View source for Donkey Kong 3

{{short description|1983 video game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Donkey Kong 3
| image = Dk3 arcade.jpg
| caption = European arcade flyer
| developer = [[Nintendo Research & Development 1|Nintendo R&D1]]{{efn|NES version developed by [[Intelligent Systems]].}}
| publisher = [[Nintendo]]
| director = [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]
| producer = [[Gunpei Yokoi]]
| designer = Shigeru Miyamoto
| composer = [[Hirokazu Tanaka]]
| series = ''[[Donkey Kong]]''
| platforms = [[Arcade video game|Arcade]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]], [[Game & Watch]], [[Nintendo e-Reader]]
| released = {{Collapsible list
 | title    = {{nobold|October 1983}}
 | '''Arcade''' {{vgrelease|JP/NA|October 1983<ref>{{cite book | title=アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編 (1971–2005) | trans-title=Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005) | last1=Akagi | first1=Masumi | publisher=Amusement News Agency | year=2006 | url=https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n57/mode/2up| language=ja | location=Japan | isbn=978-4990251215 | page=57}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Akagi |first1=Masumi |title=アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) |trans-title=Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005) |date=October 13, 2006 |publisher=Amusement News Agency |language=ja |location=Japan |isbn=978-4990251215 |page=128 |url=https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n129}}</ref>|EU|Late 1983<ref>{{cite web |title=Video Game Flyers: Donkey Kong 3, Nintendo (EU) |url=https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=317 |website=The Arcade Flyer Archive |access-date=29 August 2021 |archive-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829230457/https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=317 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=September 2025}}}}
 | '''NES'''{{vgrelease|JP|July 4, 1984<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.famitsu.com/schedule/recent/fc/|title=All Famicom games sorted from the latest release to the earliest|magazine=[[Famitsu]]|archive-date=October 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015061257/https://www.famitsu.com/schedule/recent/fc/|url-status=dead}}</ref>|NA|June 1986<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/nes_games.pdf |publisher=Nintendo of America |title=NES Games |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611225644/http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/downloads/nes_games.pdf |archive-date=June 11, 2014 }}</ref>|EU|September 15, 1987{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}}}
 | '''Game & Watch'''{{vgrelease|JP/NA|August 20, 1984{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}}}
 | '''e-Reader'''{{vgrelease|NA|April 21, 2003<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Craig |title=NES Series 3 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/04/10/nes-series-3 |website=[[IGN]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704061440/https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/04/10/nes-series-3 |archive-date=July 4, 2024 |date=April 10, 2003}}</ref>}}
}}
| genre = [[Shoot 'em up]]
| modes = [[Single-player]], [[multiplayer]]
}}
{{Nihongo foot|'''''Donkey Kong 3'''''|ドンキーコング3|'''''Donkī Kongu Surī'''''|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is a 1983 [[shoot 'em up]] video game developed and published by [[Nintendo]] for [[Arcade video game|arcades]]. It is the third installment in the [[Donkey Kong|''Donkey Kong'' series]], following 1982's ''[[Donkey Kong Jr.]]'' It was ported to the [[Family Computer]] in 1984, then in North America for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] in 1986. The gameplay departs from previous ''Donkey Kong'' games, and it stars an exterminator named Stanley instead of [[Mario]].<ref name="ah">{{cite web |title=Donkey Kong 3 |url=https://www.arcade-history.com/?n=donkey-kong-3&page=detail&id=667 |website=Arcade History |access-date=August 5, 2020 |archive-date=December 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204014833/https://www.arcade-history.com/?n=donkey-kong-3&page=detail&id=667 |url-status=live }}</ref> The game was a modest financial success in Japan, but its commercial failure in the United States rendered the ''Donkey Kong'' series inactive until the release of ''[[Donkey Kong (1994 video game)|Donkey Kong]]'' (1994) and ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''.

It was re-released on the [[Wii]] [[Virtual Console]] in North America on July 14, 2008, and in Europe on January 9, 2009. It was re-released on [[Nintendo Switch]] through the [[Nintendo Classics]] service.

