For its time, this was the most arcade-perfect translation of Donkey Kong to have come out...And it was a blast. Sure it wasn’t absolutely perfect, but it was still fun...And when you’ve got a fun game like Donkey Kong packed in with your system at launch, you’re going to make quite an impact. This game, which was one of the most popular games in the arcade at the time, really didn’t just put the Colecovision on the map, but it really helped it gain a lot of popularity in a Atari-dominated world. Was the game really that good? Well, yes.
First off, the game is not completely arcade perfect. It does have all the levels and the like, but they’re jumbled a little. Also, once you finish the first screen where Donkey Kong throws barrels at you, you won’t be seeing that level again. Instead, levels two and three will repeat from then on. Now keep in mind that while these things prevent Donkey Kong from being a perfect translation of the arcade version, it really doesn’t do anything to prevent it from being fun. Granted, it doesn’t feel quite as polished as the arcade version, or the NES version that would come out a few years later, but it’s still a very fun experience.
Graphically, the game is pretty nice. Granted, it pales in comparison to the arcade and NES versions, but for its time and the hardware that it's on, Donkey Kong looks mighty purdy. On the audio side of things, Donkey Kong is pretty grand. There are a lot of different sound effects to hear as well as a quiet little song that plays in the background as you play. The audio sounds pretty close to those that you’re hear in the arcade, which is a pretty good thing.
While Donkey Kong does lack a few things that the arcade version had and it changes some things up a bit, it’s still a very fun, very enjoyable game that any Colecovision owner can love and cherish. This game helped make the Colecovision a major contender in the home console market, and with good reason. Even when slightly modified and changed, Donkey Kong is still more fun than a barrel full of monkeys...Especially when that barrel is being rolled towards you while you’re wielding a hammer. - Ape
1982
