Donkey Kong

Tricking new players into thinking it's just a port of the classic arcade game, Donkey Kong turns out to be an impressive puzzle platformer, perfectly suited for the Gameboy. Pitting Mario against his original rival in the hopes of saving his first girlfriend, Donkey Kong offers a challenge so satisfying that it actually spawned an entire spin-off series of Mario games. However, the formula is already so refined here that I have little doubt you'll be fully satisfied after this game alone.

Throughout your experience, you'll encounter three types of levels. The most common has you finding a key and carrying it back to a locked door in order to pursue Donkey Kong and Pauline. Beating a few of those will lead up to an encounter with the ape, where just reaching the same platform as Pauline is enough to scare him away and end the stage. However, at the end of each world, he's gutsy enough to try and fight, requiring you to throw his projectiles back at him until he's frustrated enough to run away again. This pattern loops for every world in the game, but is kept fresh by constantly introducing new obstacles and enemies, including Donkey Kong Jr. himself, forcing you to constantly adjust to new mechanics and think differently about how to approach a level's challenges. In addition to bringing back Super Mario Bros. 2's pick-up mechanic, Donkey Kong also introduces a variety of new moves for Mario, including backflips and handstands, further increasing the ways you can approach a level. If you're looking for an extra challenge, you can also collect Pauline's hat, purse, and parasol in each stage to unlock a chance game that rewards bonus lives. They can sometimes be a pain to reach, but also offer a fun distraction in the easier levels.

While it isn't the most traditional Mario game, Donkey Kong feels utterly fantastic on the Game Boy. Mario controls like a dream, the environments are surprisingly detailed for the handheld, and there is a tremendous amount of content to enjoy. If you're looking for a platformer, this might not be the first game you think of, but it absolutely should be. Donkey Kong is easily one of the best games on the Game Boy, and any fan of Mario, or puzzle platforming in general, would be remiss to pass this one up.

The game is available for 3DS here (as of 7/26/21): https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/donkey-kong-gb-3ds/

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