Donkey Kong - NEW PR (246,100)!!!

[javeryh]

EDIT: Wow - someone just broke Billy Mitchell's WR for DK!  Check it out!

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OK, I'm having a bit of a problem... the top 5 high scores are all between 82,000 and 89,700 on my cab because I cannot get past the elevators stage where the two spring things come out one after the other (you have to avoid both).  I don't know the exact level but I have around the same amount of points when I get there - last night I got there with all of my lives and lost them all!  I really want to break 100,000 - HELP!

[HanoiBoi]

Check this thread out...it could prove helpful. 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=79757.0

[javeryh]

Check this thread out...it could prove helpful. 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=79757.0

Haha - I forgot about that thread - lots of great info there.  Thanks!

[massive88]

That thread has a wealth of info.

As for the springs, you need to run to the edge of the first elevator and wait there.  Trial and error will net you the "safe spot" where the heel of the springs will graze your nose, but not kill Mario.

If you watch the springs carefully, you will see that they vary in their arcs, some bounce farther forward, some hang back.  Watch where they land in relation to DK's foot.  What you are looking for, is one that bounces farther forward.  When that one passes over Mario, you can get a head start running to the right to catch the ladder.  The split second of head start lets you avoid all other springs EXCEPT if the very next spring is again one that bounces farther forward.  So you have to start running to get your head start, and watch the next spring.  If its a forward one, retreat back to your safe spot, and wait for another forward spring.  If its not a forward one, power ahead as quick as you can to make it.

Hope that helps.

Edit: This video shows the basic idea, the details about the spring locations and the timing you will have to work out through trial and error though.

[javeryh]

Awesome video!  I didn't even know you could skip 1/2 the level after the second elevator!  LOL!   

[massive88]

Awesome video!  I didn't even know you could skip 1/2 the level after the second elevator!  LOL!   

Its possible to jump to the platform above it as well.  However, I find this to be much harder, and not nearly as repeatable as taking the jump shown in the video.  I think its generally accepted that the path that guy takes is the best one to the top.

[javeryh]

I did it!  I finally hit 100,000 over the weekend (104,600).  I got lucky on the 3rd elevator stage (I didn't pay attention to the spring types).  I just went for it!  I think I'm close to a major breakthrough because I was able to top 90,000 3 or 4 more times and I had been stuck in the high 80s for months.  Woo hoo!!!

[DeLuSioNal29]

http://www.farbish.com/forums/blog.php?b=60

[severdhed]

that stage is very difficult, that is usually where i lose all of my lives.  i've made it through a few times, but it is terribly difficult to get the timing right.  that should be the level 4 elevator stage if i remember correctly.

are you playing the Japanese version or the american version?

[javeryh]

I'm playing the American version.   That map and the videos are really helpful but the execution is still VERY tough.  No more progress but I haven't had much of a chance to play...

[CrazyKongFan]

that stage is very difficult, that is usually where i lose all of my lives.  i've made it through a few times, but it is terribly difficult to get the timing right.  that should be the level 4 elevator stage if i remember correctly.

are you playing the Japanese version or the american version?

It's the 4th on the Japanese version, 3rd on the American one (although both are L=04. It's the 4th on the Japanese because you get an elevator board on L=01. First one on the American version is L=02)

[javeryh]

I love days off from work (thank you snow) - I just got 125,600 - by far my highest score.  I think I've got a good idea how to beat that pesky 3rd elevator stage since I've been able to do it a few times now - once I get past there I'm good for another 30,000 points.  I am getting closer to my NEW goal of 200,000!!!  Woo hoo!!!

[Epyx]

I have the most trouble on the first stage as it gets harder...barrels on the head is my usual death...any tips guys?

[javeryh]

I have the most trouble on the first stage as it gets harder...barrels on the head is my usual death...any tips guys?

I get by this stage pretty regularly although there is always a time where a random barrel will disrupt my flow or do something unexpected.  I'm OK in avoiding those - it's the random ones that DK just hurls at you that seem to be the ones that get me - wrong place wrong time.  

As for tips, I never take the first hammer and 99.9% of the time I can get to the 4th level by just racing up as fast as I can knowing that 2 barrels typically drop on the long ladder between 2 and 3.  I always take the second hammer for points and as a way to (almost) guarantee safety until the bottom of the ladder in the upper right.  Also, a really big thing to know is that you can jump over a barrel while running in the same direction as it is coming at you (AWAY from you).  This saves me at least 2 or 3 times every time I play and gets me through what used to look like an impossible scenario based on the spacing of the barrels.  I hope this helps.  

