Donkey Kong Jr. Math

Donkey Kong Jr. Math is a educational Nintendo Entertainment System of the Donkey Kong series. The game is a spinoff of the arcade game, Donkey Kong Jr., and it stars the same titular character, Donkey Kong Jr. The game was released for the Famicom in 1983. Two years later, in 1985, Donkey Kong Jr. Math was released as a Nintendo Entertainment System launch title in North America. Donkey Kong Jr. Math has similar gameplay to the game Popeye no Eigo Asobi, which released a month earlier.

Donkey Kong Jr. Math was the only game to be released under the "Educational Series" label of North American NES titles. Another educational Donkey Kong title, Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi, was planned for a release but ended up canceled. The +-X% Exercise was included in the Japan-exclusive Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Sansū Lesson compilation.

Since its release, Donkey Kong Jr. Math received negative reviews and was the worst selling launch title for the Nintendo Entertainment System. According to Nintendo spokesperson Tom Sarris, the company would have likely produced more educational titles if the game had better reception.

Donkey Kong Jr. Math has been re-released a few times. It is one of the seven obtainable NES games in the Nintendo GameCube game, Animal Crossing. Donkey Kong Jr. Math was released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2007 and the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2014.

Gameplay
Donkey Kong Jr. Math has single player and 2-player support. The gameplay mechanics are similar to its parent game, Donkey Kong Jr.

In Calculate A mode, the area takes place a symmetrical area. Donkey Kong is at the top of the screen, holding up a sign with a number. Donkey Kong Jr. must climb vines and collect a combination of digits and arithmetic symbols that equal the number that Donkey Kong is holding. The arithmetic symbols are each on a short, grass hill above the water. Donkey Kong Jr. starts on a slightly-wider hill at the leftmost corner of the screen.

In Calculate B mode, the second player controls a pink Donkey Kong Jr. named Junior, who starts on a stump at the rightmost hill. In the mode, each player applies a math operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division) to the number they have to make it another number, trying to eventually reach a mutual goal number. Signs and numbers are on the same field for each player, and they must race to reach the final number.

There is another mode, +-X% Exercise, where Donkey Kong Jr. must solve fixed math puzzles by climbing chains to reach the numbers and arithmetic symbols.