Donkey Kong

1981 retro games ZX Spectrum gamesAmstrad gamesAtari gamesCommodore 64 gamesApple gamesNintendo games

platform gamesarcade games

Classic platform game, one of the earliest titles of the genre, which introduced a character of Mario.

Published in 1981 Donkey Kong was a big deal for several reasons - it was a first game that could be called a platform game (which this title more or less prompt to exist), the use of the cutscenes to build the plot, it introduced several different stages to the levels and also introduced the two characters (Donkey Kong and Mario) that would help to build the domination of Nintendo in the 1980s.

The game was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, future general manager of Nintendo, for whom this was the first gaming project and it is safe to say that he got this one right. Inspired by the old movies and cartoons (like King Kong or Popeye), the plot of the game centred around Mario, who is trying to save Pauline from the claws of Donkey Kong.

The smooth animation and variety of obstacles made the game an instant hit - the levels were quite similar so the resources used to generate them would fit the technical limitations of the hardware, but at the same time they were different enough to keep the game fresh throughout the gameplay.

Both, Donkey Kong and Mario, spawned their own game series, which also spawned further games linked in a different way to the same basic principle that dynamic movement of the main character in variety of interactions with the levels are the key behind a succesful platform game.

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Donkey Kong screenshots

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