They asked one question: what would you do if a barrel rolled toward you? — and built everything from the answer.
Donkey Kong was Shigeru Miyamoto's first real game. Nintendo had a failing arcade machine called Radar Scope sitting unsold in American warehouses, and they needed something that would work. Miyamoto, who had never directed a game before, was given the job. He didn't start with a story or a character. He started with a situation: a barrel is rolling toward you. What do you do? You jump. That question became the foundation — a man who could leap over danger, reach higher, survive by moving. The Famicom port in 1983 had to fit everything into 16 kilobytes, so they cut the factory stage entirely and removed the opening scene. What stayed was the core: the jump, the climb, the barrel. Play it now and you can still feel the question underneath — not 'what can we make him do?' but 'what would you do?'
— inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto
About this game
Donkey Kong (1983) was one of the three launch titles for the Famicom in Japan, bringing Shigeru Miyamoto's arcade breakthrough to home consoles. The player controls Mario (originally called Jumpman) as he climbs girders, leaps over barrels, and ascends ladders to rescue Pauline from the giant ape Donkey Kong. Due to the 16KB cartridge limitation, the cement factory stage from the arcade version was removed. Despite the cuts, the core remained: jump over danger, climb higher, survive by moving.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Donkey Kong was created in 1981 by Shigeru Miyamoto under the supervision of Gunpei Yokoi, repurposing unsold Radar Scope arcade cabinets. It became Nintendo's first major arcade success in North America and introduced the character later named Mario. The Famicom port in 1983 was one of three launch titles for the system, developed by Nintendo R&D2. Due to the 16KB cartridge limitation, the cement factory stage was removed entirely.
Tricks & Tales
The player character was originally called 'Jumpman' in English materials and was unnamed in the Japanese release. Workers at Nintendo's American warehouse noticed he resembled their landlord, Mario Segale, and started calling him 'Mario' — Miyamoto heard the nickname and adopted it. The Famicom version lacks the cement factory stage due to cartridge size limits. Donkey Kong launched the Famicom in Japan on July 15, 1983, alongside Donkey Kong Jr. and Popeye.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Famicom and NES are the same hardware family but use physically incompatible cartridge formats — Famicom carts have a 60-pin connector and a narrower shell, while NES carts use a 72-pin connector with a wider housing. You cannot insert a Famicom cartridge into a North American NES slot without an adapter, and vice versa. The Famicom itself has no lockout chip, so any Famicom cartridge from Japan will run on a Famicom console regardless of origin. If you are buying a Japanese Famicom cart to play on a NES, you will need a 60-to-72-pin physical adapter; if you own a Famicom, Japanese-market software is your native format and no workarounds are needed.
Maintenance Tips
The gold-plated edge connectors on Famicom and NES cartridges pick up skin oils and oxidation over decades — a gentle wipe with a cotton swab dampened in 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, stroking along the length of the pins rather than across them, is the accepted standard. Let the alcohol fully evaporate before reinserting. The old habit of blowing into a cartridge is folklore: the moisture in breath causes slow corrosion of the contacts over time, and any improvement you felt came from the act of re-seating the cart, not from the breath itself. Nintendo eventually updated its own troubleshooting guidance to say explicitly: do not blow into your Game Paks.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Donkey Kong copies regularly.
Does the Famicom Donkey Kong cartridge use a save battery?
No. The 1983 Famicom version of Donkey Kong is a score-based arcade-style game with no save or password system. Your progress resets each time the console is powered off — this is by design, not a fault. The cartridge contains ROM only, with no battery inside, so there is no battery to replace or worry about.
Will a Japanese Famicom cartridge work on an American NES?
Not directly. Famicom and NES cartridges have different physical shapes and pin configurations. A Famicom-to-NES adapter is required to use Japanese cartridges on an American console. Even with an adapter, some games may have regional lockout issues, though Donkey Kong typically works fine once the physical adapter is in place.
What should I do if the Famicom cartridge won't start?
Clean the edge connector gently with a cotton swab dampened in 90%-or-higher isopropyl alcohol, wiping along the direction of the pins. Let it dry fully before inserting. The Famicom's top-loading cartridge slot is less prone to wear than the NES front-loader, but dust and oxidation still accumulate over forty years. Never blow into the cartridge — the moisture corrodes the contacts you're trying to clean.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Donkey Kong
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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