Reception
Since its release for the NES, Donkey Kong Jr. Math has been received negatively. It was the worst-selling launch title for the NES. Nintendo spokesman Tom Sarris said that it "wasn't a big hit", adding that no one was very enthusiastic about the title. He felt that if it was more well received, it would have led to more educational titles. Author Andy Slaven criticized the premise, deriding Nintendo for combining a well-liked license with math, which is generally disliked by children. Inside Higher Ed's David Epstein did not find it to be a fun game, while 1UP.com's Bob Mackey called it the worst NES launch title, criticizing it for its lack of value. He commented that Donkey Kong Jr. moves as well as an infant would in real life. Allgame's Skyler Miller, however, called it a creative use of Donkey Kong Jr.'s graphics and gameplay.
Donkey Kong Jr. Math had a poor reception from IGN. IGN's Lucas M. Thomas found its controls poor and its execution to be bland and flawed. IGN AU's Cam Shea said it was "too expensive if it was free". He also included it on his list of the worst Virtual Console games, finding it difficult to imagine any reason why anyone would want to buy it. GameSpot's Frank Provo found that it became boring quickly; he also criticized the mathematics problems, stating that they would either be too easy for young children or too boring for older ones. Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead commented that it gave him an "ironic smile" as a reminder of the NES era, though he could not justify paying five dollars for it.
Donkey Kong Jr. Math has received criticism for its qualities as an educational game. Elizabeth Sweedyk, associate computer science professor at Harvey Mudd College, called Donkey Kong Jr. Math a realistic educational video game, criticizing such games as "not fun." 1UP.com's Kevin Gifford called it a game that children would never want to play. Fellow 1UP.com writer Jeremy Parish commented that the game shouldn't be judged on being an educational game, citing quality educational titles as The Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. However, he noted that it should be judged for being a boring game. Ars Technica's Frank Caron compared it to other educational games, calling it "no Brain Age" and preferring to play Math Blaster instead. Educational video game developer Traci Lawson wondered whether the word game Bookworm would have been as well received by players when they were children; she felt that they would be intimidated by it, comparing this to how she felt when she played Donkey Kong Jr. Math.
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