+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| D O N K E Y K O N G |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
GAME: DONKEY KONG
PLATFORM: ARCADE
GENRE: ARCADE SHOOTER
CREATOR: NINTENDO OF AMERICA Copyright 1981
AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ: Kevin Butler AKA War Doc
E-MAIL: kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com
FAQ VERSION: 1.01
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT I: INTRODUCTION
1. Legal Stuff
2. Version Information
3. Acknowledgements
4. Welcome
5. Overview
UNIT II: GAME INFORMATION
6. The Game
6.1 The Controls
6.2 The Playing Fields
6.3 Scoring
6.4 The Levels
UNIT III: STRATEGIES
7. Playing the Game
7.1 Girder
7.2 Rivet
7.3 Elevator
7.4 Pie Factory
UNIT IV: CONCLUSION
8. Conclusion
_______________________________________________________________________________
To find a particular chapter or subchapter do the following:
1. Highlight the chapter or subchapter name you wish to find.
2. Press CTRL-C
3. Press CTRL-F
4. Press CTRL-V
5. Press CTRL-F
5. You will arrive at the desired chapter or subchapter.
_______________________________________________________________________________
**************
********************************* U N I T I **********************************
**************
+=================+
| 1. LEGAL STUFF |============================================================
+=================+
This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advanced permission from the author. Use of this guide on
any other web sit or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and
a violation of copyright. All content in this guide is Copyright 2003 by
Kevin Butler. Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this
work or to display it:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheats.de
faqs.ign.com
If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask. Save yourself
the headache of putting up with lawsuits and whatnot because you failed to ask
a simple "Can I post your guide on <insert site>?". If you wish to use info
in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so.
If you see this guide on any other site then the one listed above, please
e-mail me. If you wish to ask questions or give input to this guide, please
e-mail me. Just have Donkey Kong as the subject so I know it isn't another
kooky vendor trying to sell me hair gel or another XXX site telling me I have
new friends.
+=========================+
| 2. VERSION INFORMATION |====================================================
+=========================+
Version 1.0 7/29/03: A guide is born.
Version 1.01 8/28/03: Fixed a couple of errors.
+======================+
| 3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |=======================================================
+======================+
The following are a list of people or organizations that have made this FAQ
possible:
My wonderful family (who has had to put up with the tapping on the keyboard)
Nintendo of America for making a great arcade game
GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ
+=============+
| 4. WELCOME |================================================================
+=============+
Welcome to my FAQ for Donkey Kong. Since the game has you continuously
rescuing the fair damsel until all your men are killed, there is no walkthrough
per se. Instead it will be broken up into the game itself and strategies for
survival. Input is appreciated along with constructive criticism. If you wish
to e-mail me thoughts on this FAQ, better ways of doing things, other
strategies, etc., feel free. Make sure you put Donkey Kong as the subject. If
you don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam.
+==============+
| 5. OVERVIEW |===============================================================
+==============+
Donkey Kong Nintendo's first breakthrough into America. Before that, Nintendo
had a hard time trying to get anything into the United States. It proved to be
smart decision since the popularity of the game took off in spectacular
fashion. Nintendo established their headquarters of Nintendo of America to
ensure that the game was being distributed properly. It was one of the first
games to feature four separate screens of action. By mixing up the screens,
the game created many possibilities for different levels. After winning a
couple of lawsuits, Nintendo licensed out Donkey Kong to manufacturers who
created the table top games. Although Donkey Kong allowed Nintendo to put its
foot in the door, it wasn't until the first home gaming system made it to the
United States that Nintendo was forever firmly entrenched in the United States.
It also first established the character Mario (who originally started out as a
carpenter). Good luck on rescuing the lady.
***************
******************************** U N I T II **********************************
***************
+==============+
| 6. THE GAME |===============================================================
+==============+
Donkey Kong is a two-dimensional, platform style game. Some big old stubborn
ape has kidnapped your lady and taken her to the top of a structure. Since he
took your lady, your main purpose in life is to go up after Donkey Kong, get
your lady, and hopefully be able to get in a shot or two on the monkey. Your
trip to the top, though, won't be easy since there are a few obstacles that you
must go through or around. Obstacles such as wayward barrels, nasty little
flames, and baked pies are just some you must deal with. Of course, once you
clear one part of a level, there is yet another building to climb and more
enemies to deal with. All in a days work.
____________________
/ 6.1 The Controls /__________________________________________________________
--------------------
The controls on this game are very easy. It may, though, take just a little
bit of time to get used to them.
- A four way joystick for moving left, right, up, and down
- A jump button.
