Donkey Kong ROM Questions

[ColecoFan1981]

Hi,

 

In regards to the first version of Donkey Kong with 24K of ROM, on the elevator board, if Mario attempts to jump up on the elevator from the lowest starting point of the left side of the screen, he falls through the elevator, killing him. But on the 16K ROM version this was corrected and Mario doesn't miss the elevator when jumping from the lowest left part of the screen.

 

Also on the original 24K ROM version, on the rivet board, if Mario jumps up, where Pauline's hat is (on the girder above him), he collects it. The 16K ROM version fixes this bug also.

 

The 24K ROM version has a maximum time limit of 8000 points. The 16K ROM version is infinite, going all the way to 99,900 points before it can kill Mario after rolling back to zero.

 

Has anyone ever ROM hacked this or other ColecoVision cartridges? The CV (and MSX) uses Z80 programming logic, as opposed to several other game systems out there (Atari 400/800/5200, Commodore 64, Nintendo FamiCom/NES, etc.) that use 6502 programming logic.

 

In conclusion, were there really three known versions of the DK cartridge version for the CV? The one on eBay (see this link for details) has all its ROM chips dated June of 1982 (6/11/82, 6/15/82 and 6/16/82), while the first released 24K ROM version is dated September of 1982. But what about the 16K ROM? Was that one dated January of 1983 or so?

~Ben

[ChuckH]

Hi,

 

In regards to the first version of Donkey Kong with 24K of ROM, on the elevator board, if Mario attempts to jump up on the elevator from the lowest starting point of the left side of the screen, he falls through the elevator, killing him. But on the 16K ROM version this was corrected and Mario doesn't miss the elevator when jumping from the lowest left part of the screen.

 

Also on the original 24K ROM version, on the rivet board, if Mario jumps up, where Pauline's hat is (on the girder above him), he collects it. The 16K ROM version fixes this bug also.

 

The 24K ROM version has a maximum time limit of 8000 points. The 16K ROM version is infinite, going all the way to 99,900 points before it can kill Mario after rolling back to zero.

 

Has anyone ever ROM hacked this or other ColecoVision cartridges? The CV (and MSX) uses Z80 programming logic, as opposed to several other game systems out there (Atari 400/800/5200, Commodore 64, Nintendo FamiCom/NES, etc.) that use 6502 programming logic.

 

In conclusion, were there really three known versions of the DK cartridge version for the CV? The one on eBay (see this link for details) has all its ROM chips dated June of 1982 (6/11/82, 6/15/82 and 6/16/82), while the first released 24K ROM version is dated September of 1982. But what about the 16K ROM? Was that one dated January of 1983 or so?

~Ben

I can't really answer your questions but there is another version of Donkey Kong for ADAM which is the supergame version. It has the high score table, springs in the elevator stage(like most other arcade versions), the conveyor belts in pie factory stage actually work, etc.

I think that the game play is a little "sticky", for lack of a better word, when you're going up the ladders which makes the game very difficult for me but the game is still satisfying. Someone recently shared the image file with me and I remembered this version when I had an ADAM way back when.

Chuck

[ColecoFan1981]

Hi,

 

In regards to the first version of Donkey Kong with 24K of ROM, on the elevator board, if Mario attempts to jump up on the elevator from the lowest starting point of the left side of the screen, he falls through the elevator, killing him. But on the 16K ROM version this was corrected and Mario doesn't miss the elevator when jumping from the lowest left part of the screen.

 

Also on the original 24K ROM version, on the rivet board, if Mario jumps up, where Pauline's hat is (on the girder above him), he collects it. The 16K ROM version fixes this bug also.

 

The 24K ROM version has a maximum time limit of 8000 points. The 16K ROM version is infinite, going all the way to 99,900 points before it can kill Mario after rolling back to zero.

 

Has anyone ever ROM hacked this or other ColecoVision cartridges? The CV (and MSX) uses Z80 programming logic, as opposed to several other game systems out there (Atari 400/800/5200, Commodore 64, Nintendo FamiCom/NES, etc.) that use 6502 programming logic.

 

In conclusion, were there really three known versions of the DK cartridge version for the CV? The one on eBay (see this link for details) has all its ROM chips dated June of 1982 (6/11/82, 6/15/82 and 6/16/82), while the first released 24K ROM version is dated September of 1982. But what about the 16K ROM? Was that one dated January of 1983 or so?

~Ben

I can't really answer your questions but there is another version of Donkey Kong for ADAM which is the supergame version. It has the high score table, springs in the elevator stage(like most other arcade versions), the conveyor belts in pie factory stage actually work, etc.

I think that the game play is a little "sticky", for lack of a better word, when you're going up the ladders which makes the game very difficult for me but the game is still satisfying. Someone recently shared the image file with me and I remembered this version when I had an ADAM way back when.

Chuck

Chuck,

 

In issue #3 (Winter 1984) of ColecoVision Experience magazine, Paul Chang of Flushing, NY had written a letter to the magazine about the glitch some players do to quickly get to the second screen. He writes:

 

"I call this trick the 'Black Hole.' In the Girder screen when the game starts, move Mario to the first broken ladder. Climb all the way up the broken ladder, then climb back down and take two steps to the left. Then jump to the right, and Mario will go straight through the bottom of the screen. Mario will appear on the next screen, the Rivet screen. By the way, the DONKEY KONG cartridge that came with the system in 1982 is a little different. The difference is that it will take ten seconds longer, and you do not start on the Rivet screen right away. Instead, Mario will land in front of the two ladders that are in front of Donkey Kong. Move to the left and climb the ladders as usual."

 

~Ben