Donkey Kong

Name:	Donkey Kong
Company:	Atari
Model #:	CX-7848
Programmer:	ITDC (International Technology Development Corporation)
Year:	1988
Released?	Yes
Notes:	Port of the 1981 Nintendo arcade game

Released in 1981, Donkey Kong was a smash hit when it hit the arcade scene.  Not only did Donkey Kong introduce us to Mario (then called Jumpman), but helped popularized the platformer genre.  Donkey Kong spawned two arcade sequels, an arcade spin off (Mario Bros.), and numerous home games.  Donkey Kong was as influential to video game history as Pac-Man helped cement Nintendo as an household name.  The home rights to Donkey Kong were a highly sought after prize which was claimed not by Atari, but rather by Coleco for their Colecovision system.  So how come Atari was able to produce Donkey Kong for their system?  Due to the wording in the contract, Coleco only had the rights for 'consoles' not for computers (this caused problems when Coleco released an upgraded version for the ADAM).  Atari bought the home computer rights and released Donkey Kong on their Atari 8-Bit line of computers.  They were not however allowed to release it for their consoles such as the 2600 and 5200.  By the time the Atari 7800 came around Atari had managed to license the console rights from Nintendo as Coleco was now defunct.

The plot of Donkey Kong is simple.  Guide Mario Jumpman up to the top of each level to rescue Princess Peach Pauline from the evil clutches of Donkey Kong Donkey Kong.  Each level has its own set of obstacles to avoid ranging from barrels and FireFoxes to... springs?  While Mario's only defense is usually to jump over or duck under obstacles, he can occasionally grab a hammer which will allow him to destroy enemies for a limited amount of time.  However when Mario has a hammer he is unable to climb ladders so use them with caution.  It's also worth noting that Mario is not invincible when using the hammer and a well timed enemy can still bring him down.

Screen 1: Girders

The girders screen is the standard warm-up screen.  Here Mario has to make his way up a series of five different girders (down from six in the arcade) in order to reach the top of the screen where Pauline is being kept.  Donkey Kong will continually roll barrels down the girders which will either roll of the edges of each level or roll down ladders, eventually reaching the bottom and being destroyed in a giant flaming barrel.  Occasionally Donkey Kong will also throw a barrel down the screen which will turn into a FireFox when it hits the oil can.  FireFoxes are intelligent fire creatures which will follow Mario around and attempt to kill him by touch.  There are two hammers on this screen that can be picked up to temporarily destroy barrels and FireFoxes, but your best strategy to to just jump and run.  There are also broken ladders which serve no purpose, although you can attempt to climb them if you'd like.  This screen will also appear between screens 2 and 3 on higher levels as a 'filler' screen to pad out the length of the game.

Once Mario makes it to the top,  Donkey Kong will grab Pauline and climb up the ladders (well in the arcade version anyway, here he just laughs at you).  Let’s quickly move onto…

Screen 2: Elevators

One of the tougher screens in the game (why is it always the second one?).  Here Mario must make his way past two elevators and up a series of small platforms in order to reach the top.  Instead of throwing barrels, Donkey Kong is now armed with springs which will bounce off the top platform at crazy speeds.  Thankfully the springs can only bounce forward and off the edge of the top girder, they cannot chase Mario around the rest of the screen.  Of course that doesn't mean Mario is safe until he gets into spring range, oh no no no... While navigating the two elevators and the platforms Mario must also avoid two FireFoxes that are roaming the area.  Depending on the level, the springs can either bounce higher and farther, or low and short.  The low and short springs are particularly hard to run under as you make your way to Pauline's ladder so take care.

Whew, that was intense!  Lets continue onward to…

Screen 3: Rivets

The final level of each round, the rivet stage consists of five platforms that contain eight rivets.  Here Mario must walk or jump over each rivet to remove it, leaving a gap where it was (careful as you can fall down these holes!).  On this level FireFoxes constantly appear out of nowhere, mercilessly chasing you.  Thankfully the FireFoxes cannot jump the gaps made by removing the rivets, so use this to your advantage.  There are two hammers on this screen which you can use to defend yourself in emergencies, but the best strategy is to clear the level before the FireFoxes become too aggressive.  Donkey Kong and Pauline await you at the top of the screen, but DK will whisk Pauline to the other side of the screen if you try and reach her before removing all the rivets (touching Donkey Kong is deadly).

Once you undo all eight rivets the girders will collapse and Donkey Kong will fall on his noggin.  Mario can now be with Pauline forever!  Unfortunately you know how arcade games work, Pauline mysteriously gets captured again (and again, and again, and again) so Mario must begin his quest anew.

The Atari 7800 port of Donkey Kong is decent, but could have been better.  While it looks pretty close to the arcade and NES versions (which many consider to be the gold standard for home ports), it's missing some key features such as the Cement Factory stage and the 'How High Can You Try?' screen between levels.  There's really no excuse for not including these, but even the NES version was missing the Cement Factory stage due to space constraints.  The gameplay feels a bit off with Mario being a bit sluggish and the jumping arc not being quite right, but at least the girders level has the correct number of girders with Donkey Kong being on the left side.  Not even the highly praised Atari 8-Bit port got that right.  But where the 7800 version really struggles is in the sound department.  Due to the 7800 not having a dedicated sound chip, it's forced to use the RIOT chip that was included for 2600 compatibility.  That means we get 2600 sounds and 'music' throughout the game which in the hands of a skilled programmer could have been tolerable but unfortunately this is not the case here.  The tinny beeps and boops really ruin what could have been a decent home conversion.

The 7800 version of Donkey Kong (along with Donkey Kong Jr. and Mario Bros.) was programmed by a small company called ITDC which may have outsourced their titles to a subsidiary in Shanghai China called the Shanghai Software Consortium (SSC).  This means that this port was most likely done overseas by programmers with little to no experience with the 7800 and without much in the way of tech support.  Given this, it's amazing that this port of Donkey Kong turned out as well as it did.  It's just a shame that by 1988 not many people were caring about an average port of seven year old arcade game on a dying system.

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