Donkey Kong was the game that put Nintendo on the map. Without Donkey Kong, there would be no Super Mario Bros. and without Super Mario Bros. the 1985 test release of the NES in North America would've failed, and if the test release of the NES in North America failed, the big N's would've been a Japan-only market more or less. The Switch would not be the best-selling console of today. The PlayStation line of consoles probably wouldn't exist either because it was a byproduct of Sony's relationship with Nintendo. What kind of gaming landscape would we have today if not for those developments? It all comes back to Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong wins for that reason.
To commit a major gaming heresy though, I actually hated the original Donkey Kong, incidentally. 
I found it too difficult to successfully jump over barrels, and dying after I successfully reached the platform I was aiming for simply because I'd leapt from a centimeter too high frustrated me. I'd already played Super Mario Bros. first before discovering Donkey Kong and yeah Donkey Kong in comparison felt like a pretty big step backward from that in every way. So my choosing Donkey Kong here is definitely a matter of objectivity concerning its cultural impact, NOT my personal bias.
Had I to pick a game from 1981 that I personally liked best, honestly that would be Ms. Pac-Man. It's rare that I'd gravitate toward an arcade game over the more complex and interesting home computer games of the era like Ultima I, but Ms. Pac-Man is just absolute arcade perfection in every way I can think of. I still play it when I visit arcades today! It's faster-paced, more varied, and more animated than its predecessor and, together with the more clever intermissions, these simple alterations really do make the difference for me, I have to admit.
Last edited by Jaicee - on 08 September 2023
