Poor old Stanley the Bugman, not only have all the bugs got into his greenhouse, there’s a big ape pestering him too. To add insult to injury, he would never feature as a playable character in another Nintendo game again and be forgotten forever, whilst Mario went on to international stardom.
Donkey Kong 3 started out life in the arcades and was quickly ported to the NES. It is a radical departure in terms of gameplay from its predecessors Donkey Kong and DK Jr. It is more of a shooter this time around.
The aim of the game is simple, you must spray Donkey Kong’s crotch with bug-spray so he retreats off the screen so you can win the level. This can be a bit time consuming, so if you see a super-sprayer laying around it is worth trying to pick it up so that you can finish the job off more quickly.
Of course it is not all that simple; Donkey Kong punches the hives at the start of each round in order to coax the bees and bugs within to attack you. All you have to do is try to stand in the middle of the screen spraying the big ape whilst frantically dodging all the pests at the same time, or try to spray them also. Whatever you do, keep spraying DK as if he gets to the bottom of the vine then you are in trouble!
That’s pretty much all there is to DK3. The gameplay does get very repetitive quickly as there isn’t really any variety to speak of. You either push DK off the top of the screen, or on other levels push him up so that a bee hive lands on his head. Between levels the trees move about a bit and change from green to red, and the bugs swirl around you much more frantically making it increasing more difficult not to lose a life.
The graphics and sound are both unremarkable, which isn’t surprising for a NES game of this era. They do the job however and add to the old-school arcade vibe. There isn’t really much music to speak of; it’s more like a crazy ringtone gone wrong.
For 500 Wii points it is hard to recommend Donkey Kong 3. There are far better NES games already on the Virtual Console that offer much more depth and longevity. The two-player option only allows you to take turns, and not play simultaneously which could have been fun in a game like this.
From the perspective of being a part of Nintendo’s history it is interesting however, unless Stanley the Bugman surprises us and pops up in a future version of Smash Bros as a playable character (he was a trophy in SSB Melee) it is unlikely we will ever find him in another videogame again.
1. Kevin
27 Jun 2008, 12:23 GMT
Its finally coming! I know its not the best of the three arcade style dk games but I still enjoyed it.
2. Bass X0
27 Jun 2008, 12:51 GMT
Its about time.
3. Tony
27 Jun 2008, 14:06 GMT
Technically it's another shooter. Anyway I glad to see another classic NES game. This one is fun for short time:) Now lets get Golf, Pro Wrestling, Slalom, Rad Racer, and Clu Clu Land D.
4. Ian Daemon
27 Jun 2008, 15:35 GMT
This is very different, but not horrible.
5. slambert215
27 Jun 2008, 17:58 GMT
I remember this was in Warioware for the DS where you have to blow in the microphone to make DK go in the beehive.
Looks like an ok game.
6. Terranigma
27 Jun 2008, 21:27 GMT
I'm a completionist so i'll buy this when it comes out. I'm such a completionist i even bought DK Jr Math. Why was that released before this?
7. Adamant
27 Jun 2008, 22:16 GMT
As others mentioned, it's the weakest entry in the trilogy, and the license seems very slapped on - there's absolutely nothing in this game apart from the big ape himself that has anything to do with the two prequels. Of course, that doesn't mean it's a bad game, and indeed Nintendo know what they're doing when it comes to game design.
And, for all you whiners who though DK and DK Jr were "too short", you'll have to play a rather large amount of stages until you've seen everything, since the game introduced new hazards every few rounds.
8. The shoemaker
28 Jun 2008, 06:14 GMT
/feels disturbed after watching the video
9. Angelic Lapras King
28 Jun 2008, 21:04 GMT
Well, that one more DK out the way making us closer to DK64...
10. Angelic Lapras King
28 Jun 2008, 21:06 GMT
Wait, you have to shoot DK THERE?!?
No wonder it flopped... o.o
11. kevenz
30 Jun 2008, 14:30 GMT
I have this game and it's probably the shortest game ever..... only 3 levels and each can be beat under 30 seconds.
