+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | 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 ?". 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 ~~~