Vintage Video Game Fridays: Donkey Kong Classic

Remember the days when Mario used to be known as Jumpman and he had to jump through hurdles of barrels and flames in order to rescue his princess from the big bad ape named Donkey Kong? Well, we certainly do! And what better way to remember than have another go at this classic video game?

Donkey Kong was released by Nintendo in 1981 under the platform genre. The main goal of the game is to maneuver the hero, Jumpman, through various hurdles and obstacles in order to reach his lady love and save her from the perillious Donkey Kong. The player typically gets three lives at the beginning but can earn one ups by accumulating points.

The game is made up of four levels that get more difficult and require Jumpman to climb up higher distances to reach Lady. The first level is pitted at 25 meters and an additional 25 meters is added to the height that Jumpman must traverse with each level until it reaches a maximum of 100 meters where our hero is united with the princess in the end.

Once the player is able to succeed through all four levels, the game goes back to the first level but everything gets a bit tougher. Donkey Kong hurls down barrels faster, the fireballs move around quicker, and the bouncing weights rain down more frequently–you know, that sort of thing. The game finally ends at level 22 when the player reaches the kill screen, but only because of a glitch in the game's programming.

Take a walk with Jumpman in one of the most well-known games in video game history. Click here to have another go at Donkey Kong.