Outside of video games, the franchise includes the animated series Donkey Kong Country (1997–1999), a themed area in
Super Nintendo World at
Universal Studios, soundtrack albums, and
Lego construction toys. Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo's bestselling franchises, with more than 65 million units sold by 2021. The original game was Nintendo's first major international success and established it as a prominent force in the
video game industry. The franchise has pioneered or popularized concepts such as in-game storytelling and
pre-rendered graphics, inspired other games (including
clones), and influenced popular culture.
In the late 1970s, the Japanese company
Nintendo shifted its focus from producing toys and playing cards to
arcade games. This followed the
1973 oil crisis having increased the cost of manufacturing toys and the success of
Taito's Space Invaders (1978). In 1980, Nintendo released Radar Scope, a Space Invaders-style
shoot 'em up.[1] It was a
commercial failure and put the newly established subsidiary Nintendo of America in a financial crisis. Its founder,
Minoru Arakawa, asked his father in-law, the Nintendo CEO
Hiroshi Yamauchi, to provide a new game that could salvage the unsold Radar Scope cabinets.[2] Most of Nintendo's top developers were preoccupied, so the task went to
Shigeru Miyamoto, a first-time game designer.[3][4]
Supervised by
Gunpei Yokoi,[3] Miyamoto settled on a
love triangle with the characters
Bluto,
Popeye, and
Olive Oyl from the
Popeye franchise, but Nintendo was unable to obtain the license.[4] Bluto evolved into a gorilla, an animal Miyamoto said was "nothing too evil or repulsive".[5] He named the character
Donkey Kong—donkey to convey stubborn and kong to imply gorilla.[6] Popeye became
Mario, the new protagonist, while Olive Oyl became
Pauline, the
damsel in distress.[4] Miyamoto named "
Beauty and the Beast" and the 1933 film King Kong as influences.[5] As he lacked programming expertise, he consulted technicians on whether his concepts were possible.[7] Four programmers from
Ikegami Tsushinki spent three months turning Miyamoto's concept into a finished game.[8]
Donkey Kong was one of the earliest
platform games,[b] following Mario as he ascends a construction site to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong.[10] It was released in July 1981 and became Nintendo's first major international success. The
windfall of $280 million rescued Nintendo of America from its financial crisis and established it as a prominent brand in America.[11][12]Donkey Kong achieved further success in 1982, when Nintendo released a
Game & Watch version and licensed it to
Coleco for
ports to
home consoles.[13][14] It grossed $4.4 billion across various formats, making it one of the highest-grossing games of all time.[15] In 1982,
Universal City Studios filed
a lawsuit alleging Donkey Kong violated its trademark of King Kong. The lawsuit failed when Nintendo's lawyer,
Howard Lincoln, discovered that Universal had won a lawsuit years prior by declaring that King Kong was actually in the
public domain. The victory cemented Nintendo as a major force in the
video game industry.[16][17]
1982–1994: Sequels and first hiatus
Miyamoto and his team used
game mechanics and
levels that could not be included in Donkey Kong as the basis for a sequel. Miyamoto wanted to make Donkey Kong the protagonist, but the
sprite was too big to easily maneuver, so he created a new character,
Donkey Kong Jr. The team still wanted Donkey Kong on top of the screen, so they conceived a plot in which Mario had caged him and Donkey Kong Jr. had to save him.[18] To develop Donkey Kong Jr. (1982), Nintendo
reverse-engineered Ikegami's Donkey Kong code, making it the first game that Nintendo developed without outside help. Following Donkey Kong Jr.'s release, Ikegami sued Nintendo for
copyright infringement. In 1990, the
Tokyo High Court ruled in favor of Ikegami, and the companies reached a
settlement.[8]
The franchise went on an extended hiatus,[20] while the spin-off Mario franchise found success on the NES, cementing Mario as Nintendo's
mascot.[4] Donkey Kong's appearances in the years following Donkey Kong 3 were limited to
cameos in unrelated games.[24] The 1987 Official Nintendo Player's Guide advertised a Donkey Kong revival for the NES, Return of Donkey Kong, which was never released.[20] In 1994, the first original Donkey Kong game in more than 10 years, Donkey Kong (often referred to as Donkey Kong '94), was released for the
