| Donkey Kong Jr. Math | |
|---|---|
 North American box art featuring Donkey Kong next to a subtraction exercise | |
| Developer | Nintendo R&D2 |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Designer | Toshihiko Nakago |
| Composer | Yukio Kaneoka |
| Series | Donkey Kong |
| Platform | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Release | |
| Genres | Edutainment,platform |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Donkey Kong Jr. Math[a] is a 1983edutainmentplatformvideo game developed and published byNintendo for theNintendo Entertainment System. It is aspin-off of the 1982 arcade gameDonkey Kong Jr. In the game, players controlDonkey Kong Jr. as he solves math problems set up by his fatherDonkey Kong.
It is the only game in the Education Series of NES games in North America, owing to the game's lack of success. It was made available in various forms, including in the 2002GameCube video gameAnimal Crossing and on theVirtual Console services forWii andWii U in 2007 and 2014 respectively, and in 2024 for theNintendo Classics service.Donkey Kong Jr. Math was a critical and commercial failure. It has received criticism from several publications includingIGN staff, who called it one of the worst Virtual Console games.
Bruce Lowry, Nintendo of America’s vice president of sales from 1981 to 1986, referred to it as “the worst game we ever sold.”[3]
The game features two modes, one single-player and the allowing for one to two players.[4][5] Its mechanics are similar to its predecessor,Donkey Kong Jr.[4] The Calculate mode has Donkey Kong hold up a number, which players must attempt to reach by collecting a combination of digits and arithmetic symbols to eventually reach that number.[4] Players must climb vines to reach these figures.[6] The +−×÷ Exercise requires players to solve fixed math puzzles by climbing chains to reach the correct numbers and arithmetic symbols to do so.[4][6]
Donkey Kong Jr. Math was developed byNintendo Research & Development 2 and designed by Toshihiko Nakago.[7] It was published byNintendo for theFamily Computer (Famicom) andNintendo Entertainment System (NES).[7][8] It reuses its engine, assets, and gameplay fromDonkey Kong Jr.[9][4][6] It was a part of the Educational Series on the NES, a series that was originally supposed to have three entries, including music gameDonkey Kong's Music Play[b][ja], but was the only one released under that line.[10] A lack of success by the game was attributed by a Nintendo spokesman to be the reason Nintendo did not make more educational titles.[11] It was the first spin-off title Nintendo made.[8]
The game was first released in Japan on December 12, 1983, and was released shortly after together withDonkey Kong Jr. as a licensedmulticart (released in a bundle together withSharp'sC1 Famicom TV).[1][12] In August 1995, the Sharp multicart was re-released separately from the C1 Famicom TV.[12] The game has been released on other platforms, including the video gameAnimal Crossing, which featured several NES games.[13]Donkey Kong Jr. Math was re-released on theWii'sVirtual Console in Japan on March 27, 2007,[14] Europe and Australia on April 20, and in North America on September 3.[1] It was re-released again for theWii U'sVirtual Console in North America on August 28, 2014, in Europe on January 22, 2015, and in Japan on April 15.[1][15]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 32%[16] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame | 3/5[4] |
| Eurogamer | 3/10[17] |
| GameSpot | 3/10[6] |
| IGN | 3/10[5] |
| Nintendo Life | 1/10[1] |
Donkey Kong Jr. Math was met with negative reviews from the press.[18][16] Despite this negative reception, the magazineJoystick felt Nintendo was worthy of praise for its attempt at making an educational game.[19] The game was also a commercial failure, with a Nintendo spokesperson noting its lack of success as being due to poor reception.[11]Donkey Kong Jr. Math performed better in Japan but was forgotten in the United States.[20] Its poor sales contributed to it becoming a rare and expensive collector's item.[9]
Jeremy Parish ofPolygon called it the worstDonkey Kong video game, suggesting that it was a "half-finished game" to have a larger launch lineup on the Famicom.[9] He was also critical of the reuse of assets fromDonkey Kong Jr., while Skyler Miller ofAllGame found this reuse creative.[9][4] Bob Mackey of1UP.com calledDonkey Kong Jr. Math the worst NES launch window title, criticizing it for its lack of value and sluggish movement.[21] The game had a poor reception fromIGN, with Lucas M. Thomas finding its controls and execution poor,[5] while Cam Shea regarded it as one of the worst Virtual Console games and criticized it for a lack of value.[8][22] Dan Whitehead ofEurogamer similarly could not justify the asking price for the Virtual Console version.[17] Frank Provo ofGameSpot felt that its math problems were either too easy for young children or too boring for older ones.[6] Damien McFarren ofNintendo Life criticized the game for "shoehorning" education into this game and for poor controls.[1] Author Jeff Ryan referred to the game as a "dud". While noting that it "reinforced math fundamentals", he called the gameplay "fun" but "challenging".[23]
Donkey Kong Jr. Math has received criticism for its qualities as an educational game. Elizabeth Sweedyk, associate computer science professor atHarvey Mudd College, felt thatDonkey Kong Jr. Math was too realistic an educational game to be fun.[24] Kevin Gifford of1UP.com felt that it lacks appeal for children, while Frank Caron forArs Technica felt it inferior to other educational games likeBrain Age andMath Blaster.[25][26]
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| Mario vs. Donkey Kong | |||||||
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| Mario Discovery series |  | |
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| Mario Teaches Typing | ||
| Other games | ||
| See also | ||
