Although commonly believed to be a bootleg version, it was officially licensed for operation only in Japan when Nintendo couldn't keep up with domestic demand (even though Donkey Kong was still released there),[1] and is based on different hardware.
It retains all the gameplay elements of Donkey Kong, but its graphics were redrawn and re-colorized.
Falcon breached their contract by exporting the cabinets overseas, leading Nintendo to revoke the license in January 1982.
The differences between them are in minor cinematic artifacts and bugs, color palette choices and minor gameplay differences; the first part then shows no copyright or company name on the title screen.
The official Crazy Kong came in two stand-up cabinets featuring a large and angry (rather than comic) ape; they were manufactured by Zaccaria (also Italian distributor of the game).