129. Don Doko Don (Taito, Arcade (PS2), 1989)

It's hard to play Don Doko Don and not immediately think of Taito's earlier arcade hit, Bubble Bobble. Don Doko Don is also a single screen arcade platformer with a bunch of levels whose central mechanic involves disabling enemies. In this case, you are a gnome with a hammer, who can smash enemies, and then pick up and throw them at other enemies, destroying them and turning them into fruit, which you pick up to earn points.Jumping is pretty short and sluggish, though it feels appropriate for a gnome character, at least. It does feel great to hit a chain reaction of enemies and see a cascade of fruit rain down. 

A key difference to Bubble Bobble is that you have to get very close to enemies to attack them (unless you pick up a long range power up, though you lose these between levels), which means that the game is much more difficult. Every 10 levels there is a boss, and these were even more difficult because of the miniscule range of your hammer. Don Doko Don was also ported to the Famicom, though this version was much easier, so I actually prefer it to the original.

2/5, a weak arcade platfomer that can't quite capture the Bubble Bobble magic (just like Rainbow Islands)