Game Boy. It begins as a
remake of the 1981 game before introducing over 100
puzzle-platforming levels that incorporate elements from Donkey Kong Jr. and Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988).[25][26]
In the early 1990s,
Philips obtained the license to use five Nintendo characters in games for their
CD-i console, resulting in Hotel Mario (1993) and
three The Legend of Zelda games (1993–1994). Donkey Kong was among the five characters, and
Riedel Software Productions worked on a CD-i Donkey Kong game between 1992 and 1993. The project was canceled, and developers who worked on it do not remember many details beyond its basic
game engine.[27] The
Nintendo data leak included a prototype for Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995) featuring a protagonist who resembles Stanley.[28] Its title, Super Donkey, suggested that Yoshi's Island began as a Donkey Kong game before it was altered to star the Mario character
Yoshi.[29]
Nintendo granted the Stampers permission to use the Donkey Kongintellectual property;[36] some sources indicate that the Stampers obtained the license after Nintendo offered them its catalog of characters and they chose Donkey Kong,[30][32] though the designer
Gregg Mayles recalled that it was Nintendo that requested a Donkey Kong game.[33] Nintendo figured licensing Donkey Kong posed minimal risk due to the franchise's dormancy.[36] Rare's
reboot, Donkey Kong Country, featured
side-scrolling gameplay that Mayles based on the Super Mario series.[33] It was the first Donkey Kong game neither directed nor produced by Miyamoto,[37] though he provided support and contributed design ideas.[33]
Donkey Kong Country was one of the first games for a mainstream home video game console to use pre-rendered graphics,[32] achieved through a
compression technique that allowed Rare to convert 3D models into SNES sprites with little loss of detail.[33] Because Donkey Kong did not have much of an established universe, Rare was free to expand it, introducing Donkey Kong's sidekick
Diddy Kong (who replaced Donkey Kong Jr.) and the antagonistic
Kremlings.[33][38] After 18 months of development,[32]Donkey Kong Country was released in November 1994 to acclaim, with critics hailing its visuals as groundbreaking.[39][40][41][42] It was a major success,[35] selling 9.3 million copies and becoming the
third-bestselling SNES game.[34][43] It reestablished Donkey Kong as a major Nintendo franchise and heralded Donkey Kong's transition from villain to hero.[44] Following the success, Nintendo purchased a large
minority stake in Rare.[35]
Rare began developing concepts for a Donkey Kong Country sequel during production,[45] and Nintendo
green-lit the project immediately after the success.[44]Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, released in 1995, features Diddy rescuing a kidnapped Donkey Kong and introduces Diddy's girlfriend
Dixie Kong. Diddy's Kong Quest was designed to be less linear and more challenging,[46][47] with a theme reflecting Mayles' fascination with pirates.[47] Like its predecessor, Diddy's Kong Quest was a major critical and commercial success, and is the sixth-bestselling SNES game.[48] Following Diddy's Kong Quest, the Donkey Kong Country team split in two, with one half working on Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996).[49] Featuring Dixie and a new character,
Kiddy Kong, as protagonists, the Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! team sought to incorporate 3D-esque gameplay and Zelda-inspired
role-playing elements. Although it was released late in the SNES's lifespan and after the launch of the
Nintendo 64, Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! sold well.[50]
1995–2002: Franchise expansion
Separate Rare teams developed the Game Boy games Donkey Kong Land (1995), Donkey Kong Land 2 (1996), and Donkey Kong Land III (1997), which condensed the Country series' gameplay for the
handheld game console.[34] Rare's Game Boy programmer, Paul Machacek, chose to develop Land as an original game rather than as a port of Country after convincing Tim Stamper it would be a better use of resources.[51] A port of Country was eventually released for the
Game Boy Color in 2000.[52] Rare also developed a
tech demo for a
Virtual BoyDonkey Kong game, but it never progressed due to the system's commercial failure.[34]
Rare developed further Donkey Kong games for the
Game Boy (left) and
Nintendo 64 (right) throughout the late 1990s.
