Donkey Kong
| Donkey Kong | |
|---|---|
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| Publisher(s) | Atarisoft |
| Original Retail Price | $44.95 (USD) |
| Programmer(s) | Douglas Brian Craig and Howard E. Scheer |
| Part# | RX 8512 |
| Format(s) | Solid State SoftwareTM Command Module |
| Release | 1983 (4th quarter) |
| Genre(s) | Action, Platform |
Donkey Kong is a Nintendo created video game distributed by Atarisoft for the Texas Instruments (TI) TI-99/4A. It was programmed jointly by Douglas Brian Craig and Howard E. Scheer. It was distributed on Solid State SoftwareTM Command Module cartridge during the fourth quarter of 1983. Its original retail price was $44.95.
Gameplay
Donkey Kong is a platform game that requires the player to cross numerous platforms and scale ladders to ascend to ever higher platforms before reaching the goal of each stage. Donkey Kong was also one of the first games of this genre to require the player to jump over various obstacles including gaps, obstacles, and enemies. The ultimate goal of each level, and the entire game as a whole, is to help Mario ascend to the uppermost platform of the stage to rescue his girl from the clutches of the gigantic ape, Donkey Kong. There are up to four stages to each level:
- Stage one consists of Mario climbing up a construction site which includes crooked girders and ladders to help him reach higher platforms. Mario has to jump Oil Barrels on this stage or crush them with one of two hammers that he can grab during this stage.
- Stage two has Mario facing a five-story structure consisting of conveyor belts with Fireballs and Sand Piles to avoid. Starting on stage two, Mario has the option of collecting some of his girl's lost items for bonus points. These items are strewn about the stages and include his girl's hat, purse, and umbrella. There are no hammers on stage two.
- Stage three has Mario using up and down open elevators to ascend and descend while avoiding Fireball and falling to his death. There are no hammers on stage three.
- Stage four has Mario at the bottom of a five-story construction site. The four levels above Mario each contain two rivets for Mario to collect. These rivets disappear after Mario crosses them leaving a gap in the girders that Mario must leap over to cross afterward. Numerous Fireballs appear at random times during this level for Mario to either destroy with the one hammer provided in this stage or to leap over to continue on his way.
Each level contains one or more of the above stages. Level one, for example, consists of stages 1 and 4. Level two consists of stages 1, 3, and 4. Level three consists of all four stages in order from 1 to 4. Level four goes in this order of stages, 1, 2, 1, 3, 4. After level four, barrels and enemies get faster and the game becomes progressively more difficult to complete.