12. stevenlindsay23
01 Jul 2008, 22:40 GMT
this game looks shockingly bad! i mean really bad. i know its nostalgic but jesus! id rather get hit by everyone of kevin mcallister's house traps than waste money on this! give me cannon fodder!
13. Adamant
02 Jul 2008, 22:20 GMT
@kevenz: It's a score-based game. The object isn't to beat all the levels, but to get a high score by playing the levels again and again as they grow more and more difficult. You may have owned the game, but your sure didn't play it much - there's 18 individual levels in the game, not 3.
14. Mr. Cheez
03 Jul 2008, 00:05 GMT
Only a matter of time before we'll see this one. And stevenlindsay, it's not as bad as it looks.
You spray DK in the ass with bug spray! HA!
15. Terranigma
14 Jul 2008, 14:19 GMT
I Wouldn't say Stanley is unlikely to reappear. What about Captain Rainbow, which will have cameos from many D-List characters that have fallen into obscurity for a long time?
16. angel m. rivera collazo
14 Jul 2008, 15:26 GMT
next...popeye! i am serious!
17. Rapadash6
14 Jul 2008, 16:36 GMT
@angel m. rivera collazo
Actually next is likely to be Clu Clu Land. After that the only eligable Nintendo developed NES games left are Pro Wrestling and Star Tropics 2: Zoda's Revenge.
18. Terranigma
14 Jul 2008, 16:49 GMT
That's all the games left? Shouldn't be long to go then
19. Rapadash6
14 Jul 2008, 17:36 GMT
@Terranigma
Take away all the Zapper games, Dr. Mario (because it was remade on WiiWare) and titles developed by Rare FOR Nintendo, then yeah, that's all thats left. I also didn't count Tetris, Tetris 2 and Popeye because those games are based off licenses thus being to costly to put up on the service. Tetris fans shouldn't worry, however, because we have a WiiWare version on the way from Hudson.
20. WarioFan63
14 Jul 2008, 20:38 GMT
Actually you also forgot the original Golf
21. Terranigma
14 Jul 2008, 20:48 GMT
I heard a character from Golf will also be in Captain Rainbow.
22. WarioFan63
14 Jul 2008, 22:29 GMT
Ha! You know, when I heard that I thought to myself if that was the reason it wasnt on there yet. "Maybe their using it to build up Captain Rainbow anticipation"
23. Tony
14 Jul 2008, 23:39 GMT
This guy will make into Smash Bros. or Captain Rainbow
24. Adamant
15 Jul 2008, 01:17 GMT
I doubt Golf will make it to the VC. It was ridiculously primitive at the point it was released, and Nintendo has already released NES Open Tournament Golf, which costs the same and is superior in ever single way imaginable. There's a slight beauty in the simplicity of Tennis and to a lesser extent Baseball, Volleyball isn't a genre that ever got a whoel lot of games, Ice Hockey has always been extremely awesome, and I'm sure there's some freaks out there who enjoy Soccer, but what kind of point can you possibly make about Golf? No one likes Golf. People who tried Golf back in the day know how awful it is. People who haven't played it but enjoy golf games would probably be a little wary about downloading a game they can see on the pictures is obviously more primitive than the other golf games available, and the name "Golf" isn't really one that makes people curious about the game. Not even Nintendo's super marketers could whip up an exciting VC description of the game to make it sound like something you'd want to download. Golf sucks.
25. The_Indigo_Effect
15 Jul 2008, 03:07 GMT
I guess it's better than Donkey Kong Math, but it's still not worth playing.
26. kevenz
15 Jul 2008, 04:30 GMT
@kevenz: It's a score-based game. The object isn't to beat all the levels, but to get a high score by playing the levels again and again as they grow more and more difficult. You may have owned the game, but your sure didn't play it much - there's 18 individual levels in the game, not 3.
I still have the cart for almost 20 years or something like that but it's really not worth more than 100 points.
