Donkey Kong Jr. (also called Junior or DK Jr.) has to rescue his father Donkey Kong from Mario. The player has to go through four stages; each of which have a different theme. To move through the stage, DK Jr. can climb vines/chains/ropes. He can go down faster by holding only one vine, or go up faster by holding two of them. He has to avoid enemies that are in each stage. To complete the first three stages, DK Jr. has to reach the key at the top. In the fourth stage, he has to push six keys into locks near the top of the stage. After the player completes all four stages, the game goes back to the first stage and is more difficult.