As a little kid during the 1980s, it seemed to me that the whole world had embraced the likes of Pacman, Frogger, Defender, Centipede and Donkey Kong. And I was hooked on Donkey Kong from the first moment my sticky little digits hit the controls.
The game play is simple but superb: you navigate Mario (the chubby Italian plumber with a handlebar moustache) to the top of a building to rescue his girlfriend, Pauline, who has been kidnapped by the evil Donkey Kong after his zoo-break.
Mario has to climb over fallen beams, melting steel girders and conveyor belts to reach Pauline. Once you finally reach what appears to be the top of the screen, the mad ape disappears and drags Pauline to level two.
This second level always makes my hands go clammy - the moving platforms and melting steel are a challenge for any arcade addict. On to level three, where Donkey Kong throws huge iron beams, instead of chunky wooden barrels, while the fireballs and mud pies are still coming at you thick and fast.
I seldom make it to level four without swallowing my bubble gum. Here you have to bring the whole house down by smashing the foundations of the building. Once all the struts are gone, Donkey Kong falls on his head and Mario rescues the lovely Pauline.
But just when you thought it was all over, Donkey Kong picks himself up, grabs your girl and puts you through two more levels. Mario has to leap across a maze of elevators and conveyor belts to catch the ape, while avoiding a generous helping of mud pies and fireballs.
Donkey Kong was a tremendous breakthrough for Nintendo in 1981 - the characters were developed and used in subsequent games, a feature film and a host of marketing initiatives.
More fun and adventure unfolded when Mario teamed up with his brother, Luigi. This double act became Super Mario Bros, starring two humble working class characters that are still a smash hit in the gaming world. The two plumbers also came to life and rescued princess Daisy in the Super Mario Bros film, starring Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper.
A continuation of the original Donkey Kong was re-released by Nintendo in 1994. Mario sets out once again to rescue Pauline from the evil ape, but this time he has to go through more than a hundred levels to get her. With all these heroics, it must be a total nightmare getting Mario out to mend a leaky pipe on a Sunday.
Although there are tonnes of new moves and a variety of levels that make this stand out from the original, the theme of the game is built on the same foundations as the first version. It is great to see an old idea revamped but, in this case, I think the old one is the best.
· Harriet Chan is a web developer at Guardian Unlimited
