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But Donkey Kong ’94 is one of the best games the company has ever made.
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Nintendo makes so many fantastic games that it’s reasonable for some to fall through the cracks. The most obvious solution is often not the most efficient, especially once you master those back flips. And Nintendo did all of this with the Game Boy’s two face buttons.ĭoes it sound a little silly to compare a Game Boy Donkey Kong game to one of the most important titles in history? What if I compare it to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? We all love the way that open-world game has multiple solutions for its puzzles, encouraging us to flex our imagination. Donkey Kong ’94 gives you the same opportunity. This game expanded Mario’s acrobatic abilities, giving him his first versions of his soon signature triple jumps and back flips. But Donkey Kong ’94 is also, amazingly, a precursor to Super Mario 64. appears in some levels, and you pick up and throw items in a way that’s familiar to anyone who’s played Super Mario Bros.
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The vine climbing-based gameplay of Donkey Kong Jr. The meat of the game comes from finding paths and avoiding obstacles so you can get the key safely to the door.ĭonkey Kong ’94 is like a mix of the original Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Super Mario Bros. It sounds easy, but if you drop the key and leave it alone for too long, it warps back to its original point. The goal in every non-boss level is to find a key and then take it to a locked door. At this point, Donkey Kong ’94 becomes a puzzle platform game. Mario then chases him across almost 100 levels.īut these new stages aren’t just slight variations on the established Donkey Kong levels.
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Donkey Kong grabs his kidnapped victim, Pauline, and runs off. But where the arcade game ends, Donkey Kong ’94 begins. You play through the original levels, ascending platforms until you reach the main monkey man himself. At first, this new Donkey Kong (which most people call Donkey Kong ’94 to help differentiate it with the original) looks like a pure remake. It’s a significant and important game, but also (understandably) a bit simple.
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The original Donkey Kong came out in 1981.
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