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Atari 2600 Donkey Kong Junior FAQ
© 2004 by Jason Owens (AKA Retro)
E-mail:
[email protected]
AIM: StormyWeather980
========
|CONTENTS|
========
1. FAQ/Update History
2. Story
3. Characters
4. Scoring
5. Controls
6. Variations
7. Walkthrough
8. Credits
9. Legal Stuff
1. FAQ/UPDATE HISTORY
=====================
Sunday, May 09, 2004 @ 11:52 p.m.: Submitted my Donkey Kong Junior FAQ.
2. STORY
========
Mario apparently wasn't very pleased at how Donkey Kong stole his
girlfriend awhile back, so now Mario has returned the favor! He somehow
managed to capture Donkey Kong himself! So now it's up to Donkey Kong
Jr., as unlikely as it may seem, to play the role of the hero and rescue
his father. Hmmmm, I know when it's a woman who is held captive, she's
called the "damsel in distress," but what the heck is a male in distress
called?
3. CHARACTERS
=============
Donkey Kong – He looks like a bear, but he's the humongous ape that is
being held hostage at the top of every screen. Not quite strong enough
to tear open the bars in the cage that he's being held in, he just moves
around in an enthusiastically excited fashion when he sees Donkey Kong
Jr. getting closer to rescuing him.
Donkey Kong Jr. – This is you! Young and only about the size of Mario,
he misses his dad and won't stop at anything until his parent is free
once again.
Mario – He was named Jumpman in the original Donkey Kong. The whole
world over knows this guy after all these years, so he doesn't really
need any introducing. But when this, Donkey Kong Junior, came out
(1983), he wasn't quite as well known. Now he is the Michael Jordan of
video games. In Donkey Kong Junior, he simply stands in place while
staring straight ahead like a statue. But he does manage to let Snapjaws
loose via some kind of telepathic way. At least you can't run into him
and lose a life!
Snapjaws – These fellows are supposed to be short, stumpy critters with
sharp teeth, but whoever designed them for the Atari 2600 made them look
like staples that move their mouth (the open end) up and down as if to
make them appear that they're biting at thin air. They won't hesitate to
bite Donkey Kong Jr. too! Just one touch from any of these mysterious
beasts will make you lose a life faster than you can flinch.
Nitpicker – This is the ugly as crap bird that sticks its beak into
Donkey Kong Jr.'s business in stage 2. It simply flies across the screen
at a constant rate all its life. It's hungry and it has a special
craving for monkey butt, so steer clear of this strange bird.
4. SCORING
==========
Reaching the hanging vine/key in the first stage: 100 points
Completing a stage: Remaining bonus points. For instance, if you
complete a stage when 3600 bonus points are left, you'll get 3600
points. Even though it's just 'bonus points', they count down like a
clock (it takes about 3-4 minutes for a timer of 6000 points to run
out), and if these bonus points get down to zero, you'll lose a life!
Here is the number of bonus points that are on the clock (if you wanna
call it that) at the start of each of the eight difficulties:
Level 1: Bonus points start at 6000
Level 2: 6000
Level 3: 7000
Level 4: 7000
Level 5: 8000
Level 6: 8000
Level 7: 9000
Level 8: 9000
Extra Lives: The game begins with three lives in the tank. For every
8000 points you earn, you'll get an extra life. Unfortunately, you can
only have up to three lives in storage at a time. If you have three in
the tank and even if you rack up 50,000 points without losing a single
life, no more than three will be given to you.
You can always see your game status at the top of the screen. Your
current level and bonus points are presented like this: 5: 2300. That
would mean you're currently on Level 5, or difficulty 5, and that your
bonus points are down to 2300. Just to the right of the level number and
bonus points are your number of lives; they look like chalky Roman
numerals. If you have two lives left, it looks like: II.
5. CONTROLS
===========
Left & Right: In a standing position, moves Donkey Kong Jr. left or
right. While on a vine or bar, pushing left or right moves him left and
right, or makes him let go. Pushing left or right and the firing button
at the same time will make him jump in that direction. You can also move
Donkey Kong Jr. left and right AFTER you hit the firing button (while
he's in midair).
