Donkey Kong 3

Donkey Kong 3

Overview & History

Released by Nintendo for the Famicom in 1984 and subsequently ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1986, Donkey Kong 3 boldly shifted the series away from its platforming roots. Rather than controlling Mario (or Jumpman), players step into the overalls of Stanley the Bugman, a greenhouse gardener tasked with defending his exotic flora from a rampaging Donkey Kong. The primate has swung down from the trees and hidden himself in the rafters, angrily shaking a hive of hostile insects down onto Stanley's prized blossoms. Unlike its arcade predecessors which featured vertical climbing and barrel-dodging, this entry pioneered a fixed-screen, vertical-shooter style hybrid, blending insect extermination with a tug-of-war mechanic against the titular ape.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core objective across all twenty cyclical levels is to drive Donkey Kong upward into the top of the screen by continuously blasting him with a specialized insecticide spray gun. Simultaneously, waves of aggressive bees, beetles, butterflies, and buzzbees descend from the ceiling, threatening to steal the remaining flowers at the bottom of the screen. Stanley can move left and right along the floor and utilize two pneumatic platforms to elevate himself to higher ledges. Power-ups appear sporadically in the form of a Super Spray, which temporarily upgrades Stanley's weapon into a high-powered beam capable of pushing Donkey Kong back at a much faster rate. Players must expertly balance managing the descending insect swarms with maintaining relentless pressure on the ape, as failing to push him to the top before time expires results in the loss of a life.

Keyboard Controls

• Arrow Keys / D-Pad: Move
• Action Keys: Attack / Jump
• Enter: Start / Pause