80%Game Boy

Really fun platform/puzzler. Some real mental and skillful challenges in there. Amazing amount of content with over a 100 levels which I had read up on previously.

100%Game Boy

Provavelmente um dos melhores jogos do Game Boy e facilmente entre os top 10.

100%Game Boy

Top 3 Gameboy game.

80%Game Boy

This game rules so so hard. For years I've adored the original Donkey Kong arcade game (mostly due to stockholm syndrome through Donkey Kong 64's insistence that you beat it twice), but always felt that it's 4 level arcade structure limited it from truly being a favorite. With the Game Boy Donkey Kong, the entire idea of what that arcade game was is shattered within minutes. 4 levels in, the game begins to rapidly shift into a puzzle platform game with nearly 100 additional levels, providing a compelling game with fun challenges and constant innovations, even incorporating elements from the excellent Donkey Kong Jr. game as well.

Nearly all of the levels in this game are stellar. They float just close enough to brain teaser level to keep you guessing and thinking through different strategies, though generally there is one intended route with some platforming and dodging challenges. Whereas the arcade game had stiff movements for Mario that are now quite dated, DK 94 gives you a vast array of acrobatic moves with which you can play with, with nearly all of them coming in to play sooner or later. Mario's abilities here approach the quick reflex moves which the world would come to know with the 3D games such as Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine and they feel incredible to control.

With so many stages, I wondered if eventually I would get bored. Only in World 8 of 9 did I start to occasionally feel like the developers were running out of ideas, with all levels before that constantly pushing forwards new concepts and encouraging the mastery of the moves. In World 9, it seems that there was some intentionality in scaling the game back again, closer to the original arcade stage concepts. With this as the end goal, I feel like the game was paced masterfully. I really had a blast with this and would now consider it one of my all time favorite Donkey Kong games. With a quality sreen in place to see Game Boy games clearly, this absolutely holds up.

70%Game Boy

Very fun take on the original Donkey Kong, perfectly fit for a portable experience.

95%Nintendo 3DS

By far the best Gameboy game ever made in my opinion. I adore the concept of making the Gameboy port of Donkey Kong secretly an entirely new game altogether that serves as the best classic takes on Donkey Kong out there. I have never played a game that pulled off the "rug-pull" trick nearly as well as this game. Going from the original Donkey Kong to a completely different game in style, presentation, gameplay, and control was extremely creative and I applaud whoever came up with this idea.

The gameplay consists of completing these short platforming/puzzle-esque rooms that can involve a variety of gimmicks. Usually each world introduced something new and made it fairly central to the core design of said world. The levels were almost always fair and reasonable in their difficulty. If anything, this game felt just a little too easy for the first 4 worlds. I managed to acquire about 89 lives by the time world 5 even started.

Speaking of world 5, 5-9 and 5-10 are a ludicrously massive leap in difficulty compared to anything else encountered so far that it's incredibly difficult to ignore. It went from being a moderately challenging puzzle platformer with levels that range from 20 seconds to 2 minutes, to 4 minute "fuck up once and start all over again" levels. Made world 5 my least favorite due to those two levels alone.

Aside from nearly everything involving ropes, the controls are the best I've ever seen from a Gameboy game. There's so much polish in how good the game feels to play. None of that antiquated shit in most Gameboy games is present here and given the platforming nature of this game, that cannot have been an easy feat to accomplish.

Its spritework looks good and is smoothly animated. The music is very catchy and is among the better Gameboy soundtracks I've heard. However, I need to specifically make note of the song "Showdown at the Tower". It is so fucking incredible that it sounds like it was made with technology ahead of its time. If nothing else, give it a listen.

A small critique that is more of a "me" issue is that the game felt just a smidge too long. If about 8-10 of the more repetitive or slower levels were cut I think I'd have felt a little less burned out by the end of the game.

I highly recommend this one. It's a shame the formula got butchered by the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series but that just makes this one game in particular even more special than it already is. Play this game.

80%Game Boy

The OG puzzle-platform game, filled to the brim with great ideas. Mario's moveset is astonishing for a GB game. Also amazing final boss

60%Game Boy

Eh, GBA spelet är mycket, mycket bättre

90%Game Boy

Absolutely in awe of this Game Boy remix of the original classic! Creative, fun, and well-paced throughout, with batches of bite-sized puzzle levels separated with Donkey Kong fights, which, ironically, end up feeling like a kind reprieve after the difficulty of the puzzles. Not too hard, but sometimes frustrating, and exactly how a puzzle platformer should be. Possibly the best game on the Game Boy and easily one of the best handheld-only platformers I've ever played!

