Don Doko Don
{{short description|1989 Video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Don Doko Don
| image = Don Doko Don flyer.jpg
| caption = Japanese arcade flyer.
| developer = Taito
| publisher = Taito
| released = Arcade{{vgrelease|JP|July 1989}}Famicom{{vgrelease|JP|March 9, 1990}}PC Engine{{vgrelease|JP|May 31, 1990}}
| genre = Platform
| series = Don Doko Don
| modes = Single-player, multiplayer
| platforms = Arcade, Family Computer, PC Engine
| producer = Seiji Kawakami
Toshiaki Matsumoto
Hiroyuki Sako
| programmer = Kazutomo Ishida
Masaya Kinoshita
| artist = Hiroyasu Nagai
V.A.P
Seiji Kawakami
Yukio Ishikawa
Yukio Abe
| composer = Yasuko Yamada
}}
{{nihongo foot|Don Doko Don|ドンドコドン|Dondokodon|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is a platform arcade game developed and released by Taito in 1989. In the game, the player(s) control two lumberjacks, Bob and Jim, with the objective being to clear the screen of all the enemies. Bob and Jim use their mallets to stun the enemies, pick up the enemies, then throw them at a wall, or other enemies to kill them off, resulting in bonus points. Bonus items also appear during stages that will have varying effects on the players.
Taito and ITL ported the game to both the Family Computer and PC-Engine in 1990, both of which remained exclusive to Japan. A sequel game, aptly named Don Doko Don 2, was released in 1992 for the Family Computer in Japan, developed by Natsume Co., Ltd. The gameplay has been often compared to Taito's earlier platform games, specifically Bubble Bobble and The NewZealand Story. The original arcade version of the game was included in both Taito Memories Joukan and Taito Legends 2 in 2005, the Egret II Mini in 2022 and the Arcade Archives series in 2023.
Gameplay
Don Doko Don is a platform arcade game. The player(s) control two lumberjacks, Bob and Jim, on their quest to save the princess and king of Marry Land.{{Cite web|title=Don Doko Don|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/don-doko-don/|last=Tursi|first=Lee|date=16 April 2020|website=Hardcore Gaming 101|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517222106/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/don-doko-don/|archive-date=17 May 2020|access-date=17 May 2020}} They go through a series of single-screen stages, with the objective of killing all the enemies on the stage. Bob and Jim defeat enemies by using a mallet to stun them. They can then pick stunned enemies up and throw them at other enemies to destroy them, which gives bonus points, depending on how many enemies are in the path of the thrown enemy. Destroyed enemies leave behind fruit which can be collected for points. Once all enemies are destroyed play proceeds to the next level which is generally more difficult. Throughout the game, various power-ups can be collected, which represent potions, hammers, or books, help the players' character speed up, receive more power, or kill in different ways.
If the player(s) take too long to complete a level, a flying devil (much like the ones featured in The Fairyland Story and The NewZealand Story) will come into the level to kill the player(s).
Beating the game normally will result in a bad ending in which only the princess will be saved, but by unlocking a secret set of levels via a shortcut on the first stage, the player(s) will be able to access the good ending in which the king is saved as well.
