Genre: Arcade
Developer: ITD Corporation
Publisher: Atari

This 7800 port of the legendary Donkey Kong is clearly based on the Famicom version, as every inaccuracy-- when compared to the arcade original-- is translated over to this rendition, including the ordering of the stages, which stages are present, plus the lack of intro and inter-stage segues. That said, visually this port is extremely close to that excellent Famicom rendition-- it's just a little bit lower resolution, and a few of the sprites are missing detailing.

Unlike a lot of 7800 games which also came out on the 2600, this version of Donkey Kong does not share audio with its 2600 predecessor, despite the systems sharing the same audio hardware: in fact, this rendition has the looping background song, and sound effects such as the spring are enhanced over the 2600 iteration. Considering how primitive 7800 audio can be, the developers did a nice job with what they had. This reviewer especially likes the deep, crunchy-sounding note progression in the pre-stage ditty.

The most important part of an arcade game like this is how it plays-- and this 7800 adaptation is superb. The framerate is perfect, and the physics plus ladder climbing are as nuanced and precise as any other version of the game. There is no flickering, no stuttering, and all deaths feel like they were earned.

Donkey Kong is an iconic game in every sense of the word, and this Atari 7800 version is up there with the best home versions. It's not as arcade accurate as the Amstrad CPC port, and its graphics aren't as detailed as the ColecoVision version-- but it plays great, and for those who like the 7800's distinctive audio personality, that is an added bonus.