Donkey Kong Jr. (game)

Donkey Kong Jr. is an arcade game starring Donkey Kong Jr. that was later re-released along with other Mario games in Donkey Kong Classics, Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Math Lesson and Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Jr./Mario Bros., remade into a Game & Watch game and a Mini Classics game and was also later released on the Virtual Console for the Wii. Donkey Kong Jr. is also a minigame in Game & Watch Galleries 3 and 4. It was the direct sequel to Donkey Kong and it and the similar Donkey Kong II are the only games in the whole Mario series where Mario is the antagonist. Donkey Kong Jr. never enjoyed the sales or the following that the original Donkey Kong did, but it did well enough to warrant a third sequel, Donkey Kong 3.

In the game, Mario has trapped Donkey Kong in a cage and his son had to rescue his father from Mario (perhaps holding a grudge for the kidnapping of his girlfriend Pauline in the last game). Donkey Kong Jr. had to climb vines and leap on trampolines to rescue his dad from Mario. Donkey Kong Jr. also had to avoid Snapjaws, and collecting fruit gave him bonus points. In the last level of each round, Donkey Kong Jr. had to insert keys into keyholes that were holding up the final platform, allowing him to catch Donkey Kong while Mario fell to his doom (using the same sprite used for a defeated Mario in the original Donkey Kong game).

Stage 1
The first stage takes place in a jungle environment and consists of many vines for Junior to climb, which contain fruit that could be used to destroy enemies such as the Snapjaws that Mario used against him. There is also some water underneath the stage, which is an instant death for Donkey Kong Jr. if he were to fall into it. Instant death also occurs if Donkey Kong Jr. falls onto a ledge or the ground from too great a height. When Donkey Kong Jr. made his way to the top of the stage, Mario took Donkey Kong's cage to the next stage.

Stage 2
In the next stage, the vines were replaced with chains, but the fruit items were still there, however. This time, rather than Snapjaws, Mario sent bird enemies called Nitpickers at Junior, which would often drop things at him (supposedly eggs). Donkey Kong Jr. had to destroy them by dropping fruit, just like the Snapjaw enemies in the last stage. After Junior makes his way to the top of the stage, Mario retreats, taking Donkey Kong's cage with him.

Stage 3
This time, rather than a jungle environment, the third stage is a factory. No vines or chains were present, but it did, however, have poles, and still maintained the fruit items. This time, Mario attempted to stop Junior by electrocuting him with Sparks, but he managed to avoid them by jumping over them, as well as destroying them with the fruit. After Junior made his way to the top, Mario retreated once again.

Stage 4
In the final stage, Donkey Kong Jr. had to insert all the keys into the slots to free his father, but had many enemies and obstacles to avoid while he did so. He eventually manages to overcome all of them, and succeeds in freeing Donkey Kong, causing Donkey Kong's cage to open, as well as the above platform that Mario was standing on to disappear. Junior manages to to break his father's fall by catching him. Shortly afterwards, Donkey Kong, angry at Mario for imprisoning him, decides to kick him so hard that he's sent flying across the screen (arcade version only). After that, Mario retreats, and then Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. are finally reunited and go back home.

Enemies

 * Snapjaw
 * Nitpicker
 * Spark
 * Mario (boss)

Influence on Later Games

 * Donkey Kong and Mario vs Donkey Kong: Donkey Kong Jr., as well as many enemies and gameplay elements, made an appearance in this game. Also, Mario's method of trapping Junior in Donkey Kong '94 is identical to Donkey Kong Jr.'s method of freeing his father from captivity. Many enemies and gameplay elements from Donkey Kong Jr. were reused in Mario vs Donkey Kong as well.
 * Donkey Kong Country series: It's been officially confirmed that the Donkey Kong who stars in the Country series is in fact a grown up version of Donkey Kong Jr., while his father, on the other hand, is now known as Cranky Kong. Also, Diddy and Dixie's ability to climb two ropes at a time originated from Donkey Kong Jr.

Trivia

 * Interestingly, during the intro of the arcade version of Donkey Kong Jr., there were two Marios seen carrying Donkey Kong's cage away, which has led people to speculate that the second Mario was actually Luigi, but Luigi didn't appear because the game's release is prior to 06/83.
 * This is the first game ever Mario rides a vehicle (or in this case, a helicopter).