Donkey Kong

This article is about the video game franchise. For the first game in the series, see Donkey Kong (video game). For other uses, see Donkey Kong (disambiguation).

Donkey Kong
The most common logo in the franchise
Genres	Platformer, action-adventure, puzzle, edutainment, racing
Developers	Nintendo, Rare, Namco, Paon, Retro Studios
Publishers	Nintendo
Creators	Shigeru Miyamoto
First release	Donkey Kong July 9, 1981
Latest release	Donkey Kong Country Returns November 21, 2010
Official website	http://www.donkeykong.com

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkī Kongu) is a franchise of video games series that features the adventures of a large ape called Donkey Kong, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. It mainly comprises two different game series, plus spinoff titles of various genres.

The games of the first series are mostly double-screen platform/action puzzle types, featuring Donkey Kong as the antagonist against Mario in an industrial construction setting. The original Donkey Kong game was the first appearance of Mario, Nintendo's flagship character, pre-dating the well-known Super Mario Bros. by four years.

The second, the Donkey Kong Country / Land series, feature Donkey Kong and his clan as protagonists in their native jungle setting versus a variety of anthropomorphic enemies. These are side-scrolling platform games. (The Donkey Kong character of this series is the grandchild of the title character from the original Donkey Kong game.)

Titles outside these two genres have included rhythm games (Donkey Konga), racing games (Diddy Kong Racing), and edutainment (Donkey Kong Jr. Math).

A hallmark of the Donkey Kong series is barrels, which the Kongs use as weapons, vehicles, furniture and lodging. The Donkey Kong character is highly recognizable and very popular; the franchise has sold over 40 million units worldwide.

Game series

Donkey Kong

Original Donkey Kong game (screen from NES version)

Donkey Kong release timeline
1981	Donkey Kong
1982	Donkey Kong Junior
1983	Donkey Kong 3
1994	Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
1994	Donkey Kong Country
1995	Donkey Kong Land
1995	Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
1996	Donkey Kong Land 2
1996	Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
1997	Donkey Kong Land III
1999	Donkey Kong 64
2004	Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
2005	DK King of Swing
2007	DK Jungle Climber
2010	Donkey Kong Country Returns

Donkey Kong was created when Shigeru Miyamoto was assigned by Nintendo to convert Radar Scope, a game that had been released to test audiences with poor results, into a game that would appeal more to Americans. The result was a major breakthrough for Nintendo and for the videogame industry. Sales of the machine were brisk, with the game becoming one of the best-selling arcade machines of the early 1980s. The gameplay itself was a large improvement over other games of its time, and with the growing base of arcades to sell to, it was able to gain huge distribution. In the game, Mario must ascend a construction site while avoiding obstacles to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong. Miyamoto created a greatly simplified version for the Game & Watch multiscreen. Other ports include the Amiga 500, Apple II, Atari 7800, Intellivision, Commodore 64, Commodore VIC-20, Famicom Disk System, IBM PC booter, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Atari 8-bit family and Mini-Arcade versions. The game was ported to the Family Computer in 1983 as one of the system's three launch titles; the same version was a launch title for the Famicom's North American version, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Both Donkey Kong and its sequel, Donkey Kong, Jr., are included in the 1988 NES compilation Donkey Kong Classics. The NES version was re-released as an unlockable game in Animal Crossing for the GameCube and as an item for purchase on the Wii's Virtual Console. The original arcade version of the game appears in the Nintendo 64 game Donkey Kong 64. Nintendo released the NES version on the e-Reader and for the Game Boy Advance Classic NES series in 2002 and 2004, respectively. In 1994, a homonymous remake of the original game was released for the Game Boy, adding 96 new levels.

The success of the game spawned several ports, and a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. In this game, Donkey Kong Junior is trying to rescue his father Donkey Kong, who has been imprisoned. Donkey Kong's cage is guarded by Mario, in his only appearance as a villain in a video game.

Donkey Kong II was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released as part of the Game & Watch Multi Screen series, featuring two LCD display screens. It was released in 1983. Donkey Kong Jr. has to touch a key, then it moves up to the top screen. Donkey Kong Jr. has to climb to the top screen while avoiding things such as electrical wires. When he gets to the top screen, Donkey Kong Jr. will have to touch the key again, and it will move to the keyhole of one of the chains. Donkey Kong Jr has to climb up the rope below the keyhole, while avoiding birds. When he gets to the top of the rope, one of the chains will unlock. He has to do this 4 times until he saves Donkey Kong. After that, the game will start over, at a somewhat faster pace.

