It is the third installment in the Donkey Kong series and was released for arcades worldwide in 1983, the Family Computer in 1984, then in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986.

Donkey Kong hangs from vines at the center of the screen, and the player-controlled Stanley the exterminator runs and jumps on platforms beneath him.

A level is completed by continually using his sprayer on Donkey Kong, forcing him to the top of the screen, or by killing all of the bugs.

The Super Sprayer only lasts for a limited amount of time, but it pushes Donkey Kong upward at a much faster rate, making it easier to complete the level.

The insects consist of Buzzbees, queen Beespies (which shatter into deadly pieces when destroyed), Creepy inchworms, Attacker bees, Kabutomushi beetles, and Butterflies.

Donkey Kong has begun rampaging in Stanley's greenhouse garden and it's up to him to stop the ape from stirring up any more insects that will soon destroy his flowers.

IGN gave the Virtual Console version a 6.0 out of 10, describing it as a "radical departure" from the previous Donkey Kong games, calling it "repetitive".

[8] In 2015, Nathan Birch of Uproxx ranked Donkey Kong 3 twentieth on a list of the thirty NES black box titles.

While the object to shoot Donkey Kong up in the air remains, it has 20 outdoor backgrounds such as a bridge, Planet Saturn, a desert, a pyramid, and a highway.