== Gameplay ==
[[Image:Dkong3.png|thumb|left|upright=1|Arcade screenshot]]
[[Donkey Kong (character)|Donkey Kong]] hangs from vines at the center of the screen, and the player-controlled Stanley the exterminator runs and jumps on platforms beneath him. Stanley can fire bug spray at both Donkey Kong and insects flying around the levels. A level is completed by continually using his sprayer on Donkey Kong, forcing him to the top of the screen, or by killing all of the bugs. A Super Sprayer can on the vines falls down when Donkey Kong is sprayed past it. The Super Sprayer only lasts for a limited amount of time, but it pushes Donkey Kong upward at a much faster rate, making it easier to complete the level. It only spawns at the start of each life.

The insects consist of Buzzbees, queen Beespies (which shatter into deadly pieces when destroyed), inchworms, attacker bees, [[Japanese rhinoceros beetle|Kabutomushi]] beetles, and butterflies. Some of the flying insects attempt to pick up the flowers at the bottom of the screen and carry them away. Lost flowers decrease the bonus at the end of the round.

There are three levels which repeat in a fixed sequence. An extra life is given at 50,000 points, and then the game goes to "survival of the fittest" mode thereafter.

== Plot ==
Donkey Kong has begun rampaging in Stanley's greenhouse garden and it's up to him to stop the ape from stirring up any more insects that will soon destroy his flowers. Stanley saves the flowers by spraying bug spray on Donkey Kong and exterminating all of the attacking bees.

== Reception ==
''Donkey Kong 3'' was moderately successful in Japan, where it was listed by ''Game Machine'' as the fourth most successful table arcade unit of November 1983.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型新製品 (New Videos-Table Type)|magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game shut the :アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]]|date=1 December 1983|page=32|lang=ja}}</ref> However, it was a commercial failure in North America, particularly due to its release occurring after the [[video game crash of 1983]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

Contemporary reviews for the arcade game were generally positive. Gene Lewin of ''[[Play Meter]]'' magazine rated it 8 out of 10.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Lewin |first1=Gene |title=Gene's Judgements: Critiquing AMOA Show Conversions, Dedicated Games |magazine=[[Play Meter]] |date=January 15, 1984 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=60–2 |url=https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-10-number-2-january-15th-1984/Play%20Meter%20-%20Volume%2010%2C%20Number%202%20-%20January%2015th%201984/page/60/mode/2up}}</ref> ''[[Computer and Video Games]]'' said that the game's "fast action and superior sound effects" made it a "sure hit" in arcades.<ref name=CVG>"Donkey Kong Swings Back". ''[[Computer and Video Games]]''. February 1984. p. 50.</ref>

Retrospectively, reception has been divisive, with criticism aimed at its stylistic departure from its predecessors and the absence of [[Mario]]. ''[[IGN]]'' gave the [[Virtual Console]] version a 6.0 out of 10, describing it as a "radical departure" from the previous ''Donkey Kong'' games and calling it "repetitive".<ref name="IGN Donkey Kong 3 VC review">{{cite web|url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/893/893851p1.html|title=Donkey Kong 3 Review|access-date=August 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813213417/http://wii.ign.com/articles/893/893851p1.html|archive-date=August 13, 2012|url-status=dead|website=[[IGN]]}}</ref>

In 2015, Nathan Birch of ''[[Uproxx]]'' ranked ''Donkey Kong 3'' twentieth on a list of the thirty NES black box titles. Birch called the game "fun enough" but criticized the gameplay as "simple, not-terribly-challenging arcade action", which he felt deviated too far from the gameplay of the game's predecessors. Because of its change to the genre, he thought that the game "killed" the series until its comeback with ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Birch |first=Nathan |date=2015-10-18 |title=Ranking All 30 'Black Box' Nintendo Games In Honor Of The NES' 30th Birthday |url=https://uproxx.com/gaming/30-black-box-nes-games-ranked/ |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=UPROXX |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:Game&watch-donkey-kong-3.jpg|thumb|Game & Watch ''Donkey Kong 3'']]
The Donkey Kong segment of ''[[Saturday Supercade]]'' would adapt the game in the episode "Greenhouse Gorilla", with Mario and Pauline assisting Stanley in dealing with a plant thief that has tricked Donkey Kong into helping him.

A VS. series [[Game & Watch]] version of the arcade game has different gameplay. In this version, player one controls Stanley the Bugman and computer player (or player two) controls Donkey Kong in a duel against each other using exterminating spray cans to move the bees to the other side of them to make the bees sting their opponents. Players can only hold up to three amounts of spraying liquid in their spray cans. On one player mode, the higher player one as Stanley scores, the faster the spraying liquid on the side of computer player as Donkey Kong drops. A version of this game was included in ''[[Game & Watch Gallery 4]]'' for the [[Game Boy Advance]], but with Mario in place of Stanley and a Boo and a Fireball in place of the bees.

