when i first started using this site i saw that this game had a 3.0 and was sincerely offended because to me this game's legacy is so great that it was incomprehensible that a game with such a giant footprint would be treated the same as a generic budget title from the 2000s, but looking back that was a really immature reaction.

donkey kong is one of the most important games to ever be made. the influence of this game would be felt for years to come and can still be felt today. but to a modern eye, it definitely leaves a lot to be desired; it is sluggish as hell, the physics are awkward and opaque (one of the first criticisms youll read for this game will probably be how inconsistent and gross the fall damage feels, which thankfully would not be implemented in most later platforming games), and the iconic first stage is full of what amounts to random chance with whether a barrel will fall or not. the game can still be fun and engaging today if you appreciate the context of its development and the time it was made in, but to say it hasn't aged gracefully is undoubtedly an understatement.

with all that said, i still don't know if i can rate donkey kong. this game has such a fond place in my heart, from playing the NES classics version on gameboy advance as a small child, to playing on my uncle's arcade cabinet when i would visit him. i even have a soft spot for the awful atari 2600 port, which i played nigh on constantly when i got an atari as a young gaming enthusiast. i can't blame anyone who can't get into this game or can only appreciate it as a relic of gaming history, but for me, there's really something special about it