Jack
- This article is about the obstacles introduced in Donkey Kong. For other uses, see Jack (disambiguation).
- Not to be confused with Trampoline.
| Jack | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprite of a Jack from Donkey Kong (Arcade) A jack from the original arcade version of Donkey Kong | |||
| First appearance | Donkey Kong (1981) | ||
| Latest appearance | Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (cameo) (2025) | ||
| Effect | Defeats or damages the player. | ||
| |||
Jacks[1] (also called mad springs,[2] springs,[3] [4] I-beams,[5] or pistons[6] ) are obstacles first appearing in Donkey Kong .
History[edit ]
Donkey Kong[edit ]
In the Donkey Kong arcade game, jacks are constantly bouncing and dropping near Donkey Kong on 75m. If Mario gets hit by a jack, he loses a life. Jacks do not appear in the ColecoVision and TI-99/4A ports of Donkey Kong due to technical limitations. However, they do return in the Donkey Kong arcade game port included in Donkey Kong 64 . The jump board from Donkey Kong Jr. closely resembles a jack.
In the Game Boy version, jacks are thrown by Donkey Kong instead of spawning from his position. Negating them with a handstand causes them to fall off-screen like most enemies and obstacles, instead of becoming usable like barrels.
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix[edit ]
Sound effects of the jacks can be heard in the latter part of the song "Moustache, Barrel, and Gorilla" in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix .
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis[edit ]
Jacks appear in B2 in DK's Hideout in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis , sporting spikes on their top and bottom sides as a visual indicator of their harmfulness. They work the same as in Donkey Kong, spawning from Donkey Kong's position and bouncing towards the girder structure below. If a Mini Mario without a shield comes into contact with a jack, the Mini Mario breaks.
Super Smash Bros. series[edit ]
Jacks are hazards in 75 m, a stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl , Super Smash Bros. for Wii U , and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate . Donkey Kong's sprite at the top of the screen activates periodically, and during this event, jacks bounce from the left, similarly to the original. Jacks do not appear in the Ω form of 75 m in the latter two games.
Naming[edit ]
Internal names[edit ]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis | contents/data/anims/spiked_spring_anim.bin | spiked_spring | spiked spring |
Names in other languages[edit ]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ジャッキ Jakki |
Jack | [?] | |
| Dutch | Krik | Jack | [?] | |
| French (Canadian) | Vérin | Jack | [?] | |
| French (European) | Ressort | Spring | [7] | |
| German | Wagenheber | Jack | [?] | |
| Italian | Martinetto | Jack | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | [?] |
| Cric | [8] [9] | |||
| Portuguese | Mola | Spring | [10] | |
| Spanish (Latin American) | Matatena | Jacks | [?] | |
| Spanish (European) | Resorte | Spring | [?] |
References[edit ]
- ^ 1986. Donkey Kong instruction booklet (PDF). Nintendo of America Inc. . Page 5.
- ^ Instruction manuals for the Atari 8-bit, Apple II, Commodore VIC-20, MS-DOS, and Atari 7800 ports of Donkey Kong[page number needed]
- ^ Instruction manual for the Commodore 64 (Atarisoft) port of Donkey Kong[page number needed]
- ^ Bihldorff, Nate, Jason Leung, and Drew Williams (1999). Donkey Kong 64 Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 127.
- ^ Instruction manual for the Coleco Adam port of Donkey Kong[page number needed]
- ^ Barton, Jeff, Mario De Govia, and Donato Tica (December 1, 1999). Donkey Kong 64 Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games (American English). ISBN 0-7615-2279-4. Page 67.
- ^ Donkey Kong (Atari) European instruction booklet. Atari (French). Page 4.
- ^ Donkey Kong (3DS - Virtual Console) e-manual. Nintendo (Italian). Page 8.
- ^ «Occhio ai cric» – Guida strategica (Livelli evolutivi). Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition . Nintendo (Italian).
- ^ Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition , Jumping Jacks challenge