Mario’s enemies include: Donkey Kong, fireballs, barrels, and jacks.
Mario
Mario is the hero of the game. He must climb up steel girders and avoid enemies to rescue Pauline.
Donkey Kong
The giant gorilla who kidnaps Mario’s sweetheart awaits at the top of the steel girders.
Pauline
Pauline was kidnapped by Donkey Kong. It’s Mario’s mission to rescue her.
Hammer
Mario’s tool of his trade. The hammer has the ability to destroy most enemies that come his way, but at the cost of mobility. You can’t climb any ladders or jump while Mario holds the hammer.
Pauline’s Possessions
These are Pauline’s lost articles. If Mario picks them up, you get 800 points!
Enemies
These enemies try to stop Mario from moving on. Either jump and dodge them or use your hammer to destroy them.
Level 1
In this stage, Donkey Kong throws a never-ending barrage of barrels your way. If the barrels land in the flaming can at the start of the level, they create little fire monsters that slowly shuffle their way toward Mario.
A hammer is available in one of two places in this stage. Find the right place, get the hammer, and use it to break the barrels. However, you can’t climb the ladder while you hold the hammer.
As Mario proceeds, several barrels thrown by Donkey Kong come rolling by. Jump over them and press on. You get 100 points for each barrel you successfully jump over. Be careful around ladders when a barrel is above Mario. The barrels roll down the ladders and knock Mario out if he’s climbing one.
Pay attention to the bonus points shown on the upper-right corner of the screen. As time passes, these bonus points decrease. The sooner you finish the level, the more bonus points you keep.
Level 2
In this stage, use a ladder and an elevator to cross over to the floating girders. Jacks and fireballs try to stop Mario from proceeding.
Make careful use of the elevator to cross from one steel girder to another. Mario can jump as high and as far as the width of two girders. Any more than that in any direction and Mario’s done for.
Grab the umbrella from the upper-left corner of the screen or the purse from the upper-right and get 800 points for each item. Avoid the fireballs and jacks when you go for the purse.
The jacks come down in a set pattern, which makes it easy for you to avoid them. Wait in front of the position where the jack will bounce (as seen in our screenshot). When it passes you, it’s safe to go back and climb the ladder.
Level 3
You must undo the eight yellow bolts that connect the steel girders. Successfully remove all eight of them to save Pauline from Donkey Kong’s clutches.
The steel girders that make up this stage are connected by eight bolts. Remove them all while avoiding the attack of the fireballs.
You find two hammers in this stage: one just below Donkey Kong and another in the middle-left section of the stage. Use a hammer to destroy the fireballs. Remember that you cannot jump while holding the hammer.
The number of attacking fireballs increases, so undo the bolts quickly. The shortest route to all the bolts is to go upward from the lower-left corner, and then downward from the upper-right.