Release
Don Doko Don was released by Taito in Japan in July 1989.{{Cite book|last=Akagi|first=Masumi|url=https://archive.org/stream/ArcadeGameList1971-2005#page/n44/mode/1up|title=アーケードTVゲームリスト 国内•海外編 (1971-2005)|publisher=Amusement News Agency|date=13 October 2006|isbn=978-4990251215|pages=43|language=ja}}
= Conversions =
The game was later ported over to the Family Computer by IPL, and published by Taito on March 9, 1990.{{Cite magazine|title=ドンドコドン - FC|url=https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=18483&redirect=no|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603225734/https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=18483&redirect=no|archive-date=3 June 2019|access-date=17 May 2020|magazine=Famitsu|language=ja}} A PC Engine version, also ported by IPL, was published by Taito later that same year on May 31.{{Cite magazine|title=ドンドコドン - PCE|url=https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=7130&redirect=no|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603225838/https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=7130&redirect=no|archive-date=3 June 2019|access-date=17 May 2020|magazine=Famitsu|language=ja}} The original arcade version is also featured on the Taito Memories Joukan and Taito Legends 2 arcade game compilations via emulation. The Family Computer version was later re-released on a handheld made by My Arcade, along with Don Doko Don 2 and the Family Computer version of Chack'n Pop.{{Cite web|date=18 December 2020|title=If you're a niche within a niche collector, the Don Doko Don Pocket Player might tickle your fancy|url=https://www.destructoid.com/if-you-re-a-niche-within-a-niche-collector-the-don-doko-don-pocket-player-might-tickle-your-fancy-575508.phtml|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518022332/https://www.destructoid.com/if-you-re-a-niche-within-a-niche-collector-the-don-doko-don-pocket-player-might-tickle-your-fancy-575508.phtml|archive-date=18 May 2020|access-date=17 May 2020|website=Destructoid|language=en}}
Reception and legacy
{{Video game reviews
|Fam=23/40 (Famicom)
25/40 (PCE)
}}
Don Doko Don enjoyed some success in Japanese arcades. Game Machine listed it as the twelfth most-successful table arcade unit of the month in their August 15, 1989 issue.{{Cite web|date=15 August 1989|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19890815p.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131225736/https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19890815p.pdf|archive-date=31 January 2020|access-date=17 May 2020|website=Game Machine|publisher=Amusement News Agency|language=ja}} The later home ports received a rather mixed reception by Famitsu. However, Robert Swan of Computer + Video Games gave the PC Engine port a highly positive review, stating that while "there's nothing new or original about it", it was "playable to the max".{{Cite journal|last=Swan|first=Robert|date=October 1990|title=Don Doko Don|url=https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-106|journal=Computer and Video Games|volume=106|pages=82–83|via=Internet Archive}}
Retrospective views on the game have been mostly positive. Retro Gamer has given the game three positive retrospectives, two for the arcade version,{{Cite journal|title=Arcade Inspection: Ten of The Best|url=https://archive.org/stream/RetroGamerIssue041-045/Retro_Gamer_Issue_045|journal=Retro Gamer|volume=45|pages=42|via=Internet Archive}}{{Cite web|last=Westwood|first=Stephen|date=9 March 2012|title=Don Doko Don {{!}} Retro Gamer|url=https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games80/don-doko-don/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913074116/https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games80/don-doko-don/|archive-date=13 September 2015|access-date=17 May 2020|website=Retro Gamer|language=en-US}} and one for the PC Engine version, due to its inclusion on their "PC Engine GT: Ten Perfect Games" list,{{Cite journal|title=PC Engine GT: Ten Perfect Games|url=https://archive.org/stream/RetroGamerIssue051-055/Retro_Gamer_Issue_051|journal=Retro Gamer|volume=51|pages=66|via=Internet Archive}} all of which praised the game for its basic, yet captivating gameplay, a trait they attributed to most other platform games made by Taito. GamesTM were similarly positive for their two retrospectives (due to the game's inclusion on both Taito Memories Joukan and Taito Legends 2) on the game, although gave it criticism for not being as complex as Bubble Bobble, and other games like it.{{Cite journal|title=Taito Memories Joukan Review|url=https://archive.org/details/gamesTM037/|journal=GamesTM|volume=37|pages=138|via=Internet Archive}}{{Cite journal|title=Taito Legends 2 Review|url=https://archive.org/details/gamesTM042|journal=GamesTM|volume=42|pages=134|via=Internet Archive}} Hardcore Gaming 101 gave similar criticism, but argued that while "doesn't do much to be original compared to the million other Bubble Bobble-like games at the time", they concluded that it's still worth playing due to the fact that it is "another example of a good platformer game from Taito". Hardcore Gamer, however, was more critical of the game when criticizing the fact that Bubble Bobble was a locked game in Taito Memories Jokan, claiming that while one could "make do" with it and The Fairyland Story, ultimately stated that it was "decaf when you want espresso".{{Cite journal|date=September 2005|title=Taito Memories Jokan Review|url=https://archive.org/details/hardcore-gamer-magazine-v1i4|journal=Hardcore Gamer|volume=1i4|pages=77|via=Internet Archive}}
A sequel developed by Natsume, called Don Doko Don 2, was made for the Family Computer as well, but is more of a standard side-scrolling platformer instead.{{Cite web|last=Tursi|first=Lee|date=16 April 2020|title=Don Doko Don 2|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/don-doko-don-2/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925221835/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/don-doko-don-2/|archive-date=25 September 2020|access-date=4 October 2020|website=Hardcore Gaming 101}}
Notes
{{notelist}}