27. JRAPOCALYPSE
15 Jul 2008, 19:06 GMT
This is a pretty fun game i must admit for what it was at the time and still now! I still own the cart for nes and i play it sometimes so if you like dk other than that aweful dk country wanna be donkey kong then this is a great vc download,Guess i liked this one being it was different at the time and not the same as the previous games.
28. StarDust
16 Jul 2008, 08:25 GMT
When I started collecting NES games back in 2002, I sort-of passed this one up because I never could figure out what to do, thus I never beat the first level. I have the Donkey Kong Classics game cart (Both Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr) and it is pretty fun, but DK 3 just alienated me. Don't completely diss Stan. Stan returned to Brooklin after DK3 while Mario and Luigi stayed in Mushroom land to save the princess. He still writes Mario every now and then to keep him informed about events on Planet Earth. Pauline (Mario's old Brooklin girlfriend and the original "damsel in distress") made a return in Mario vs Donkey Kong 2 DS, as a spokesperson for the Mini-Mario toys, but I honestly think that the chances of Stan making a comeback are abysmal.
Momma-Mia! I've been reading too much fan fiction, ROTFLMAO!
29. alxtlvra
16 Jul 2008, 08:44 GMT
Many of you should learn to LIVE true classics!
30. angel m. rivera collazo
17 Jul 2008, 15:17 GMT
more arcade games,more love for virtual console.
31. angel m. rivera collazo
17 Jul 2008, 15:18 GMT
the reason I have the Wii, ... VIRTUAL CONSOLE!
32. angel m. rivera collazo
17 Jul 2008, 15:18 GMT
4 stars for this game.
33. Kevin
17 Jul 2008, 21:32 GMT
3 maybe but not 4.
34. Mr. Cheez
17 Jul 2008, 23:55 GMT
3 stars for me too, tops. It's fun in doses, but it gets old pretty quickly.
@Adamant. I agree whole-heartedly. Who needs Ambien to cure insomnia when you can play Golf? That garbage will knock you out for a week!
35. alxtlvra
18 Jul 2008, 01:01 GMT
Also agree about Golf, there´s even a chapter on The Simpsons TV series that states this specific golf game as the worst ever, when Bart recieves it as a gift from Marge after giving up stealing video-games on marts.
36. Tony
18 Jul 2008, 23:56 GMT
I disagree about Golf. Nintendo will put it on the VC at some point. They put Volleyball, Tennis, and Baseball, so its just a matter of time before Golf hits. I think it would also do well on the VC. These games with the old school NES graphics will always do very well.
What would be great is if EA would put the first PGA golf from the Sega Genesis on the VC.
37. WarioFan63
19 Jul 2008, 04:00 GMT
there´s even a chapter on The Simpsons TV series that states this specific golf game as the worst ever, when Bart recieves it as a gift from Marge after giving up stealing video-games on marts.
Lets not confuse NES Golf with Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge....
"Don't do it son! How's that game going to help your putting?"
38. Mr. Cheez
19 Jul 2008, 19:28 GMT
^So THAT'S what it was called! Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge! I knew Alxtlvra wasn't talking about NES Golf, but something something's putting Challenge. Couldn't put my finger on it. That was a great episode!
39. WolfLink22
23 Jul 2008, 02:54 GMT
If you want a Virtual Console Game so badly wait for Clayfighter or something that you know you will like.
40. lockelocke
02 Aug 2008, 20:45 GMT
Fun game, but I agree with the review. More worth 25 cents than 5 bucks.
41. Beau Skunk
06 Aug 2008, 04:19 GMT
Not a bad game for the early 80s, but compared to DK & DK Jr. it's not as much fun, or as addictive.
And with no extra lives, and the fact that you can onley use the "super spray can" once per life, (it reappears after you die, it would've been better if they had it reappear after every 3 or 4 levels.) makes the game not last very long. It's hard to get a huge score in this game, sence it's so easy to die.
It's worth a shot if your curious, an old-school arcade game lover, or if you want to play Stanley the Bugman's onley game.
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