Donkey Kong classic is one of my favorite arcade games from the 1980’s. I spent
countless hours playing this game in the arcade while growing up in the 80s. I hope you
enjoy playing this free version online. No tokens required to play this emulated
version of Donkey Kong! Free 80s Arcade is a 100% free online arcade website. This game
is mobile phone and Iphone compatible.
Instructions, Game History and Hints towards
bottom of page.
View screenshots of in-depth Game Play Instructions: Page 1, Page 2
NES
EMULATOR INSTRUCTIONS
Click ‘Enter’ Key to Start Game. Main keyboard buttons are X and
Z.
Sound On
Sound Off
Zoom Game Window = default
Click Game Window Size Button to Zoom
Game Size between default, 1.5X and 2X
Keyboard Controls Gamepad Button Keyboard Button
Left Left Arrow Right Right Arrow Up Up Arrow Down Down Arrow A X B Z Start Enter
Select Ctrl
Instructions:
Click on the game window and hit the ENTER key to start
Donkey Kong (you might have to hit start twice) . On a computer you can click the Zoom
to expand the game to a larger size. On mobile phones and Iphone use the gameplay
control buttons shown on your screen (only on mobile) to play and start the game. If
you grew up in the 80's you shouldn't need additional gameplay instructions. Sorry, no
sound on mobile devices in this NES emulator.
DONKEY KONG IPHONE GAMEPLAY
Game
History:
Donkey Kong is an arcade game developed by Nintendo, released in 1981. It is
an early example of the platform genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main
character across a series of platforms while dodging obstacles. The storyline is thin
but well-developed for its time.
THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC
That beastly Donkey Kong gorilla
has Pauline in his clutches. Can Mario save his girl and dump that Donkey Kong on his
head? Construction site girders with ladders and elevators are on the scene in this
original version of Donkey Kong.
GAME PLAY: Mario has to work his way up the ladders
and sloping girders in the first level of play. Donkey Kong rolls barrels down at you
to keep you away. You can jump over the barrels or use the magic hammer to bash the
barrels and pick up a few extra points. Level two has elevators to deal with (don’t
fall off), and Level Three has girders that must be unbolted to send Donkey Kong for a
tumble. Run and jump for your life and go for that top score with this arcade
classic.
Video Game Emulation
(Download and play on your computer) ColecoVision
Emulator for Windows
Games: Tapper, Football, Jungle Hunt, Baseball, Galaxian, Zaxxon,
Star Trek, Super Donkey Kong Jr, Popeye, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr, Time Pilot,
Frogger, Fury, Burger Time, Centipede, Qbert, CosmoFighter, plus many more...
Tapper,
Football, Jungle Hunt, Baseball, Galaxian, Zaxxon, Star Trek, Super Donkey Kong Jr,
Popeye, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr, Time Pilot, Frogger, Fury, Burger Time, Centipede,
Qbert, CosmoFighter, plus many more... Nintendo Emulator (NES) for Windows
Games:
Adventure Island, Commando, Bad Dudes, Baseball, Bill and Teds Adventure, BurgerTime
Castlevania, Commando, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr, Elevator Action,
Frankenstein, FunHouse, Galaga, Gauntlet, Jurassic Park, Mario Brothers, Millipede, Ms.
PacMan, Pipe Dream, Popeye, Qbert, Super Mario Brothers & Duck Hunt, Tetris, Ultima4,
WWF, plus many more...
Donkey Kong Hints, Tricks and Secrets
Barrel Stage
Within each
level, the barrel stage is always the first one. Starting on Level 4, it also appears
between the Conveyor Belt Stage and Elevator Stage, and on level 5, between the
Elevator Stage and Rivet Stage.
Mario starts in the lower left corner and must climb
all the way to the top. Along the way, Donkey Kong will be rolling barrels down the
girders which Mario must avoid or jump over.
Donkey Kong will start every barrel stage
by hurling a barrel directly down to the bottom level which will enter the oil canister
and start a fire, releasing the first fireball. The fireball will slowly begin to climb
up the ladders in pursuit of Mario. Every time a blue barrel reaches the oil can, a
fireball will come out of it, up to a maximum of 5 fireballs on the screen at any
time.
Along the way, there are two hammers available for Mario to use. While useful,
they slow Mario down by preventing him from climbing higher. The first hammer should
generally be left alone except in case of emergencies. The second hammer should be used
often in early levels when there is plenty of bonus time available, and sparingly at
higher levels if the path to the far right ladder is too crowded and you need a
breather before climbing to the highest girder.