Donkey Kong Jr. Math is an edutainment game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), wherein players must solve math problems in order to win. It is the only game in the "Education Series" of NES games in North America. The game features one and two player modes, both of which are single screen. In the first mode, the objective is to enter math answers in order to receive points. These questions include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In the two player mode, two players control two characters as they race to create a math formula to reach the number shown by Donkey Kong, incorporating platform gameplay. Donkey Kong, Jr. Math was made available in the video game Animal Crossing, along with several other NES titles. It has also been released on the Wii Virtual Console in Europe, Australia, Japan, and North America.

Donkey Kong 3 did not feature Mario. Its protagonist, Stanley, is a bugman. Donkey Kong has taken refuge in his greenhouse and it is now up to him to stop the ape from stirring up any more insects that will soon destroy his flowers. Stanley saves the flowers by spraying bug spray on Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong Circus is a Game and Watch Panorama series game released in 1984. In this game, the player controls Donkey Kong, who is placed on a barrel while juggling pineapples and avoiding flames. This game is very similar to Mario the Juggler, the last Game & Watch game, as they both involve a character juggling while avoiding objects.

Donkey Kong Hockey was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released in 1984 as part of the Game & Watch Micro Vs. series. The game features one LCD display screen and two attached control pads. The hockey features Donkey Kong as one of the players and Mario as the other.

Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country (in Japan, Super Donkey Kong) was an entirely new DK series established by the British company Rare and Tim Stamper which took the Donkey Kong premise in an entirely new direction and became a showcase title to show off then-revolutionary CGI graphics. In Donkey Kong Country, the original Donkey Kong's grandson, also called Donkey Kong, was the hero and he and his sidekick nephew Diddy Kong had to save his hoard of bananas from the thieving King K. Rool and his Kremling Krew. The game was an action sidescrolling title similar to the Mario games and was enormously popular for its graphics, music and gameplay. The sequel, Diddy's Kong Quest (Super Donkey Kong 2 in Japan) involves DK being kidnapped by K. Rool, who was now a "Kaptain", and getting rescued by Diddy Kong and his girlfriend Dixie Kong, in a less cheery and a more darkly-themed game. In Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (in Japan, Super Donkey Kong 3) Donkey and Diddy both got kidnapped by K. Rool, now Baron K. Roolenstein, and Dixie and her cousin Kiddy Kong had to save them in the final game of the series for the SNES. All three of the Donkey Kong Country games for the SNES have been made available on the Wii's Virtual Console. In addition, Donkey Kong Country was ported to the Game Boy Color, and the entire Donkey Kong Country trilogy has been ported to the Game Boy Advance.

A successful Nintendo 64 sequel was also developed. In Donkey Kong 64, DK once again has the starring role as he joins forces with Diddy Kong, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong, and Chunky Kong to save Donkey Kong Island from destruction at the hands of K. Rool and his Kremling Krew. This game features a rare yellow cartridge and is only playable with the included Expansion Pak.

Donkey Kong Country Returns was developed for the Wii by Retro Studios and was released in 2010.

Donkey Kong Land

The Donkey Kong Land trilogy for the Game Boy were smaller, modified versions of the "Country" games and were presented in a rare yellow cartridge compared to the typical grey color. Donkey Kong Land was released in 1995, Donkey Kong Land 2 in 1996 and Donkey Kong Land III in 1997.

Racing game series

Diddy Kong Racing is a 1997 racing game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware. It is the first game to spin off from the Donkey Kong Country series. It currently stands as the Nintendo 64's sixth-most bestselling game. A racing game like Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing also has a distinctive adventure mode. Some of the playable characters would later appear in their own franchise titles.

A demo for a racing game on the GameCube, Nintendo's sixth generation console, was shown at SpaceWorld 2001. The game was called Donkey Kong Racing and showed various characters, including Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Taj the Genie racing on Ellie, Expresso, Rambi, Enguarde, and Zinger, Necky, Army, and Chomps Jr. that had been introduced in previous Donkey Kong games by Rare. Following the sale of Rare to Microsoft in 2002, Rare announced that they were concentrating their efforts on Xbox games, although they have continued to support Nintendo's portable consoles, the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. This decision is due to the fact that Microsoft does not have its own portable console in direct competition. No further information about Donkey Kong Racing has since been released, leading the game to be classified as cancelled.