__________________________
/ 6.2 The Playing Fields /____________________________________________________
--------------------------
Donkey Kong actually consists of four playing fields. It's the way the game
mixes up the fields that determines certain levels. Each field has it's own
nuances along with any enemies and other special features. I have included an
example of what these fields look like (and also given them my own names since
I don't recall some of the real names):
+--------+
| GIRDER |
+--------+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| H H LEVEL->L= |
| LADDER-> H H +-BONUS-+ |
| H H_________ +-------+ |
| H H H | 8000 | |
| H H H +-------+ |
|______________________H_H________H_ |
| H ------------------ |
| BROKEN H ------H-- |
| T <-HAMMER LADDER-> H |
| __________H_______|
| H ------------------ H |
| --H---------H--------H---- H |
| H H |
|_______H_________H |
| H ------------------ H |
| H H------------------H----H-- |
| H H |
| H ___________H______|
| H ----H------------ |
| -H--------H------------H--- T |
| H H |
|______H___________ H |
| --H------H------- |
| +---+ ------------------------H-- |
| | | <-FIRE BARREL H |
|_|___|_______________H________------------------------------H-- |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-------+
| RIVET |
+-------+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| LEVEL-> L= |
| +-BONUS-+ |
| __________________ +-------+ |
| | | | 8000 | |
| | | +-------+ |
| UMBRELLA---->U | | |
| _____R____|_______|____R____ |
| H H H H |
| H H T H H <-LADDER |
| H H H H |
| _____H____RH______________H_R___H_____ |
| HAMMER->T H H H |
| H RIVET-+ H H |
| H V H H |
| _____H_________R________H________R________H_____ PIANO |
| H H H H | |
| H H H H V |
| H H H H P |
| ____H______________R_H_____________H_R_____________H_____ |
| H H H |
| H H H |
| H H C <-CAN H |
|_____H___________________________H___________________________H_____|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------+
| ELEVATOR |
+----------+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| H H LEVEL->L= |
| LADDER-> H H +-BONUS-+ |
| H H_________ +-------+ |
| H H H | 8000 | |
| H H H +-------+ |
|______________________H_H________H____________________ |
| | | H CAN->C |
| UMBRELLA | | H ___|
| | | | H ___ H |
| V | | H__ H |
| U _____ <-ELEVATOR | ____ H |
|_____ | ______ | H _____H__|
| H | H H | H H |
| H | H H | H H |
| H | H H | H__ H |
| H | H H _____ ___ H |
| H | H H | H__ |
| H | H H | ___|
| H _____ H H | H |
|____H | H H | H |
| H | PIANO->P H | _H__|
| H | H____H | ___ |
| H | | ___ |
| H | _____ |
|__H__ | | ____ |
| | | |
|_____________|_______________________|_____________________________|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-------------+
| PIE FACTORY |
+-------------+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| H H LEVEL->L= |
| LADDER-> H H +-BONUS-+ |
| H H_________ +-------+ |
| H H H | 8000 | |
| H H H +-------+ |
|O_____________________H_H________H________________________________O|
| H H |
| H FIRE BARREL H |
| H <-LADDER MOVES UP & DOWN +--+ LADDER MOVES UP & DOWN-> H |
|__H____________________________0| |O___________________________H__|
| H H +--+ H H |
| T H H H H |
| H PIANO->P H H UMBRELLA- >U |
|____H________________ _____H________H_____ _______________H____|
| H H |
| H T<-HAMMER H |
| H H |
|O_______________________H__________________H______________________O|
| H H H H |
| H H H H |
| H H CAN->C H H |
|____H_______________________H_____________H___________________H____|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
You control Mario through these four screens.
_______________
/ 6.3 Scoring /_______________________________________________________________
---------------
Scoring in this game is pretty simple:
Jumping Red or Blue Barrels:
1 Barrel: 100 points
2 Barrels: 300 points
3 Barrels: 500 points
4 Barrels and more: 800 points
Jumping over a Fire Monster: 100 points
Destroying Red Barrels with hammer: 300 points
Destroying Blue Barrels with hammer: 500 points
Destroying Fire Monsters: 500 points
Picking up the Can, Piano, and/or the Umbrella:
Level 1: 300 points
Level 2: 500 points
Level 3: 800 points
Every level after 3 is 800 points
Bonus points (starting):
Level 1: 5000 points
Level 2: 6000 points
Level 3: 7000 points
Level 4: 8000 points
Every level after 4 is 8000 points
You start with 3, 4, 5, or 6 lives. You get a free man at 7,000, 10,000,
15,000, or 20,000 points.
