Do the Donkey Kong, again
Another week, another video... specifically, another video about Donkey Kong.
Might as well get used to it. Good Nintentions is about to hit a thick patch of Nintendo arcade classics, including two more Donkey Kong games, Mario's first solo outing (which is, of course, a Donkey Kong spinoff), and Popeye, which is what Shigeru Miyamoto originally wanted Donkey Kong to be. That big ape cast a big shadow over Nintendo's early console days.
I appreciate the fact that this video has sparked comment debate over which home version of Donkey Kong was best — Nintendo's NES game looked most faithful, but plenty of people will vouch for other platforms where the game included all levels, animations, and music. Of course, Nintendo could easily put this debate to rest by releasing an official version of the arcade game that isn't locked inside a grindingly tedious 3D platformer, or by making Donkey Kong Original Edition widely available. Wouldn't that be swell?
The ongoing absence of a proper release of such a pivotal title remains pretty baffling. Knowing Nintendo, they're going to make Original Edition one of their "free" sample titles for the Switch's subscriber service, which ceases to be freely playable after one month, but not actually offer the game for sale. That would be awful, but somehow perfectly in keeping with the way things have been going for the archival travails of Donkey Kong.
