Stanley the Bugman doesn't get enough respect. Sure, he's no Mario Mario, but he's blown more smoke up Donkey Kong's ass than the leaping plumber ever could. Of course, I mean that semi-literally. In Donkey Kong 3 - the NES port of which is 35 years old today - Stanley's bug-spraying antics transformed the Donkey Kong gameplay into something of a shmup. It's a challenging, rewarding, lovely-looking and fun to play game. But I'm not here to talk about that.
More pressingly, there was a sorta-sequel named Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū (Great Counterattack) released for a few Japanese home computers - NEC's PC- 6601 and 8801, as well as the Sharp X1 Turbo, and it's the latter I've found myself playing. Developed by Hudson, it recalls the more well-known (but still obscure) Super Mario Bros. Special with its relatively smooth gameplay and clean visuals. There's a pleasantly dark look to the whole thing, in fact, which lends it a rather thick atmosphere while still retaining a sense of Nintendo polish.
Progress in Dai Gyakushū feels like a journey; you travel through distinct named areas, starting with "On the Highway", moving on to "On the Strange Bridge" and then "On the Country Road". In this sense it's a little less authentically Nintendo - and less so when you reach "The Aliens" with its jarring, somewhat shocking background image.
The shooting gameplay differs from the original Donkey Kong 3 with the elimination of the raised platforms that allowed you to choose Stanley's vertical elevation. This lends a much more simplistic, straight-up Galaga feel to the proceedings as Stanley moves left and right on a flat plain to shoot out the bugs and push back Donkey Kong himself. Every few levels there's a bonus stage tasking you with taking out all the insects in a formation as it flies past - even more shades of Galaga. It's derivative in that respect, but the added pressure of keeping DK away means the levels take a while to clear and require a lot of attention to be paid for any hope of success.
One fairly big issue with the game is the precision needed to land a hit on Donkey Kong - I could swear his hitbox is only a couple of pixels right, and it's right between his legs. I'll avoid the obvious, puerile joke, but it can be a little irritating to have to position yourself quite so carefully given the knockabout, arcadey nature of the gameplay. Still, it's a fun curiosity, and thanks to the efforts of one Famiac, you can try it out for yourself.