When comparing Donkey Kong vs Knightmare (AKA Majou Densetsu), the Slant community recommends Knightmare (AKA Majou Densetsu) for most people. In the question“What are the best and the most revolutionary games of all time?” Knightmare (AKA Majou Densetsu) is ranked 51st while Donkey Kong is ranked 56th. The most important reason people chose Knightmare (AKA Majou Densetsu) is:
Just like in Gradius, all tunes used in this game were composed by Miki Higashino. She was a teenager at the time and was working for Konami part-time, everyday, after school.
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Pros
Pro Still competitive more than 30 years later
Players still compete for high scores in tournaments and casual competition. The game is streamed daily on Twitch by people striving to beat their own PB or reach a high score goal.
Pro Tunes from Miki Higashino
Just like in Gradius, all tunes used in this game were composed by Miki Higashino. She was a teenager at the time and was working for Konami part-time, everyday, after school.
Pro Amazing graphics for the 80's
1986 was the same year that the original Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros: The Lost levels came out. The textures in Knightmare look substantially better than the relatively blocky textures in the Zelda and Mario games of its time.
Pro One of the first games to have a 'bird's eye view' angle
Considered technically challenging back in 1986, Knightmare offered a top-down (bird's eye) view. This made a lot of sense, especially for vertically scrolling games such as this one.
Cons
Con Very optimized world record
There is very little room to improve the world record, and the MAME record is close to the theoretical maximum. Getting a new world record would require not just skill but also a great deal of luck.