‘Donkey Kong’

Goomba Stomp’s Hall of Fame is reserved for only those Nintendo titles that can be called absolute classics. Chosen by the crew of the NXpress Nintendo Podcast, these bite-sized capsule reviews reflect what we’ve discussed on the podcast over the past six months. Look for more entries every 25 episodes we record.

This classic that launched the careers of Donkey Kong and Mario (here named Jumpman), but nobody ever bothered to ask what happened to the beautiful Pauline trapped within the paws of the giant ape. The game was the latest in a series of efforts by Nintendo to break into the North American market and was developed by first-time video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. The rest as they say, is history. Drawing from a wide range of inspirations, including Popeye, Beauty and the Beast and King Kong, Miyamoto developed a critical and commercial success that helped establish him as a key player in the industry. If you happen to be a nostalgic gamer or even a huge Nintendo fan who wants to explore the company’s back catalogue, this is essential to your collection. Ricky D)