Best home version of Donkey Kong?

[+Cafeman]

I didn't see the video. But I remember that on all CV games, you need to select the difficulty. If '1' was selected, there might be things like the springs missing. I'm sure someone here knows.

 

I remember in Zaxxon, by way of comparison, I was initially disappointed at the lack of surface-to-air missiles. But they are there, just not in difficulty '1'.

[brojamfootball]

Surely most people only ever played 2 or 3 versions? How many people here played the Spectrum version, or the Intellivision version, for example.

 

My favorite is the Game Boy version, the Game Boy was the best selling Nintendo console in France, everyone had one. The Game Boy version of Donkey Kong has everything, and goes even further. And plays even better on Super Game Boy.

 

Yes! Original B/W Game Boy version, also known as Donkey Kong '94!

All four screens(plus many, many more), good sounds, etc.

Although to be fair this was around ten years later.

Still this game rocks! The additional screens(I think around 100) will keep you playing for a long time.

Try on an emulator if you're not familiar!

[vdub_bobby]

Are there really no springs on the elevator stage?

Wow then what's the point of the sceen? All you'd have to do is avoid the two fireballs which is fairly easy.

 

 

I didn't see the video. But I remember that on all CV games, you need to select the difficulty. If '1' was selected, there might be things like the springs missing. I'm sure someone here knows.

Ok, I had to know. I got the romz and played it with MESS.

 

I played on the highest difficulty, 4.

 

I discovered that the level progression, at least on difficulty 4, goes:

barrell->rivet->elevator->rivet->elevator

 

And that's as far as I got. On neither of the elevator stages were there any springs; there are fireballs up there instead. Which keeps it from being ridiculously easy, at the expense of being ridiculously lame.

 

EDIT: And therefore, I think you people who ranked the CV version the best are on crack.

It has all the faults of the other flawed home conversions: shortened stages, missing cement factory stage, missing intros/transitions/cutscenes

It has a few of its own faults: the butchered elevator stage (missing springs!?), screwed up level order

 

The one saving grace is that the graphics look good. At the time, maybe that was pretty sweet, but in retrospect the NES has graphics at least as good and are graphics everything?

Compared to the 2600 or INTV version, it's light years ahead. Compared to the XL/XE version (which came out just a year later), it blows.

Edited March 9, 2009 by vdub_bobby

[JamesD]

Doesn't screen 1 on the ATARI 8 bit version lack a girder and the ape is on the wrong side?

[vdub_bobby]

Doesn't screen 1 on the ATARI 8 bit version lack a girder and the ape is on the wrong side?

Yup. That's why I said that the CV shares the faults of the other ports. That isn't so bad. What's bad is it has all the others' faults, plus a whole pile of other faults shoveled on top of that. What's the silver lining here?

 

The NES is missing the cement factory level, but it has all the girders, top-notch graphics, and the gameplay is pretty spot-on.

The Atari 800's graphics aren't great and it's missing a girder on the barrel level, but it plays fantastically and it (practically alone) has the cement factory level.

The Colecovision is missing the cement factory level, and it's missing a girder on the barrel level, and it's missing a girder on the rivet level (!), and the levels aren't in order, and the elevator stage is missing the springs (!!), and the hammer behavior is screwed up. But at least...what? It has pretty good gameplay, the graphics are pretty good...? That elevates it above the rest?

 

I know nostalgia is a big factor here but, honestly, I was just shocked to see how poor a port it was. On first glance it definitely blows away the 2600/INTV versions away, but stand back a little and it just doesn't hold up.

[Shannon]

Anyone who voted for the NES version needs to have their head checked.

 

Missing pie level.

Hammer is in the wrong place on the girder level.

No blue barrels on girder level.

Some of the pick up items (purse, umbrella, hat) are missing or in the wrong place on diff levels.

Never more than 1 spring on the elevator level.

 

The list goes on..

 

Ahem..

[cimerians]

The Coleco Adam is my favorite but I also like the C64 cause its got the pie levels.

 

Why the hell did nintendo omit the pie level on their own system?

[NE146]

ok aside from the original arcade game (which is always king obviously), I guess I have to say to me.. the best "port" of the game is the Atari 8-bit version. The NES version is closer, but the Atari 8bit version is just to me a whole other beast with it's faster pace & different physics, which make it lot of fun to play as sort of an alternate Donkey Kong in comparison to the arcade version. It made for a great home version back in the day.

