The lack of variety in the gameplay and level design makes for a boring experience and it feels far less expansive than the first two games. There's only three screens that look and play very similar, and the only real differences are slightly tweaked platform structures and stage specific enemies. The shooting mechanic feels slightly off and you can only fire in small bursts which leaves you in perilous situations too often. The difficulty is extremely high and unless you're willing to spend a lot of time learning the game's nuisances you'll probably get frustrated quite quickly.

The small space you have to work in, coupled with the constant barrage of enemies, makes this the toughest DK entry on the NES. You can sometimes collect a Power Spray which is much more forceful but it only lasts for a short amount of time.

Protecting them is key to a high score and you'll need some serious multitasking as DK slides back down if you leave him unattended for too long. To make things more difficult a host of enemies swarm downwards and try to steal your five flower pots that act as bonus points at the end of each round. Armed with only a can of bug spray you need to continuously fire upwards until DK is pushed to the top of the vine. You play the role of Stanley and your mission is to capture Donkey Kong who's loose in the greenhouse.

Donkey kong 3 nes