Nintendo's original on NES: fewer levels than the arcade but the magic remains intact. Jumpman vs the gorilla, a story that started everything. Historical, essential, still replayable.
Your verdict
Category
Arcade1 player3+
Description
Founding platformer featuring Donkey Kong throwing barrels at Mario as he tries to climb. Published by Nintendo, released in Japan in 1983. Mario in side-scrolling view climbing scaffolding, barrels to avoid and rescuing Pauline. Famicom port of Nintendo's Donkey Kong arcade classic.
Donkey Kong review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Gameplay
"Solid"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Climbing ladders, hopping over barrels and reaching the top to save the girl: this arcade monument rests on a few crystal-clear rules and a relentless sense of timing. Each screen is a dexterity puzzle where the slightest hesitation costs you. Immediate, tense, fiercely replayable, the starting point of a legend and just as addictive.
The historic 1983 Famicom release, one of the console's Japanese launch titles. Its value rests less on raw scarcity than on its status as a foundational stone of Nintendo's home-console catalogue. Early production carts with intact factory labelling and boxes with unaltered film are markedly more sought after, especially in the early-pressing sub-variants chased by dedicated Famicom collectors.
Is Donkey Kong still worth playing in 2026?
Donkey Kong on NES is Nintendo's in-house port of the arcade that started it all. Fewer levels than the original cabinet, but the magic of Jumpman versus the gorilla stays intact. Historical and essential to grasp Mario's birth, and still perfectly playable in short bursts. The Original Edition and Classics variants round out the offering for purists. Controls feel stiff today but retain real precision. A classic to know without question.
