Donkey Kong Junior

aka: Donkey Kong Jr, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong Jr.-e
Moby ID: 7302
Arcade Specs
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Description official descriptions

Mario has kidnapped Junior's Papa!

Donkey Kong Jr. was originally released in the arcades in 1982 as a sequel to Donkey Kong. In this game, Mario plays the antagonist, finally having captured Donkey Kong, and has put the ape in a locked cage. As Donkey Kong Jr., players will have to make their way through four different levels (Vines, Springboard, Chains and Mario's Hideout) in an attempt to find keys to free the little monkey's father.

Along the way, Mario will send out Snapjaws, swooping purple birds, and electric sparks in an attempt to stop Junior. Junior can defend himself by dropping fruit found around the levels on the heads of his foes. The more foes a piece of fruit hits in a falling sequence, the higher bonus points can be scored.

Junior can also avoid enemies more easily by grabbing hold of two chains or vines at a time to climb away faster, or by jumping over his foes. However, any long fall or falling into the water on certain levels will mean the loss of a life for Junior.

In the final cut scene, Junior will free Donkey Kong and both will escape after giving Mario the boot. Once all four levels are cleared, the game levels will start over at a higher difficulty.

Like the original Donkey Kong, the earlier 1980's console versions do not have all of the levels and animations from the arcade.

Spellings

  • ドンキーコングJR. - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Arcade version)

10 People

Staff
Sound Design (uncredited)
Producer (uncredited)
Executive Producer (unredited)

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 68% (based on 28 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 139 ratings with 4 reviews)

Move over, Mario! This game is awesome!

The Good
1.-The difficulty level 2.-The fact that Donkey Kong JR. gets his own game 3.-Climbing stuff 4.-The fact that it's on the NES 5.-The fact that it single-handedly ROCKS!

The Bad
1.-Mario's the bad guy 2.-The fact that it was less popular than Donkey Kong 3.-I wish there was 1 more stage, hidden far in the game.

The Bottom Line
Rent or Buy?-BUY! It's hard when you start out, but, it gets easier.

NES · by Alex Baumfull (3) · 2004

Nice little sequel, twice as addictive as its predecessor

The Good
Donkey Kong was a successful arcade game in which you played as Mario (then Jumpman) trying to save his damsel-in-distress from the aptly named gorilla. The game spawned two sequels, both of which were released on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I have played the original game so many times as a kid that I know the game mechanics off by heart, and I wasn't even aware that there was a sequel, probably because it never appeared on the Commodore 64, until this day.

In Donkey Kong Jr., Mario gets revenge by capturing the gorilla in a cage and stealing the key needed to unlock it, and it is up to his son to rescue him by navigating his way to the top of the screen and getting the key back. Junior needs to also avoid several enemies including Snapjaws, Nitpickers, and Sparks. There are four levels in the game, and gameplay in each one varies.

I enjoyed the different themes the game has to offer. The first two levels have a jungle theme with Junior climbing vines and getting fruit to knock the enemies down, and level three introduces a electricity-themed level where the platforms and ladders are colored blue. The graphics are colorful and the animations are smooth.

The background music for each level is just a short loop, but it's not annoying. The piece that you hear when you get the key varies between levels. The sound effects for Donkey Kong Jr. are quite similar to its predecessor. The controls are quick to get used to, and the game resembles that ”just one more go” addictiveness, in an attempt to beat your previous high score every time.



The Bad
Err...

The Bottom Line
As a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. is not a bad game at all. The themes are interesting, and the game is just as addictive as the first one. The graphics are more colorful, and the music and sound is on par with the first game, with its short and catchy tunes. You'll enjoy this one. It and the original game are much better than the third offering.

NES · by Katakis | カタキス (43092) · 2017

Donkey Kong is back on Famicom

The Good
The game is more developed and enjoyable to play as Donkey Kong. In addition, the result is exactly the same as the arcade version.

The Bad
The graphics are extremely minimalist and no effort was made to improve them.

The Bottom Line
Donkey Kong Jr. is the sequel to Donkey Kong. You control this time the son of Donkey Kong wishing rescue her father kidnapped by Mario.

NES · by Wave Magatama (3) · 2016

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Trivia

Atari 2600 port

Surprisingly, Donkey Kong Jr. for the Atari 2600 was probably the poorest conversion in the history of the franchise. It was over-simplified in every aspect and almost unplayable. That must have been one of the main reasons Nintendo later enforced such strict standards on third party developers.

Cereal

Donkey Kong Junior had a breakfast cereal released in 1983 by Ralston-Purina. It had strawberry and banana shaped and flavored cereals.

Cartoon

Donkey Kong Jr. was popular enough to have a Saturday morning TV cartoon based on it in the early 1980's. DK Jr. would often use "Monkey Muscles" as his catchphrase.

Mario

This is the only Nintendo game where Mario is portrayed as a villain.

Awards

  • TeleMatch
    • Issue 04/1984 – Hand-held/Minigames of the Year 1983 (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed by LepricahnsGold and Silverblade

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  • MobyGames ID: 7302
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Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

Wii added by Corn Popper. Nintendo 3DS added by ResidentHazard. Wii U added by Michael Cassidy. Nintendo Switch added by Rik Hideto. Coleco Adam added by ed1475. Arcade added by Pseudo_Intellectual. Atari 7800, ColecoVision, Intellivision, Atari 2600 added by Servo. Atari 8-bit added by LepricahnsGold.

Additional contributors: Shoddyan, Guy Chapman, gamewarrior, formercontrib, LepricahnsGold, Patrick Bregger.

Game added September 28, 2002. Last modified February 1, 2024.