Donkey Kong, Jr.

In the tradition of a great Norman Lear comedy spin-off, one of the most popular video games - Donkey Kong - has spawned an equally popular sequel - Donkey Kong, Jr. And in spite of the common themes of the games, Donkey Kong, Jr. adds new challenges to the original concept.

The similarities between Junior and Papa Kong are great - as are the differences. Two of the characters remain intact: Mario and Donkey Kong. You're no longer in a construction site but, instead, in the jungle. Your objective is reminiscent of the original game: Save Papa Kong from the clutches of Mario. The monkey doing the saving is you, Junior, the proud son of Kong. Mario has locked Papa in a cage at the top of the screen.

The road to rescue is hazardous and varied. Vines replace the ramps and ladders as the passageways to the top. As in the original, there are four distinct boards of play, each appearing in a planned sequence. If we call the Vines setting A, the Chains B, the Jumpboard C, and the Hideout D, the first order of screen progression - as in the original Donkey Kong - is ABACBAD.

Junior’s answer to the ramps is the Vine Screen. Kong is captive in his cage on top, and you're ready to go at the bottom. You must swing from vine to vine to get to Papa. Your enemies are the Snapjaws, looking just like they sound. The blue ones slither down the vines and then out of the game. The red Snapjaws move up and down the vines, remaining until squashed by your fruit. Wait until your enemy is underneath a fruit, and then nudge it loose with Junior himself. The fruit will then drop, killing your adversary.

The Chains screen is similar to the Rivet screen in the original. Each chain has a lock at the top of it. You must push keys up chains to force them into locks. Your enemies on this board are the Snapjaws and Nitpickers. The only Snapjaws are the red ones; they move down and up the chains. The deadly Nitpickers are video birds that move across the screen, descending in zigzag fashion.

Once you've opened all the locks, the whole gizmo comes tumbling down and your first intermission is awarded. You can climb up two vines at once, speeding up the process. Also, the chains at the edges are the most dangerous.

The Junior version of the Elevator screen is the Jumpboard. You use a Springese (pogo stick) as a jumpboard. The screen is broken horizontally into two parts. You can spring from the jumpboard up to one of the moving vines, hold onto it and climb to the top part of the screen. The only obstacles are the eggs dropped by the Nitpickers.

Mario, as you remember from the original game, is a carpenter. Now he's taken up his craft in a video sewer, complete with sound effects, m the Hideout screen. A new enemy, the Sparks, are introduced in Mario's lair. These travel individually about the pipes with fully charged electrical power. You must avoid them, or kill them with fruit that hangs off the plumbing fixtures.

On the Vines screen there are only two things that Junior must avoid doing at all costs: touching Snapjaws or falling too far. Both result in the loss of a turn. Junior is controlled with a jump button and a four-direction joystick. He begins the screen at the lower left. Jump him to one of the two vines directly overhead. Using two vines, one in each hand, is the fastest way to climb and using one vine (with both hands) is the fastest way to descend. Climb Junior quickly up the first two vines until he is next to the coconuts, then time the coconuts so that they hit the red Snapjaw on one of the ledges below.

Beginning with level 2 there is a second red Snapjaw on top. Wait until it's on the same vine as the coconuts before dropping any. With level 3 all red Snapjaws regenerate after being killed and appear on the upper left portion of the board. They are confined to the left side of the screen until Junior gets off the board or dies.

After dropping the coconuts, move Junior back and forth across the upper ledge to entice a blue Snapjaw down the vine. Wait until the Snapjaw is below the apple and run to the edge and jump at the last second. The apple will crush the blue Snapjaw below. Get back off onto the lower of the two ledges to the left and wait until a blue Snapjaw goes down the vine with the bananas. When you see this, swing Junior back out onto the vine he just left, lower him until he's even with the bananas and wait until the blue Snapjaw is just below. Junior’s arm is long enough to span the space and knock the bananas loose, crushing the Snapjaws just below. This plan works well on level 2 and beyond. Wait above the bananas on the first level.

After the bananas, lower Junior to the platform below, grab the vine above and climb to the coconuts. Be sure to kill at least the blue Snapjaw. Swing to the right and climb Junior up the last two vines. Any red Snapjaws at the top should be on their way down before you get off at the top level. Jump any blue Snapjaws, move to the left, and then jump up the step and grab the vine with the last apple on it. Wait until any red Snapjaws are on the vine just to the right of the step below. Swing Junior toward Mario and wait for one last blue Snapjaw to pass below before dropping the apple. The apple will kill the blue Snapjaw and any red ones on the vine. If Junior still is not facing Mario when the apple reaches the red Snapjaws, they will live.

After all the Snapjaws have been hit, swing back around and drop off the vine. Move to the left and jump to grab the first vine to complete the screen.

The Chains screen is made up of eight long chains of equal length. At the end of six of them there is a key which must be pushed to the top to finish the screen and release Kong.

Junior is at the lower left at the beginning. Move him to the right and jump to grab the third chain from the left. Spread his arms so that he's grabbing both the third and fourth chains from the left. Push the two keys to the top, watching for any red Snapjaws coming down the vines.

