Jack
- This article is about the spring-like obstacle that first appears in Donkey Kong. For the Toad Force V character from Mario Party Advance, see Jack (character). For the obstacle also called a piston, see Skewer.
- Not to be confused with Trampoline.
| Jack | |
|---|---|
 A jack from the original arcade version of Donkey Kong | |
| First appearance | Donkey Kong (1981) |
| Latest appearance | Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (2024) |
| 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
Donkey Kong
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.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, jacks appear in B2 in DK's Hideout, where they have spikes on their top and bottom sides as a visual indicator of their harmfulness. They act identically to their appearance 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
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, jacks are a hazard in 75 m. The sprite of Donkey Kong at the top of the screen periodically activates, and when that happens, jacks bounce from the left, acting in much the same manner as the original version. In Wii U and Ultimate, the Ω form of the stage does not feature jacks, and in the latter, jacks as well as other stage elements more closely resemble the arcade version instead of the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System version.
Additional names
Internal names
| 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
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ジャッキ[?] Jakki |
Jack | |
| Dutch | Krik[?] | Jack | |
| French (NOA) | Vérin[?] | Jack | |
| French (NOE) | Ressort[?] | Spring | |
| German | Wagenheber[?] | Jack | |
| Italian | Martinetto[?] | Jack | Super Smash Bros. Brawl |
| Cric[7][8] | |||
| Portuguese | Mola[9] | Spring | |
| Spanish (NOA) | Matatena[?] | Jacks | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Resorte[?] | Spring |
References
- ^ 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 (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
