General:

Date of Release: 3^rd June 1982

Model Nr: DK-52
Acronym: Donkey Kong
Rating: DC3V 0.0002W
Battery: Alkali-Manganese batteries LR44 (or SR44) x 2
Manufactured: Japan
Sold: More than 1,000,000 Worldwide
Nr. of players: 1
Lives: 3
Modes: Game A & Game B
Controls: Up, Down, Left and Right Controller. Jump Button
Other Buttons: Game A, Game B, Time, Alarm & ACL

Game-Play:

Donkey Kong has captured a girl and it is your mission to rescue her. You control Mario around the construction site to save the girl by knocking the girder out from under Donkey Kong. To do this you need to switch on the crane and jump onto the hook and catch it (Quite tricky). Watch out for the barrels that Donkey Kong throws in your way and also the iron moving overhead.

Game differences:

Game B requires more coordination, technique and timing.

Trivia:

Highest possible score is 999. (Sometimes 998 points). When the score reaches 300 one more Mario is restored. If there are no misses scores are doubled until you get a miss.

Cheats and tricks:

Don't take too long reaching the top as the barrels will get faster and faster. Remember to keep an eye on the barrels on the top screen so you can plan what to do on the bottom screen. You can't jump over barrels where the clearance is low or on a ladder. Don't forget to switch on the crane. After crane has swung 2 times, it automatically switches off and you have to switch it back on again. When game starts, or after a miss, Mario appears automatically at starting point after 8 seconds. Don't bother trying to get a good score just by jumping over the barrels as eventually it will get too fast.

Points:

1 point for every barrel that Mario leaps over on the lower girder and 2 points on the upper girder.
When Mario cuts a wire that is holding the girder on which Donkey Kong is standing, points are awarded depending on how fast you get there from the start of the game, from 20 points to 5 points. When all the supporting wires are cut and Donkey Kong falls, 20 points are earned.

Misses:

When Mario is hit by a rolling barrel. When Mario hits his head on an iron bar moving overhead. When Mario is hit by a barrel thrown from above by Donkey Kong. When Mario jumps for the crane hook and misses. After all three Mario's disappear the game ends.

Other notices:

If you hold in Game A or Game B key the highest previous score will be displayed. If the unit is left as it is after game is over, time display will appear in about five minutes. A game is not interrupted even if TIME key or other game keys are depressed during game playing. Pressing ACL switch or removing batteries erases high score from memory.

Issue Differences (click to enlarge pictures)

The table will show how to tell the different Issues that were made:

Note: Games with serial nr. 38...... seem to have Issue 2 data on back and Issue 1 Nintendo mark under the game play area. A transition game?

The battery covers seem to have a number on the back, but they seem to vary a lot and I won't even speculate what the difference is.

Box Variations (Click to enlarge):

Game Variations:

Shipping Box:

Fits 10 games

Instructions (English):

Instructions (Japanese):

Instruction Variations:

Other Paperwork: