adventure

Okay okay ... I LOVE DONKEY KONG. It takes me back to a time when Mario was known only as "JUMPMAN" and Donkey Kong ruled the arcade with that other strangely named pizza slice the Pac-MAN. It was originally called MONKEY KONG, but a misprint or typo became the signature title DONKEY KONG. You try to save the fair damsel in distress from a barrel and fire throwing Monkey - armed only occasionally with a hammer and well-timed jumps. Simple and addictive. Back when video games were brightly colored easy to learn, and usually lasted 2 minutes. The game itself deserves a hearty five stars.

Ah ... but heres the rub. An e-reader version of this was released just last year at a price of ... $6. This cart which is still missing the elusive PIE FACTORY is still priced 3 times as high! What? Couldn't they have put 5 or 6 classic games, or like ACTIVISION put on over 30 games from its 2600 heyday? I love the idea of RETRO gaming - I own all the old titles in some form. They are great! But one game at $18 or $19 seems a little steep for a game that could be held on 5 trading cards. Hmmmm! Makes me want to throw a barrel at somebody.

Even 20+ years after its initial release (and countless hours and quarters later), when I think of "video games," the game that comes to mind first is Donkey Kong. But I'm disappointed that Nintendo continues to omit an entire level (the infamous "pie factory" stage) from every home version of DK that it produces. Their excuse about cartridge space constraints is absolutely ludicrous, as they later put out an NES cartridge that contained both DK and DK Jr., and they both seemed to fit just fine. You're telling me they didn't have room for one more screen when it was just DK on the cartridge? As I recall, even the ColecoVision version had the missing stage! Anyway, despite that, if you don't have a home version of DK (and don't want to shell out $500-$1,000 for your very own arcade cabinet), this is the one to get. Despite its incompleteness, it's still a ton of fun, even two decades later.

With all the people that are putting negative comments on this game... I guess unless you grew up with this game, Theres no way to really apperciate it... Of coarse its simple, Its supposed to be... I gotta say the orignal games for nintendo were some of the best... you dont need to be high tech to be good :)