Donkey Kong Jr. (G&W)

When the gorilla ends up behind bars, it is time for its offspring to step onto the scene — and that is exactly what Donkey Kong Jr. in the form of a pocket Game & Watch is about. This platformer casts the player in the role of the young Donkey Kong Jr., who sets out to free his imprisoned father, and converts the famous arcade game into an economical yet cleverly designed LCD format.

The gameplay is built on climbing and dodging. As DK Jr. you move upward along vines and structures, gather your way to the goal, and dodge the enemies and obstacles that the villain places in your path. The Game & Watch version had to condense the arcade original into the confines of a simple display, and so it relies on readable, instantly comprehensible movement and increasing difficulty that tests your reflexes and timing.

The title was created under Nintendo's direction in an era when the Game & Watch series was experiencing the peak of its popularity and Nintendo was systematically converting its arcade hits into pocket form. Donkey Kong Jr. was a logical continuation of the phenomenon that Donkey Kong itself had started — and so fans got the chance to experience the other side of the story, where the hunter becomes the rescuer.

Culturally, Donkey Kong Jr. is interesting also in that it represents one of the few cases where the player controls a character from the "opposite" side of the conflict — instead of Mario you stand against him as a young gorilla saving his father. This inversion of roles was fresh for its time, and the Donkey Kong brand thereby grew further into one of Nintendo's pillars.

As part of the extensive line of portable LCD games, this title too helped shape the notion of what gaming on the go looked like in the early eighties. For collectors and nostalgics it remains a pleasant reminder of the days when a small display and a good idea were enough to create addictive entertainment.

Why play: For a brisk pocket platformer in which you command the young Donkey Kong for the first time and experience the other side of the famous duel with Mario.