'Donkey Kong' World Record Broken Twice in 24 Hours

2015 might be the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., but it's looking like the year of Donkey Kong, too.

The world record high score for the classic arcade game was broken twice this past week. That makes three times the game’s high score has been reset this year.

The most recent back and forth started on September 17, when Wes Copeland jumped onto Twitch and went to work against the giant ape. Copeland, who was the first person to ever score above 1.1 million in the game, spent over three hours dodging fireballs and barrels, eventually finishing with a score of 1,170,500.

That topped the 1,158,400 score set by Robbie Lakeman back in July, and it seemed nearly unbeatable.

Lakeman, though, responded immediately. As word began to filter out about Copeland's achievement, Lakeman fired up his own Twitch stream and began playing. At 2:45am on the 18th, he wrapped up the game with a new high: 1,172,100.

There are still some formalities to go through before either score is certified, but it seems likely that Lakeman will retain the title. Twin Galaxies, the official record keeping service for classic arcade games, was actively following the battle.

Copeland and Lakeman may be the new kings of Kong, but lying in wait is Hank Chien, the former top banana who held the title for nearly three years. Chien has seemingly stepped back from competitive Kong, but given the focus on the field, it's possibe he could return to seek the crown.

The current score marks Lakeman’s third time atop the leader board.

“If anyone told me they wanted to beat my score, I would tell them it will take a lot of time and dedication,” he said when he first earned the record in 2014. “Getting involved in the Donkey Kong community has really helped me push myself to do my best."

The big question, though, is how much higher the score can go. Like a lot of old arcade games, it's not possible to play Donkey Kong indefinitely. The game's 22nd level contains a programming bug that kills Mario (technically named Jumpman) in just a few seconds, making it impossible to proceed.

We could find out later this year. The two record-setters from this weekend will face off again in early October at the Twin Galaxies Entertainment Festival, which may settle the score once and for all. Or at least for a little while longer.

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