Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi

From the Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search

This article is about a work that used to be available to the public, but is now partially or entirely inaccessible. Details: The build has not resurfaced.
However, the subject is thoroughly documented here. Only remove this notice if the complete work is recovered and made available publicly.

The title of this article is official, but it comes from a Japanese source.
If an acceptable English name is found, then the article should be moved to the new title.

Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi
Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi title screen
Developer Nintendo EAD
Publisher Nintendo
Platform Family Computer
Release dates Canceled
Japan (planned for December 1983)[1]
Language Japanese
Genre Music video game
Modes Music Quiz, Donkey Band
Format
Famicom:
Cartridge
Input
Famicom:
Serial codes Famicom
Japan HVC-MU

Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi is a canceled game set for release on the Family Computer. It would have followed Popeye no Eigo Asobi and released alongside Donkey Kong Jr. Math as one of the edutainment games based on the Famicom's launch titles.

Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi starred the cast of Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. The game never surfaced, and seems to have only been announced in 1983 in a Japanese handbill as well as magazines.[2][1]

Game modes[edit]

The game featured two modes: Music Quiz and Donkey Band. Two songs are shown on the three released promo pictures: the 1962 Japanese translation of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" by Satoshi Saki and the 1960 nursery rhyme "Inu no Omawari-san" by Yoshida Sato and Ai Tsuchida.

Music Quiz[edit]

Music Quiz would seem to involve making bassist Donkey Kong play displayed notes by hammering piano keys with Mario and Lady. Screenshots of the game revealed one- and two-player variations:

  • One Player: Mario plays the notes, with Lady and her hammer on the sidelines.
  • Two Players: Both Mario and Lady play the notes; Mario is Player 1, while Lady is Player 2.

Donkey Band[edit]

Donkey Band would be played as a karaoke styled game in which included the player singing into the Famicom player 2 controller microphone. Donkey Kong is on bass once more with Donkey Kong Jr. playing drums, Mario playing a grand piano and Lady as a vocalist.

Cancelation[edit]

According to Ichirou Sakurada, a former Hudson Soft employee, Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi's main reason for cancelation was that it featured songs originally written by Seiko Matsuda, a popular Japanese singer. Nintendo lost the rights to these songs (or possibly never had them to begin with) before the game's scheduled release, and it would have been difficult to import new music over them. Furthermore, there were very few songs in the game at all, with the limited storage capacity of early Famicom games not being able to hold much data. This cartridge was given to Hudson Soft during their development of the Family BASIC accessory as sample software.[3]

Gallery[edit]

  • Music Quiz (1-Player)

    Music Quiz (1-Player)

  • Music Quiz (2-Player)

    Music Quiz (2-Player)

  • Donkey Band

    Donkey Band

  • 1983 Famicom ad referring to the game under a different title

    1983 Famicom ad referring to the game under a different title

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ドンキーコングの音楽遊び[2]
Donkī Kongu no Ongaku Asobi 		Donkey Kong's Music Fun

Notes[edit]

