In this simple adventure, the son of the dastardly, damsel stealing Donkey Kong must rescue his father from our plumber hero Mario. With only four levels, each of which only occupy a single screen, this game is almost as short as the original Donkey Kong game.
The levels are littered with birds, sparks and little choppy-things, all of which have obviously been paid off by Mario to take out Jr. Similar to the original, you have the ability to jump over things, but you now you can climb on hanging vines, which you usually have to jump up to grab.
The game has only four levels, after which play restarts again from the first stage. That makes this release a pretty shallow offering, and hard to justify for the expense of 500 points. The same pricetag could buy you a number of other, deeper NES hits. But at least this one's a full port (the NES version of the first Donkey Kong cuts out a stage).
After all these years, the levels can still be a slight challenge and still hold replayability. It's really a better game for gamers who enjoyed this at the time. The gameplay is much too basic to recommend this wholeheartedly when there are so many better alternatives on the Virtual Console.
1. Bass X0
20 Feb 2007, 11:32 GMT
I wonder if Donkey Kong 3 or Donkey Kong Jr. Classics will be on the Virtual Console. Not that they are good games, mind. I remember this game on Donkey Kong Classics when I first got my NES all those years ago and I enjoyed it more than Donkey Kong.
2. Eric
19 Mar 2007, 20:32 GMT
I love the Arcade Classic series. These games are great fun to the hardcore oldschool Nintendo gamer.
3. Clayfrd
10 Apr 2007, 02:43 GMT
This is a fun game in small doses, but only spend your points if you really like this game.
4. mario/zelda_fan
22 Apr 2007, 02:26 GMT
Yeah same with dk jr math I'm not wasting my time with this one, for the same reasons as dk jr math. ( if you want to see my reasons go to Donkey Kong Jr. Math, you no the one beside donkey kong jr. my name is mario/zelda_fan )
5. Jason
24 Apr 2007, 22:29 GMT
I agree with both Clayfrd and Eric. They are great to have around when you have an urge to go old school, but they are not at the top of my list.
6. Awesome Game!
11 Jun 2007, 21:44 GMT
My problem with the release of this and Donkey Kong as separate entries is that Nintendo released a value pack called DK Classics which included both DK 1 and Jr - its kind of annoying they double-dipped when porting the titles to the VC.
7. SKTTR
12 Jun 2007, 03:33 GMT
DK Classics isn't showing up as a normal VC download I think.
It's the same thing as Super Mario All-Stars, Tetris&Dr.Mario and other collections. Every piece for piece is coming. Compilations will come when no one will buy it on VC anymore.
I think the best thing to play a big collection of (19) NES games on your Wii is to get Animal Crossing for Gamecube. In the end it's cheaper.
All NES-DK's (DK+DK Jr+DK 3+DK Jr Math) included.
8. Thomas
19 Jun 2007, 21:26 GMT
The second cartridge I had ever owned for the NES was "Donkey Kong Classics" (after the SMB/Duck Hunt cartridge). I am glad to see DK and DKJr on the VC, but it is lame that they're sold separately. Eh, that's Ninteconomics for you.
9. Bass X0
05 Jul 2007, 00:07 GMT
Remember the old Donkey Kong Jr. cartoon? "M-Monkey Muscle!!"
10. angel m. rivera collazo
06 Jul 2007, 17:37 GMT
i have dk jr. in vc.only because it has the 4 parts is awesome.is not arcade version:3 stars.
11. street fighter ii
29 Jul 2007, 16:11 GMT
Great classic of the golden age of video game.
12. Mendez
14 Aug 2007, 16:31 GMT
Not a bad game, but not great either.
13. learn japanese ds
08 Jan 2008, 07:23 GMT
You guys remember how DK jr was in the original mario kart? weird eh?
14. Clayfrd
28 Jan 2008, 04:02 GMT
I haven't played this game in a while, but I still must say it is satisfying to play through every now and then to take out an animal or two with a fruit. Despite that, I can't give it more than 2 stars.
15. Pocketim
03 Feb 2008, 04:59 GMT
I have this game on my E-Reader and I do enjoy it, 3 stars from me, however, I can't see this game working well on the big screen
16. GameGod3008
22 Feb 2008, 16:22 GMT
If you're a fan of the Donkey Kong Games, you will enjoy this to some extent. Otherwise avoid as it's short and occassionally repetitive. Even for DK fans, you may not enjoy it that much. Despite this, it's still fun, even for a short while, just don't expect too much out of it.
17. Jupiter Adept
02 Mar 2008, 03:01 GMT
Not worth the points. But, the original Donkey Kong is great.
18. MasterMario
19 Apr 2008, 21:30 GMT
I never beat it, but I didn't like it either.
19. Mr. Cheez
01 Aug 2008, 19:50 GMT
This game was/is fun as an E-reader pack-in game, but I don't see how anyone would download it for $5. 3/5
20. Beau Skunk
06 Aug 2008, 08:15 GMT
Sometimes I like playing this more then the original DK game. As a kid I used to love renting the "Donkey Kong Classics" combo NES game. (Wich featured both DK & DK Jr. squeezed into one game cartridge.) So this was always a childhood favorite. I can't say for sure if people who grew up with more complex games will appreciate it as much as I, but it's a nice piece of Nintendo history.
Don't let the "Jr." in the title fool you, this isn't an easier version of DK, but a proper sequal to the original smash arcade game.
Plus it's the onley game with Mario as the "bad guy."
I always felt like they should of made a modernized DK Jr. remake game like the old Gameboy Donkey Kong '94 & Mario VS DK games.
21. Cally
16 Aug 2008, 13:16 GMT
What I don't understand is why Mario keeps Donkey Kong around. I mean, Donkey Kong wanted the princess, but what does Mario want with DK?
Yeah this is almost as fun as Donkey Kong. Similar goals but plays totally differently. Like DK, classic but can be beaten in five minutes--a buck a minute.
22. Big A2
10 Oct 2008, 09:12 GMT
This is an ok game, but I already have it for my e-Reader.
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