Up: Pushing forward on the joystick makes Donkey Kong Jr. climb up vines
and bars. It's also used for pushing up the keys in stage 2.
Down: Pulling back on the joystick makes Donkey Kong Jr. slide down
vines and bars.
Firing Button: Pressing the button makes Donkey Kong Jr. jump. Holding
down the button will make him jump continuously.
NEVER FORGET: If using an Atari 2600 joystick isn't your cup of tea, try
using a Sega Genesis controller—it works. With a Sega Genesis
controller, move Donkey Kong Jr. around with the directional pad and
make him jump with the B button.
6. VARIATIONS
=============
You can play Donkey Kong Junior by yourself or turn-taking style with a
friend. Press the Select button on your Atari 2600 VCS to choose how
many players (the first number) and which difficulty setting you want to
play the game on (the second number). 1 is the easiest difficulty
setting and 8 is the hardest. Good luck on any setting 5 or above! The
difficulty switch has no effect in Donkey Kong Junior.
7. WALKTHROUGH
==============
______________
| | DK = Donkey Kong
| LEGEND | M = Mario
|______________| F = Finishing point (hanging key)
S = Starting point
B = Bird
K = Key
| = Vines/Bars
_ = Platform
1st Stage
---------
DK
__________M____F___________________
| | | | | | | | |
| | __ | | | __ | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ______ | | | | | | ______ | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | |
____ ____
_S___ __ _______ __ _____
In the first stage, your goal is to make it from your starting platform
up to the top of the screen where Mario and Donkey Kong are standing. To
begin a game of Donkey Kong Junior, press Reset and then the firing
button. At the start, there are two things you could do. As soon as you
jump to begin the game, you'll be holding on to the bottom of the first
vine. You COULD drop down and leap over to the second platform, which is
shaped like a short mushroom. Then you could start your climbing on that
second vine, but I don't recommend going this route, especially in the
latter Levels, or difficulties.
What you should do is climb on up the first vine and then hop off onto
the platform that's sitting in the middle of the screen between the
first two vines. The Snapjaws that Mario is releasing are pretty random.
Sometimes when you start a game, one will come straight for you on the
first vine, but other times it will go to the right, away from you. You
can never tell. Make sure a Snapjaw doesn't go down the second vine and
when the path seems clear for awhile, jump from the seemingly floating
platform onto the second vine. Quickly climb up the short distance and
step off onto the small platform that's waaaaaaay up in the sky. If a
Snapjaw decides to go to the second or third vine while you're on this
platform that's barely big enough for your junior size, make sure Donkey
Kong Jr.'s butt and mouth aren't quite within reach of these staple-
looking Snapjaws. We know they want to pinch Donkey Kong Jr.'s butt or
kiss him, but you don't want them to, cause it'll spell death! To the
immediate right of the aforementioned small platform is a set of two
vines that are right next to one another.
When these two twin vines are void of Snapjaws, step off the platform
and go down the vine on the right. Now, this is the hardest part of this
first stage. You're at the bottom-center of the screen on a long
platform. You have to climb up a long way to reach the other slender
platform that's hanging high in the air. Wait there at the bottom until
you see a Snapjaw begin its journey at the top of the screen moving to
the left or right, past this next vine before you start ascending it.
There will be times when you're climbing up it and a Snapjaw will come
on down while you're on it. Simply slide back down the vine to the
bottom and move a bit to the left to avoid its jaws once it reaches the
bottom. That's all Snapjaws do in this stage; they choose a vine to go
down, and when they reach the bottom of the vine, they keep going down
and through the platforms at the bottom of the screen, disappearing into
the water.
Just have patience and make it to the second small platform near the top
of the screen. Once you do, make sure the path is clear of Snapjaws like
you did earlier and get off this anorexic platform and onto the next to
the last set of vines, which happen to be twins. Go down the one on the
right until you're just above the large platform in the middle-right of
the screen. No matter which difficulty you're playing Donkey Kong Junior
on, you can bet your life that most of the Snapjaws will come your way
now and slip down one of the two twin vines in front of you. That's
because they know you're near the end.
