How to play Donkey Kong Junior online
- Climb up / slide down: up and down arrow keys
- Run or swing towards the next vine: left and right arrow keys
- Jump: Space bar (from a vine, hold the arrow towards the platform and press Space)
- Choose players and skill level: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Start: F12 (the console’s Reset switch), then Space
- Player 2: T/F/G/H to move, A to jump
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
You start with three Juniors. Each rescue mission on the 2600 has three screens:
- The jungle. Climb and swing up the vines to the flashing key beside Mario and the cage, avoiding the Snapjaws he sends after you. Junior can’t climb through platforms, so work your way around them.
- The chains. Push three heavy keys to the top of the chains. Each key is so heavy that Junior must climb a pair of chains to move it. Snapjaws chase you on the chains and the ground, and Nitpicker birds fly in low.
- Mario’s hideout. Run across the coils and climb more vines to reach the hanging vine at the top, jumping over Snapjaws along the way.
After all three, the mission starts again with tougher enemies. A bonus timer counts down on every screen: what is left when you finish is added to your score, but if it reaches zero you lose a Junior. You also lose one if Junior touches an enemy, runs into Mario or falls from too high. You can score points by jumping over Snapjaws and by pushing the keys into place. The game ends when your last Junior is lost.
Game options
The Select switch sets the number of players (shown top left) and the skill level from 1 to 8 (shown top right). Level 1 is the easiest and level 8 the hardest; the manual says levels 4 and 5 come closest to the arcade machine. In a two-player game the players take turns, each turn lasting until that player’s Junior is lost.
Tips
- Two vines up, one vine down. Junior climbs faster holding two vines or chains, but slides down faster holding just one.
- Line up your jumps. Junior must be on a vine next to a platform and above it before he can jump onto it. Jumping from the wrong spot means a fall.
- Watch the timer. It rewards speed and ends your turn when it runs out, so don’t wait too long for a safe gap.
- Learn on level 1. Get to know the three screens before trying the arcade-like levels 4 and 5.
The story behind Donkey Kong Junior
Nintendo released the arcade Donkey Kong Jr. in August 1982. As with Donkey Kong, Nintendo gave the home console rights to Coleco, which brought Donkey Kong Junior first to its own ColecoVision and then, in September 1983, to the Atari 2600.
The arcade game has four stages; the 2600 version drops the one with the springboard and moving platforms and always plays the other three in the same order. Reviews of this port have been very mixed over the years. After Coleco left the video game business, Atari Corporation reissued the cartridge in 1988 under its own label, alongside a new Atari 7800 version.
Similar games to play next
- Donkey Kong – the original, also converted to the 2600 by Coleco
- Mario Bros. – Mario and Luigi’s own arcade game, on the 2600 from Atari
- Kangaroo – rescue a baby kangaroo while monkeys throw apples
- Popeye – another Nintendo arcade game, converted by Parker Brothers
- King Kong – climb a skyscraper to face the giant ape