Mario can only climb all the way up the
unbroken ladders. However, barrels and beams can drop down any ladder, broken or whole,
and the fireballs can climb either kind. While the broken ladders won't help Mario
progress, they can be climbed partially as a means to escape danger, but this is
generally slower and more dangerous than simply jumping over barrels. Only use this
method if there are more barrels approaching than can be cleared with a single
jump.
When jumping straight up, you can extend the range the game checks for barrels if
you hold the joystick left or right while in midair. In other words, the game is more
likely to award you points while jumping if you're holding the joystick left or right,
even if you're jumping straight up. Sometimes the game will even award you points for
barrels or other enemies that you didn't actually jump over!
Advanced strategy: Mario
can sometimes force barrels to roll down ladders. In the early stages, this is fairly
difficult, because the barrels are not responsive (though they get more responsive as
the timer ticks down). Starting at level 4, Mario will have maximum control over the
barrels. To force a barrel to roll down a ladder, simply move the joystick in the
direction of that ladder. This works on all barrels that are at least one level above
Mario. (Barrels on the same level as Mario never roll down ladders.) The barrel will
respond to the "command" to come down as much as 75% of the time once Mario has maximum
control over them. Note that the barrels respond to the joystick's position, not the
direction Mario is actually moving in, so you can make them roll down ladders while
Mario is himself on a ladder, and you can make a barrel roll down a ladder to the left
while Mario is jumping to the right.
Conveyor Belt Stage
This stage only begins to
appear on Level 3. It appears before the elevator stage on its first appearance.
This
stage is broken up in to five distinct layers. Mario begins at the bottom where he must
climb one of the ladders to the first conveyor belt. This conveyor belt extends from
one end of the screen to the other, and cement pies will appear along it
intermittently. The pies can be jumped over or smashed with a hammer.
The conveyor belt
will either move to the left or the right, and Mario will be carried along with it,
affecting his speed depending on whether he runs with it or against it. This belt will
switch directions whenever Donkey Kong is all the way to the left on his belt, so be
alert.
From there Mario can climb up to the third layer where there are two bonus
prizes and a hammer. The only threat to Mario on this layer are the fireballs, which
increase in number as time goes by. From the center, choose the direction that looks
safest and climb up to the second conveyor belt layer.
These belts always move in the
direction of the oil can. Since this is the layer from which the fireballs spawn – and
you have to worry about cement pies – it is the most dangerous level and should be left
as soon as possible. This layer will never change direction.
Your last objective in
this stage is to climb up the retractable ladder when it is fully extended to Donkey
Kong's belt. You only have to reach the belt; you do not have to directly rescue
Pauline to advance.
A tip: fireballs always jump out of the oil can in Mario's
direction. That is, if Mario is to the left of the oil can, they will jump out to the
left. At the start of the level, several fireballs will spawn. Wait for them all to
come out before crossing over to the right side of the screen, and there's a good
chance that the right side will be safe. The number of fireballs that will spawn at the
start of the level is the same as the level number, up to a maximum of five. That is,
on Level 3, three fireballs will spawn; on Level 4, four fireballs will spawn,
etc.
Elevator Stage
This stage appears on Level 2, before the Rivet stage.
This stage
features two elevators that Mario must make use of in order to reach the ladder to the
ramp on which Pauline is perched. The left elevator goes up while the right elevator
goes down.
The fireball between the elevator presents the first challenge. If Mario is
below it (even by a single pixel), it has a chance to climb down the ladder. If Mario
and the fireball are both on the top level, it will never descend the ladder. Use this
to your advantage when you take the first elevator up.
When using the second elevator,
if it is slow enough, you can take a shortcut from the high ledge on the left to the
high ledge on the right. Otherwise, you must ride the elevator down to the bottom and
jump from island to island in order to reach Pauline. Along the way, Mario must time
his jumps so as to avoid the springs that fall from above.
When Mario reaches the ledge
on which Donkey Kong stands, he must time his attempt to climb the ladder and rescue
Pauline. The safest strategy is to stand directly over the right elevator, let the
springs bounce over Mario, and make a run for the ladder as soon as a spring clears his
head. However, starting at Level 4, the springs come at a much faster rate, and a more
detailed strategy is required. It also requires perfect positioning and timing. First,
there are two main kinds of springs to worry about. A "short" spring is a spring whose
first bounce is to the left of DK's foot. A "long" spring is a spring that bounces off
the top of the left elevator (in between Donkey Kong's legs) on its first bounce. Many
springs will land somewhere in between ("medium" springs), but they're nothing to worry
about until the next step. When you first get to the top, wait for a short spring. When
the short spring makes contact on its final bounce, immediately – before it jumps back
into the air – start running to the left. Stop on top of the right elevator (the yellow
spot), preferably standing halfway off of its right edge. Now, wait for a long spring.