The first Donkey Kong game for the Nintendo 64, Diddy Kong Racing, was released as Nintendo's major 1997
Christmas shopping season product.[53] Rare originally developed it as a sequel to its NES game R.C. Pro-Am (1988), but added Diddy Kong to increase its marketability.[54]Diddy Kong Racing received favorable reviews and sold 4.5 million copies.[54][55] Two of Diddy Kong Racing's playable characters,
Banjo the Bear and
Conker the Squirrel, would go on to star in the Banjo-Kazooie and Conker franchises.[56]
Rare began working on Donkey Kong 64, the first Donkey Kong game to feature 3D gameplay, in 1997.[57] They conceived it as a linear game similar to the Country series, but switched to a more open-ended design using the game engine from their 1998 game Banjo-Kazooie after 18 months.[34][58]Donkey Kong 64 was released in November 1999, accompanied by a US$22 million marketing campaign.[59] It was Nintendo's bestselling game during the 1999 Christmas season and received positive reviews,[60][61] though critics felt it did not match the revolutionary impact of Donkey Kong Country.[62][63][64]
At
E3 2001, Nintendo and Rare announced three Donkey Kong projects: the
GameCube game Donkey Kong Racing and the
Game Boy Advance (GBA) games Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers and Diddy Kong Pilot.[65][66][67] However, development costs were increasing and Nintendo opted not to acquire Rare.[68] In September 2002,
Microsoft acquired Rare for $375 million,[69] making Rare a
first-party developer for
Xbox.[30] Nintendo retained the rights to Donkey Kong under the terms of the acquisition.[70]Donkey Kong Racing was canceled,[65] and Rare reworked Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers and Diddy Kong Pilot into It's Mr. Pants (2004) and Banjo-Pilot (2005).[71][72]
2002–2010: After Rare
The Donkey Kong games released for the
GameCube were designed to use the
DK Bongos peripheral.
After Microsoft acquired Rare, Nintendo relegated Donkey Kong to spin-offs and guest appearances in other franchises, such as Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Super Smash Bros.[73][74] In 2003, Nintendo and
Namco released Donkey Konga (2003), a spin-off
rhythm game. It was designed for the
DK Bongos, a GameCube peripheral that resembles
bongo drums.[75] Nintendo of America executive
Reggie Fils-Aimé opposed releasing Donkey Konga, concerned it would damage the Donkey Kong brand, but it sold well and received positive reviews.[76][77] It was followed by Donkey Konga 2 (2004) and the Japan exclusive Donkey Konga 3 (2005).[74]
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, the first main Donkey Kong game since Donkey Kong 64,[74] was released for the GameCube in 2004.[78] It returned to the Donkey Kong Country style of platforming, controlled using the DK Bongos.[79] It was directed by
Yoshiaki Koizumi as the debut project of
Nintendo EAD Tokyo.[80][81] Koizumi sought to create an accessible game with a simple control scheme to contrast with more complex contemporary games.[81] It received positive reviews, but was a commercial disappointment.[74] A
Wii version, featuring revised
Wii Remote and
Nunchuk controls, was released in 2008 as part of the New Play Control! line.[82] A racing game that used the DK Bongos, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, was developed by
Paon for the GameCube, but was moved to the Wii with support for the peripheral dropped.[83] It was released in 2007 to negative reviews,[84] with criticism for its controls.[85][86]
Despite the acquisition, Rare continued to develop games for Nintendo's handheld consoles since Microsoft did not have a competing handheld.[30] It developed ports of the Country games for the GBA and Diddy Kong Racing for the
Nintendo DS with additional content, released between 2003 and 2007.[87][88][89][90] Meanwhile, Paon also developed DK: King of Swing (2005) for the GBA and DK: Jungle Climber (2007) for the DS, which blend Country elements with
puzzle gameplay inspired by Clu Clu Land (1984).[91]Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a spin-off series that acts as a
spiritual successor to the Game Boy Donkey Kong, was developed by
Nintendo Software Technology. It began with a
2004 GBA game and continued with the DS sequels March of the Minis (2006), Minis March Again! (2009), and Mini-Land Mayhem! (2010).[92] In contrast to other post-Country games, Mario vs. Donkey Kong restored Donkey Kong's villainous role.[93]
In 2008, Miyamoto expressed interest in a Donkey Kong Country revival. Producer
Kensuke Tanabe suggested that
Retro Studios, which had developed the Metroid Prime series, would be suitable.[94] With Donkey Kong Country Returns, Retro sought to retain classic Country elements while refining them to create a new experience and introducing new game mechanics such as surface-clinging and simultaneous
