If somebody bought this and started playing without any real foreknowledge, they may do the first one or two levels and think it was nothing more than an enhanced port of the original Donkey Kong, but that’s not the case at all. All four of the levels from the original have been nicely remade (with better graphics and control scheme) as the opening for the game, but after that there are nine whole worlds for Mario to make his way through in his hunt for Donkey Kong (who, once again, has kidnapped Pauline).

What I like quite a lot about this game is that it’s very unique. The nine worlds Mario goes through are all quite different to any of the worlds in other games; one level has you making your way through a big city, another has you chasing Donkey Kong around on the outside of an aeroplane mid-flight. Also, each level isn’t a case of getting from the start to the end, instead you are required to think a little more; Donkey Kong runs ahead with Pauline and goes through a door which he locks behind him and in each level you have to find a key and you win by bringing it to the locked door.

Another interesting thing about this game is the fact that this game has the same system for attacking enemies as Super Mario Bros. 2 which is quite different to the norm. Instead of just being able to jump onto enemies to defeat them, you either have to pick something up and throw it at them, or pick up another enemy and throw them at each other. This helps further give this game it’s own very unique feel, because while it does have elements from other games, it uses them in new ways and combinations.

I think this game serves as a grand finale for the old Mario/Donkey Kong conflict, there are nice references to the games that came before it and, frankly, this game stands a full head and shoulders above all the rest. It took me eight and a half hours to complete this game compared to the twenty minutes or so you can beat any of the others in, and I like that. It’s the only one of these games to have any real soundtrack too, and there is some very nice music indeed in some areas. I have a feeling that this game may have been made as a tribute to the early Donkey Kong games as it came out the same year as Donkey Kong Country which completely changed the direction of the series.

Overall, a wonderful little game which can feel very rewarding at times. Rating: 8.5/10

You know, before I properly start this review, there’s one thing I want to say about this game; doesn’t it seem really weird that it’s called DK: King of Swing and not Donkey Kong: King of Swing? I can’t imagine why they just decided to initialise our hero’s name. Not to complain, of course, but I’ve always found that strange.

Anyway, after Rare left Nintendo it seems they were a little unsure about what exactly to do with the Donkey Kong series. There were several different new Donkey Kong games made by several different developers and all of them seemed to be trying to take the series in new, experimental directions. King of Swing is one of those more experimental titles.

The story line is pretty weak: The Kongs are getting ready for a jungle tournament, when King K. Rool comes along and steals all the medals (which they’ll be using as prizes) meaning that the whole event has to be cancelled. I know games like this are more focused on being fun than having an amazing story, but does that just seem a really pathetic evil plan?

Luckily, the game is nice and fun, so you can forgive the bad storyline. There are five worlds full of 2D levels to get through, but they aren’t just regular sidescrolling platformer stages. You need to climb upward through levels (using ‘pegs’ to grab hold of), avoiding enemies as you do so. This is nice because it’s quite unique and it means that some levels require quite a degree of skill, as the climbing can be quite difficult when you’re holding on to moving ‘pegs’. It’s all very enjoyable and it never gets too hard or frustrating. As with the original trilogy of Donkey Kong Country games, there are also a number of hidden items to find in each level, which adds to replayability. It’s just a shame there are only five worlds.

Outside of the ‘Adventure’ mode, there are also ‘Jungle Jam’ events you can play (‘Jungle Jam’ being the event K. Rool disrupted in the story mode). Here you can choose from climbing races, fights and games where you have to destroy barrels. These are quite fun, but nothing special. As a bonus, there are a selection of playable characters in this mode, including, Diddy, Dixie and Funky, with more to unlock as well, which is quite nice. This can be played in single or multiplayer, where, if you have a link cable, you can play the game against somebody else on their Game Boy Advance (and only using one copy of the game).

On the whole, it’s a nice attempt at experimentation and a welcome addition to the series. I found the soundtrack could be a bit boring, and it’s a shame that K. Rool has given up his thematic disguises, but these are small problems with what is otherwise a lovely little game.

Rating: 8.7/10

Buy it here.

When people think of the original Donkey Kong trilogy, they probably think it goes: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3 but they’d be wrong because, what a lot of people don’t know is, there is actually a Donkey Kong II. This game was a Game & Watch exclusive, there was never an arcade or NES version, and this probably is a big part of why it’s been mostly forgotten. But, I have to say, this is probably my favourite Donkey Kong Game & Watch game.

