The Dawn Of Donkey Kong And Mario

It seems like every kid that I know is obsessed with Mario and Donkey Kong.  My niece, my nephew, and the kids that my friends have all share the same interest in the little Italian plumber and the lumbering gorilla.  I get it, of course, because I remember when those particular Nintendo characters first took the world by storm way back in 1981.

The version of Donkey Kong we had was made by Coleco and could be played on the Atari Video Computer System and the Sears Video Arcade.  This game was very, very primitive.

I think Mario has been popular for so many years because kids feel like they actually participate in his adventures.

Are you ready to play Donkey Kong?  There's a bit of prep work you need to do first.

You need access to a really old TV to play this game.  It is OK if the TV is a black and white set.

Familiarize yourself with the game controls.  Be careful not to break them when you get frustrated.

I'd like to mention here that there was actually a Donkey Kong Cereal sold around this time (It had "Crunchy Barrels of Fun For Breakfast").  It was tasty (kind of like Cap'n Crunch)---and healthy (nothing says "nutrition" like frosted pieces of cereal shaped like barrels).

The levels in the game all looked very similar.

Donkey Kong was so popular that a spin-off called "Donkey Kong Jr." debuted in 1982.  Donkey Kong had to save his son from Mario (the villain in this game).  Yes, there was a Donkey Kong Jr. Cereal, too (it had marshmallow fruit pieces).

I no longer have the game system to play this version of Donkey Kong, but the Game Cartridge and Instructions somehow survived.

By 1983, Donkey Kong, Mario and Donkey Kong Jr. starred in the animated TV series "Saturday Supercade" on CBS.

For more fun, check out Q*bert and Saturday Supercade.

Of course, everyone knows that Donkey Kong and Mario went on to star in many popular Nintendo games, including "Chiropractor Mario" and "Donkey Kong's Frozen Banana Cart Race."