Junior’s objective might be to free Donkey Kong from his cage, but your priority will likely be achieving your highest possible score. The bulk of your points will almost certainly come from round bonuses, but there are a few other things you can do to boost your score during a game.
Bonus Points
Every round offers a bonus that decreases over time. The faster you complete a round, the more bonus points you receive. If you fail to conquer a round before the bonus expires, you lose a Junior.
In the first loop, round bonuses start at 5000 points. Each time you complete a loop, round bonuses increase by 1000 points—Loop 2 offers bonuses of 6000 points, Loop 3 offers bonuses of 7000 points, and so on. However, larger bonuses also decrease at a faster rate.
Fruit Attack
You receive 400 points each time Junior touches a piece of hanging fruit, and earn even more points when a falling fruit collides with one or more enemies. Taking out just one pest earns you an extra 800 points. If the fruit hits two foes, you receive 1200 points. If you manage to clear out three enemies with a single piece of fruit, you earn an impressive 1600 points.
Evasive Jumps
You receive 100 points each time Junior jumps over a Nitpicker or Spark. No points are awarded for jumping over Snapjaws.
Key Use
You receive 200 points each time you insert a key into a lock. Locks appear only in Round 4, and you must activate all of them to successfully free Donkey Kong.