Like most of the other Nintendo games that Hudson made computer versions of, Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack is loosely based on the original but has some significant gameplay changes, likely because the PC formats weren’t built to handle complex arcade game designs. Hence the new subtitle, which positions The Great Counterattack as something of a sequel to Donkey Kong 3.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The original game took place in several greenhouses, with protagonist Stanley The Bugman jumping on tiered platforms to shoot bugs and keep Donkey Kong from climbing down to attack him by shooting bug spray directly up his butt. The Great Counterattack puts Stanley on a single flat platform at the bottom of the screen, and rather than climb down vines or pulley systems, Donkey Kong simply floats down on a pair of balloons.

Advertisement

Perhaps to make up for the simplification of the gameplay, The Great Counterattack takes Stanley and Donkey Kong far outside the greenhouses, on a journey that crosses not only the world but indeed the entire universe:

Advertisement

Apparently, there are 20 stages in all, but the game is so difficult that no footage has ever been publicly seen of most of them. Now that it’s available for all to play, that probably won’t be the case for much longer.

Advertisement

It’s great to finally see an incredibly obscure game dumped, but the work isn’t over for true Donkey Kong 3 completists—the X1 game is but one of three versions of Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack that Hudson released, and the versions for the PC-8801 and PC-6601 computers remain at large. They do show up for sale occasionally—it’s just a matter of, as happened here, making sure they’re purchased by those who want to share them with the world instead of keeping them locked up.