The player (Junior) attempts to rescue his father, Donkey Kong. The game can be classified as a platformer. Fruits hang in predictable locations, which can be knocked off to fall on enemies, killing them. The game has four levels; Vines, Springboard, Chains and Mario's Hideout (an electrified fortress featuring Sparks). After completing these four levels, the quest repeats with increased difficulty. Up to two players may play the game alternately.

The game's cabinet is a standard upright and its controls are simple; they consist of a joystick, two player select buttons, and a single jump button.

This is the second of three arcade games to feature Donkey Kong. The original game was wildly successful, Junior was well received but never could eclipse its predecessor, and Donkey Kong 3 was all but dismissed by fans; with too many alterations to a once successful formula.

Donkey Kong Junior is regarded as one of the Top 100 Video Games by the Killer List of Videogames.

Donkey Kong Junior is unique, in that Mario is depicted as a villain to thwart in the game. This is the only Nintendo video game to feature Mario as an antagonist.

In the opening introduction, there appear to be two Mario(s) pulling up Donkey Kong's cage. One fan-developed theory is that the other "Mario" could simply be Luigi, who would later be formally introduced in Mario Bros (1983).

The game later spawned a cereal which featured fruit-flavored cereal pieces shaped like bananas and cherries. Donkey Kong Jr. is shown on the box wearing a red shirt with a big yellow J printed on the front.

There is no related news for this game.