90%Game Boy

Really Lives up to the praise people give this game, I hope the do this formula again

90%Nintendo 3DS

Amazing game. Creative and fun

90%Game Boy

Such an underrated game. It's so much fun and the way the levels progressively get more and more in depth is awesome. A very well made and developed game.

75%Nintendo 3DS

Donkey Kong ‘94 is a fun revitalization of the arcade icon with a puzzle platformer twist that will keep you entertained for a fair while.

90%Game Boy

This game is really good. Such a good spin on the original DK arcade game. The platforming is so tight and some of the puzzles are challenging to figure out. Highly recommend. Idk where people got the idea that this game takes 6 hours. It took me far longer than that

90%Game Boy

Very fun and well-made puzzle platformer. The controls are sometimes a bit frustratingly floaty, and the final boss is a big pain in the ass, but this is mostly great.

80%Emulated

Super fun game that pretends to be a simple remake of the original arcade donkey kong and turns into a huge game filled with levels,super fun platformer

100%Game Boy

I loved this game when I was younger and it definitely holds up today. I would say, except for Pokemon Red and Blue, this is probably the best game on the system. It's insanely long and so well designed.

It starts out as just a port of the Arcade game. Then it expands into a puzzle platformer where you pick up a giant key and carry it to the door. There's tons of variety in enemies and level design, especially for a Gameboy title. Every four levels you get a boss battle against Donkey Kong. For mid-world boss battles you usually just have to get up to Pauline, like the arcade game. But the world boss battles you have to pick up barrels and throw them at Donkey Kong.

The difficulty curve is perfect. In the beginning, you get this bite-sized levels that only take 30 seconds or so to finish. But by the end you're struggling with 2-3 minute levels. It doesn't start to get very hard until the desert world which is about halfway. By then, the puzzles are really complicated and the timing of special blocks becomes more important. You have to start resetting the special block timers by placing another block. All the new physics are introduced in humorous 10 second cutscenes in between each set of 4 levels.

I suggest everyone try it out that can.

100%Game Boy

Masterpiece!
HELP! HELP! HELP!

100%Game Boy

As someone who loves the original Donkey Kong from the arcades, I was going into playing this expecting just a port of the original arcade game. I would have been content with just that, and the game begins like that is all it is, but once you get past the first few levels, you find out this is a completely different game, that operates more as a sequel than a port. The ideas that are presented in this expanded Donkey Kong game are excellent, giving Mario all sorts of new movement options, and tons of varying level designs that all play around how the original plays, but with a new twist. This is a game I wish I owned as a kid with the original Game Boy, as it would easily have been one I would have played through many times. Donkey Kong is fantastic, and still holds up extremely well, even experiencing it nearly 30 years later for the first time. I highly recommend this if you enjoy Donkey Kong, and even if you aren't, it is good enough to take a chance on if you are looking for a very good Game Boy game.

Pros:

+ Excellent controls, Mario's movement is precise yet simple and easy to pick up
+ Very clear and good visuals that still retain the feeling of the original Donkey Kong, a visually great looking game for the system
+ Fantastic level design, with a very smooth difficulty curve. Levels are very creative, with new interesting gimmicks being introduced nearly every world
+ A lot of content for a game originally on the Game Boy. There are over 101 levels to complete, but each one is quite short, with frequent save points within worlds, which compliments the portable nature of the Game Boy

Cons:

- The end boss fight can be a little tedious

70%Emulated

Great game that built on the orginal well then spawned two sequels called "Mario vs Donkey Kong". I really loved how they incorporated gameplay from Mario 2 into this game. I didn't like how it was so easy in the early stages and then suddenly got hard on level 8. And the controls are so stiff... It requires so much precision to beat it. Other than that, it was a fun 8 hours.

90%Game Boy

Wow. What starts out as a simple game with a few mechanics evolves slowly into a great puzzle. Every level has an optimum solution, but even the ones that you develop off the cuff feel very satisfying. Final boss took me from 40 ish lives to 3 before ultmate victory, but never was it unfair, at most the variety of patterns keep making you better.

