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3.5 / 5

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Platform
Arcade
Genres
Platformer · Arcade
Player Perspective
Side view
Developers
Nintendo R&D1
Publishers
Nintendo
Release date
June 30, 1982

Summary

Donkey Kong Jr. flips the classic arcade formula on its head: the familiar ape is now the captive, and Mario turns villain. In the arcade cabinet you guide a tiny, agile monkey through four distinct stages—Vines, Jumpboard, Chains and Hideout—each packed with vines, moving cables, jumpboards and electrified traps. The core mechanic is simple yet addictive: run, jump, climb, and drop fruit to crush Snapjaws, Nitpickers and Sparks, turning ordinary bananas into instant‑kill projectiles. Timing is everything, especially on the Jumpboard level where springy platforms launch you skyward, and on the Chains stage where you must insert multiple keys while dodging red and blue Snapjaws.

The game’s visual and audio DNA bears the fingerprints of Shigeru Miyamoto, Gunpei Yokoi and Yoshio Sakamoto, with Yukio Kaneoka’s catchy tunes looping behind the frantic action. A quirky piece of trivia: this is the only arcade title that casts Mario as the antagonist. Competitive players have chased ever‑higher scores, with the current live‑stream record sitting above 1.58 million points. A notorious “play forever” cheat lets two players swap control to extend a run indefinitely, a testament to the community’s love for squeezing every extra second out of the 700‑point timer.

Storyline

After the original Donkey Kong, Mario captures the big ape and locks him in a cage deep in a forest, even hauling him to a hideout by helicopter and scattering the keys that lock the chains around the building. Donkey Kong Jr., the small ape son, sets out to rescue his father, taking the role that Mario played in the first game.

The player guides Junior through four screens, dodging enemies such as beetles, birds and snakes while collecting the scattered keys. When the final key is placed in the lock, the cage opens, the screen freezes, Mario and Donkey Kong tumble down, and Junior catches his dad. The two then deliver a punch to Mario, sending him fleeing as they escape together.

Edited by Maya Carter

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Arcade Machine

Developers
Nintendo
Machine Style
Cocktail Table · Upright
Control Panel
Single-player
Input Devices
Joystick · Buttons
Screen Orientation
Portrait
Sound
Mono

Multiplayer

Multiplayer setup
Hot Seat

Alternative Titles

  • DK JR Short
  • Donkey Kong Jr Alternative
  • Donkey Kong Jr. Alternative