When one passes you or (if you're lucky) goes down a vine that's not one
of the two in front of you, jump or walk into this last set of vines and
position yourself between the two and climb up. If you scale them while
holding on to just one, you won't climb up as fast. When you're at the
very top, push left twice to get off the vines. Run to the left, jump
over the small step and jump over any oncoming Snapjaws. Either run and
touch the hanging vine in front of Mario or jump into it; I recommend
doing the latter just in case a Snapjaw is released right before you
reach it. Upon completing this stage, enjoy the short but classic music
that you'll hear at the end of each stage!
HINT: The Snapjaws are your biggest worry, but there are two other
dangers to avoid. Donkey Kong Jr. can't fall more than about a quarter
of an inch or he will fall into the ground and die. This can be quite a
sight to see. Most of the time only his tiptoes will fall into the
ground, but sometimes half or more of Donkey Kong Jr.'s body will fall
through. Finally, the moving blue lines at the bottom of the screen
symbolize a body of water. Donkey Kong Jr. doesn't know how to swim.
2nd Stage
---------
____M________DK____________
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|K| |K| |K|
B__S________________________
The second stage is the easiest in this short game and it's pretty
straightforward. There are three keys and you simply must position
yourself right under them (you have to be between the two bars) and push
them up. Whereas Donkey Kong Jr. climbed down fast when he was just
holding on to one bar (or vine in the first stage) and up when he was
between two of them in the first stage, he climbs up and down at a
pretty constant (average speed) rate no matter how you climb in this
stage. It would be quite humorous if you could push keys back down, but
if you try, you'll just go right through them (ouch!). There are
basically four hazards that you must keep an eye out for.
On your way up, watch out for Snapjaws that will descend down the sides.
Let's say you're pushing up a key and you see a Snapjaw sliding down the
right-side bar. Simply push left on the joystick in order to make Donkey
Kong Jr. switch over to the left-hand bar. Then when the Snapjaw is
outta the way, swing back to where you're under the key and continue
pushing it up. Your second major hazard comes in the form of the
Snapjaws once again. Once a Snapjaw reaches the bottom of a bar, it'll
keep going down until it hits the ground. Then, wherever you're
currently at, it will slide across the floor until it's right under you.
Some of the Snapjaws disappear once they're right under the bar on which
you're hanging, but others will sit there for a few seconds before they
disappear. If you're running on the ground and one of them is
approaching, just jump over it and it will be out of your way for good.
To sum it up, just watch your step!
Third, Donkey Kong Jr. doesn't particularly enjoy heights. Just like in
stage 1, if you fall more than about a quarter of an inch, you'll fall
to your death. Donkey Kong Jr. wasn't born to be a flying ape and he
refuses to become one! When switching positions on the bars, it's easy
to accidentally push left or right too many times in your haste and fall
down feet first into the ground for an unforgiving death. All I can say
is to be careful. Push left and right on your joystick slowly until you
get the hang of it. Finally, an ugly ass bird begins at the bottom left
corner of the screen and flies in a straight line all the way across
until it reaches the right side. Then it will reappear on the left and
keep on its rightward trek the entire time. At the start of this level,
always jump up and to the right to grab a hold of the bars. If you jump
straight up to begin this stage, the bird will peck you in the butt
every single time and kill you.
Just get the hang of moving left and right on the bars, watch out for
the birds and Snapjaws on the ground, and avoid the Snapjaws on your way
up and down the bars and this stage will never be a problem. You can
push the keys up to the top in any order you like, but it's always
easier and faster to just start on the first one and do them in order.
