Nintendo NES Game

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Like its predecessor, Donkey Kong Jr. is a platform game. There are a total of four stages, each with a unique theme. DK Jr. can run left and right, jump, and grab vines/chains/ropes to climb higher on the screen. He can slide down vines, or climb faster by holding two. Enemies include "Snapjaws", which resemble bear traps with eyes; bird-like creatures called "Nitpickers", some of which can attack by dropping eggs; and "Sparks" which roam across the wiring in one of Mario's hideouts. DK Jr. can jump over these enemies while on platforms, switch from one vine/chain/rope to another to dodge them, or knock down pieces of fruit that will destroy every enemy they touch before falling off the bottom of the screen. To pass the first three stages, DK Jr. must reach the key hanging next to his father's cage, whereupon Mario flees while pushing the cage off the screen. In the fourth stage, DK Jr. must push six keys into locks on the topmost platform to free Donkey Kong. After a brief cutscene, the player is taken back to the first stage at an increased difficulty. A bonus timer runs throughout each stage, and any points remaining on it are added to the player's score upon completion. DK Jr. loses a life when he touches any enemy or projectile, falls too great a distance, falls into water or off the bottom of the screen, or lets the bonus timer reach zero. The game ends when all lives are lost. Donkey Kong Jr. has a kill screen at level 22.

In Their Own Story

Donkey Kong has been defeated by Mario, who has put him in a cage in a forest. Donkey Kong's son, Donkey Kong Jr., follows Mario in an attempt to free his father. Mario transports Donkey Kong to his Hideout via helicopter, before Mario takes the keys to Donkey Kong's chains and places them around the building. Several enemies attack Donkey Kong Jr., but he escapes them and makes it to his father, releasing him from the chains as Mario falls to the ground. Donkey Kong Jr. saves Donkey Kong and the two set off together. Mario pursues the kongs, but flees after Donkey Kong knocks him back.

Reader's Guide

The order of the levels is different in different territories. In the Japanese version, the four levels appear in 1-2-3-4 sequence and then repeat, just as with the Japanese release of Donkey Kong. In the US version, the order is 1–4, 1–2–4, 1–3–4, 1-2-3-4 and then 1-2-3-4 from then on. Donkey Kong Jr. was ported to the NES, serving as one of three Japanese launch games on the Famicom. It was also ported to the Family Computer Disk System, which was released only in Japan. Atari released ports for the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, and Atari 8-bit computers, while Coleco released ports for the ColecoVision and Coleco Adam. CBS Electronics released a port for the Intellivision. A BBC Micro conversion was made but unreleased. Three Game & Watch versions of the game were also made. Two black-and-white versions for the New Wide Screen and Multi Screen handheld series (later under the model name Donkey Kong II), and a color version for the Tabletop and Panorama series. In 2002 the NES version was rereleased on the GBA add-on, the e-Reader. The NES version, along with its predecessor, was re-released in 1988 in an NES compilation titled Donkey Kong Classics. This version was later released on the Nintendo e-Reader and is available on the Virtual Console for the Wii. The NES version is also a playable game in Animal Crossing, though a special password is needed from an official website which is now no longer available. Donkey Kong Jr. was made available for the Nintendo 3DS from the Nintendo eShop, released in Japan on April 18, 2012, in North America on June 14, and in Europe on August 23 and was given away free to the Ambassadors users before the full release. It was again released for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014. The arcade version of Donkey Kong Jr., featuring both the Japanese and American versions, was released by Hamster Corporation for the Nintendo Switch as part of the company's Arcade Archives series in December 2018. The NES version was released on the Nintendo Classics service on May 15, 2019. In 2004, Namco released an arcade cabinet containing Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Bros.

Did You Know?

• Donkey Kong Jr. was designed principally by Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo chief engineer Gunpei Yokoi, with graphics by Miyamoto and Yoshio Sakamoto.
• The game has a kill screen at level 22, caused by an integer overflow in the computing, similar to the original Donkey Kong.
• On July 3, 2023, Justin Elliott performed a score of 1,584,400 live on his Twitch channel to secure the World Record.
• Donkey Kong Jr. is one of the 8 playable characters in Super Mario Kart for the SNES.
• The game spawned a cereal with fruit-flavored cereal pieces shaped like bananas and cherries.