Donkey Kong (1994) Review

Every now and then I play a computer game which just feels totally rounded and satisfying. You play it from start to finish and it neither overstays it’s welcome nor feels like there was more to be done. It’s a great feeling! Recently, I’ve started playing some Gameboy games after picking up a Gameboy Colour a couple of Christmases ago on a cycle back home (from a charity shop open Christmas Eve!). N. also happened to have a load of Gameboy games as well as a Gameboy Advance console (the SP version, which is backlit) from when she was a kid. So one of the games N. had was Donkey Kong (1994).  I played it and completed it over the course of about a month and, surprisingly to me, it was just one of those rounded, satisfying, and totally great games I mentioned above.

As I’ve found out after playing the game it seems to be generally regarded as one of the best, sort of ‘unknown’ (or at least underplayed) games for the system; which isn’t surprising because it hides itself very well. I came across this game as a cartridge in N.’s unassuming box of random games and old childhood notes. It looks like Donkey Kong from the label and it plays very much like a handheld port of Donkey Kong to begin with. But once you’ve reached the end of the four arcade levels the game has a bit of a twist for the player. After being conquered by our dear mate Mario (who I secretly hate), Kong jumps back into the picture and runs off once again  with poor Pauline. Mario is thus tasked with chasing down the monstrous ape in order to once again rescue his first love.

The plot to this game feels like something of an extended joke. Whereas the plot of the arcade game Donkey Kong felt like a blue collar misremembering of the ending of King Kong, where a construction worker makes his way up the tower of girders (another misremembering, this time of an unfinished Empire State Building) in order to save the kidnapped damsel in distress, Donkey Kong ’94 imagines that King Kong rose from the grave and made off to numerous global locations in order to shake off the ever constant pursuit (ala Terminator) of (cyborg) Mario (from the future).

The game develops a lot of the ideas found in the original concept as well as those from Donkey Kong Jr (who also shows up in this game – seeking revenge no doubt for Mario’s misdemeanours in that game), but pushes them further into a fully fleshed console puzzle platformer game of its own. There’s a beautiful mix of thoughtful stages as well as moments in which you need to be quick witted and precise with jumping and timing. It also keeps the beautiful jump “physics” from the arcade game, which feel so purposeful and weighty (unlike the floatiness from Super Mario).

One aspect of the game which I think helps it feel cohesive and satisfying is the progression in terms of difficulty which never feels too steep. It ramps up as you’d expect towards the end, but overall there is little in the way of difficulty spikes or moments of being truly stuck – though of course there are a good few moments of frustration (to keep the player involved), but nothing too unbearable.

Overall, then I’d say this is by far  one of the best game I’ve played in a long time. It has heaps of character, enough challenge and great music, puzzles and platforming sections. It’s also relatively cheap to buy, which is always a plus!