Donkey Kong Game Boy 1994, and arguably the best game on the system. The original four arcade screens explode into 100+ true puzzle-platform levels, Mario learns to swing, climb and carry. Absolutely prodigious Nintendo work. Essential on Game Boy.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player3+
Description
Enhanced Game Boy version of Donkey Kong with Mario chasing the gorilla beyond the original arcade across four extended worlds. Published by Nintendo, released in 1994 in Europe and North America. Over one hundred levels across four continents, Mario with expanded acrobatic moves, puzzles, and action sequences.
Donkey Kong review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
The game opens on the four screens of the original cabinet, faithfully redrawn, then leaves them for nearly a hundred new levels spread across themed worlds, forest, city, aeroplane, ship. That shift is visible on screen: you move from red girders on black to detailed settings where every manipulable object is flagged by a lighter outline.
The opening theme quotes the arcade cabinet before giving way to a writing of its own, made of short refrains that change with each world and of very brief jingles for keys picked up and doors opened. The tempo speeds up as the countdown nears its end, the only moment when the music allows itself to hurry the player.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Behind its remake looks, this title hides a hundred-odd stages that turn platforming into a puzzle: Mario jumps, handstands and hurls objects to reach the key, then the door. The wealth of the moveset and the ingenuity of the levels still hold up perfectly. A benchmark often cited as one of the genre's peaks on the system.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
What starts as a tribute to the arcade game quickly blossoms into a vast adventure: over a hundred levels packed with platform puzzles and Mario's acrobatics. Find the key, reach the door, gauge your jumps: everything is built for the satisfaction of the move. An underrated peak of the console, rich and clever.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Grabbing the key, reaching the door and solving each board like an acrobat's riddle: the formula blends platforming and puzzling with rare finesse. The brief levels chain together, each success unlocks the next and the urge to clear it all never fades. Rich and inventive throughout, this little gem remains one of the most captivating on the handheld.
Super Game Boy launch showcase, this DK 94 fuses a remake of the 1981 arcade with 97 stages purpose built for the colour mode, which makes it both a technical landmark and a design one. The first printing with the prominent Super Game Boy banner and gold logo is the sought piece, distinct from the later Player's Choice repress. Total run was large so loose stays common, yet first editions in a clean cardboard box hold a very firm price.
Is Donkey Kong still worth playing in 2026?
The 1994 Donkey Kong stands as one of the Game Boy's peaks and arguably one of Nintendo's finest works of the decade. Starting from the four arcade screens, it unfolds into over a hundred puzzle-platform stages where Mario learns to swing, climb, carry and throw with an agility unheard of at the time. The progression remains a textbook example, the difficulty curve climbs with rare precision and the Super Game Boy enhancements add tasteful colour. Genuinely timeless, it still deserves a full playthrough for anyone interested in Nintendo's design history.