__________________
/ 6.4 The Levels /____________________________________________________________
------------------
The levels in Donkey Kong are arranged in a specific order. All levels after
Level 05 are the same. Use this key to determine the order of playing fields
within a level:
G = GIRDER; R = RIVET; E = ELEVATOR; PF = PIE FACTORY
+----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
| HEIGHT | 25m | 50m | 75m | 100m | 125m | 150m |
+----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
| LEVEL 01 | G | R |--------------------------|
+----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
| LEVEL 02 | G | E | R |--------------------|
+----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
| LEVEL 03 | G | PF | E | R |-------------|
+----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
| LEVEL 04 | G | PF | G | E | R |------|
+----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
| LEVEL 05 | G | PF | G | E | G | R |
+----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
****************
******************************** U N I T III *********************************
****************
+======================+
| 7. PLAYING THE GAME |=======================================================
+======================+
When you start the game, Mario will start at the fire barrel on the bottom
level of the Girders. Your job is to navigate him to the top so that he can
progress to the next levels. What I will do here is break down the levels and
strategies for each level.
______________
/ 7.1 Girder /________________________________________________________________
--------------
- On Level 01, the Girders are pretty easy. Donkey Kong will start the show
by dropping a barrel into the fire barrel igniting it. After a couple of
seconds, a Fire Monster will jump out and dance about. On the later Girder
screens, Donkey Kong will throw the barrel diagonal toward the lower right
corner. If you are running toward that ladder, you and the barrel may have an
unexpected encounter. On the later levels, it's better to hesitate briefly,
then start running so you can jump that barrel.
- Donkey Kong releases a barrel about every 2 seconds. This does not mean,
however, that the barrels will all come at you at a uniform rate. Some
barrels will fall down the ladders, whether they are broken or not, before
reaching the end of a platform. This can cause the barrels to bunch up in
2's, 3's, and even 4's. Be wary when attempting to jump too many barrels
since you don't have the horizontal range to jump too many.
- Also remember to have enough overhead clearance when jumping barrels. If
Mario's head goes above the platform above, he may hit a barrel rolling
down that platform. This problem is especially true at the ends of the
platforms.
- In the later levels, the barrels seem to go for Mario. To offset this a
bit, go just a little past a ladder. The barrel may drop giving you an
opening at a ladder farther down the platform.
- The hammer can be either your greatest friend or your worst hindrance. It
lasts anywhere from 5-7 seconds. Here are some hammering tips:
- Remember, you cannot jump or climb ladders when you have the hammer.
- Be wary of trying to hammer barrels that are close together. You will
take out the first barrel, but the second barrel will get you when Mario
is swinging the hammer up. It's better to do a quick back and forth jog
so that you can get the second barrel.
- If Mario stands at the end of a platform so the one above is right above
his head, he can destroy barrels before they drop to his level. Again,
watch out for how much hammering time you have or a barrel may drop on
you right when your hammer goes away.
- If there is a barrel coming down the platform above and you are about ready
to climb a ladder, wait for a moment. If you are on the ladder, the barrel
may decide to take a short cut and land on your head. This becomes more
prevalent in the higher levels.
- As you proceed into the higher levels, Donkey Kong does not always play
fair. He has a tendency to throw barrels diagonally or even to drop them to
the next platform. Be ready to expect the unexpected at the later levels.
- Although the Fire Monster on this screen is rather sedate, it still can pose
a danger. If you take too long on the level, the Fire Monster will
eventually climb the ladders to higher platforms so it is important to move
up quickly and safely.
_____________
/ 7.2 Rivet /_________________________________________________________________
-------------
This is probably one of the easiest levels to go through.
- There is no real pattern to taking out the rivets holding the girders. What
you must really be wary of are the Fire Monsters. At the later levels, the
Fire Monsters move quite a bit faster and they become more aggressive.
- One tactic is to get on one side of the rivet. Right as a Fire Monster gets
right next to Mario, jump backward over the rivet. You will gain 100 points
and remove the rivet. Fire Monsters cannot cross the gap created by the
missing rivet.
- Make sure you don't accidentally jump into Donkey Kong when you are on the
upper platform. This will lead to a premature end for Mario real quick.
- You can jump into the side walls away from the girders and they will bounce
you back onto the girder you were on. This move is usually for if you are
surrounded by Fire Monsters and there is nowhere left to go.
________________
/ 7.3 Elevator /______________________________________________________________
----------------
Probably the hardest level in Donkey Kong. It's the one that players have the
most trouble with.
