is a 1982

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

that was released by

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

. It is the sequel to ''

Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...

'', but with the roles reversed compared to its predecessor:

Mario is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

(previously named "Jumpman") is now the villain and

Donkey Kong Jr. is a 1982 arcade platform game that was released by Nintendo. It is the sequel to ''Donkey Kong'', but with the roles reversed compared to its predecessor: Mario (previously named "Jumpman") is now the villain and Donkey Kong Jr. is trying t ...

is trying to rescue his father. It first released in arcades and, over the course of the decade, was released for a variety of home platforms. The game's title is written out as ''Donkey Kong Junior'' in the North American arcade version and various conversions to non-Nintendo systems. The game was principally designed by

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he ...

and his coworker and the company's chief engineer

Gunpei Yokoi , sometimes transliterated Gumpei Yokoi, was a Japanese video game designer. He was a long-time Nintendo employee, best known as creator of the Game & Watch handheld system, inventor of the cross-shaped Control Pad, the original designer of the ...

. Miyamoto also created the graphics for the title along with

Yoshio Sakamoto (born July 23, 1959) is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. He has worked at Nintendo since 1982. He has directed several games in the '' Metroid'' series. He is one of the most prominent members of Nintendo's former Resea ...

. As with its predecessor, the music for the game was composed by Yukio Kaneoka.

Gameplay

Like its predecessor, ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' is a platform game. There are a total of four stages, each with a unique theme. DK Jr. can run left and right, jump, and grab vines/chains/ropes to climb higher on the screen. He can slide down faster by holding only one vine, or climb faster by holding two. Enemies include "Snapjaws", which resemble bear traps with eyes; bird-like creatures called "Nitpickers", some of which can attack by dropping eggs; and "Sparks" which roam across the wiring in one of Mario's hideouts. DK Jr. can jump over these enemies while on platforms, switch from one vine/chain/rope to another to dodge them, or knock down pieces of fruit that will destroy every enemy they touch before falling off the bottom of the screen. To pass the first three stages, DK Jr. must reach the key hanging next to his father's cage, whereupon Mario flees while pushing the cage off the screen. In the fourth stage, DK Jr. must push six keys into locks on the topmost platform to free Donkey Kong. After a brief cutscene, the player is taken back to the first stage at an increased difficulty. A bonus timer runs throughout each stage, and any points remaining on it are added to the player's score upon completion. DK Jr. loses a life when he touches any enemy or projectile, falls too great a distance, touches the water and falls off the bottom of the screen or if the bonus timer counts down to zero. The game ends when the player loses all of their lives.

Plot

, after being defeated by Mario, has been entrusted into his care. However, his son, Donkey Kong Jr., appears and attempts to rescue his father. Mario takes his keys and places them in the building he fought Donkey Kong in. To stop Donkey Kong Jr., Mario unleashes several circus animals, but Donkey Kong Jr. escapes them and makes it to Mario’s headquarters. The two face off but the building begins to crumble, causing a recreation of Donkey Kong's climatic scene. Donkey Kong Jr. saves Donkey Kong and the two set off together.

Development

During ''Donkey Kong''’s development in 1981, Shigeru Miyamoto's team had come up with several ideas and full complete levels that wouldn't really fit into the game due to the various constraints. His team eventually began fleshing out these concepts, and these designs evolved into something all their own. The process was so far along, with even entire stages conceived, that one of the team members suggested they start working on another video game. The conversation happened around the same time that Nintendo wanted another Donkey Kong coin-op to capitalize on the original's fame, giving Miyamoto the perfect opportunity to further explore his newly established franchise. Originally, Miyamoto wanted the new game to star Donkey Kong himself, but there were problems with the character's massive size. He wouldn't be maneuverable on the screen, so a new star was needed. The change brought about a new hero and drove the narrative in an entirely new direction. They ultimately came up with the idea to make a smaller Donkey Kong in place of Mario who would be the son of Donkey Kong. Since they still wanted a big Donkey Kong on top of the screen, they came up with the plot of Mario capturing him after the events of the first game.

Versions

The order of the levels is different in different territories. In the Japanese version, the four levels appear in 1-2-3-4 sequence and then repeat, just as with the Japanese release of ''Donkey Kong''. In the US version, the order is 1–4. 1-2-4, 1-3-4, 1-2-3-4 and then 1-2-3-4 from then on.

