Donkey Kong 3

Donkey Kong 3
Developer	Nintendo R&D 1
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Arcade, NES, e-Reader, Virtual Console (Wii, 3DS, Wii U), Nintendo Switch, several non-Nintendo systems
Release Date	Arcade 1983 NES JP July 4, 1984 US June 1986 EU September 15, 1987 e-Reader US April 21, 2003 Virtual Console US July 14, 2008 JP July 23, 2008 EU January 9, 2009 AU January 9, 2009 3DS Virtual Console JP March 27, 2013 US December 5, 2013 EU/AU December 12, 2013 SK July 6, 2016 Wii U Virtual Console US September 26, 2013 EU/AU October 24, 2013 JP November 6, 2013 Switch April 5, 2018
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

Donkey Kong 3 is a 1983 arcade game by Nintendo that completes the original Donkey Kong "trilogy". It is a major departure from the preceding games in that it is the first game in the series not to include Mario. The game instead stars Stanley and was designed to tie into the Game & Watch game Green House. The release of Donkey Kong 3 was followed by a hiatus of the Donkey Kong series, until it was revived a decade later with games like Donkey Kong GB and Donkey Kong Country.

Information

The game starred Stanley, who had to battle Donkey Kong and an army of insects with only his spray gun in order to protect the plants of the greenhouse. The game consisted of an endless amount of levels that looped after the initial eleven levels. There were also three different types of levels.

Legacy

Its release was accompanied by a two-player Game & Watch game of the same name, but it had little to do with the arcade game beyond featuring Donkey Kong.

This game notably marked the end of the arcade series of Donkey Kong games. As mentioned above, it would not be until 1994 that Donkey Kong was revived, with a remake of the original arcade game matched with the launch of new subseries called Donkey Kong Country that would redefine the Donkey Kong games.

Ports/Remakes

• In 1984, a version called Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushu (Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack) was made by Hudson Soft and released for the NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-6601, Sharp X1 and FM-7. This Japan-only version featured the same basic gameplay, but it also incorporated a variety of new background environments, including a desert and the planet Saturn. Additionally, after the game looped around at the 21st stage, Stanley would lose his jumping ability.
• Donkey Kong 3 was ported to the NES later in the 80s. The NES version would be used for all following ports of the game.
• It was included in 2001's Animal Crossing and was released for the e-Reader in 2003.
• It was also released for download over the Wii's Virtual Console in July 2008 (for America and Japan) and January 2009 (for Europe and Australia), and for both the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Consoles in 2013.
• In 2019, an emulation of the original arcade game was released for download on the Nintendo Switch as part of the Arcade Archives series.