The 1st Chapter - Donkey Kong Jr
Welcome back once again to The First Chapter!
This time we’re dropping back to the NES once more.
Once upon a time, Donkey Kong threatened Mario’s girlfriend Paula by kidnapping her and holding her onto of a large scaffolding.
Enraged by this, Mario punished the Kong by trapping him in a cage and challenging his son/Grandson to rescue him!
...Uhm, sure. We’ll go with that.
This is an unusual game. But one that I personally enjoy more than standard Donkey Kong.
As you can see, Like stated above, Mario has DK trapped in a cage. This time you’re playing the diaper wearing toddler on his way to save him.
You’ll do this by climbing vines and jumping to vines...
All while avoiding monsters like crocodiles, flyby birds, and the accidental missing of a jump.
The face on JR says it all... This is traumatic for a little guy to handle all by himself...
And Mario with his whip isn’t all that comforting by comparison.
Getting caught is never a good thing, but in the case of JR it sends him into such a low self esteem, stress induced panic that he hurtles himself off the bridge into the raging waters below.
You know! For kids!
The next stage introduces new obstacles, and a new way for me to die like a moron.
using springs PROPERLY boosts you up to the gooey vines above that you grab a hold of.
Here the swooping birds are rushing you at every opportunity, trying to pry your meaty meathonks off the vines ropes.
It’s like everything in the world does NOT want you to save this Kong.
But considering the big Kong is supposedly Cranky Kong in the DK canon (if such a thing exists) maybe that might explain it...
Unfortunately my affinity for dying in idiot-proof traps kept me from personally experiencing levels beyond these two, but for an idea of what fresh hell awaits you beyond...
The final stage specifically requires you to lead a series of keys up the ropes by pushing them from the bottom to the keyholes at the top.
This action frees DK/Cranky from his prison and sets the events in motion once again!
Like most arcade-style games there is no true ending, merely opportunity to continue to boost your score higher and higher.
Because of this that concludes the supposed ‘first chapter’ of this game.
This review may be brief, but so is this game. An experience that you can take in bite sizes, or long playthrus depending on your patience or skill.
Still, despite that I still prefer this game over DK. I like the climbing mechanics, the extra levels of difficulty, and the look on JR’s face when he knows death approaches.
I didn’t mention mechanics like knocking fruits down on top of enemies for extra points, but it’s uh... you can do it.
The First Chapter of Donkey Kong Jr. for the NES gets a: