Donkey Kong Circus

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Not to be confused with Circus Kong.
Donkey Kong Circus
A screenshot of the product Donkey Kong Circus from the Game & Watch series
Developer Nintendo Research & Development 1
Publisher Nintendo
Platform Game & Watch
Release date September 6, 1984[1]
Genre Platformer
Rating N/A
Mode Single player
Format
Game & Watch:
Built-in
Input
Game & Watch:
Serial code MK-96

Donkey Kong Circus is a Game & Watch title released as part of the Panorama Screen series on September 6, 1984.[1] It is a remake of the second Mickey Mouse Game & Watch game, which was released worldwide seven months earlier. The two games' codes even seem to have gotten mixed up, with Mickey Mouse being model "DC-95" and Donkey Kong Circus being "MK-96."[1] Neither the Panorama Screen Mickey Mouse nor Donkey Kong Circus was released in Japan.

Gameplay[edit]

Donkey Kong Circus
Gameplay of Donkey Kong Circus

In this game, Donkey Kong balances on a barrel while juggling pineapples and avoiding the fireballs falling from the drums. Mario watches his performance. Donkey Kong receives a point every time he catches a pineapple. If Donkey Kong loses a pineapple, Mario will laugh at him, resulting in a miss. If Donkey Kong manages to grasp a fireball, he will flail, which also counts as a miss. If Donkey Kong reaches 300 points without any misses, the points will be worth double until he does get a miss. If he has any misses at said score, every miss will be cleared instead. When he gets three misses, the player gets a Game Over.

Gallery[edit]

  • Box art

    Box art

  • Box art (back)

    Box art (back)

  • Donkey Kong artwork

    Donkey Kong artwork

  • Display when the game is reset

    Display when the game is reset

  • The alarm bell

    The alarm bell

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ドンキーコング サーカス[2]
Donkī Kongu Sākasu 		Donkey Kong Circus

Notes[edit]

The game start jingle
The excerpt of "Pop Goes the Weasel" on which the jingle is based
The jingle, slowed down and pitch-shifted to match the song's tempo and pitch, combined with the song itself
  • This game marks Donkey Kong's first playable appearance, predating Donkey Kong Country by over a decade.
  • Donkey Kong Circus used a slightly faster rearrangement of the first six seconds of "Pop Goes the Weasel" for the game start jingle.
  • While this originally had a Disney license that was dropped in favor of Nintendo characters,[citation needed] the previous Game & Watch game featuring Mickey Mouse was an alternate version of Egg released simultaneously in certain countries.
  • This is one of the few Game & Watch units to feature full color. This was actually due to Gunpei Yokoi's idea to move the background around the characters, rather than the other way around.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Donkey Kong Circus. In The Attic (British English). Archived October 27, 2021, 23:07:55 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  2. ^ HISTORY｜ゲーム&ウオッチ スーパーマリオブラザーズ｜任天堂. Nintendo (Japanese). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
[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]
Game & Watch games
Super Mario franchise Donkey Kong (1982, MS) • Mario Bros. (1983, MS) • Mario's Cement Factory (1983, TT/NWS) • Mario's Bombs Away (1983, PS) • Donkey Kong Hockey (1984, MVS) • Super Mario Bros. (1986, CrS | 1987, Sp | 1988, NWS) • Mario the Juggler (1991, NWS) • Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. (2020, CoS)
Donkey Kong franchise Donkey Kong (1982, MS) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1982, NWS) • Donkey Kong II (1983, MS) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1983, TT/PS) • Donkey Kong 3 (1984, MVS) • Donkey Kong Circus (1984, PS) • Donkey Kong Hockey (1984, MVS)
Miscellaneous Green House (1982, MS)
MS Multi Screen
TT Table Top
PS Panorama Screen
NWS New Wide Screen
MVS Micro VS. System
CrS Crystal Screen
Sp Special
CoS Color Screen
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