multiplayer.[95][96]Returns, the first original Country game since Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, was released for the Wii in 2010.[44] It sold 4.21 million copies in under a month and received positive reviews,[97][98] with critics considering it a return to form for the franchise.[99][100][101]Monster Games developed a
Nintendo 3DS version in 2013,[102] while a
remaster is scheduled for the
Nintendo Switch in 2025.[103]
Retro developed a sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, for the
Wii U. The Wii U's greater processing power allowed for visual elements that the team had been unable to accomplish on the Wii, such as lighting and translucency effects and dynamic camera movement.[104][105]Tropical Freeze was released in 2014 to favorable reviews,[106] but it sold poorly in comparison to Returns.[107] It achieved greater success when it was ported to the Switch in 2018, outselling the Wii U version within a week of release.[108] Following Tropical Freeze, the Donkey Kong franchise went on another hiatus,[109] outside of Mario vs. Donkey Kong games: Tipping Stars (2015) and Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge (2016) for the Wii U and 3DS,[110][111] and a remake of the first Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2024) with new levels and
cooperative gameplay for the Switch.[112]
Nintendo and
Vicarious Visions, with consultation from Miyamoto, worked on a Donkey Kong game for the Switch for six months. Codenamed Freedom, the project was an
open-world 3D platformer that emphasized traversal, with grinding on vines as a core mechanic. It was canceled in 2016 after
Activision Blizzard, Vicarious Visions' parent company, redirected its developers' focus to the Call of Duty franchise.[113][114]Nintendo Life reported in 2021 that
Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development was working on a Switch Donkey Kong game.[109]
Artwork for Donkey Kong (1994) and Donkey Kong 64 (1999), depicting the casts created by Nintendo and Rare
The original Donkey Kong features three characters: Donkey Kong, a large, antagonistic gorilla; Mario, the overall-wearing protagonist; and Pauline, Mario's girlfriend. Donkey Kong follows Mario as he ascends a construction site to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong, his escaped pet ape.[10] In the sequel, Donkey Kong Jr., Mario imprisons Donkey Kong in a cage. The game introduces Donkey Kong's son, the diaper-wearing Donkey Kong Jr.[115][116] Mario, Pauline, Donkey Kong, and Jr. return in the 1994 Game Boy Donkey Kong,[117] in which Mario again must rescue Pauline from the Kongs.[26] The Game Boy game was the first Donkey Kong game to depict Donkey Kong wearing a red
necktie bearing his initials, "DK".[118]
Beginning with Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong's role shifted from the antagonist to the protagonist.[44] Rare's Kevin Bayliss redesigned him;[119] alongside the red tie from the Game Boy game, he was given what GamesRadar+ described as "menacing, sunken eyes and [a] beak-like muzzle",[118] and Bayliss designed him as blocky and muscular to make animating him easier.[119] Rare's games characterize him as the descendant of the Donkey Kong character from the arcade games, who appears as the elderly
Cranky Kong.[120] Cranky Kong provides scathing,
fourth wall-breaking humor in which he unfavorably compares current games to older ones like the original Donkey Kong.[121][122] Donkey Kong Jr. was retired, and Nintendo's stance on whether Rare's Donkey Kong is a grown-up Donkey Kong Jr. or a separate character has been inconsistent.[120]
Rare's games moved the franchise's primary setting from a city to Donkey Kong Island,[123] an idyllic isle.[62] Because Donkey Kong did not have much of an established universe, Rare was free to expand it with new characters.[33]Donkey Kong Country introduced Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong's sidekick and nephew. Diddy's design was based on a
spider monkey;[124] he was created as a redesign of Donkey Kong Jr. but retooled into a separate character at Nintendo's request.[33] Other supporting Kong characters that Rare introduced include
Funky Kong, a
surfer;
Candy Kong, Donkey Kong's girlfriend; Dixie Kong, Diddy's girlfriend;
Kiddy Kong, a large toddler;
Tiny Kong, Dixie's sister; and
Lanky Kong, a buffoonish orangutan.[125]
The franchise's main antagonist is
King K. Rool, an
anthropomorphic reptilian introduced in Donkey Kong Country.[126] K. Rool leads the
Kremlings, an army of crocodiles who seek to steal Donkey Kong's hoard of bananas.[52]Polygon summarized K. Rool as an archetypal game villain who "often wears disguises and invents strange gadgets for his elaborately evil schemes",[127] such as dressing as a pirate captain in Donkey Kong Country 2.[128] Other villains include the Tiki Tak Tribe, a race of floating masks that play music to hypnotize animals into stealing the banana hoard,[129][130] and the Snowmads,