The NES version of ''Donkey Kong 3'' was released on the [[Virtual Console]] for the [[Wii]], [[Nintendo 3DS]], and [[Wii U]],<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nintendo.com/|title=Nintendo - Official Site - Video Game Consoles, Games|website=www.nintendo.com|access-date=December 12, 2018|archive-date=July 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710223614/https://www.nintendo.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the [[Nintendo Classics]] service. [[Hamster Corporation]] released the arcade version as part of their ''[[Arcade Archives]]'' series for the [[Nintendo Switch]] in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Craddock |first=Ryan |date=2019-04-03 |title=Arcade Archives Donkey Kong 3 Blasts Onto Switch This Week |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/04/arcade_archives_donkey_kong_3_blasts_onto_switch_this_week |access-date=2025-08-27 |website=Nintendo Life |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The current world record is held by George Riley (USA) at 3,538,000 points (2011).<ref name="DK3WR">Deaves. Gaz, Gaming Editor. Gamers Edition, Guinness World Record 2012</ref><ref name="ISBN">{{Cite book|isbn = 9781904994763|title = Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer's Edition|date = January 3, 2012|publisher=Guinness World Records}}</ref>

=== {{Anchor|Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack}} Semi-sequel ===
In 1984, [[Hudson Soft]] developed a semi-sequel for the Japanese-only [[NEC PC-8801]], [[NEC PC-6601]], and [[Sharp X1]] personal computers titled {{Nihongo foot|''Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack''.|ドンキーコング3 大逆襲|Donkī Kongu Surī Dai Gyakushū|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}}<ref name="Sharp X1 version">{{Cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/you-can-finally-play-a-long-lost-donkey-kong-game-1823308987|title=You Can Finally Play A Long-Lost Donkey Kong Game|website=[[Kotaku]]|date=February 25, 2018|access-date=November 27, 2018|archive-date=November 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130084811/https://kotaku.com/you-can-finally-play-a-long-lost-donkey-kong-game-1823308987|url-status=live}}</ref> A version for the [[FM-7]] was also planned, but was never released.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fm-7.com/museum/softhouse/hudsonsoft/500790300.html|title=Oh!FM-7：ドンキーコング3 大逆襲（ハドソンソフト）|website=www.fm-7.com|language=ja|access-date=November 27, 2018|archive-date=January 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112184448/http://fm-7.com/museum/softhouse/hudsonsoft/500790300.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This game is significantly different from the original. While the object to shoot Donkey Kong up in the air remains, it has 20 outdoor backgrounds such as a bridge, Planet Saturn, a desert, a pyramid, and a highway. Stanley can only move from left to right and is no longer able to jump.

For decades, ''Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack'' was inaccessible outside of Japan. In December 2017, a copy of the Sharp X1 version was bought at a [[Yahoo! Auctions]] online auction.<ref name="Sharp X1 version"/> Two months later, it was made available via [[Video game console emulator|emulation]].<ref name="Sharp X1 version"/> The PC-8801 version was subsequently uncovered in January 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/2019/02/donkey-kong-3-dai-gyakushuu-pc-8801/|title=Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushuu (PC-8801)|website=www.gamingalexandria.com}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{KLOV game|id=7611}}
* [https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-dt/index.html ''Donkey Kong 3'' (1984)] on the [[Famicom]] 40th Anniversary page {{in lang|ja}}

{{Shigeru Miyamoto}}
{{Donkey Kong}}
{{Intelligent Systems}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1983 video games]]
[[Category:Arcade Archives games]]
[[Category:Arcade video games]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong video games]]
[[Category:Intelligent Systems games]]
[[Category:Game & Watch games]]
[[Category:Hamster Corporation games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]
[[Category:Nintendo arcade games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Classics games]]
[[Category:Nintendo e-Reader games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Entertainment System games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Research & Development 1 games]]
[[Category:Shoot 'em ups]]
[[Category:Sequel video games]]
[[Category:Video games about insects]]
[[Category:Video games about plants]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Japan]]
[[Category:Video games directed by Shigeru Miyamoto]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Hirokazu Tanaka]]
[[Category:Virtual Console games]]
[[Category:Virtual Console games for Wii]]
[[Category:Virtual Console games for Wii U]]