It’s hard to believe that Donkey Kong turns 34 today, considering he’s still throwing barrels with the same verve he did in 1981. Back then, Nintendo’s American headquarters was operating out of a warehouse owned by Mario Segale, who became the namesake for Donkey Kong’s nemesis (originally known as “Jumpman.”)
It’s also hard to decide what to get a Kong who already has everything; what else does gorilla need, besides Pauline, assorted scaffolding and ladders, and a seemingly endless supply of highly combustible barrels. If you’re Youtube user GuizDP, you can make some pixel art to honor the arcade hit.
Using little more than a black sheet and a mind-numbing amount of perler beads, GuizDP has faithfully recreated not just the level design for Donkey Kong, but even an accurate rendering of the barrel timing and the pattern of Mario-jumps required to successfully summit the building and rescue Pauline. Game on.