Viking invaders who summon a dragon to take over Donkey Kong Island.[105]
Mario, the protagonist of the 1981 game, went on to headline the Mario franchise. Although the franchises largely remain separate, they take place in the same
fictional universe, and Donkey Kong and other Donkey Kong characters frequently appear as playable characters in Mario spin-offs such as Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Mario Tennis.[131][132][133] Two Rare characters, Banjo the Bear and Conker the Squirrel, were introduced in Diddy Kong Racing ahead of starring in their own games,[56]Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001).[56][134]
Gameplay
Original series
Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. are early examples of the platform game genre. In both games, the player must guide the playable character (Mario in the first game, Donkey Kong Jr. in the second) to scale four levels while avoiding obstacles. The player jumps to dodge incoming obstacles (such as barrels) or cross gaps and climbs ladders or vines to reach the top of the level.[135][115] In the first game, Mario can destroy obstacles by obtaining a hammer
power-up,[136] while in the second, Donkey Kong Jr. can do so by knocking pieces of fruit down from vines.[115]Points are awarded for dodging or destroying obstacles, collecting items, and completing stages quickly.[136] The player begins each game with three
lives,[115] which they lose if they touch an obstacle or fall from a distance.[136]
Donkey Kong 3 departs from this gameplay: it is a shooter game in which the player controls Stanley, an exterminator who must prevent Donkey Kong from stirring up insects in his greenhouse. The player fires bug spray at Donkey Kong and enemy insects that attempt to steal Stanley's flowers. They complete levels by spraying Donkey Kong enough to force him to the top of the screen or by killing all the insects.[137]
The 1994 Game Boy game begins with the four stages from the original Donkey Kong, but after completing the fourth, the player is presented with over 100 additional stages that introduce puzzle-platform gameplay in which Mario must scout each level within a time limit to locate a key.[138] Mario can pick up and throw objects and enemies, similar to Super Mario Bros. 2, and perform
acrobatics to reach otherwise inaccessible areas of the levels.[25] This gameplay would serve as the basis for Mario vs. Donkey Kong,[138] which introduces stages in which Mario must guide six Mini-Mario toys to a toy box while protecting them from hazards.[139]Mario vs. Donkey Kong's sequels make guiding the Mini-Mario toys the focus, with each stage requiring the player to do so with
touchscreen controls.[140] This gameplay has been frequently compared to the
strategy video gameLemmings (1991).[141]
Donkey Kong Country
The Donkey Kong Country logo used until 2005
The Donkey Kong Country series features platforming gameplay in which players complete side-scrolling levels to progress, reminiscent of Nintendo's Super Mario series.[33] The player begins in a
world map that tracks their progress and provides access to the themed worlds and their levels. They traverse the environment, jump between platforms, and avoid enemy and inanimate obstacles.[142] Each world ends with a
boss fight with a large enemy.[143] The Country series is known for its high
difficulty level and emphasis on momentum, requiring players to react to oncoming obstacles quickly to maintain flow.[144][145][146]
Players control one of the various playable Kongs, depending on the game: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Kiddy Kong, Cranky Kong, and Funky Kong.[52][147][148] The Rare games each feature two protagonists, with one protagonist carrying over to the sequel while another is introduced.[44] The Retro Studios games star Donkey Kong with other characters as his sidekicks.[149][150] Players primarily control one Kong, with the second increasing their
health.[148] In the Retro Studios games, other characters ride on Donkey Kong's back to provide special abilities; for instance, Diddy's jetpack allows him to temporarily hover.[148]
Country's game mechanics include blasting out of barrel cannons,[151] vehicle sequences with
minecarts and barrel-themed rockets,[148][151] levels in which the characters and foreground environments appear as
silhouettes,[152] and swinging vines.[151] Barrels return from the original series and can be used as weapons or broken to uncover power-ups.[153] One barrel variant releases a partner Kong when thrown.[143] Each level contains collectibles such as bananas, letters that spell out K–O–N–G, balloons, and puzzle pieces. These items can be found within the main level or by discovering hidden
