Donkey Kong 3 by Kimberly Keyes Stark
Until a year ago or so I never knew that Nintendo released another Donkey Kong sequel after Donkey Kong Junior. Even though I was still in college when Donkey K ong 3 first came out, none of the arcades in my hometown or my college town had that game. It wasn't until I read a book on classic arcade games that I learned that there was a Donkey Kong 3. I finally played that game for the first time a few weeks ago when I got Donkey Kong 3 for the Game Boy Advance e-Reader.
Donkey Kong 3 is a departure from the other two Donkey Kong games. As you'll recall, Donkey Kong was a villain in the first game only to switch to being a victim who needed to be rescue in Donke y Kong Junior. In Donkey Kong 3, the big ape goes back to being a villain who is out to invade someone's flower garden and steal some flowers for himself. (As to why he needed those flowers, the game never made clear. Maybe he decided to try a different m ethod of wooing Pauline, the woman he kidnapped in the first Donkey Kong game or maybe he simply has a secret fetish for flowers.)
Mario, Donkey Kong's enemy in the first two games, has been replaced by a gardner named Stanley who is armed with bug spray ready to chase off Donkey Kong and the many insects that are also trying to invade his garden.
The biggest departure is in the gameplay itself. In the first two Donkey Kong games, you basically climbed and jumped around the screen. This time Donkey Kong 3 is a shooter game (that seems to be inspired by Galaga) where you actually shoot at bugs and DK himself.
The object of the game is this: Donkey Kong is invading your garden and, as Stanley, you have to use your bug spray to get the big ape to move to the top of the screen. In the meantime, Donkey Kong has whacked on a couple of beehives, which unleashes a bunch of insects. These insects are not only a distraction from the task that you must do, but they also try to kidnap your flowers for Donkey Kong. Sometimes the bugs will catch you and you will die. If the bugs successful steal all five flowers from the bottom of the screen, you will also lose a life. Once you move Donkey Kong to the top of the screen, you get to move on to the next level where you get to shoot bugs.
I found the gameplay to be pretty fun and addicting at times. I think Nintendo deserves some credit for trying a new direction with the big ape instead of just putting out clones of the first two games. I guess gameplayers found the c hanges in Donkey Kong 3 to be too jarring to play it as much as the first two games since Donkey Kong 3 was a big flop.
Donkey Kong 3 was the last Donkey Kong sequel to be released in the arcades. From that point on, Nintendo would feature Donkey Kong in a series of adventure games for both portable gaming devices and consoles.
Donkey Kong 3 was the last appearance of Stanley the gardner. Like Pauline and Donkey Kong Junior, Stanley hasn't been heard from since his arcade debut. I wrote a brief fan fict ion story below that describes my theory of what happened to those characters.
Pauline was alienated by Mario's bumbling attempts to rescue her. She was finally rescued after Mario managed to locate a dart gun filled with a tranquilizer and shoot the ape. Mario then put Donkey Kong in a cage as the giant ape slept. Pauline was so traumatized by what she went through that she needed someone to provide emotional comfort and support. However she was unable to get that from Mario because he was too focused o n keeping Donkey Kong Junior from rescuing his papa. So Pauline broke up with Mario and began to attend meetings of a weekly support group of people who are monkey-phobic.
Several weeks later Stanley began to attend that same meeting where he met Pauline. The pair began dating when they realized that they had other things in common besides their run-in with Donkey Kong. They soon got over their monkey-phobia, fell in love, and got married. Shortly after their wedding they found poor lonely Donkey Kong Ju nior, who was abandoned by his ungrateful papa shortly after freeing his father from Mario's clutches, wandering homeless in the streets. Pauline and Stanley felt so sorry for Junior that they decided to adopt him as their pet. The three of them setted up an unconventional yet loving household and lived happily ever after.
DISCLAIMER: This blog is based on one person's biased opinions of which videogames should be considered to be classics and why. It is not meant to provide a complete history of the videogame industry, the latest videogame news, technical support, or hints on how to play a certain videogame. None of the videogame manufacturers or programmers mentioned here have endorsed or supported this blog in any way, shape, or form.
NOTE: If there are any errors or updates to what I have written about Donkey Kong 3, please send an e-mail to [link=mailto:kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erols.com]kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erols.com[/link] (remember to remove the capital letters from my mai ling address before sending or else it will get rejected) and I'll edit this piece when time permits.
DONKEY KONG 3 GAME AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
GAME BOY ADVANCE E-READER
Donkey Kong 3--This is the second Donkey Kong sequel that hit the arcades but it was a flop. For under $10, you can now judge for yourself as to whether this game really deserved that fate or not.
GAME BOY ADVANCE
Game & Watch Gallery 4--It's a port of a series of handheld games that Nintendo made in the 1980's. It includes th e Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong 3.
DONKEY KONG 3 LINKS
Donkey Kong 3--It's a review that is also a special requiem for Stanley, Donkey Kong's nemesis, who has made his sole videogame appearance in Donkey Kong 3.
Donkey Kong Database--This site is devoted to the Donkey Kon g cartoon series.
Donkey Kong's Jungle Vine--It's an ultimate fan site that's devoted to Donkey Kong. It includes the latest news on Donkey Kong's latest videogame appearances along with essays on Donkey Kong. There is even an Artwork section where fans can submit their original art featuring the giant ape.
The Donkey Kong Megasite--It's another ultimate fan site that's devoted to Donkey Kong. It includes information on all the Donkey Kong games as well as his appearances in other videogames, information on the Donkey Kong cartoon series, all kind of downloads, and much more.
Donkey Kong World--It's another ultimate fan site that's devoted to Donkey Kong. This site focuses more on the many Donkey Kong console games that have been released over the past several years.
The Internet Movie Database's Information on Donkey Kong--Includes information on both videogames and the TV cartoon series.
The Killer List of Videogames' Donkey Kong 3 Exhibit
Nintendo--The official site of the company that's responsible for Donkey Kong 3 as well as other classic games like Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, and M ario Bros.
Phosphor-Dot Fossils: Donkey Kong 3--A brief history of Donkey Kong 3.<<
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