Donkey Kong 3

Donkey Kong 3 is the third game in the Donkey Kong arcade series. Unlike its predecessors, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr., it does not feature Mario and instead stars Stanley, having been designed with the Game & Watch game Greenhouse in mind. The game's approach is closer to a shoot 'em up rather than a platformer, further distinguishing it from the previous Donkey Kong games.

Hudson Soft developed a semi-sequel to Donkey Kong 3, titled Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū, featuring new levels and gameplay. Donkey Kong 3 was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System under the Arcade Classics Series of games, came out for the e-Reader as part of Series Three, along with seeing a Virtual Console release for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U. The Japanese and international arcade versions were released under 's Arcade Archives brand on the Nintendo Switch's eShop on April 5, 2019. In addition, an emulation of the NES port exists as an obtainable item in Animal Crossing.

Story
Donkey Kong breaks into Stanley's greenhouse and goes to hang in the rafters where he stirs up nests of bugs, which will destroy Stanley's flowers in revenge. Armed with a Sprayer, Stanley must destroy the bees and chase Donkey Kong away before he eats all five of his flowers. If Stanley is defeated, the insects immediately eat him, though this is removed in the NES port.

Gameplay
The game is very simplistic, requiring the player to gather points as the object rather than have any specific long-term goal in mind. There are three screens per level, and once the player completes all three, they return to the first. Throughout the screens are scattered various enemies: Buzzbees, Creepies, Super Bees, Vine Eaters, Beespies which shatter into stingers when destroyed, Attackers, Kabutomushi, and Butterflies. Buzzbees and Butterflies attempt to steal Stanley's flowers, and must be destroyed before reaching the plants. Donkey Kong himself hangs from two vines at the top of the screen. Spraying him drives him upwards and eventually off the screen to win. In the arcade version, defeating him in the yellow greenhouse causes his head to be pushed into a beehive. Stanley automatically moves out of his way as Donkey Kong falls, where the beehive splits in half. He becomes stunned, and Stanley does a victory dance. In the NES version, the beehive falls on his head, but the rest of the cutscene is absent.

The gray greenhouse never appears in the first round. The yellow greenhouse directly follows the blue greenhouse, but the gray greenhouse is included in all rounds following the first. The blue greenhouse is repeated from the 159th screen to the 255th screen. The game then loops back to the first round which skips the gray greenhouse.

In some stages, a Super Sprayer can be found, attached to the vines Donkey Kong hangs by. When he is pushed up to its levels, it falls, allowing Stanley to equip it for a limited time. It turns his insecticide yellow and it becomes more powerful, even being able to defeat Creepies.

Greenhouses

 * Blue
 * Gray
 * Yellow

Sales
According to The Ultimate History of Video Games, the arcade version of Donkey Kong 3 moved 5,000 units in North America, representing a steep decline from the previous installments (which sold 60,000 and 30,000 unit respectively, according to the same book). Unlike earlier titles, Donkey Kong 3 never had dedicated cabinets, but was sold only as Nintendo-Pak conversion kits to Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and  cabinets. This foreshadowed the VS. System, the Nintendo PlayChoice-10, and the.

Nintendo eShop description
Based on the third game in the enormously popular arcade series, Donkey Kong 3 introduces an exterminator named Stanley as he desperately tries to protect the flowers in his greenhouse from Donkey Kong.

''Armed only with a can of bug spray, Stanley must force Donkey Kong higher and higher into the greenhouse rafters until Donkey Kong is off the screen and the next stage is reached. But not surprisingly, Donkey Kong isn’t going to move without a fight, so he sends wave after wave of bugs, bees, and other creatures toward Stanley.''

''Not only must Stanley repel the insects in order to save the flowers, but he’ll have to keep an eye out for projectiles thrown by Donkey Kong himself. If Stanley is good enough, he’ll be able to grab a can of more powerful bug spray and really get Donkey Kong moving.''

It all adds up to frantic fun that anyone can enjoy!

References in later games

 * WarioWare: Twisted!: The microgame Donkey Kong 3 is based on this game.
 * WarioWare: Touched!: The microgame Donkey Kong 3 is based on this game.
 * NES Remix: Several challenges are based on this game.
 * Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: A recreation of the blue greenhouse appears in the background of Fruity Factory.

Trivia

 * The for the game has two misspelled words back-to-back, saying "Donkey Kong has plenty og cocnuts to hurl at you."
 * The background music for the blue and gray greenhouses comes from "."