80%Game Boy

Honestly a lot better than I was expecting it to be. I wasn't exactly the biggest mario vs donkey kong fan, so to see the roots of the series go here kinda put me off for a while, but i heard all the good press regarding this game and decided to give it a try and it was much better than i expected. lives up to all the hype i guess.

100%Game Boy

Many people think that this game is just a port of the arcade version of Donkey Kong. In fact, this is one of the most underrated Mario games ever. If you like puzzle platformers, with a lot of creative ideas and great levels, then by all means give it a try.

80%Game Boy

Excellent puzzle platformer. I think my only issue with it is that the difficulty feels a bit uneven at times. I could easily beat some of the later levels and I had major trouble with some earlier on. Either way, absolutely worth a playthrough and probably closer to a 9. Such a great game and has aged a lot better than most Game Boy games.

100%Nintendo 3DS

Basically a perfect 2D puzzle-platformer.

100%Game Boy

My favourite game on the original Game Boy. Pure enjoyment from beginning to end. Level design is great, graphics are impressive. Play it on the super game boy on SNES for the best experience.

90%Game Boy

really fun game that has turned me on to a series that i never expected to love.

70%Android

Great little puzzle platformer in the style of old school arcade Donkey Kong. Plays really well on Android via emu considering you can take the game in small chunks due to the short level break down and no button holding required to run.

100%Game Boy

In 1981, Nintendo released Donkey Kong to arcades around the world. The game was an instant success and followed by a sequel in Donkey Kong Jr. in 1982. While the games lacked the length to make them games that you could spend hours on at home, this was changed with Donkey Kong for the Game Boy. The game was released to promote the Super Game Boy and while it looks fine in black and white, the enhanced Super Game Boy version is also impressive for it’s time well in advance of the Game Boy Color.

Taking the name of the original brings some confusion and upon starting up the game you would be forgiven for thinking it is just the Game Boy port of the original arcade game as the first four levels replicate the first four levels from the arcade version. What follows though is 96 more levels in a similar style which pays homage to the popular arcade originals. Whether you battle Donkey Kong and his barrels, climb on vines like in Donkey Kong Jr. or avoid projectiles thrown by Donkey Kong, there is enough to think back to the arcade originals. Mario also has to continue chasing Donkey Kong to rescue Pauline much like the Donkey Kong arcade game.

The basic premise changes after the first four levels from simply reaching the top or toppling Donkey Kong to finding the key and then using it to get through the level. Along the way more and more gameplay mechanics are brought in usually explained by the wonderful cinematics every 4 levels. Every 4 levels as well you’ll encounter a stage with Donkey Kong which have more similar gameplay to the arcade games. The result is a lot of fun and interesting puzzles and challenging stages as you move from areas like the Big City to the Airplane to Donkey Kong’s Tower. Each world brings with it new enemies, new gameplay mechanics and new terrain to make them seem different and bring different puzzles.

Despite wearing large nostalgia goggles when playing the game, even today the game still holds up really well. The puzzles are interesting enough to make you think and the platforming controls well and is solid. The music is also catchy and it is well enhanced by the Super Game Boy. It’s a shame really that it took so long to spawn a spiritual sequel in Mario vs. Donkey Kong and even then, that series has evolved from the gameplay elements in Donkey Kong. Easily one of the best games on the Game Boy and a timeless classic.

100%Nintendo 3DS

The precursor to the Mario vs Donkey Kong games. Surprisingly responsive controls for a gameboy game, likely my favorite gameboy game all around

80%Game Boy

Very creative gameboy game with a lot of stages and a fair challenge, definitely worth picking up!

100%Nintendo 3DS

My favorite Game Boy title of all time!!!

50%Game Boy

This is my personal difficulty rating for trying to play this w/ DDR Dance Pads.

80%Nintendo 3DS

Very good handheld game! Especially noting it's over 20 years old.

80%Game Boy

The Game Boy version of Donkey Kong is easily one of my favorite platformers, and definitely my favorite platformer starring Mario as the main character. At first glance it's a simple extension of the Arcade Donkey Kong, but with all of the extra jumps and enemy types, it hardly resembles that game. In fact, I have always thought that Super Mario 64 borrowed a lot of its "new" physics from this title, the backflip for instance.

I love how every stage in this game has a point. It either introduces a new concept or challenges the player in a refreshing manner. This game is the perfect example of how to integrate tutorials into gameplay without annoying veteran players.