Arcade Files · 👾 The golden age (1978–83)

G33Z3R Arcade Files · 19811985

Was Donkey Kong the first Mario game?

Donkey Kong

Released
1981
Made by
Nintendo; designed by Shigeru Miyamoto
How it played
Climb four screens of ladders and girders, jump barrels, rescue Pauline from an ape
Firsts
Mario's debut (called Jumpman) and one of the first games with a story told in cutscenes

🗳️ Did you play it?

Be one of the first to weigh in. No account needed.

The file

Nintendo's American arm had a warehouse of unsold Radar Scope cabinets, and a young designer named Miyamoto was told to make something to fill them. He made the game that invented the platformer and Mario.

The kill screen at level 22, where the timer bugs out and Mario dies instantly, is the most famous glitch in arcade history, and the subject of a documentary about two men fighting over the high score.

Sources: Wikipedia — Donkey Kong (1981 video game)

Where was the Donkey Kong machine in your town? Tell us about it.

The drive, the dance, the heartbreak, the summer. Add a memory of Donkey Kong.

💭 No rules — but if you’re stuck: what was on TV · what you were eating · the movie it brings back · who you were with

💜 Memories are kept forever — they live on this one’s wall. You can delete yours anytime.

Community Memories

More from the Arcade Files