When you hear “Donkey Kong”, I’m certain just a few video games spring to thoughts. The unique arcade recreation that spawned the platformer style and Mario’s first look, maybe? Maybe the SNES Country video games? It could be fairly shocking if the primary recreation out of a Nintendo fan’s mouth was a Donkey Kong Game Boy recreation, however it’s about time that modified.

Donkey Kong for Game Boy was launched in 1994, so most folk name it Donkey Kong ‘94 to differentiate it from the arcade original. At first impression, the game is a fairly straightforward port , tasking Mario with climbing the original four stages to rescue Pauline. After clearing the original stages, something unexpected happens: Mario chases Donkey Kong up and out of the construction site and into a Super Mario Bros. 3-style map. There are 96 new stages past the “remake” of the first four; 100 stages in all. There’s a wide range of worlds thrown your means, from a forest, a pirate ship, an airplane, and even an iceberg to call just a few.

The number of ranges is spectacular, particularly for a recreation of its measurement.

DK94 throws new mechanics at you shortly, however not overwhelmingly. You can climb and grasp alongside tightropes to cross gaps or construct momentum, enemies and gadgets may be picked up and thrown should you soar on prime of them. There is a backwards soar a la Super Mario 64 to realize further top. You may even make Mario do a handstand, strolling on his arms and letting some projectiles bounce off his toes. Each world introduces new gadgets and mechanics as you go, equivalent to ally creatures that enable you to attain larger jumps, climbable ropes, and stability beams to twirl on. Mario arguably has extra motion choices on this recreation than most of his 3D outings, not to mention any of the opposite 2D titles. It’s a blast to make use of these expertise to hurry by way of every stage, grabbing the purse, hat, and parasol Pauline left behind in every stage to rack up a excessive rating.

There’s numerous appeal in DK94’s graphics and sound, evident from even simply transferring Mario round. Have him fall from a excessive sufficient spot and he splats on the bottom, leg twitching within the air. When performing acrobatic feats, he strikes gymnastic poses, one thing that turned a staple of the 3D entries. There’s some actually unimaginable sprite work at play right here, and it helps the movement of the sport with how straightforward the degrees are to learn. Cutscenes between ranges introduce the brand new mechanics, so that you’re by no means thrust right into a stage with no concept what to do. As you progress, you’ll even see DK convey Jr. into the combination, having the youthful ape throw poison mushrooms to fell the plumber. This could be Jr.’s final main look apart from hitting the courtroom in Mario Tennis and getting added as a racer in Mario Kart Tour, so it’s good to see him serving to his pop.

Mario’s acrobatics are enjoyable to observe, as seen on this official artwork for the sport.

In the sound division, whereas the music works, it’s the voices and sound results which might be extra memorable. Pauline’s pixelated cries for help, the bounce of Mario’s jumps, and the slams of barrels falling down are captured effectively on the Game Boy, however I want there was a bit extra to the soundtrack. It’s not unhealthy, however there’s probably not something right here that’ll make you faucet your foot or lookup on-line for later listening. I suppose it shares that with the arcade recreation, as there’s extra music total, so it’s bought that going for it over the unique.

There’s an ingenuity at play right here that you just don’t see a lot from Nintendo’s safer titles starring Mario. Off-beat video games like this are sometimes regulated to the Warios and Captain Toads of Nintendo’s roster, So it’s shocking to see many “Best of Mario” lists skip proper over DK94, when it’s simply in my prime ten, perhaps even prime 5, 2D Mario video games. Handheld titles may be neglected, Mario Land however,  however this one’s nonetheless not within the dialog! It’s a disgrace, however it’s straightforward to guess why.

First, its title is fairly unhealthy. Just “Donkey Kong” makes the typical gamer suppose that is yet one more port of the arcade recreation, and by 1994 folks had been searching for larger and higher video games than a 4 display screen platformer. This goes hand-in-hand with the twist in the beginning of the sport. After the primary 4 screens, the sport opens up, however turning the sport on for the primary time and simply seeing the unique 25m stage, an uninformed participant would possibly have a look at the title and the sport and determine it’s simply the identical previous recreation and transfer on.

There’s additionally the problem of timing. The Super Nintendo had been out for a couple of 12 months by the point DK94 had been launched. The Game Boy was a bit lengthy within the tooth, and there was each a extra standard “Mario” recreation accessible on Game Boy with Wario Land ( technically Super Mario Land 3!) *and* a extra standard Donkey Kong recreation on SNES coming later that 12 months within the revolutionary Donkey Kong Country. Gamers needed to look to the longer term, and one thing that would simply be mistaken as an previous arcade recreation wasn’t on the forefront of most individuals’s minds.

I’m guessing lots of people missed this display screen.

Donkey Kong ‘94 is worth going back to. Its mechanics are surprisingly modern, it’s fairly beefy in scope, and it’s only a blast to play. It’s finest skilled in colour, with a number of Super Game Boy choices constructed into the cartridge. If you’re a fan of this recreation and wish extra, there’s a sequel! Mario vs Donkey Kong on the GBA is *really* a true-blue follow-up to this! The Lemmings-style minis didn’t issue into the gameplay till the second Mario vs. Donkey Kong. It’s a disgrace that Nintendo hasn’t made one other recreation on this type, as bite-sized puzzle platforming could be nice on Switch. It was launched on the 3DS Virtual Console, however that’s not precisely an possibility now, so for now Donkey Kong ‘94 makes for an amazing motive to proceed to rally for Game Boy on Switch so everybody can get a style of a bona-fide basic of transportable platforming.

John Michonski (2 Posts)

John Michonski has been writing nearly so long as he is been gaming. He loves handhelds, wealthy tales, and distinctive experiences solely video games can provide.

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