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For the original arcade game called Donkey Kong see Donkey Kong (arcade game).
Donkey Kong (Japanese:ドンキーコング) is a gorilla character from Nintendo that appeared in many video games since 1981. Like many Nintendo franchises, Donkey Kong was created by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Overview
The most common explanation of the name "Donkey Kong" is that it was created by Miyamoto as a combination of the word "Kong" from King Kong, and "Donkey", a word which Miyamoto (with his loose understanding of English) believed was a general synonym for "stupid" (another version of the story said that he used the word Donkey to represent the stubborn aspect of the ape's personality). It is believed by many that the name "Donkey Kong" was the result of a typo on the original cabinet's art work for "Monkey Kong", but this has been denied by Miyamoto and others.
In the original Donkey Kong game, the player's character "Jumpman" (later: "Mario") must jump over barrels thrown by Donkey Kong while climbing ladders up a crooked construction site to reach the top of the screen to rescue his girlfriend Pauline (who was originally called Lady in Japan). Each screen is a game stage, with stages grouping to form levels. Each successive level is progressively harder.
This game was first released in the arcades, but was ported to home video game consoles and home computers.
The game was quite revolutionary for its time, featuring multiple, distinct levels, large colorful graphics, and a unique form of play control.
Sequels and Spin-offs
Donkey Kong spawned two sequels, neither of which were as popular as the original arcade hit. In Donkey Kong Junior Donkey Kong was kidnapped by Mario and players had to control his son Donkey Kong Jr. to rescue him. In Donkey Kong 3 DK broke into a greenhouse and got chased out by Stanley the Bugman (who carried a spray can to protect his greenhouse from Donkey Kong's insects). In 1994, Nintendo produced a remake of the original game for the Game Boy (often dubbed "Donkey Kong '94" to distinguish it from the original) which contained 96 new stages (most which were puzzle-oriented) in addition to the original four from the Arcade game. Donkey Kong's and Pauline's respective appearances were updated for this game (DK now had a tie and Pauline was made into a brunette to set herself apart from Peach)..
After that he went on hiatus until he appeared in Donkey Kong Country (in Japan, Super Donkey Kong). Donkey Kong Country was an entirely new DK franchise established by the British company Rareware which took the Donkey Kong premise in an entire new direction. Severing DK's ties to the Mario world (until Mario vs. Donkey Kong), Donkey Kong Country established a whole new world for DK, and became a showcase title to show-off then-revolutionary 3D CGI graphics.
In Donkey Kong Country, DK was the hero and he and his sidekick Diddy Kong had to save his bananas from King K. Rool. The game was an action sidescrolling title similar to the Mario games and was enormously popular for both its graphics and gameplay.
Sequels soon followed. In Donkey Kong Country 2 (Super Donkey Kong 2) Donkey got kidnapped by King K. Rool and had to get rescued by Diddy Kong and his girlfriend Dixie Kong. In Donkey Kong Country 3 (in Japan, Super Donkey Kong 3) he and Diddy both got kidnapped and Dixie and her cousin Kiddy Kong had to save them. The Donkey Kong Land series for the Game Boy were smaller and slightly modified versions of the "Country" games.
A less successful N64 sequel was also developed. In Donkey Kong 64 DK once again had the starring role and he had to save Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong, and Chunky Kong and his hoard of bananas.
The Donkey Kong Country series died after Rareware split with Nintendo to develop games for the Xbox. Though the DKC series were always solely developed by Rare, they featured Nintendo's trademarked characters and as a result are not allowed to appear on any other system.
Nintendo's first title after Rare was Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a return to the earlier arcade-style games.
Donkey Kong also appears in a number of other games such as Mario Kart 64, the Mario Party series, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, and the two crossover games Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee. In nearly all of these games, Donkey Kong is presented as a powerful but slow and cumbersome character (for example, in the Mario Kart games, he has a high top speed, but poor acceleration), as opposed to Yoshi. Donkey Kong is slated for several games on the Nintendo GameCube and the Game Boy Advance.
Playable characters in Donkey Kong games
Mario (originally called Jumpman) is the Italian star of many Nintendo games, created for Donkey Kong, where he must rescue his girlfriend, Pauline.
Stanley the Bugman the mysterious "second hero" against Donkey Kong appeared in the lesser known 1983 sequel to Donkey Kong Jr.: "Donkey Kong 3". Throughout the game, Stanley continuously fights against Donkey Kong in a Greenhouse with his trusty bug sprayer, while Donkey Kong sends his vast army of swarming insects in Stanley's direction to hinder his progress.
Donkey Kong in the Donkey Kong Country games is not the original Donkey Kong, but his grandson or son (Donkey Kong Jr.). He is playable and the star in Donkey Kong Country, and Donkey Kong 64. In Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3, he is kidnapped for the duration of the game, and the objective of the game is to save him.
Diddy Kong first appeared in Donkey Kong Country as Donkey's sidekick. In that game and its sequels he is smaller and weaker than Donkey. He returned as the star of Donkey Kong Country 2. In Donkey Kong Country 3, he appeared as a non-playable hostage alongside Donkey, and starred in Diddy Kong Racing. Most recently, he appeared in Donkey Kong 64 as one of five playable characters, where he possessed a rocket pack perhaps reminiscent of Rare's game Jetpac, which appears in that game.
Dixie Kong is Diddy Kong's girlfriend. She first appeared in Donkey Kong Country 2 as Diddy's sidekick who helped him save Donkey Kong. She also appeared in Donkey Kong Country 3 as the star with her cousin Kiddy Kong as her sidekick.
Tiny Kong is Dixie Kong's little sister and appeared only in Donkey Kong 64. She is the second character to be rescued by Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong who is the first. Her talents include the ability to shrink and hover with her pig tails.
Lanky Kong is one of Donkey Kong's friends who appeared in only Donkey Kong 64, and is an Orangutang. His persona is described as wacky and his specific skills in that game are generally due to his long arms.
Kiddy Kong is Dixie Kong's Cousin. Kiddy appears only in Donkey Kong Country 3 as Dixie's sidekick. His uniqueness derives from his size.
Chunky Kong is Kiddy Kong's Big Brother and is playable so far only in Donkey Kong 64, in which he is the fourth and final character that Donkey Kong has to rescue. Like his brother, his size is a major factor in his importance.
Supporting characters
Cranky Kong is an older Kong who refers to the "good old days" of videogames, typically breaking the fourth wall. Through his dialogue, it is implied that he was the original 8-bit Donkey Kong, and the current Donkey Kong is his son, Donkey Kong Jr.
Wrinkly Kong is Cranky Kong's wife, and is a schoolteacher for the younger Kongs.
Funky Kong is a Kong of the same generation as Donkey Kong, but is not as heroic. He is a surfer, who also runs a travel service on the islands.
Swanky Kong is a game show host, who hosts a trivia challenge where the player of DKC2 can earn extras.
Full Donkey Kong Game list
External links
ja:ドンキーコング
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