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Donkey Kong

  • Video Game
  • 1981
  • E
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
Donkey Kong (1981)
Kong
Play trailer0:38
1 Video
11 Photos
Action

Arcade video game and the first in the "Donkey Kong" series in which Jumpman (later retconned to be Mario) runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and re... Read allArcade video game and the first in the "Donkey Kong" series in which Jumpman (later retconned to be Mario) runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and rescue Pauline from a giant gorilla, Donkey Kong.Arcade video game and the first in the "Donkey Kong" series in which Jumpman (later retconned to be Mario) runs and jumps on platforms and climbs ladders to ascend a construction site and rescue Pauline from a giant gorilla, Donkey Kong.

  • Director
    • Shigeru Miyamoto
  • Writer
    • Shigeru Miyamoto
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    2.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Shigeru Miyamoto
    • Writer
      • Shigeru Miyamoto
    • 23User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Kong
    Trailer 0:38
    Kong

    Photos10

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    User reviews23

    7.32.3K
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    Featured reviews

    dootuss

    An important moment in video games.

    Without a doubt, "Donkey Kong" marked a big moment in video game history. It was the first ever video game to have a story, and it introduced us to a carpenter named "Jumpman" (soon to be known as Mario of "Super Mario Brothers" fame) who had to save his girlfriend from the clutches of Donkey Kong while avoiding enemies like rolling barrels. While the game is outdated by today's standards of video games, it's still worth a playing.
    7claszdsburrogato

    Donkey Kong (1981) Classic, simple and amazing

    The game that gave rise to our great pop culture character, Mario Bros. It's a simple, short and very old game and maybe all that makes this game so cool. It is not an excellent or super well developed game like recent games, but that is due to the time the game was created, where games were much simpler compared to the most recent ones. Even though it's very basic, the game still manages to be a lot of fun and create remarkable characters that will come back later and become the greatest characters in games. Many people will be prejudiced against it for being from 1981, but it, in its own way, is a very beautiful game. And certainly what draws the most attention in this game are the sound effects that are very striking and impressive. If you have the opportunity to play, please play. This, like it or not, is one of the greatest milestones in video game history.
    Movie Nuttball

    Donkey Kong!

    The Donkey Kong series is one of the most different adventure video games! The cool characters and the action makes this game really fun! Below is a brief look how I think the game is!

    Game Play: The game play is very good. There is really basic controls here and is easy to perform. Novice gamers should have a good time here!

    Graphics: The graphics are wonderful especially on several game systems. The character especially Mario are really neat!

    Difficulty: The game is easy but as it goes on you find out that it will become more difficult!

    Music: The music is great! Just fantastic catchy tunes through out the game! In My opinion its some of the best music ever in a video game!

    Sound: The sound is great. Nuff said!

    Overall: I have always loved Donkey Kong! If you like excellent adventure games then I strongly recommend you play this game!

    To purchase this video game check out Amazon.com!
    Op_Prime

    Outdated? Maybe. A classic? Definitely.

    This game came out twenty years ago and remains one of the most important video games ever. Due in part because it was the first to have a real story. However, it is mainly because this was the first appearance of the most famous video game character, Mario. Of course, he's known as Jump Man, a carpenter, in this game.

    In the game, you play Jump Man and have to rescue a girl from Donkey Kong. Of course, you have to dodge all sorts of traps along the way. The graphics are vastly outdated compared to today's standards, but this game totally rocks. Thumbs up!
    cornflake101

    This game was a giant stepping stone to Mario's success!

    Many people think that the only thing about Nintendo is consoles and games. Actually, only about 70% of it is. In 1890 Nintendo was founded by a Japanese man named Fusajiro Yamauchi, and they were a successful card company. By the 1950s their company had expanded and by the 1970s they were selling toys. Due to the popularity of video game consoles they decided to make their own. They hired Nintendo's soon-to-be-top-man Shigeru Miyamoto in 1977 and they created the Game-And-Watch device. It failed miserably and Nintendo were starting to run out of money. So in 1980 Shigeru promised to make things right when he started developing his new game, DONKEY KONG. The game was finished by 1981 and released on arcades worldwide. Unbelievably the game was a massive success and Miyamoto had saved Nintendo. This game starred Jumpman the carpenter (soon to become Mario the plumber), a giant, stupid ape called Donkey Kong, and Mario's girlfriend Pauline. Jumpman has to climb a giant construction site to save Pauline, but Donkey Kong has planned many tricks and traps which Jumpman must get past. The game is very fun and a huge revolution for Nintendo. Yes, it is over 20 years since the excitement began and now gamers of today would laugh in the face of this game, it is definitely one of the greatest classics ever to come from the greatest game company of all time.

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    Related interests

    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The game was originally designed as a Popeye game but the rights expired in production, so new characters were made with the same characteristics of a giant taking away the girlfriend while being chased by the small hero.
    • Goofs
      There is a bug in the game that randomly occurs when Jumpman jumps over a barrel, and is not awarded any points for it.
    • Quotes

      Introduction screen: How high can you get?

    • Connections
      Edited into Animal Crossing (2001)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 2, 1981 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Japan
      • United States
    • Languages
      • None
      • English
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Donkey King
    • Production companies
      • Nintendo R&D1
      • Nintendo
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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