Donkey Kong/Gameplay

Mario
You control Mario (originally named "Jumpman") with the direction pad. Press left or right to make him walk along the girders, and press up or down to make him climb up or down the ladders. Mario can only climb all the way up unbroken ladders. Press the A button to make Mario jump. By pressing the A button alone, Mario will jump straight up. By pressing the A button along with left or right, Mario will do a running jump in that direction. Mario loses a life if he touches a barrel, spring, fireball, or fox fire, or if he falls a distance greater than his own height.

Pauline
This is Mario's damsel in distress. In the first two stages, she awaits your rescue at the top of the screen, while in the third stage she sits helpless and out of reach. Bonus points are awarded to you every time you successfully rescue Pauline. The bonus points count down from the beginning of each stage.

Donkey Kong
The title protagonist himself and the king of video simians. Donkey Kong is an ever present threat to Mario's rescue of Pauline. Determined to slow Mario down, he sends barrels, springs, and fire after the hero while he pounds on his chest and stomps on the floor. Though he does nothing to threaten Mario directly, touching Donkey Kong is lethal.

Hammer
If Mario jumps and grabs a hammer, he will have the ability to smash enemies with the hammer for a limited period of time. However, while holding one, Mario loses the ability to jump or climb ladders. Mario is also not invulnerable while holding the hammer and can still be killed if an object sneaks past the head of the hammer.

Barrels and Beams
These inanimate objects appear on the Ramp stage. Barrels and beams roll down the ramp stage and will randomly choose to fall down a ladder, or to drop off the end of a ramp. Mario must just over them to safety, and avoid having them drop on his head from above. The beams are no different from the barrels, except that Donkey Kong likes to throw the beams straight down more often, and the beams become fireballs upon contact with the burning oil canister.

Springs and Cement
Springs bounce along the top of the Elevator stage and fall off the ledge to varying distances. Mario's best strategy is to let the springs bounce safely over his head at the top of the elevator stage before attempting to rescue Pauline. The Cement Pies appear on the Conveyer Belt stage. They are relatively easy to avoid since they just move along with the conveyer. They can be smashed by the hammer for bonus points.

Fireball and Firefoxes
Fireballs appear on the ramps, conveyer, and elevator stages, while Firefoxes appear on the final stage. These wispy flames are slow but very unpredictable. If they continue in one direction, it is possible for Mario to jump over them, but they change direction so frequently that it's best not to try. Fireballs can climb up broken ladders, but Firefoxes can not cross the gaps created by Mario when he pulls out the yellow plugs in the final stage.

&lt;&lt; Introduction | Ramp Stage &gt;&gt;