On this screen, the blue Snapjaws are replaced with dark blue Nitpickers. They enter from the right and cross the screen four times before exiting on the left. On level 1 Junior is safe standing at the bottom since the birds won't come down that far, but on higher levels the Nitpickers fly lower. Staying up in the chains is the way to survive here.

Once the two keys are in place, get onto the chain at the lower left with the apple on it. Lower Junior until he's just above this apple. The first bird to enter the playing field should be coming and will be low enough to kill.

The first bird on the higher levels cannot be killed like this. Here the first two keys should be left about one inch below the locks, and any red Snapjaws on the chain with the apple on it should be killed quickly. After using this apple, walk along the bottom (for level 1) or swing across the chains towards the right to the next two middle keys, saving the end keys for last. Watch for Nitpickers and Snapjaws while pushing the keys up.

Some Nitpickers enter lower than others, so position Junior just below the level of the lowest bird. With all the keys in the middle in place, get to the right chain with the other apple on it. Wait above the apple, and when a low Nitpicker comes by, slide down the chain and smash any Nitpickers, Snapjaws or birds below. Now get the two end keys to the top, starting with the one on the right.

The next screen has a jumpboard just to the right of where Junior begins at the lower left. Move Junior to the right edge of the platform where he starts. Count to two and jump onto the jumpboard. For a superhigh leap, hit the jump button as fast as possible, as if it were a fire button. Junior should land on the horizontally moving ledge in the middle of the screen. Once there, wait for the overhead rod that changes length to lower and make a jump for it. Junior will be carried to a platform to the left just above where he started. From here, jump to grab a rope and climb.

On this screen Nitpickers fly out from the top left, but cross the screen only once. When a low one appears, drop the first fruit on it. Avoid the birds until a second low one comes and drop the next fruit on it. Wait at the top of the second rope to the left of the gap for one high Nitpicker to come at Junior, then slide down the rope nearly to the end and change to the next rope, dropping the coconuts. Wait for another Nitpicker to come out of the gap and turn high before continuing to the right. Get to the top level and jump the gap. Drop the apple on a Nitpicker and lower Junior back down to the top level.

For level 2, jump one Nitpicker and jump for the next rope to the left. Wait for a wide gap in the Nitpickers before dropping to their level. Jump them one at a time by jumping straight up. After landing each time, edge barely forward to the left. Three jumps should put Junior close enough to jump and grab the rope to end the screen.

Mario’s Hideout first appears on level 3. Although patterns with very little variation can be used for this screen, most players find a pattern unnecessary for the level 3 Hideout. The following pattern works on level 4 and all levels beyond.

Again at the lower left of the screen, jump Junior and grab both pipes overhead. Climb until he is even with the large pipes to the right. Get onto these pipes and move right. Press the jump button so that Junior will knock the apple loose at the height of his jump. Continue to the right without stopping. Climb up the two pipes to the extreme right (as you did when beginning the screen) and get off at the next level. Run to the apple, jumping anything that may be coming, and wait.

There is a yellow Spark circling the pipes above, coming toward Junior. Just before it reaches the apple, jump so that the apple will fall when the Spark is directly overhead to eliminate it. The apple will drop, missing the Spark just under Junior and will continue down and hit another lower Spark.

If after jumping to get the apple you push the joystick to the right while Junior is in the air, you will receive 1200 points for the first Spark instead of just 800. Continue to the left and up to the next level. Use this apple to get any other possible Sparks. Continue to the right and climb Junior up the pipes until he's even with the highest level. Wait for a blue Spark to intersect with a yellow one at the right end of the top level just below where Junior is waiting. Just after this happens, get onto the top level, move left, and grab the last pipe.

This trick will not help your score, but it has a comical effect. On the first board of Donkey Kong, Jr. ,climb to the top of the two vines at the far right edge of the screen. Then, with one hand on each vine, push up against the top of the screen and hold the joystick forward. All of the action on the Screen will slow to snail’s pace until you release the joystick.

This trick allows Player 1 to earn an infinite number of extra turns, at the expense of Player 2's game. Player 1 just plays a normal game but each time Player 2 has a turn he must perform a trick that costs him that turn and earns each player an extra turn. If Player 2 can do the trick every time, Player 1 will always have extra turns to play with and Player 2 will always have at least one turn left to perform the trick the next time around.

At the beginning of the first screen, Junior appears on a platform in the lower left corner of the screen, as shown above. Walk to the right edge of this platform, and move as far right as possible without falling off. Only Junior's heel should still be on the platform.Wait at the edge of the platform and watch for a blue Snapjaw to come down the first vine to the right. As soon as the Snapjaw leaves the end of the vine to fall in the water, jump toward him. You should hit the Snap jaw at the same time it hits the water.If you timed your jump correctly, your turn will be over but both players will be awarded an extra turn. You can then play normally (as Player 1) until Player 2's turn comes up again and you must repeat the trick.

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