In the dark ages, there was no Nintendo. There was no
Sega Genesis. No one knew what a Playstation was and if you said, "Let's go
play X-Box," then people thought you meant, "Let's go watch porn." No, there
were no such things as the technological marvels that are princes of the video
game entertainment universe today. There was only one. Atari. It's the sacred
video game system that many first gamers lost their gaming virginity to.
Simple yet brillant. Joystick with one button. No CDs or discs, but cartridges.
Yes, Atari was wonderful and so were its games. In fact, much of what we have
today was first introduced on the legendary Atari, including two of video
game's most famous characters. Mario and Donkey Kong were brought together for
the first time in Atari's game "Donkey Kong," and ever since the fun hasn't
stopped.
Everyone has played this classic, or at least remembers it. It's a simple
concept. A big ape called Donkey Kong has kidnapped your Princess girlfriend
and has taken her up a couple levels of construction beams. Heroically you, as
a bum plumber, attempt to race up the beams trying to reach the ape on crack.
Donkey Kong wants to keep his virgin that he stole, so in a fit of rage he
rolls barrels and other objects down the beams and ladders to prevent you from
reclaiming your prize. However, a puny plumber against a pissed off ape the
size of Shamu with an endless supply of barrels is a bad matchup, so every so
often a hammer appears, and you smash everything that moves by grabbing it,
evening the score. As you complete each level the beams and ladder system get
more complex, the barrels increase, and DK gets more ticked.
It sounds simple, and it is. However, you would be amazed at how challenging it
becomes in the later levels. The level of challenge in the later levels meets
that of any Final Fantasy or Resident Evil game of today. The concept is a
corny, fun one that drew in many different kinds of players and fans.
Since "Donkey Kong" on the Atari, Mario has become worth millions in his own
game series, and the Princess is still around in deep doo-doo, as usual.
Donkey Kong himself didn't find a job until a few years later when he made some
appearances in "Super Mario Go-Kart" on SNES. He even got his own
series "Donkey Kong Country" on the N64 and has since made dozens of cameos in
other games. Finally in the late '90s Mario, DK, and Princess were reunited
once more in a "Donkey Kong" Game Boy version that upped the ante with new
levels, enemies, and challenges, but with the same old concept that started
with the Atari.
Be as it may nothing beats the classic game though. It was the grandfather of
much of what video gamers see today. It spawned historic characters and
challenged gamers of every age. Donkey Kong is a success story of video games
that is rarely seen. Though games today have 3D environments, spectacular
graphics and more, there is just something special about pulling out the old
Atari from the closet and plugging in "Donkey Kong."
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Andrew "Shaggy" Kinback is Whim PR and a staff writer. In his spare time he eats cake frosting straight from the container and watches crappy horror movies.
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