Which Is the Best Arcade Donkey Kong?

[digitalpress]

There's something to be said for each one. In my opinion they've all held up remarkably well through the years.

Donikey Kong: simple platforming action but unexpectedly devious. Fireballs "sometimes" seem to have a mind of their own, the four screens each present unique challenges. How high can you go?



Donkey Kong Jr.: The jumping is still important but mastering the art of climibing with one or two hands is the key to the game. Again, different screens present different challenges. And Mario is the BAD guy!



Donkey Kong 3: Mario has been replaced by "Stanley", and the game itself is a significant departure from the first two. Still, I know people who find this one by far the best in the series because of its fast action. Not as diverse but certainly more frantic.

[Videogamerdaryll]

The original Donkey Kong will always be the greatest..

Even though the other two are great games themselves..

[NE146]

I played all of them for years and years, and the answer is definitely the first. Although all 3 games are great and hold up to this day, there's just no way you can duplicate the "magic" of Donkey Kong when it first came out and the innovation behind it.

One memory I have is I grew up with the Japanese versions of DK and DKjr, so the screens went a logical (1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4). But all the strategy books and guides I'd read dealt with the U.S. versions which of course had all the screens mixed up. This caused a lot of confusion for me as a kid because I thought maybe I was missing some secret!

What's also funny is I used to absolutely dislike DK 3 for the longest time.. but that's because I was thinking of it as the sequel to Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. (which of course it is). But only later when I had that "paradigm shift" and realized it was a *SHOOTER* in the vein of Galaxian did I see the game in a whole new light! Might I add it was also a revelation when I realized that you could clear the stages just by shooting all the bugs (i.e. not just by shooting Donkey Kong off the screen). So just that little perception shift changed my whole perspective on the game

[Gunstarhero]

As much as I like Donkey Kong, and Kong Jr., I voted DK3 because not only was it the version that I became very proficient at, but also its very, very imaginative! What DK3 lacks in level design, it makes up with an amusing array of bugs to spray. Bug spray as your main weapon is just so funny to me, and the whole game is like some kind of screwball idea anyway. It's more of a shooter than a platform game, and it works really well. I didn't see this around the arcades too much, I believe it bombed because I seemed to be one of a couple people who would play it.

[Aswald]

The original Donkey Kong, although I like all 3. But the best "home version" I have is Donkey Kong 3 for the NES. Sadly, both the ColecoVision and NES versions of Donkey Kong are not especially good.

[kainemaxwell]

The original will always be a classic to me with DK Jr. coming a close second.

[Alex Kidd]

(i.e. not just by shooting Donkey Kong off the screen)

You mean you DON'T have to shoot DK off the screen?...
Hmm.. must go try that!!!

I always liked DK3, but found it way too hard after the 3rd or 4th round... but this may shed a new light on things...

I'll cast my vote after playtesting this new revelation.

Alex Kidd

[davidbrit2]

DK 3 is my absolute favorite. The first two are much too slow to get my adrenaline running. Once you get to around stage 30 in DK 3, it gets almost as frantic as Gaplus. I've gotten crazy scores on that game, too. I think I've hit somewhere around half a million, but I can't remember for sure. I've definitely gone well into the 6 digit range on both the arcade and NES versions.

[Alex Kidd]

I'd have to say Donkey Kong Jr.

They're all great, but Donkey Kong is too easy, and all the levels are too similar... Donkey Kong 3 is way too hard to be fun... it's just frustrating.
Donkey Kong Jr. has no real bad characteristics... except learning to time that jump from the floating platform to the sliding chain.
Plus, it's an oddball in terms or character... Donkey Kong's the captive, and Mario's the bad guy!

Alex Kidd

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Donkey kong 3 for me, it´s the most difficult and the most different...also, i used to play that in the NES when i was young...so there are a lot of memories about that.
I also have a review on my site about this game. Check it...
http://www.geocities.com/arquedigireviews/dk3.htm

[NE146]

Donkey kong 3 for me, it´s the most difficult and the most different...also, i used to play that in the NES when i was young...so there are a lot of memories about that.
I also have a review on my site about this game. Check it...
http://www.geocities.com/arquedigireviews/dk3.htm

Nice write up But I noticed you said that "the objective nevertheless is NOT to eliminate the insects but to shoot Kong with the fumigator to the top of the tree (or to put his head in a beehive, depending on the level)"

But like I said, you forgot another objective which was to eliminate all the bugs! You DON'T have to shoot Kong and can clear a stage just by shooting all the enemies until there are no more! (Yes this was a surprise for me to).

[Felixthegamer]

I've always liked Donkey Kong the most, but I play Donkey Kong Jr. much more because I am better at it. Donkey Kong has the nostalgia value and I like art work and trading cards I have seen from it. However, for my play value I'd go with DK jr but as I said, only because I am better at it. I could never really get into DK 3. Jr. is also cool because it is one of the few (Only?) games where Mario is the bad guy.

[davidbrit2]

But like I said, you forgot another objective which was to eliminate all the bugs! You DON'T have to shoot Kong and can clear a stage just by shooting all the enemies until there are no more! (Yes this was a surprise for me to). :)

In some of the later stages, unless you have the super sprayer, this is pretty much your only option, too. The onslaught gets so frantic that you barely have enough time to keep Kong at a stable height, much less push him out of the greenhouse entirely.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

But like I said, you forgot another objective which was to eliminate all the bugs! You DON'T have to shoot Kong and can clear a stage just by shooting all the enemies until there are no more! (Yes this was a surprise for me to).

In some of the later stages, unless you have the super sprayer, this is pretty much your only option, too. The onslaught gets so frantic that you barely have enough time to keep Kong at a stable height, much less push him out of the greenhouse entirely.

That´s true, so, the REAL objetive is to shoot DK all the time, because it´s very complicated shoot this stupid bugs

[Daniel Thomas]

I'll just have to be shameless and go with the original. There's something very charming about the early Miyamoto games (before Super Mario Bros), and Donkey Kong was the best. Maybe I was just better at that game than the others, but I could identify with Mario running up platforms more than I could with Junior jumping across vines, or that Stanley guy with a bug blaster. All three were good games, though.