Kill screen

''Donkey Kong Jr.'' has a kill screen at level 22. Due to the level counter only having one digit, the counter shows numbers 1 to 9 in levels 1 to 9, seven blanks in levels 10 to 16, and the letters A to F in the levels 17–22. The kill screen occurs the same way as in ''Donkey Kong'', where an integer overflow occurs after too big a result is given after a multiplication problem in the computing. The timer counts as if there are 700 points, then kills Donkey Kong Jr. until all lives are gone.

Console versions

''Donkey Kong Jr.'' was made on the NES (for which it was one of three Japanese

launch game This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

s),

Family Computer Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System or just Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Family Computer home video game console, released only in Japan on February 21, 1986. It uses proprietary floppy disks called "Disk Cards" f ...

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

Atari 7800 The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a home video game console officially released by Atari Corporation in 1986 as the successor to both the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200. It can run almost all Atari 2600 cartridges, making it one ...

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...

Coleco Adam The Coleco Adam is a home computer and expansion device for the ColecoVision released in 1983 by American toy and video game manufacturer Coleco. It was an attempt to follow on the success of the company's ColecoVision video game console. The Ad ...

, and

Intellivision The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. In 198 ...

. A

BBC Micro The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...

conversion was made but unreleased. Three

Game & Watch The Game & Watch brand ( ''Gēmu & Uotchi''; called ''Tricotronic'' in West Germany and Austria, abbreviated as ''G&W'') is a series of handheld electronic games developed, manufactured, released, and marketed by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. C ...

versions of the game were also made. Two black-and-white versions for the New Wide Screen and Multi Screen handheld series (later under the model name ''

Donkey Kong II Nintendo has released several ''Mario'' and ''Donkey Kong'' LCD video games for the ''Game & Watch'' series. Game & Watch games ''Donkey Kong'' ''Donkey Kong'' was developed by Nintendo R&D1 as part of the ''Game & Watch Multi Screen'' series, f ...

''), and a color version for the Tabletop and Panorama series. In 2002 the NES version was rereleased on the GBA add-on, the

e-reader An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...

Reception

In Japan, the original arcade version was the eighth-highest-grossing arcade game of 1982. Raymond Dimetrosky of ''Video Games Player'' gave the ColecoVision version a positive review. He compared it favorably with another ColecoVision arcade conversion released at the same time,

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

's '' Space Fury'', writing that ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' has better graphics and gameplay. ''Computer Games'' magazine in 1984 reviewed the Coleco Adam version, calling it a "supergame adaptation" and the best conversion of the game. ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' received an award in the category of "1984 Best Videogame Audio-Visual Effects (16K or more ROM)" at the 5th annual

Arkie Awards An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...

, where the judges described it as "great fun", and noted that the game was successful as a sequel–"extend ngthe theme and present nga radically different play-action" than its predecessor, ''Donkey Kong''. ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' is regarded as one of the ''Top 100 Video Games'' by the Killer List of Videogames. It was selected to be among five arcade games chosen for history's first official video game world championship, which was filmed at

Twin Galaxies Twin Galaxies is an organization and social media platform for people involved in the culture and activity of playing video games. It facilitates their interaction as well as their competition and recognizes their achievements. Twin Galaxie ...

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves ...

by ABC-TV's ''

That's Incredible! ''That's Incredible!'' is an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of ''You Asked for It'', '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and ''Real People'', the show featured people p ...

'' over the weekend of January 8–9, 1983.

Allgame RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...

gave a review score of 4 out of 5 stars praising the graphics and sound being "exceptionally arcade-like" and the controls and play mechanics being faithful to the arcade version.

Legacy

Rereleases

The NES version–along with its predecessor ''

''–was re–released in 1988 in an NES compilation titled ''Donkey Kong Classics''. This version was later released on the

e-Reader An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...

and is available on the

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, U ...

for the Wii. The NES version is also a playable game on ''

Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. The series was conceptualized and created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In ''Animal Crossing'', the player character is a human who lives in a village inhab ...

'', though a special password is needed from an official website which is now no longer available. ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' was made available for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generati ...

from the

Nintendo eShop The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was e ...

, released in Japan on April 18, 2012, in North America on June 14, and in Europe on August 23 and was given away free to the Ambassadors users before the full release. It was again released for the

Wii U Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...

in 2014. The arcade version of Donkey Kong Jr., featuring both the Japanese and American versions, was released by

Hamster Corporation is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999. On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 200 titles are distri ...

for the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

as part of the company's

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch, published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called is focused on rereleasing Neo Ge ...

series in December 2018. In 2004,

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiun ...

released an arcade cabinet which contained ''Donkey Kong'', ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' and ''Mario Bros.''

