Donkey Kong
ドンキーコング
- Year
- 1986
- Developer
- Nintendo R&D1
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Platform
- FC / NES
- Hardware
- Family Computer (8-bit)
- Genre
- Platformer
- Players
- 1-2 players (alternating)
- Controls
- D-pad + A (jump)
- Series
- Donkey Kong series
Gameplay Screenshots
About This Game
Donkey Kong is the conversion of the 1981 arcade game that made Nintendo's name and introduced Mario - then called Jumpman - along with the damsel, the barrels and the very idea of climbing to reach the top of a screen.
The NES version is not a perfect port: it ships without the cement factory stage, so a full run is three screens rather than four, and the order of the loops changes as a result. The mechanical structure survives intact, though - the rolling barrels, the ladders you cannot block, the hammer with its fixed timer, and the rivet stage where pulling the pins drops the ape. Its significance is hard to overstate: everything from Super Mario Bros. to the modern platformer is descending from this board.
- Three of the arcade four stages - the cement factory is missing from this version
- Barrel, rivet and elevator screens with distinct mechanics
- The hammer power-up on a fixed timer that leaves you exposed when it ends
- Two-player alternating play
Version History
- Arcade original1981
Nintendo's coin-op, the game that established the company in arcades.
- Famicom Japanese version1983-07-15
One of the three Famicom launch titles.
- NES US version1986-06
The version on this page, part of the NES Black Box line.
Tips & Strategy
Walk against the barrel flow, not with it
Barrels can be steered by the ape and will roll down ladders. Moving upward against the pattern is safer than racing them.
Never grab a hammer at the bottom
The timer runs out and leaves you beside a barrel with nowhere to go. Take the hammer only when the screen above is clear.
Use the ladders nobody uses
The top of each screen has the safest ladders. Barrels rarely come down the ones the ape has not targeted.
Save the rivet stage for a clean run
The final screen has no barrels and a fixed enemy pattern. Do not spend lives learning it - approach with a full stock.
Download Resources
Resource packs for this game are provided through the button below.
⬇ Coming soon