REVIEW - Donkey Kong Classics (1988)

GENRE(S): Arcade / Platform / Compilation
RELEASED: October 1988
AVAILABLE ON: NES
DEVELOPER(S): Nintendo
PUBLISHER(S): Nintendo
PLAYERS: 1-2

A lot had happened in Mario's career after his first appearances in Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.. He had totally brushed off the dusts of his humble beginnings with the Mario Bros. series, and the character of Donkey Kong just couldn't function by himself quite yet, as proven by the lackluster Donkey Kong 3. Nintendo bid an indefinite farewell to their first true classic in 1988 - and cashed in on Mario's recent success - by compiling the first two Donkey Kong games to a single NES cartridge. Without a doubt, Donkey Kong Classics is the most essential 8-bit purchase to people with the will to experience these two arcade favourites at home... if they can find it, that is.

It's not just any business, it's monkey business

Did you know I used to own Donkey Kong on
Game & Watch? Well, now you do.

There's no sense in actually reviewing this bundle. I just wanted to share some insight on the release. Donkey Kong Classics rendered the stand-alone cartridges of both games included useless, back in a time collecting NES games wasn't nearly the respectable hobby as it is today. It didn't sell too well and it was taken off the market soon after its release in Europe (1989), which of course eventually resulted in it becoming just as much of a collector's item as the stand-alones. The prices people set for all Donkey Kong titles for the NES on eBay are baffling, even Donkey Kong Jr. Math, which of course, is not included in this bundle. Neither is Donkey Kong 3, which sells for the cheapest price on every major auction site. Just as the compilation's name implies, it's about the only true classics in the vintage franchise, the only games which I personally enjoy playing to a certain nostalgic extent.

The games are included in their very original forms. The only difference is that they share the same title screen, with the first game's classic theme song - gloriously resurrected in Donkey Kong Country six years later - as its background tune.

Mario, you bastard!

Both of the games are still just as fun to play through once or twice as they always were, no more and no less. If I have to criticize this bundle for something, I guess they could've even created a save system for the high scores for those die-hard arcade enthusiasts that are really interested in them. Otherwise, I think it was a good, smart release at the time, since it included two arcade classics tagged with one single mid-price, and pushed the other disgraces released under Donkey Kong's legendary name even deeper into the unknown.

A good collector goes after the stand-alone games. A fabulous collector goes after the stand-alone games, AND this bundle. Donkey Kong Classics is the mere retro player's choice. Since the first Donkey Kong game was reviewed before I changed the ratings, I feel obligated to re-evaluate the game - but I'll go with the original ratings in the case of Donkey Kong Jr..

GRAPHICS : 6.0 / 7.0
SOUND : 4.5 / 7.3
PLAYABILITY : 8.0 / 7.8
LIFESPAN : 5.9 / 5.5
CONCLUSION : 7.3 / 7.0