Story-wise, it seems to be a repeat of Donkey Kong Jr.; Mario has kidnapped Donkey Kong (that man seems to have a nasty habit of doing that!) and so Donkey Kong Jr. sets out to rescue him. I guess a slight difference is that, this time, rather than putting DK in a cage, he held him in place with chains (one on each limb).

The game takes place across two screens, which is quite nice. You have to get Donkey Kong Jr. up to the top of the trees where Donkey Kong is held, tossing keys up along the way so that you can unlock the four padlocks which are keeping him trapped. What I quite like is the fact that you have to go through the level in both directions (both up and down) as it makes a nice change from the other early games in the series. There’s also a nice mixture of nature and technology, with electrical cables mixed in with the branches of the tree, and I find that quite cool. At times the difficulty does feel a bit unfair though, as there are so many enemies that it seems like there’s nothing you can possibly do to avoid them.

A controversial opinion, I’m sure, but this is actually my joint favourite of the early Donkey Kong games. The gameplay feels fast, it’s fun to replay and the graphics don’t look bad. What’s especially impressive is that it achieves all that as a Game & Watch title. Rating: 6/10

Buy it here.

Everyone knows the original Donkey Kong, but its sequel Donkey Kong Jr. is perhaps a little more obscure. Nonetheless, this is an interesting piece of Nintendo history, featuring the debut appearance of the eponymous Donkey Kong Jr. and a very rare villainous depiction of Mario.

The game is a direct sequel to the original Donkey Kong and is Mario’s revenge against Donkey Kong for his earlier kidnapping of Pauline. Mario locks Donkey Kong away in a tiny little cage and Donkey Kong Jr. goes through four different levels in order to rescue his father. It’s very short, but, you can go through it again and again in order to get high scores (in both a normal and a hard mode) and there’s also a two-player mode where you take it in turns with somebody else to go through the levels.

It’s a nice enough little game but there’s not much to it and it does have its downsides. Donkey Kong Jr. moves really sluggishly and dies really easily. Of course, touching enemies will hurt you, as with many games, but falling really short distances also kills you and often you’ll jump a distance that seems perfectly fine only to be annoyed when he dies. On the subject of jumping, it feels like he’s really bad at it too, he barely leaves the ground. I think he probably has the exact same level of mobility as Mario did in the first game, but for some reason it feels much worse for Donkey Kong Jr. perhaps because he’s bigger. Sadly, having the only playable character be so cumbersome has the knock on effect of making the whole game feel rather slow, which is a shame.

So, it’s nice to play the game and know that it (much more than the first Donkey Kong) is the seed from which the spectacular Donkey Kong Country series later grew, but as it is, this is nothing more than a curiosity for the fans.

Rating: 5.9/10

Buy it as part of the compilation Donkey Kong Classics here.

When Donkey Kong became a big success for Nintendo, of course they wanted to release a version for their Game & Watch range so that people could play it ‘on the go’. Sadly, the technology to simply port it onto a portable device did not exist at the time and so the game was completely remade as a Game & Watch title. This had its upsides and its downsides.

As is the case with most Game & Watch games, there is only one level now and it’s kind of like a combination of the first and last levels of the original game. You use ladders to climb up onto girders and have to avoid rolling barrels as you do so. Eventually you get to the top where you have to turn on a crane with a switch and swing on its hook in order to sever the cables which are keeping up the platform that Donkey Kong is standing on. So many aspects of the original game are lost, which is a shame. On the other hand, however, this one level is now much more detailed; rather than just looking like girders in a black void (as it originally did) the events of the game now very clearly take place on a construction site and you can even see the skyline of a city in the background.

But while the level itself may look nicer, all of the characters look very weird (even in the box art, as you can see!). Mario looks like a generic Game & Watch man, Donkey Kong looks has a very weird face and Pauline (who is actually part of the background) is just a really bad doodle of a woman. The gameplay is also much jerkier and unnatural, making it often hard to time things, but then all of these things are to be expected of any Game & Watch title due to the limitations.

Once you’ve beaten Donkey Kong, you can continue to play through again and again to increase your high score and I actually prefer the Game & Watch score system over the original (it’s more fun), but other than this and another few minor improvements (it’s quite nice to see such an old double screened game too), I think this is a game you’ll only enjoy if you’re a big Nintendo, Mario or Donkey Kong fan.

Rating: 5.5/10

Buy it here.