  • Although the game was never released, Lady, or rather, Pauline's role as the vocalist in a band was integrated into Super Mario Odyssey, with her acting as the lead singer of a band.
  • Cranky Kong, classically portrayed as the original Donkey Kong, plays a bass at the end of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
  • Had the game released, it would have been the first Famicom game to utilize the microphone on the second controller in any way, and the only Super Mario-series game on the system to do so.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Cifaldi, Frank. Nintendo’s (First) Lost Donkey Kong Game. The Video Game History Foundation. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Donkey Kong’s Fun With Music [NES – Cancelled]. Unseen 64. Accessed June 16, 2008.
  3. ^ https://famicoms.net/blog-entry-2236.html (Japanese)
[Edit]
Donkey Kong games
Platformers Donkey Kong series Donkey Kong (1981, arcade) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1982, arcade) • Donkey Kong 3 (1983, arcade) • Donkey Kong Jr. Math (1983, NES) • Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū (1984, computer) • Donkey Kong (1994, GB)
Donkey Kong Country series Donkey Kong Country (1994, SNES) • Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995, SNES) • Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996, SNES) • Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010, Wii) • Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014, Wii U)
Donkey Kong Land series Donkey Kong Land (1995, GB) • Donkey Kong Land 2 (1996, GB) • Donkey Kong Land III (1997, GB)
Mario vs. Donkey Kong series Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2004, GBA) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (2006, DS) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! (2009, DSiWare) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! (2010, DS) • Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move (2013, 3DS) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars (2015, 3DS/Wii U) • Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (2016, 3DS/Wii U)
DK series DK: King of Swing (2005, GBA) • DK: Jungle Climber (2007, DS) (Banana Bonanza [Unknown, Adobe Flash] • Rolling Panic [Unknown, Adobe Flash] • Banana Grab [Unknown, Adobe Flash])
Miscellaneous Donkey Kong 64 (1999, N64) • Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (2004, GCN) • Donkey Kong Bananza (2025, Switch 2)
Racing games Diddy Kong Racing (1997, N64) • Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast (2007, Wii)
Donkey Konga series Donkey Konga (2003, GC) • Donkey Konga 2 (2004, GC) • Donkey Konga 3 (2005, GC)
Other Donkey Kong Circus (1984, G&W) • Donkey Kong Hockey (1984, G&W) • Donkey Kong (1996, arcade) • Super Donkey Kong 2 Swanky no Bonus Slot (1996, arcade) • Super Donkey Kong: Ooki Donkey (Unknown, arcade) • Donkey Kong Video Arcade Keychain (1998, Arcade keychain) • Donkey Konk (1999, Adobe Shockwave) • Donkey Kong 64 Lore Quiz (1999, Adobe Shockwave) • Memory Kong (1999, Windows/Mac OS) • Couic d'or ! (1999, Windows/Mac OS) • Picross NP Vol.8 (2000, SFC) • Kremling Krushin (2000, Adobe Flash) • Create-N-Send A Donkey Kong Country Family Portrait (2003, Adobe Flash) • Donkey Kong Country Barrel Maze (2003, Adobe Shockwave) • Donkey Konga (2004, Adobe Flash) • Mini-Mario Factory Game! (2004, Adobe Flash) • Hurling for Distance (2005, Adobe Flash) • Barrel-Blastapalooza (2005, Adobe Flash) • Donkey Kong: Jungle Fever (2005, arcade) • Donkey Konga 2 (2005, Adobe Flash) • Mario vs. DK 2: Cannon Kaos (2006, Adobe Flash) • Donkey Kong: Banana Kingdom (2006, arcade) • Timber's Balloon Pop (2007, Adobe Flash) • Play Nintendo activities (2014–present)
Reissues Crazy Kong (1981, arcade) • Crazy Kong Part II (1981, arcade) • Donkey Kong (1982, G&W) • Donkey Kong (1982, tabletop) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1982, New Wide Screen) • Donkey Kong II (1983, G&W) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1983, Table Top) • Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Sansū Lesson (1983, NES) • Donkey Kong 3 (1984, G&W) • Donkey Kong Classics (1988, NES) • Donkey Kong (1994, NGW) • Donkey Kong Country Competition Cartridge (1994, SNES) • Donkey Kong Country (2000, GBC) • Donkey Kong Country (2003, GBA) • Classic NES Series: Donkey Kong (2004, GBA) • Donkey Kong Country 2 (2004, GBA) • Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Mario Bros. (2004, arcade) • Donkey Kong Country 3 (2005, GBA) • Diddy Kong Racing DS (2007, DS) • New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Wii, 2008) • Donkey Kong Original Edition (2010, VC) • Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (2013, 3DS) • Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2018, Switch) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2024, Switch) • Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (2025, Switch)
Tech demos Unnamed Donkey Kong Country proof-of-concept (Unknown, VB) • puzzle (Unknown, N64) • spritemonkeyEX (Unknown, N64) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong Wii U demo (2014, Wii U)
Pitches / canceled games Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi (FC) • Donkey Kong IV (arcade) • Return of Donkey Kong (NES) • Super Donkey (SNES) • CD-i Donkey Kong game (CD-i) • Donkey Kong vs. Super Wario (SNES) • Donkey Kong and the Golden Bananas (SNES) • D.K.R. DMG (GB) • Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers (GBA) • Diddy Kong Pilot (2001/2003) (GBA) • Donkey Kong Racing (GCN) • Donkey Kong Plus (GCN/GBA) • Diddy Kong Racing Adventure (GCN) • Donkey Kong Country 4 (DS) • DK Bongo Blast (GCN) • Freedom (Switch)
Crossovers Super Smash Bros. series Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64) • Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GCN) • Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Wii) • Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (2014, 3DS) • Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014, Wii U) • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, Switch)
NES Remix series Main NES Remix (2013, Wii U)
Reissues NES Remix Pack (2014, Wii U) • Ultimate NES Remix (2014, 3DS)
[Edit]
Unreleased media
Canceled games Super Mario games Mario Artist: Sound Studio • Mario Takes America • Super Mario 64 2 • Super Mario's Wacky Worlds • VB Mario Land • Super Mario Spikers • Famicom Mini Collection
Donkey Kong games Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi • Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers • Diddy Kong Pilot (2001/2003) • Donkey Kong Racing • Diddy Kong Racing Adventure • Famicom Mini Collection
Tech demo Super Mario games Game Boy Color Promotional Demo • Super Mario 128 • Mario's Face • Chase Mii • New Super Mario Bros. Mii
Yoshi games Balloon Trip
Internal test Super Mario games snd_test • NDDEMO • Mario Kart XXL
Yoshi games Yoshi Demo
Miscellaneous "Frog Feats" • Super Mario (comic)
Retrieved from "https://www.mariowiki.com/index.php?title=Donkey_Kong_no_Ongaku_Asobi&oldid=5166404"