Play Donkey Kong Junior Online

Donkey Kong Junior came out on the Atari 2600 in 1983, published by Atari themselves. It was one of the many arcade ports that defined that era of home consoles, a time when getting a decent translation of a coin-op game felt like a small victory. You knew what you were getting: a simpler, blockier version of the arcade experience, but it was right there in your living room.

You control Donkey Kong's son, a little ape trying to free his father from a cage. The goal is to climb a series of vines and chains across several single-screen stages, all while avoiding enemies like Snapjaws and Nitpickers. You can grab fruit from vines and drop it on the creatures below to temporarily stun them. The challenge comes from timing your jumps between vines and navigating the gaps as the game gradually increases in speed. It feels frantic and requires a good deal of patience to master.