Competitive play

On August 10, 2008, Icarus Hall of

Port Angeles, Washington Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021. The city's har ...

, scored 1,033,000 points playing Donkey Kong Jr. On April 24, 2009,

Steve Wiebe Steven J. Wiebe (; born January 3, 1969) is an American two-time world champion of the video game ''Donkey Kong'', most recently holding the title from September 20, 2010, to January 10, 2011, with a high score of 1,064,500. Wiebe was the first p ...

eclipsed Hall's score, finishing with 1,139,800 points. On September 3, at 1984 Arcade in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an esti ...

, Mark L. Kiehl of

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...

surpassed Wiebe's record with a score of 1,147,800. Steve Wiebe regained the record with a score of 1,190,400 on his home machine set on Tuesday, February 16, 2010. Mark Kiehl has since eclipsed the previous world record with a score of 1,307,500. , Kiehl continues to hold the record today with a score of 1,412,200.

In popular culture

The game spawned a cereal with fruit-flavored cereal pieces shaped like bananas and cherries. The game was featured on numerous episodes of ''

Starcade ''Starcade'' is an American game show where contestants competed against one another by playing arcade video games. The series originally aired on WTBS from 1982 to 1983, followed by a run in syndication for the following season. The series w ...

''. Host

Geoff Edwards Geoffrey Bruce Owen Edwards (February 13, 1931 – March 5, 2014) was an American television actor, game show host, and radio personality. Starting in the early 2000s, he was also a writer and broadcaster on the subject of travel. Background P ...

noted that he had the arcade machine in his dressing room and found the game to be highly difficult. Donkey Kong Jr. was a cartoon on ''

Saturday Supercade ''Saturday Supercade'' is an American animated television series produced for Saturday mornings by Ruby-Spears Productions. It ran for two seasons on CBS. Premise Each episode is composed of several shorter segments featuring video game characte ...

'' (a series that aired on Saturday mornings from 1983 to 1985) with the title character voiced by

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

. Donkey Kong Jr. is one of the 8 playable characters in ''

Super Mario Kart ''Super Mario Kart'' is a kart racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The first game in the ''Mario Kart'' series, it was released in Japan and North America in 1992, and in Europe th ...

'' for the SNES. He is also a playable character in ''

Mario's Tennis is a 1995 sports game developed by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy video game console. The game was released at the launch of the Virtual Boy, and later as a pack-in game in North America. Gameplay ''Mario's Tennis'' is a sports game in which t ...

'' on

Virtual Boy The Virtual Boy is a 32-bit tabletop portable video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. Released in 1995, it was marketed as the first console capable of displaying stereoscopic "3D" graphics. The player uses the console like ...

and ''

Mario Tennis ''Mario Tennis'' is a 2000 sports video game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. Following '' Mario's Tennis'', it is the second game in the ''Mario Tennis'' series. The game is known for bein ...

'' on the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

. In the version of ''

Super Mario Bros. 3 ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released for home consoles in Japan on October 23, 1988, in North America on February 12, 1990 and in Europe on ...

'' seen in ''

Super Mario All-Stars ''Super Mario All-Stars'' is a 1993 compilation of platform games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It contains remakes of Nintendo's four '' Super Mario'' games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the ...

'', as well as the Game Boy Advance version, the king of World 4 was transformed into a young gorilla identical to Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong Jr. is among the characters in ''

Super Mario Maker is a 2015 side-scrolling platform game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U, released worldwide in September 2015. Players can create, play, and share courses online, free of charge, based on the styles ...

'' that players can transform into by use of Mystery Mushrooms.

Notes

References

External links

* *
''Donkey Kong Jr.'' scoreboard
at

''Donkey Kong Jr.''
a
NinDB

Official Nintendo Wii Virtual Console minisite

Official Nintendo 3DS eshop minisite

Official Nintendo Wii U eshop minisite

Official Nintendo Wii minisite

Official Nintendo 3DS minisite

Official Nintendo Wii U minisite
{{Authority control 1982 video games Arcade video games Atari 2600 games Atari 7800 games Atari 8-bit family games Atari games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games ColecoVision games Commodore 64 games Donkey Kong platform games Famicom Disk System games Game & Watch games Intellivision games Nintendo arcade games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo e-Reader games Nintendo Research & Development 1 games Nintendo Switch Online NES games Nintendo Switch games Platform games Video game sequels Video games about children Video games developed in Japan Video games directed by Shigeru Miyamoto Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console games for Wii Virtual Console games for Wii U Hamster Corporation games Multiplayer and single-player video games