Donkey Kong (character)

This article is about the video game character. For the video game, see Donkey Kong (video game). For the series, see Donkey Kong (series).

Donkey Kong
'Donkey Kong series, Various Mario Games' character
File:Dk beat.jpg Donkey Kong as depicted in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.
First game	Donkey Kong (1981)
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkī Kongu), sometimes abbreviated DK, is a Nintendo video game character that first appeared in a 1981 video game of the same name. He is a large, muscular gorilla, weighing 800 pounds. Since the 1994 Donkey Kong game remake, he is depicted wearing a red necktie with a DK emblem. In an interview at E3 2001, the creator of Donkey Kong, Shigeru Miyamoto, said that when naming the character he had confused the word "donkey" with "stupid", and assumed that to an American audience, 'Donkey Kong' would clearly mean 'stupid ape'.

History

Early games

File:Donkey Kong flier cropped.png

Front of Donkey Kong promotional flier from 1981 showing Mario, Donkey Kong, and Pauline

Donkey Kong made his first appearance as the titular character of the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong alongside protagonist Mario (then known as Jumpman) and heroine Pauline. As Mario, the player must reach Donkey Kong at the top of each stage, where he is holding Pauline captive. Donkey Kong attempts to hinder the player's progress by throwing barrels and other obstacles towards Mario. The ape would reappear the following year in the sequel Donkey Kong Junior, where Donkey Kong is taken captive and locked in a cage by Mario, while Donkey Kong Junior sets out to rescue him. Donkey Kong would resume his antagonistic role in Donkey Kong 3, this time the character Stanley the Bugman taking Mario's place as the protagonist (Mario was given his own spin-off game, Mario Bros.). Stanley fights Donkey Kong's attempts to invade a greenhouse along with a horde of killer bees.

After Donkey Kong, Mario would go on to become Nintendo's primary mascot, while Donkey Kong and his son were relegated to supporting roles and cameos such as in the arcade version of Punch-Out!!, the NES version of Tetris, Super Mario Kart, and the Virtual Boy game Mario's Tennis. The 1994 Game Boy version of Donkey Kong marked his re-emergence as a major character. He was redesigned, sporting a necktie as his sole article of clothing.

Rare era

The 1994 Super NES game Donkey Kong Country made by British game developer Rare marked a turning point for Donkey Kong, as it created a new setting and storyline for the character in addition to placing him in the protagonist's role. This incarnation of Donkey Kong was designed personally by Shigeru Miyamoto and then rendered in 3D by Rare. This incarnation not only wears the same red necktie the original Donkey Kong wore in the Game Boy remake, but was given a swirly hairstyle as well. In Donkey Kong Country, this version was characterized as the successor to the original DK, who had become the elderly and near-senile Cranky Kong, though this concept was dropped for later games in the series. In the game, Donkey Kong's personal hoard of bananas is stolen by a despotic reptile known as King K. Rool. He teams up with his best friend Diddy Kong, who serves as the secondary playable character, and sets off to retrieve them.

Donkey Kong Country was followed by a Super NES sequel titled Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, although Donkey Kong is actually taken captive in the game and Diddy Kong takes his place as the protagonist with a new female sidekick named Dixie Kong. The following game in the trilogy, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, followed the same pattern, in which both Donkey and Diddy were captured, with Dixie and Kiddy Kong serving as the new main characters in their place. The Donkey Kong Country series also inspired a trilogy of Game Boy games known as Donkey Kong Land, which were essentially portable renditions of the Super NES Country games

Donkey Kong 64 for the Nintendo 64 would be the last platform game developed by Rare that starred Donkey Kong. The modern Donkey Kong supplanted Junior's role in the Mario Kart series from Mario Kart 64. In addition, DK became a regular playable character in the Mario sports series and other spinoffs such as Mario Party and Super Smash Bros.

Post-Rare era

Following Rare's departure from the series, Donkey Kong was reunited with his former rival Mario in the 2004 Game Boy Advance game titled Mario vs. Donkey Kong. A throwback to the Donkey Kong title for the Game Boy, Donkey Kong resumed his antagonist role from his earlier games by taking over the Mario Toy Company, upset over the lack of Mini-Mario toys available for purchase. The game was followed by a 2006 sequel titled Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, where Donkey Kong, who is infatuated with Pauline, kidnaps her and takes her to the roof of the Super Mini-Mario World amusement park when she ignores a Mini-Donkey Kong toy in favor of a Mini-Mario.

Nintendo also co-produced a trilogy of rhythm games with Namco for the Nintendo GameCube known as the Donkey Konga series, which were based on Namco's own Taiko: Drum Master, though only 2 Kongas made it to America. There was also DK Jungle Beat, which used the drums, and DK Barrel Blast, which would have before it was ported to Wii. Aside from those, DK King of Swing on the GBA was released by Paon around the time of DKJB, and its sequal, Donkey Kong Jungle Climber, is due for early September. It was confirmed that Donkey Kong will return to the Super Smash Bros. series in the upcoming game Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and use the DK Bongos as his final smash.File:Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.jpg

See also

• List of Donkey Kong games
• Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd.
• "King Kong"

External links

Official

• Nintendo's official Donkey Kong Jungle Beat website
• Nintendo's official Donkey Kong Country website
• Nintendo's official Donkey Konga website

Other

• Donkey Kong Universe
• Donkey Kong at the Killer List of Videogames
• The History of Donkey Kong
• Donkey Kong Database
• Donkey Kong Wiki