages of Donkey Kong Jr.

As mentioned before, Donkey Kong Jr. has four stages. Looking at stage 1, the enemies you find here are snapjaws, who look like living bear traps that Mario sends down at you. They move up and down vines, which you have to navigate to make it from one series of platforms to another. Stage 2 has a couple of additional mechanics with a springboard in one place that allows you to reach a higher platform faster than otherwise. It also has many vines, along with new bird enemies who try to hit you as you move to the end.

Stages 3 and 4 are a bit more unique. The former has a lot more lateral movement compared to the rest of the game, while also introducing spark characters that shock you if you touch them. These contribute to a more distinct platforming challenge compared to the previous levels, at least when going through a higher loop. The last level is also one that I enjoy quite a bit. There are multiple chains in a room, and at the bottom of 6 of them are keys that you need to take up to the top to release locks that are keeping your papa in jail. All the while, birds and snapjaws try to hit you and keep you from reaching your goal. Personally, I think this is a stronger ending stage than Donkey Kong, with more enemies to face this time. Both of these levels have unique gameplay elements that liven up the title in a welcome way.

Once you win, you catch your dad as he falls, and Mario dies. So sad!! But he was the bad guy in this one!!

Controls

You’d think that since there is a lot of vertical movement in this game, and that I had trouble with ladders in Donkey Kong on the NES (review), that I would have issues with control here. For some reason, I didn’t think it was as bad as I experienced in the other game. Every time that I wasn’t able to go up or down a vine as expected, it was due to me not putting the inputs in early enough, or with the precision needed at the time. As such, I consider the controls to be fine, and typical of the time period for NES games.

Graphics and Sound

In this instance, the sound plays second fiddle to the graphics. I liked some of the tunes, and they do vary between levels a bit. I also liked the sound effects, especially of when Junior inserts a key into a lock in stage 4. But to me, the star is the graphics. Compared to later NES games, they aren’t amazing. Yet, for such an early game, the sprite for the player character is really large and expressive. Moving up and down vines and chains has a lot of personality and it is fun to see him do the animations. Also, his overreaction for when he gets hit is great and very entertaining for kids! I definitely think it looks better than the original Donkey Kong.

Conclusion

I liked Donkey Kong Jr. quite a bit! It is enjoyable, adds its own spin on the genre, and is a worthy addition to the early NES lineup. The sound design isn’t amazing, but the gameplay is different enough from other titles in the same genre, and the animations for the player character is full of charm! If you enjoy this style of game and earlier NES releases, you could do much worse than this one!

Title: Donkey Kong Jr.
Genre: Single-screen Platformer
Year Released: 1986
Developer: Nintendo
Played On: NES Classic Edition
Price Paid: $2.22, or $66.45 for the system.

Remember, we can have different opinions about the games we play. If you like something more (or less) than I do, both of our perspectives are valid.