Donkey Kong can also be found in Diddy Kong Racing DS, an enhanced remake for the Nintendo DS released on February 7, 2007.

Donkey Kong's first title role on the Wii was released in the form of Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, a racing title originally in development for the GameCube.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Nintendo's first Donkey Kong title for the Game Boy Advance after Rare left was Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a return to the earlier arcade-style games that incorporated many elements from the Game Boy version. While its style was that of other games, the Rare design for Donkey Kong carried over. Donkey Kong, originally a villain, returns to this role in the game: wanting a Mini Mario clockwork toy, he finds that they are sold out at a local toy store. Enraged, he terrifies the Toads at the factory and steals the toys. This sets up the game's plot, where Mario chases Donkey Kong until he can take the Mini Marios back from Donkey Kong. The game was followed by March of the Minis for the Nintendo DS, Minis March Again on DSiWare, and Mini-Land Mayhem in 2010 for the DS.

Rhythm game series

Donkey Konga was released for the GameCube in 2004. Created by Namco, this musical rhythm action game relied upon use of the DK Bongos accessory (purchasable separately or included, depending on the package) to hit a beat in time with the tune. The tunes included pop songs and themes from some previous Nintendo games. Its sequel, Donkey Konga 2, was released in 2005, and Japan later got Donkey Konga 3 that same year.

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat was released in Japan in December 2004 and elsewhere in 2005. This platform game used the aforementioned DK Bongos as a controller; tapping one drum repeatedly made Donkey Kong run, tapping both at the same time made him jump, tapping both alternately made him attack, and clapping or blowing in to the microphone caused an explosion, shown by a ripple in the screen, attracting assorted jewels or clearing obstacles to progress. As of Nintendo's conference at October 2, 2008, a New Play Control! remake of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was ported to the Wii; it was released in Japan on December 11, 2008.

Climbing game series

Donkey Kong then starred in DK King of Swing, which features gameplay similar to Clu Clu Land. Here, the player must navigate levels using only the GBA's left and right shoulder buttons. DK Jungle Climber, a sequel to the game, is Donkey Kong's first title role on the Nintendo DS.

Medal game series

During the seventh generation of video games, there were two arcade Donkey Kong titles released in Japan. The first was Donkey Kong Jungle Fever, a medal game released in 2005, and the second was a sequel, Donkey Kong Banana Kingdom (released on November 16, 2006. Both games were developed by Capcom and published by Nintendo on the Triforce arcade system board. As of 2011, neither title has been released outside of Japan.

Characters

Main article: List of Donkey Kong characters

Characters from the Donkey Kong series have appeared in Nintendo's crossover titles such as the Super Smash Bros. and the Mario Kart series.

• Donkey Kong
• Mario
• Donkey Kong Jr.
• Diddy Kong
• Dixie Kong

In other media

Donkey Kong had a recurring segment in the Saturday Supercade in 1983.

There was also a French/Canadian computer-generated animated television series called Donkey Kong Country. It is based on the Donkey Kong Country video game series by Nintendo & Rare. Created by France 2 and Nelvana, it was originally titled La Planète de Donkey Kong (The Planet of Donkey Kong in English translation). Donkey Kong Country first aired in France on September 4, 1996; it premiered late in the United States on the Fox Kids block on Fox on August 15, 1998 but the show was not shown on the block for long, because of the impeachment of Bill Clinton. After only two episodes, the series moved to Fox Family. In Japan, Donkey Kong Country took over the TV Tokyo 6:30 P.M. timeslot from Gokudo and was later replaced with Hamtaro.

Impact

The success of the Donkey Kong series has resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series with 7 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. The records include: "First Use of Visual Storytelling in a Video Game" for the rudimentary cut scenes featured in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, and "Most Collectible Items in a Platform Game" for Donkey Kong 64.

"It's on like Donkey Kong" is an expression used in pop culture that is inspired by the game. Nintendo requested a trademark on the phrase with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in November 2010.

The original game was the focus of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.

The monster truck Donkey Kong is based on the character.

External links

• Donkey Kong guide at StrategyWiki
• Donkey Kong Wiki
• Donkey Kong Returns Song