[Malenko]

I can only get about 37,000 so I dont have anything helpful to say. I never made it to the stage with the conveyer belts before so I lost all my lifes there, Im getting better, I think I need a 4 way stick

[javeryh]

I think I need a 4 way stick

There's your answer!  I can't imagine playing this on anything except a 4-way.  I think Mario freezes when a diagonal is pressed because the game doesn't know which way to go!   

[Malenko]

I think I need a 4 way stick

There's your answer!  I can't imagine playing this on anything except a 4-way.  I think Mario freezes when a diagonal is pressed because the game doesn't know which way to go!   

Im pretty terrible at it, so I wont blame the stick just yet (I rock the house on ms.pacman/pacman), however I'm even worse on Donkey Kong Jr. then regular old DK (for some reason I just toss my lives away on the chain chomp /key level, bird pWnage) I planned on wiring some kinda connector to the front of my CP that I can plug the 4 way in and set it on top, cause I dont play that many 2way/4 way games

[severdhed]

congrats javeryh..thats a good score.   my highest was 122,000, and that was on the DK cab at kennywood park, i've never made it that high here at home....

[Epyx]

As for tips, I never take the first hammer and 99.9% of the time I can get to the 4th level by just racing up as fast as I can knowing that 2 barrels typically drop on the long ladder between 2 and 3.  I always take the second hammer for points and as a way to (almost) guarantee safety until the bottom of the ladder in the upper right.  Also, a really big thing to know is that you can jump over a barrel while running in the same direction as it is coming at you (AWAY from you).  This saves me at least 2 or 3 times every time I play and gets me through what used to look like an impossible scenario based on the spacing of the barrels.  I hope this helps.

Yes, perfect thanks.  Will try this as soon as im operational!

[allroy1975]

As for tips, I never take the first hammer and 99.9% of the time I can get to the 4th level by just racing up as fast as I can knowing that 2 barrels typically drop on the long ladder between 2 and 3.  I always take the second hammer for points and as a way to (almost) guarantee safety until the bottom of the ladder in the upper right.  Also, a really big thing to know is that you can jump over a barrel while running in the same direction as it is coming at you (AWAY from you).  This saves me at least 2 or 3 times every time I play and gets me through what used to look like an impossible scenario based on the spacing of the barrels.  I hope this helps.

Yes, perfect thanks.  Will try this as soon as im operational!

also...I watched a guy play out at CGE2k4 I think....he controlled the barrels with his movement.  If you turn towards a barrel when it's just above a ladder you can usually make it fall down that ladder  In the later leves you don't even need to be very close to it.

[fatfingers]

As long as you are below the barrel you can control it.  Even if it's 3 beams above you.  However, it's all chance-based and the chances of controlling it increase as you go up in difficulty (levels).

[javeryh]

HERE's some info I found by Googling it...  seems complicated but I guess it is worth learning.

[allroy1975]

HERE's some info I found by Googling it...  seems complicated but I guess it is worth learning.

geez.  something about that seems like cheating.   

[smalltownguy]

Yeah, Steve Weibe figured that out too -- allows him to stay on top of the barrels in later levels.

[allroy1975]

I watched billy mitchell play ms. pac man (i contest he was hitting on my wife by showing her the moves) for a while a the afore  mentioned CGE2k4 and he was trying to explain how he was controlling the ghosts and he knew everywhere he could hang out and just not die..so he could hit on my wife etc. 

I remember at first thinking how cool that was..but...that would totally make my favorite game of all time NOT fun anymore.

I mean...I tried to copy his moves..but couldn't get it the way he did. 

at the end of the day, i'm still with my wife, and still not that great at Ms Pac man.

[CrazyKongFan]

Until I saw King of Kong, I never knew you could control the barrels, but I did notice frequently when you were just below the top beam, going up that last ladder, many times as you went toward the ladder, the barrel Kong rolled out would go down the broken ladder. I just never put 2 and 2 together that I was actually having an influence on it
As to the hiding spots on Ms Pac, it's pretty much crucial if you want to get very far. You'll also need to learn how to group and use the hide spots to force them to go certain ways once you get to the slow boards (starting at 21). Sadly, I can't get anywhere near there on regular speed (turbo is alot easier, I think I've gotten in the 50's)

[javeryh]

I haven't upped my overall score yet but I did figure out a way to squeeze a few thousand extra points out of the first level.  I take the 100 points from the blue barrel at the beginning and then ride the fireball to the first ladder for a few hundred more.  Then I end up taking the first hammer for extra points.  The problem is that this makes the level much harder to get to the top but if I do I usually have 8,000+ points going into level 2 instead of ~6,000 or so.  I thought of stole the idea from this insanity:

[severdhed]

that is crazy...

i guess i need to practice alot more...every time i try to get a ton of points on the barrel stage, i die.  I generally try to get to the second hammer as quickly as possible, which doesn't get me alot of points, but at least i can get through that stage

[javeryh]

that is crazy...

i guess i need to practice alot more...every time i try to get a ton of points on the barrel stage, i die.  I generally try to get to the second hammer as quickly as possible, which doesn't get me alot of points, but at least i can get through that stage

That is my exact strategy too.  On the first level I am willing to take the chance for more points so it doesn't ruin a good game.  Otherwise I just race up to the second hammer as fast as possible.

[Ginsu Victim]

That first barrel jump in the video is too dangerous to do that way. Take one step to the right, then when the barrel is falling, jump straight up as it reaches the bottom of the girder above you. The timing takes a few tries to learn, but after that, you can do it every time and you don't have to worry about touching the barrel.

Jumping ahead of the fire repeatedly is a strategy I love, but I have a harder time completing the level after doing it for a while. If you linger too long, you'd better make sure you can control the barrels as you move up the board.

[sk8ersublime]

that is insane, so many times the barrels were right above you and you were under a ladder...even if i dont try to make the barrel go down the ladder, if it were me, i would have been screwed... haha

awesome vid tho! I will be trying soon...

[javeryh]

Wow - someone just broke Billy Mitchell's WR for DK!  Check it out!

[massive88]

I watched billy mitchell play ms. pac man (i contest he was hitting on my wife by showing her the moves) for a while a the afore  mentioned CGE2k4 and he was trying to explain how he was controlling the ghosts and he knew everywhere he could hang out and just not die..so he could hit on my wife etc. 

I remember at first thinking how cool that was..but...that would totally make my favorite game of all time NOT fun anymore.

I mean...I tried to copy his moves..but couldn't get it the way he did. 

at the end of the day, i'm still with my wife, and still not that great at Ms Pac man.

I think barrel control is different than safe spots.

In DK its understanding a mechanic of the game, in Pacman is more like abusing a glitch.  Im pretty sure the barrel ladder mechanic was intended, Im not so sure safe spots were.

And besides, even with perfect barrel control, you arent going to control the barrels all the time.  According to that link, if my math is right, the barrels will only go the way you are trying to tell them go 81% of the time.  Its crucial to utilize the barrel control, but its also not infallible.

[sk8ersublime]

Im glad someone beat it. Mitchell seems like such a <censored by saint>!

[Ginsu Victim]

Im glad someone beat it. Mitchell seems like such a <censored by saint>!

He isn't. Don't trust everything you see in King of Kong. The majority of it is ---smurf-poop---.

[smalltownguy]

Im glad someone beat it. Mitchell seems like such a <censored by saint>!

He isn't. Don't trust everything you see in King of Kong. The majority of it is ---smurf-poop---.

You've met him?

[Epyx]

In the movie they were trying to make him the "villain" of the piece...in other interviews I have seen he does come across a lot more humble and not near as obsessed about video games...in one interview he even mentions he goes months without playing.

The problem with film is that you only see what the director behind the lens wants you to see.

[Ginsu Victim]

Im glad someone beat it. Mitchell seems like such a <censored by saint>!

He isn't. Don't trust everything you see in King of Kong. The majority of it is ---smurf-poop---.

You've met him?

No, but a friend did a little while back after the arcade burned down:

http://phoenixarcade.blogspot.com/2009/09/never-surrender.html

[isucamper]

I've met him.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/isucamper/VGHoF23.jpg 

In all honesty, he's really awesome to fans.  He was willing to travel to the middle of nowhere to bs for hours about games.  Very inviting and nice.  Pretty eccentric, but that's no crime.

At this event in Ottumwa, a bunch of people went to eat at "The Canteen" which was an old hang out for them in the 80s.  They had an eating contest (him and Steve Sanders, Tim McVey, and others) and he kept hiding how many Canteens he had eaten.  He ended up winning by like 8-4 because he was hiding the wrappers as he ate, and the whole time Walter Day was badgering him to get back to the event.  Pretty hilarious.

[CrazyKongFan]

While I think they did intend to include barrel control, I don't think they intended it to be used by the player. I imagine they did it they way they did so the barrels would shoot down a ladder as you ran toward it, to make it harder. Having the player use this to their advantage was probably an unintended consequence.