Ok, I have to be honest with you this morning. If I was playing with quarters, I would be out a ton of cash because this game is just a smidge addicting. I still remember the first time I played Donkey Kong. We had taken a family vacation to the beach when my parents stumbled upon this quaint little mom and pop restaurant not too far from the boardwalk. There was a full-size plastic horse statue out front and, much to our surprise and delight, a Donkey Kong arcade game inside. We kids didn’t even care about eating when we went there because we got to “ride” the horse and (until the quarters ran out) we got to play Donkey Kong. Although when we got famished enough to seek sustenance, they did have a surprisingly delicious pickled watermelon salad that was perfect for celebrating crushing my brothers’ spirits.
Fun Donkey Kong fact – that’s not a princess Mario’s rescuing, it’s Pauline!
Now, first things first, I think we need to address Donkey Kong’s challenge. I can get fairly high … but is that really an appropriate question for young children? It’s amazing that we children of the 80s have survived this long when even our favorite animated characters encouraged us to be deviants. Bad Donkey Kong – for shame! Thank goodness we had other role models too, like Princess Leia, who taught us we can be more than just a damsel in distress.
Despite this game’s clear intent to corrupt children starting at a young age, it sure is a blast to play! It’s funny how precise you have to be when jumping over the barrels, especially when you compare this to today’s Mario games where you have so much more room for error. Phew – I’ve rescued the damsel in distress and I’m ready for more! Want to play?