bonus stages, where they are earned via completing a challenge.[149][154]
In certain levels, the player can free an animal that provides the Kongs with special abilities, similar to the Super Mario series'
Yoshi.[155] Recurring animal friends include Rambi, a rhino that can charge into enemies and find hidden entrances; Enguarde, a swordfish that can defeat enemies underwater; and Squawks, a parrot who carries the Kongs or assists in finding collectibles.[52][156] Outside the main gameplay, the Rare games' world map contains areas where players can converse with
non-player characters, such as Cranky, who provide advice, collectibles, and
save points.[157] The Retro Studios games feature shops (run by Cranky in Returns and Funky in Tropical Freeze) where the player can purchase items like power-ups and lives.[149][158]
Other games
Some games without the Country branding contain similar gameplay. The Donkey Kong Land trilogy condenses the SNES Country gameplay for the Game Boy, with different level design that accounts for the system's low-quality display.[159][160]Donkey Kong 64 blends Country elements with "collect-a-thon" gameplay reminiscent of Super Mario 64 (1996) and Banjo-Kazooie (1998),[62][161] while Jungle Beat'sscore attack emphasis challenges players to complete levels with as many points as possible.[162]DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber are aesthetically similar to the Country games, but require players to use the
shoulder buttons to grab and climb pegboards to reach the end of a level.[163]
Diddy Kong Racing and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast are
kart racing games that play similarly to the Mario Kart series, though Diddy Kong Racing features an adventure mode with boss fights and Barrel Blast has the player shake the Wii Remote and Nunchuk alternatively to accelerate.[56][164] The Donkey Konga trilogy was developed by the Taiko no Tatsujin developers and features the same gameplay:[165][166] the player must hit scrolling notes to the beat of the music with accurate timing, with stylized notes corresponding to different buttons. Players build combos by hitting two or more notes; the combo ends when they miss a beat.[167]
The music for Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. was composed by Yukio Kaneoka, one of Nintendo's earliest
audio engineers. Kaneoka wanted to take players on an adventure with a "pretty melody", which he compared to those in
Walt Disney Productions films. He faced resistance from the designers, who wanted comical music to reflect the games' tone.[168]Hirokazu Tanaka, a sound engineer who later garnered recognition for his work on Nintendo's Metroid and Pokémon franchises, also contributed.[169]
The Donkey Kong Country series features atmospheric music that mixes natural environmental sounds with
melodic and percussive accompaniments.[170] It was primarily composed by
David Wise, who worked at Rare from 1985 to 2009.[171][172] After Wise moved with a portion of the Diddy's Kong Quest team to work on Project Dream,
Eveline Novakovic—who composed a portion of the first Country—handled the majority of Dixie Kong's Double Trouble.[49] Wise composed a replacement soundtrack for the 2005 GBA port of Dixie Kong's Double Trouble after Rare had problems converting Novakovic's score.[173] Wise drew inspiration from
Koji Kondo's Super Mario and Legend of Zelda music,
Tim and Geoff Follin's Plok! (1993) soundtrack, and 1980s
synthesizer-heavy rock music, dance music and film soundtracks.[171] He aimed to imitate the sound of the
Korg Wavestation synthesizer.[170] Novakovic attempted to give levels a sense of purpose and drew inspiration from film composers such as
Alan Silvestri and
Klaus Doldinger.[49]
Graeme Norgate and
Grant Kirkhope adapted Wise's Country soundtracks for the first two Donkey Kong Land games,[174][175] while Novakovic adapted the Dixie Kong's Double Trouble soundtrack for Donkey Kong Land III.[49] Novakovic was set to compose music for Donkey Kong 64,[176] but shifted to working on sound effects.[49] She was replaced by Kirkhope,[176] who composed alongside the Banjo-Kazooie games and Perfect Dark (2000).[161]Nintendo Life described Kirkhope's Donkey Kong 64 score as closer in spirit to his work on Banjo-Kazooie than Wise's Country music.[177]Donkey Kong 64's introduction features the "
DK Rap", a
comedy rap song which introduces the Kong characters. It was written by Donkey Kong 64's director, George Andreas, scored and recorded by Kirkhope, and performed by Andreas and Chris Sutherland, with other Rare staff joining on the chorus.[178]
Wise was unavailable during the development of Donkey Kong Country Returns, so
Kenji Yamamoto took over.[44] At the request of Miyamoto and Iwata, the Returns soundtrack mostly comprises rearrangements of tracks from the original Donkey Kong Country,[145] plus some new material by Yamamoto. He focused on what Tanabe felt made Donkey Kong Country's music iconic, such as piano arrangements and the
