The only game you're actually playing here, is the game where you try to keep your money from this quarter swallowing monstrosity.

Best played on an arcade machine than any other format. There's something ominous about this big unmovable box holding an evil giant gorilla hurling crap at this little Jumpman controlled only by a tiny stick, that is simply lost now.

I'm just drawn to small Italians having garbage lobbed at them by angry lusty apes.

Potential Donkey Kong kill screen coming up.

Even today it's quality shines through. Iconic images, characters, gameplay and sound at the beginning of the arcade golden age. It's punishingly difficult but that's part of the draw. The basic premise of high scores no longer seems to hold any sway which may be it's only limitation in modern times.

short and sweet

Hard and unrewarding.

Games where the ending is a glitch on the scoreboard. It doesn't have a story so you'll just keep playing the same 3 levels over and over until you game over. Not a great game. I just find it ok.

Meh.

The sound of not-yet-Mario's footsteps might be one of the most obnoxious sounds in gaming.

I hated this game.

Mario before he was even Mario. Important more for the nostalgia and relevance to iconic character history than being a great game. You jump barrels and try to rescue the girl. That's about it.

The archetypal platformer--well, at least until Mario learned the art of scrolling to the right. It plays just fine, though there are reasons the conventions on jumping and falling have moved on (though there are also plenty of less forgiving platformers that followed in its footsteps).

I played this in the arcade and on Commodore 64. I guess I never really enjoyed this game, even though I played it a lot. 8(

Play the Game Boy version instead

One of the classics that I can't stand. If you grew up with Super Mario Bros. (NES), reverting to the more realistic jump physics in Donkey Kong will be an unpleasant task. Also, fuck Billy Mitchell (Silly Bitchell).

I'd rather jump over barrels thrown by a gorilla in real life

Simply iconic and responsible for much of what we now recognize as platforming tropes and whatnot, though I admit it's just too difficult and stiffly-controlling for me to genuinely enjoy it as much more than a curiosity.

It was amazing at the time. Now it makes me just want to go read.