Collection essentials #146: Donkey Kong (Game Boy)

I’ve already talked about the arcade classic Donkey Kong in this series before. By the time the Game Boy was out, that game was already old news. But Nintendo still probably could have gotten away with simply porting it to the Game Boy and calling it day. Nobody likely would have batted an eye. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy does seem to be that at first, as it starts out with you playing the first four levels of the arcade game with new graphics and controls. But then, you quickly find out that this game is WAY more than you were expecting! Once you finish those first four levels, you have NINETY-SEVEN left to do!


As in the original game, you play as Mario (formerly known as Jumpman) while trying to save your girlfriend from Donkey Kong. The gameplay has evolved more into the direction of a puzzle platformer. Typical stages in the game have a key that Mario must grab from a specific starting location and bring to the locked door in order to progress. Mario must dodge obstacles and enemies as well as utilize contraptions to succeed. Mario has some more moves than he did than in the original Donkey Kong, allowing for more gameplay possibilities and making maneuverability easier too. Occasionally there will be a battle stage, where Mario has caught up to Donkey Kong and must throw objects at him to defeat the big ape. 


The “Super Game Boy” is an accessory that allows one to play Game Boy games on a TV screen. I try not to talk about stuff that I haven’t covered yet and will probably have a post dedicated to Super Game Boy eventually, but I have to bring it up here because Donkey Kong is an example of a game that has special enhancements when played in this way. There are improvements and additions to graphics and sound that are not possible on normal Game Boy hardware.


Donkey Kong on Game Boy (sometimes called Donkey Kong ‘94 by the fans) is a very well-crafted game, absolutely one of the very best original Game Boy offerings and is easy to recommend to almost anyone. A true essential.

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