Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong is a Nintendo coin-operated arcade game and a gorilla character of the same name for one to two players from 1981. This game introduced Nintendo's most recurring character: Mario. Like most Nintendo franchises it was "invented" by Shigeru Miyamoto.

Overview

The name "Donkey Kong" 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."

In the original Donkey Kong game, the player's character "Jumpman" (later: "Mario") must jump over barrels thrown by Donkey Kong while climbing ladders to reach the top of the screen to rescue his girlfriend Pauline. Each screen is a game level, with successive levels becoming progressively harder.

The game was originally supposed to be based on the Popeye franchise, with Bluto as Donkey Kong, Popeye as Jumpman, and Olive as Pauline. Popeye's owners backed out at the last minute, however and the characters were quickly changed.

This game was first in the arcades, but was ported to home video game consoles and home computers.

Since the game Donkey Kong Country, all Donkey Kong games were developed by Rare. In 2002, Rare was bought out by Microsoft and lost the rights to develop the Donkey Kong property.

Sequels

Donkey Kong was kidnapped by Mario in Donkey Kong Junior. Then he broke into a greenhouse and got chased out by Stanley the Bugman in Donkey Kong 3. After that he went on hiatus until he appeared in Donkey Kong Country where he was the hero and he and his sidekick Diddy Kong have to save his bananas from King K. Rool. In Donkey Kong Country 2 Donkey gets kidnapped by King K. Rool and has to get rescued by Diddy Kong and his girlfriend Dixie Kong. In Donkey Kong Country 3 he and Diddy both get kidnapped and Dixie and her cousin Kiddy Kong have to save them. The Donkey Kong Land series for the Game Boy were smaller versions of the "Country" games.

In Donkey Kong 64 he has the starring role again where he has to save Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong, and Chunky Kong and his hoard of bananas. 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. 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, Paulina.

Donkey Kong is generally associated with Donkey Kong Jr, not the original Donkey Kong, who has been made into the elderly "Cranky Kong" (because 1981 is a long time ago in video game history, presumably). 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 friend 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 a fictional character made by Nintendo. He is Dixie Kong's Cousin. Kiddy appears only in Donkey Kong Country 3 as Dixie's sidekick. His uniqueness derive 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.

External Link

• The Killer List of Video Games entry on Donkey Kong