When the long spring lands its first bounce, get ready. (If you don't feel ready, don't
go; wait for another one.) After the long spring's second bounce, when it sails over
your head, make a dash for the ladder. Now for the hard part: the next spring should
preferably be a short spring; though you can still make it if it's a medium spring, it
won't give you the perfect amount of time to get up the ladder. If it's a long spring,
you'll have to abort and run back to the safe spot. (If you started your dash too close
to the ladder, you'll probably be too high up the ladder and get hit.) You cannot abort
if it's a short spring, or you might get hit, so you can't necessarily err on the side
of caution. Now, often the second spring will be neither a perfect long spring or a
perfect short spring – it will land somewhere between DK's left foot and the elevator –
and you'll have to use your judgment. However, if the spring falls completely to the
left of the elevator, it should be safe. The attached video should help immensely with
this stage.
The first bonus prize, Pauline's umbrella, is an easy grab, but the other
bonus prizes, Pauline's purse and hat, are generally not worth the effort.
Rivet
Stage
This is the climactic stage of each level.
Donkey Kong has taken Pauline to the
highest point at the construction site and has nowhere else to go. Mario takes
advantage of the situation by removing the yellow plugs (rivets) that hold each level
together. To do that, Mario must run or leap over the yellow plugs and they will
immediately disappear, leaving a gap behind. The Firefoxes which occupy this stage
cannot cross those gaps, but Mario must leap over them in order to cross them
safely.
The Firefoxes always spawn on the opposite side of the screen from where Mario
is standing. The center of the screen is counted as the left side, so Firefoxes will
spawn on the right side while Mario is climbing a ladder in the middle.
Like other
fireballs, Firefoxes will never go down a ladder unless Mario is at a lower elevation
than the Firefox. (The reverse is not true: they can still go up ladders even if Mario
is lower than the Firefox.)
There are two hammers on this stage for Mario's
convenience, and they can be used to cut down on Firefox traffic. The hammer below
Donkey Kong is an easy nab, but the hammer on the level below that can be obtained in
two ways. One way is to move Mario's feet over the edge of the level and jump straight
up, however it may be easier for Mario to jump straight off the ramp to the left. Mario
will bounce off an invisible barrier and return safely to the level with hammer in
hand. Be aware that you cannot jump while holding a hammer, so do not attempt to cross
a gap left behind by a pulled plug, or Mario will lose a life. Also, be aware that
smashed Firefoxes will eventually respawn, following the spawning rules previously
defined.
The safest strategy is to clear the left side, then clear the right. While
clearing the left half, the rivet on the second platform from the bottom (the one with
the hammer) should usually be taken last. That way you can grab the hammer and carry it
over to the right half of the screen (taking the last rivet on the left in the process)
and clear out Firefoxes on the right half. As long as you stay on the right half of the
screen, new Firefoxes will spawn on the left, where they will be trapped, because
you've removed all the rivets there.
The prizes provide a nice bonus, but Mario should
not risk his life to get them, as there will be plenty more available should he
survive. Also keep in mind that if you're some distance away from a bonus item, you may
lose more points (from the bonus timer) going to get it than you'll receive for picking
it up.
Once Mario pulls all eight plugs, Donkey Kong will fall to his doom leaving
Pauline alone for Mario to rescue her. After a brief romantic interlude, Mario returns
to the ramp stage to repeat it all at a higher level and more frantic pace.
If trying
to obtain a high score, head to the pole right of Donkey Kong. From that location, jump
repeatedly while holding the stick to the right (jump without holding the stick, then
hold it while in midair). If done properly, you will jump straight up while receiving
100 points per jump. Starting at around level 4, this won't get you terribly many
points, because the timer will tick down 100 points for every 100 points you make by
jumping. This is a profitable move earlier in the game, though.
Disclaimer: These 1980s
Classic Arcade Games and Classic Video Games are for entertainment purpose only. I did
not write any of these games myself. These games are provided AS IS and with NO
warranty. All Copyrights are upheld with their respective game owners.
