Donkey Kong Classics compiles the Nintendo Entertainment System ports of the first two Donkey Kong arcade games, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior, into one multicart.
As noted above, the two most popular games in the original trilogy were both included, which is great since they were the best in the series up to the time of this multicart's release in 1988. It does not include Donkey Kong 3, which likely contributed to that game becoming lesser known than the others.
Donkey Kong was a solid conversion of the arcade game. However, since it was also an early release before mappers extended the capabilities of the Nintendo Entertainment System, it lacks the cement factory stage. That stage would not be added to the Nintendo Entertainment System version until Donkey Kong Original Edition was released for the Virtual Console for Wii in 2010 and Nintendo 3DS in 2012.
Donkey Kong Junior, on the other hand, survives in-tact in its conversion from arcade to NES. Although it was also an early NES game, all of the levels are here. The only real difference, as with Donkey Kong, is the change from a vertically-oriented arcade monitor to the horizontally-oriented, nearly square resolution of the NES hardware.
The multi-cart has one small difference in the games. The title screen in both games are replaced by a single blue Donkey Kong Classics title screen. The games can be selected via the right and left buttons on the NES controller, and the number of players can be selected via a menu below the game select area. The neat thing about this change is that the title screen music from the two games are alternatingly played on the multi-cart's title screen.
Donkey Kong Classics is an interesting compilation of the Nintendo Entertainment System conversions of the first two Donkey Kong games. Unlike Nintendo's earlier multi-carts, such as the Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt pack-in cartridge, the menu is not silent. The games lack title screens, in favor of a single title screen that controls the options of both games. This isn't a bad thing, especially since the title screen music from the both games are alternated on the multi-cart menu. It's a shame that Donkey Kong 3 wasn't included, but the game was the weakest of the original trilogy, so its exclusion is not a big loss.
Final Verdict:
3 out of 5
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