bassline.[95] Wise left Rare during Returns' development and collaborated with Yamamoto on the Tropical Freeze soundtrack. Technological advances allowed Wise to achieve a "1940s
big band jazz" sound that he had been unable to produce on the SNES.[172] Beyond the Country series, Wise composed the Diddy Kong Racing soundtrack.[179] Other composers who have contributed to Donkey Kong games include
Mahito Yokota, who composed for Jungle Beat,[180] and Lawrence Schwedler, who composed for Mario vs. Donkey Kong.[181]
Donkey Kong Country, a television series produced by the French-Canadian company
Medialab Technology, ran for 40 episodes between 1997 and 1999, bridging the gap between Dixie Kong's Double Trouble and Donkey Kong 64.[195][196] Reflecting the games' pre-rendered 3D graphics, Donkey Kong Country was produced using
computer animation,[196] accomplished with
motion capture technology.[197] The series adopts a
sitcom approach and follows Donkey Kong as he attempts to protect a magical artifact, the Crystal Coconut, from King K. Rool.[196][198]Donkey Kong Country was produced with little input from Nintendo, and was the final Western series that Nintendo licensed before it shifted to producing and importing
anime.[195] The series was popular in France and Japan, though less so in the United States.[196] Retrospectively, Hardcore Gaming 101 criticized the series for lacking the adventure of the Country games,[196] while GameSpot called its aged animation "nightmare fuel" and "visually disturbing".[198]
Printed media
The first issue of Blip, a short-lived
American comic book published by
Marvel Comics in 1983, features a story in which a foolish news reporter attempts to interview Mario during the events of the original Donkey Kong. The story characterizes Donkey Kong as the result of a failed experiment to breed construction-worker gorillas.[199]Blip marked Mario's first appearance in a comic book, years before
Valiant Comics' Nintendo Comics System series in the 1990s.[200] The
British comics publisher
Fleetway Publications published a promotional Donkey Kong Country comic in the UK in 1995,[201] while Michael Teitelbaum wrote
children's book adaptations of Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land and Donkey Kong Country 2.[202]
In November 2021, prior to The Super Mario Bros. Movie's release, reports emerged that Illumination was developing a Donkey Kong film with Rogen set to reprise his role.[210] In April 2023, Rogen said he saw "a lot of opportunity" in the prospect.[211]Eurogamer wrote that Diddy and Dixie's brief cameo in The Super Mario Bros. Movie was obvious setup for a Donkey Kong film.[203]
In September 2021, Nintendo and
Universal Destinations & Experiences announced a Donkey Kong-themed expansion of the
Super Nintendo World themed area at
Universal Studios Japan and
Universal Epic Universe. The area, Donkey Kong Country, is set to open at Universal Studios Japan in 2024 and at Universal Epic Universe in 2025, and will expand the size of Super Nintendo World by 70%.[212][213] It was designed with consultation from Miyamoto and will include a
roller coaster, Donkey Kong's Crazy Cart, based on the Tiki Tong boss fight from Donkey Kong Country Returns. The area will also feature a K–O–N–G letter collection game and offer Donkey Kong merchandise and food.[214][215]
Donkey Kong merchandise includes clothing,[216] toys such as plushes and
Amiibo figures,[217][218]breakfast cereal[190] and soundtrack albums.[219][220]The Lego Group began producing Donkey KongLego construction toys in 2023 as a subseries within its
Lego Super Mario product line.[221] The initial four sets, based on the Donkey Kong Country games, were released in August 2023.[222]
Legacy
Sales
Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo's bestselling franchises,[223] with sales reaching 65 million units by March 2021.[224] Five Donkey Kong games (Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Donkey Kong 64, and Donkey Kong Country Returns) have shipped over a million copies in Japan alone,[225] and several have been added to Nintendo's
Player's Choice and Nintendo Selects bestseller lines.[226][227] Excluding rereleases and arcade games, the SNES version of Donkey Kong Country is the franchise's bestselling game, with 9.3 million copies sold worldwide, while DK: King of Swing is the worst-selling, with 280,000 copies sold worldwide.[43]
If you can't imagine a world without Super Mario Brothers, without the NES, and maybe even without Nintendo at all, then you can't imagine a world without Donkey Kong. Both as a remarkable piece of game design and a commercial breakthrough for the single most important gaming company in Japan, Donkey Kong changed the world, and 30 years later we're still feeling its effects.
