Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong is a platformer where the player controls Mario, who must navigate obstacles, gaps, and enemies to save Pauline from the clutches of Donkey Kong. The game introduces key gameplay elements, such as jumping over barrels and climbing ladders while avoiding hazards, setting the template for future platformers. The player earns points for performing various actions, including jumping over obstacles, using a hammer to destroy objects, collecting items like hats, parasols, and purses, removing rivets from platforms, and completing each stage before the bonus timer runs out. The game starts with three lives, and additional lives are awarded at 7,000 points. A life is lost if Mario touches Donkey Kong or any enemy, falls too far, or lets the bonus timer reach zero. The game ends when all lives are lost. The game consists of four single-screen stages, each representing 25 meters of Donkey Kong’s climb up a construction site. The stages are as follows: Stage 1: Mario navigates a construction site, dodging barrels and oil drums thrown by Donkey Kong while climbing crooked girders and ladders. Stage 2: Mario climbs a five-story conveyor belt structure, avoiding cement pans. Stage 3: Mario rides elevators while avoiding bouncing springs. Stage 4: Mario must remove eight rivets from the platforms holding Donkey Kong, causing the ape to fall and rescuing Pauline. These stages combine to form a single level. After each level, the difficulty increases—barrels are thrown faster, sometimes diagonally, and fireballs speed up. The victory music alternates between the first two levels. The final level consists of five stages, with the last stage at 125 meters. Level 130 is known as the "kill screen" due to a programming error that causes Mario to die after a few seconds, effectively ending the game.