 

Although... one thing though that always bugged me about it is they got Cement Factory wrong with one important detail (at least in my mind ). When you first get there, FIVE fireballs jump out at you when there is only supposed to be 3 (level 1 = 1 fireball, level 2 = 2 fireballs, level 3 = 3 fireballs, etc.). It's a minor detail.. but it's annoying when you know that it could've been easily fixed had they paid a little more attention

[Bowser N64]

Are you KIDDING me?!?! The best was Donkey Kong 64 by far!

[Charlie_]

I voted Colecovision because the poll said "HAD" the best version of Donkey Kong.

 

Now the truth is these days the Tandy Color Computer 3 has the best version. Without a single doubt.

 

 

Best 8-bit computer ever.

[Ransom]

I voted Colecovision because the poll said "HAD" the best version of Donkey Kong.

 

Now the truth is these days the Tandy Color Computer 3 has the best version. Without a single doubt.

 

 

Best 8-bit computer ever.

 

That's a pretty darned nice job!

[JamesD]

I didn't see 'had'. I'd like to see how the Amstrad one plays. If it plays as well as it looks it could be the winner.

I'd have to play Atari, Coleco and TI again as well.

The Atari one has pretty good gameplay but I'd want to compare everything.

The Coleco sound was irritating to me though.

[tremoloman2006]

I actually voted for the TI99/4A (other)

 

The graphics are fairly close and it also has all four levels . From what I remember, the gameplay is very close as well.

 

I'm with PacManPlus! TI-99/4A all the way baby!

 

The CV version annoys me that you have to push up twice to make him normal. If you don't Mario is as slow as a turtle.

Edited March 11, 2009 by tremoloman2006

[Nukey Shay]

I'd like to see how the Amstrad one plays.

 

The DK cartridge rom appears to crash in MESS Any CPC emulators run this thing?

Donkey_Kong.zip

[darthkur]

I'd like to see how the Amstrad one plays.

 

The DK cartridge rom appears to crash in MESS Any CPC emulators run this thing?

 

 

That file makes WinAPE fail repeatedly to the point where you have to delete the program and have to reinstall it.

 

EDIT: Truthfully I'm not really familiar with this emulator so I easily could be doing something wrong. Either way though I can't get the game to work. I also can't get the emu to recognize a joystick with a game it will run. Does anyone know how to do this or if it's even possible?

Edited March 11, 2009 by darthkur

[NightSprinter]

If you've played the Ocean port to the C64, then you already know how the game plays, but here's a video showing how it plays.

[mbd30]

Are you KIDDING me?!?! The best was Donkey Kong 64 by far!

 

No, the best was Donkey Kong Country.

[darthkur]

Are you KIDDING me?!?! The best was Donkey Kong 64 by far!

 

No, the best was Donkey Kong Country.

 

 

 

Neither one of those are the actual Donkey Kong game this poll pertains to.

 

 

If you've played the Ocean port to the C64, then you already know how the game plays, but here's a video showing how it plays.

 

That link doesn't work.

Edited March 11, 2009 by darthkur

[mbd30]

Are you KIDDING me?!?! The best was Donkey Kong 64 by far!

 

No, the best was Donkey Kong Country.

 

 

 

Neither one of those are the actual Donkey Kong game this poll pertains to.

 

 

 

Thanks for ruining a perfectly bad joke.

[Shannon]

Are you KIDDING me?!?! The best was Donkey Kong 64 by far!

 

No, the best was Donkey Kong Country.

Neither one of those are the actual Donkey Kong game this poll pertains to.

Donkey Kong 64 contains in the game an arcade cabinet that contained an emulation of the donkey kong arcade game.... Edited March 11, 2009 by Shannon

[keitaro]

I'd like to see how the Amstrad one plays.

 

The DK cartridge rom appears to crash in MESS Any CPC emulators run this thing?

 

 

That file makes WinAPE fail repeatedly to the point where you have to delete the program and have to reinstall it.

 

EDIT: Truthfully I'm not really familiar with this emulator so I easily could be doing something wrong. Either way though I can't get the game to work. I also can't get the emu to recognize a joystick with a game it will run. Does anyone know how to do this or if it's even possible?

 

I recommend use a disk version of DK (amstrad disk images has .dsk extension). In cpc6128 mode, use CAT command to see the files in the disk (like dir in MSDOS) and run"(filename) to load and run the program.

[briza]

I voted Colecovision because the poll said "HAD" the best version of Donkey Kong.

 

Now the truth is these days the Tandy Color Computer 3 has the best version. Without a single doubt.