- Mario will start out on the bottom of the rightmost girder. This level has
a few hazards you must negotiate:
- The gaps between the girders. A sure hand and jump at the right place
will prevent tragedy.
- The elevators themselves can be hazardous if you don't jump off in time.
Mario will be caught in the gears either in the uppermost or lowermost
girders.
- The springs themselves are a hazard. If your timing is off, be prepared
to have Mario squashed by a wayward spring.
- There are two routes you can travel to get to the top: The upper and lower
routes. All veteran Donkey Kong players know that the upper route is the
best route but it takes a little skill. The reasons for the upper route
are:
- You don't have as many jumps to make. Look at the Elevator screen in
Chapter 6.2 and you will see that you have a long way to travel via the
lower route.
- You will have to cross the path of the springs twice. Once while
traveling on the lowest girders and again when you cross over on the
highest girders.
- These factors create a higher risk for Mario not to make it.
- To navigate the top route, do the following:
- Get on the first elevator (it is going up). When you almost get even
with the top of the next girder to the right, jump onto it. If a Fire
Monster is in the way, jump back to the top of the girder on the left.
- From the top of that girder, get ready to jump on the next elevator (it
is going down). When the elevator is slightly higher then the girder
Mario is standing on, jump onto it. Without breaking stride (in other
words, keep running), jump again to the third set of girders. Mario will
have a pretty good arc since you ran him constantly. You should land on
the top or second level of that girder.
- Climb the ladder onto the girder that Donkey Kong is standing on and don't
move. Mario will be right on the edge of that girder. The springs will get
very close to Mario (basically shaving his nose) but they won't hit him.
- When a spring basically scrapes Mario's nose, take off running toward the
ladder to the platform with the lady. This trick will require some timing.
Run a little past that ladder then immediately turn around and go up the
ladder. If this trick is done correctly, Mario will follow the spring that
just bounced over him and beat the spring right behind it. This trick works
on the later levels even when the springs are "double-jumping".
- This level requires practice to perfect your techniques. Fortunately, there
is only one elevator screen per level after the 03 level. Remember, Mario
cannot survive long falls.
___________________
/ 7.4 Pie Factory /___________________________________________________________
-------------------
Another relatively easy screen. You just have to watch out for Fire Monsters
and conveyer belts.
- The conveyer belts have a tendency to change direction very quickly. So if
you are just under a ladder, you may find yourself being moved in the wrong
direction. You may want to jump toward the ladder to reduce this chance.
- Watch out for the pies. They come up randomly and Mario will lose the
battle if a pie hits him. The same goes for the Fire Monster that is born
from the fire barrel.
- If Mario goes off the edge of the screen on a conveyer belt he will lose
that battle.
- Look at what the screen looks like in Chapter 6.2. Any platforms that have
circles on one or both of the ends are conveyer belts. That means the very
bottom and third platforms are not conveyer belts. Plan your strategy
accordingly.
- Once you get up to the fourth platform, depending on what side you are on,
you must make it to the telescoping ladders. You can hang on the ladder
when it is retracted to avoid the pies. Just make sure the Fire Monster
isn't around to harass you. Once the ladder extends to the next platform,
climb it.
- On this level, you don't have to climb the ladder to the platform the lady
is on. All you have to do is make it to the platform that Donkey Kong is
on.
- As in the elevators, Mario cannot survive long falls such as the distance
between platform 3 and 2.
****************
******************************** U N I T IV *********************************
****************
+================+
| 8. CONCLUSION |=============================================================
+================+
When Donkey Kong came out, it was definitely something different and totally
new. Many hours were wasted (along with the quarters) to play Donkey Kong.
This was a game that required more in the skill department then in the luck.
You actually had to do a little planning if you were going to survive into the
upper levels. I remember seeing several Donkey Kong machines side by side
since they were so popular. The thing was, they were all being constantly
used. Amazing what a game with simple controls and pretty awesome graphics
(for back then) could do to separate one from their quarters. Unfortunately,
it is very rare to find this machine anywhere. However, through the miracle of
emulation, a whole new generation is realizing what we "old" folks enjoyed
those many years ago. In addition, www.shockwave.com is bringing many of these
classic games back. Check out their site to see what ones are there. I hope
this guide helps you in being able to get the most amount of gameplay for this
game. If you do have other ideas or thoughts, please e-mail me and share them.
Who knows, maybe I'll start a Q&A Chapter in this guide if enough people ask
the same questions. Anyway, thank you again for reading this guide.
To see other FAQ's I have written please go to:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32691.html
~~~ No trees were harmed in the making of this FAQ ~~~