3rd Stage
---------
__DK___M______ _______________
| | | |
|_|___________F___________| |
|_| | |
| | | |
| |_______________________|_|
| | |_|
| | | |
|_|_______________________| |
|_| | |
| | | |
| |_______________________| |
_S______
This is easily the most difficult level in the game to me. Jump up and
to the right to grab the metal bars. Climb up them (you can only climb
up and down while you're in the middle of them in this stage; Donkey
Kong Jr. always climbs FAST too) and push right to get off of them as
quickly as possible. Without hesitating, walk across the first platform
and jump into the metal bars (since Donkey Kong Jr. is a monkey, I guess
you could call them monkey bars as well). Climb up to the top and get
off to your left. If you got to this point without stopping like you
should've, the Snapjaws should be nearing the end of their journey on
the platform above you. Donkey Kong Jr. jumps pretty slowly so here's
what I usually do. Run and stand right in the middle of this second
platform and wait for the Snapjaws.
It doesn't take long to notice and memorize the Snapjaws' patterns in
this third and final stage of the game. They start out at the top of the
screen and run, or slide, across the platform and then drop down the
metal bars to the next platform. Then they slide across that next
platform, and so on until they reach the bottom. But here's the catch:
Two Snapjaws make this downward expedition at the same time, together.
Once they reach the end of a platform, one slides down the left-side set
of metal bars while the other claws its way down the right set. So you
do NOT want to be climbing up the bars or monkeying around. It will
appear that you could climb all the way up part of the metal bars and
that the Snapjaws would go under you, but they won't.
Back to the walkthrough we go. As mentioned before, stand in the middle
of the second platform. As Snapjaws go across the platforms, they come
from both sides and meet in the middle. Jump straight up at the right
time to allow both of them to pass under you. Then continue to the left.
On your way up the next set of metal bars, stop about halfway. Allow the
descending Snapjaw to clear the bars above your head and quickly climb
to the top and step off onto the third platform. Jump over the oncoming
Snapjaws and run across the platform until you get nearly to the end.
Stop a step or two away from the metal bar set on your right and wait
for the next Snapjaw. Jump over it and make your way up the final set of
bars. Step off of them and either run or jump into that hanging rope
that's supposed to be a key.
NOTE: This walkthrough is just a rough sketch of how I usually make it
through the three stages. It's likely that you'll find different
climbing, jumping, timing, etc. techniques that you're more comfortable
with than the ones I provided, but I hope my effort helped.
IS THERE AN ENDING?
-------------------
To cut to the chase, no. Once you beat the third stage, Donkey Kong Jr.
won't go hug his daddy, Mario won't run away, or ANYthing. The game will
simply begin the cycle over at the first stage, only this time you'll be
a level ahead of where you were (for instance, if you just made it
through all three stages on Level 1, you'll start at the first stage on
Level 2). The Snapjaws get more intelligent when it comes to which vine
they choose to go down, and a good bit faster. Just wait until you reach
Level 5 and see how fast those suckers are and how difficult it is to
make it past some of the vines without dying. So what happens once you
beat the last (Level 8) difficulty? That I can't answer yet because I
haven't ever been able to pass Level 7. And I've never been able to pull
it off when I begin on Level 8 either. If you know, feel free to tell me
the answer!
8. CREDITS
==========
God, for everything and more.
My parents, for getting me this game nearly two decades ago.
All my online and real life friends who happen to stumble upon and fall
into this FAQ. You know who you are.
Atari/Coleco, for making Donkey Kong Junior so I could play and
eventually FAQ it!
My two older brothers, Scott and Greg, for putting up with my video
game-playing addictions when I was a kid and for giving me timeless
memories of playing them with me that I can forever look back on in good
spirits.
CJAYC, for making the best gaming site on the Web for finding and
submitting FAQs, codes, and reviews.
9. LEGAL STUFF
==============
You know how it goes. I, Retro, or Jason Owens, am the author of this
FAQ and I have copyright over it. Do not copy & paste this over to your
site unless you have my permission first. If I give you permission to do
so, don't change it in any way, shape, or form.
I hope I've answered some of the questions you may have had about Donkey
Kong Junior. If you have any questions or just want to drop a line, feel
free to e-mail or IM me anytime, anywhere. Thanks for visiting and have
a good one!