 

 

Best 8-bit computer ever.

 

Hi Chaz.

 

I have to agree the Coco 3 version is the best ever done. No matter if it said "Had". The only version that comes close is the Amstrad CPC version. It had the colors nearly right and the graphics came very close.

 

The Coco 3 version is not being emulated. It was translated into coco 3 coding. Sock mimicked the Z80 registers by using coco 3 registers that could emulate those functions. And those registers are not 100% the same in features. For it to be emulated the coco 3 would need more registers that are nearly 100% the same and have a CPU that is 10 times faster. And as for the sound effects and music score not bad for a computer with no dedicated sound chip onboard.

 

So what is my point.

 

1. Soon we will be seeing a poll on what Sinnistar version is the best port. Considering a officially licensed version was never finished and produced for the Atari 7800 etc. But I bet users will still try and class it as a port.

2. It don't matter if it Had in its day a port or its only been done 15-20 years later its still a version of the original no matter what. As it loads up and plays on the computer in question.

3. I thought this My computer is better then yours died years ago. We are now old time users who wish to see new or old stuff being found. that's it.

 

And as for my prefered systems. I have always liked the Atari ST and Coco 3. because both used a form of OS called OS-9. And I have a soft spot for the Vic-20 it was my 1st computer.

 

laters

 

Briza

[TwiliteZoner]

First off, all of the versions in the poll are worthy ports of the game, but for my money, the Atari 8bit ranks above the others because of the gameplay. No other version comes close in terms of speed. Another thing to remember about the Atari version is that it was a 16k cartridge.

 

As much as I love the C64 and Colecovision/Adam versions of Donkey Kong the gameplay is incredibly slow in comparison. I think the best endorsement I can think of is back in 83 when my friend Jeff with the Colecovision would come down to my house to play Donkey Kong on my 800.

[TwiliteZoner]

I voted Colecovision because the poll said "HAD" the best version of Donkey Kong.

 

Now the truth is these days the Tandy Color Computer 3 has the best version. Without a single doubt.

 

 

Best 8-bit computer ever.

 

Hi Chaz.

 

I have to agree the Coco 3 version is the best ever done. No matter if it said "Had". The only version that comes close is the Amstrad CPC version. It had the colors nearly right and the graphics came very close.

 

The Coco 3 version is not being emulated. It was translated into coco 3 coding. Sock mimicked the Z80 registers by using coco 3 registers that could emulate those functions. And those registers are not 100% the same in features. For it to be emulated the coco 3 would need more registers that are nearly 100% the same and have a CPU that is 10 times faster. And as for the sound effects and music score not bad for a computer with no dedicated sound chip onboard.

 

So what is my point.

 

1. Soon we will be seeing a poll on what Sinnistar version is the best port. Considering a officially licensed version was never finished and produced for the Atari 7800 etc. But I bet users will still try and class it as a port.

2. It don't matter if it Had in its day a port or its only been done 15-20 years later its still a version of the original no matter what. As it loads up and plays on the computer in question.

3. I thought this My computer is better then yours died years ago. We are now old time users who wish to see new or old stuff being found. that's it.

 

And as for my prefered systems. I have always liked the Atari ST and Coco 3. because both used a form of OS called OS-9. And I have a soft spot for the Vic-20 it was my 1st computer.

 

laters

 

Briza

 

 

The Coco3 version is a pretty amazing piece of coding. John's stuff is always top notch. Although it is not for a stock Coco3. I think a better comparsion for this poll would be Donkey King for the Color Computer.

 

http://nitros9.lcurtisboyle.com/donkeyking.html

[BillyHW]

I have to go with the ColecoVision version. It was the first home version released in 1982, just one year out from the arcade release in 1981. It had great graphics, sound and gameplay--far superior to the 2600 and Intellivision version also released that year, despite Coleco's valiant efforts to get the most out of those systems. Yes, it was easier than the arcade, but that was just perfect for a little kid like me. It was essentially having the arcade, at home, on your TV...and what could be more awesome than that?

 

Honourable mention goes to the Coleco Adam version for filling in the missing pieces in 1984. It's too bad that the Adam couldn't have been more of a competitor to the C64. I recently had the displeasure of playing both C64 versions of Donkey Kong, and they were very disappointing.

 

Famicom version was also good in 1983, but we didn't see it here until 1986. And the 7800 version wasn't released until 1988! If you can't turn out an arcade note-for-note pixel-perfect port seven years after the fact, your company has issues.