The original Donkey Kong is regarded as one of the most important video games of all time.[244][245] Its success established Nintendo as one of the video game industry's leaders and helped it avoid the
video game crash of 1983.[244][245]Computer and Video Games called Donkey Kong "the most momentous" game of 1981, as it "introduced three important names" to the industry: Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Mario.[246]Donkey Kong also paved the way for the NES,[247] which rejuvenated the crashed Western game industry and shifted the home console market's dominance from the US to Japan.[248] The NES was largely based on the Donkey Kong arcade hardware;[247] Nintendo took a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet to the
semiconductorchip manufacturer
Ricoh for analysis, which led to Ricoh producing the NES's
Picture Processing Unit.[249]
Donkey Kong inspired many games, including
clones such as Crazy Kong (1981) and Hard Hat Mack (1983),[250] that featured a mix of running, jumping, and vertical traversal.[251] These were initially referred to as "Donkey Kong-type" or "Kong-style" games, but eventually came to be known as platformers.[251][252] While Donkey Kong was not the first platform game, VG247 wrote "it was the first to matter" by establishing the genre's template.[253] Furthermore, Donkey Kong's spirited graphics, humor, and contextualization of the gameplay with a story distinguished it from contemporary arcade games.[10] Although
text-based adventure games and computer
role-playing video games preceded it, Donkey Kong is regarded as the first game to use graphics to tell a story,[254] which GamesRadar+ said provided an unprecedented level of narrative depth.[244]
The Country games established Rare as a leading video game developer and set the standard for its work.[30][266]Country originated conventions characteristic of Rare's later output, including an emphasis on collecting items,[52] irreverent humor,[121] visual appeal, and tech demo-like design.[266] Conversely, Donkey Kong 64 has been blamed for precipitating 3D platforming's decline in popularity for its excessive emphasis on collecting items.[267][268]Electronic Gaming Monthly wrote that whereas Super Mario 64 had "breathed life into the 3D platforming genre", Donkey Kong 64 had "sucked it all out".[269] Jonas Kaerlev, who developed the 3D platformer A Hat in Time (2017), said Donkey Kong 64 gave the genre a reputation for tedium that contributed to a decline in interest.[268]
Donkey Kong is one of the most iconic video game characters,[270][271] and journalists have described him as a mascot for both Nintendo and the video game industry.[272][273][274][275] In 2007, the
Monster Jam racing series obtained the license to use Donkey Kong's appearance for a
monster truck. The truck debuted in a December 2007 show in
Minneapolis and toured with Monster Jam throughout 2008.[276] Donkey Kong appears as an antagonist in the film Pixels (2015), which pays homage to classic arcade games,[277] while the film War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) features treacherous apes nicknamed "donkeys", which director
Matt Reeves confirmed was a reference to Donkey Kong.[278]
IGN said that Donkey Kong Country's soundtrack contributed to an increased appreciation for
video game music as an art form, and musicians such as
Trent Reznor and
Donald Glover have praised it.[283] Glover sampled "Aquatic Ambience" in his 2012 song "Eat Your Vegetables", to which Wise expressed approval.[284]OverClocked ReMix has released Donkey Kong remix albums including contributions from Wise, Beanland, and Kirkhope.[285]Curse of the Crystal Coconut, a 2020
pirate metal album by the Scottish
heavy metal band
Alestorm, contains numerous references to the Donkey Kong franchise, including its title; those who pre-ordered the album had a chance to win an Alestorm-branded Nintendo 64 with a copy of Donkey Kong 64.[286]
Donkey Kong has been noted for its active
fandom.[123][287]Nintendo Life described one
fansite, DK Vine, as "highly respected".[109] The franchise's lack of storytelling has led fans to theorize its fictional chronology. Kotaku described one theory, which postulates that Donkey Kong Jr. was killed in a violent, off-screen conflict to explain his absence in the Country series, as "a fascinating example of how fandoms can run away with the smallest bits of narrative available" to rationalize inconsistencies.[123] A team of fans led by animator Alex Henderson released DKC: Curse of the Crystal Coconut, an animated tribute short film, in 2021 to commemorate the franchise's 40th anniversary and the Donkey Kong Country television series' 25th anniversary.[288] Several voice actors from the Country television series reprised their roles for DKC: Return to Krocodile Isle, a follow-up animation released in 2023.[289]
In the years following the original Donkey Kong's release, the phrase "it's on like Donkey Kong" entered
pop culture vernacular.[290] The phrase has been used in television series, films, music, and news headlines;[291][292] it is typically used to say something is "going down".[293] It was popularized by the rapper
Ice Cube, who used the phrase in his song "
Now I Gotta Wet'cha" (1992), though it is unclear if he coined it.[293][294] Nintendo filed a
trademark request for the phrase with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in November 2010 as part of its marketing push for Donkey Kong Country Returns.[291]
^Although
Universal's Space Panic preceded Donkey Kong by a year, Red Bull wrote that Donkey Kong is generally considered the first "true" platform game for introducing the ability to jump.[9]
^Cole, Michael (March 22, 2005).
"Donkey Kong Jungle Beat". Nintendo World Report.
Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
^Kaluszka, Aaron (September 10, 2007).
"DK Jungle Climber". Nintendo World Report.
Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
^Hernandez, Pedro (August 17, 2011).
"Donkey Kong Country 1 & 2". Nintendo World Report.
Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2022.