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{{rewrite|[[MarioWiki:Good writing|Bad writing]]|18:13, 26 July 2017 (EDT)}}
{{about|the character Donkey Kong|other uses of the name "Donkey Kong"|[[Donkey Kong (disambiguation)]]|other uses of the moniker "DK"|[[DK (disambiguation)]]}}
{{about|the character Donkey Kong|other uses of the name "Donkey Kong"|[[Donkey Kong (disambiguation)]]|other uses of the moniker "DK"|[[DK (disambiguation)]]}}
{{character-infobox
{{character infobox
|image=[[File:MPS Donkey Kong Artwork.png|300px]]<br>Artwork of Donkey Kong for ''[[Mario Party Superstars]]''
|image=[[File:MPS Donkey Kong Artwork.png|300px]]<br>Artwork of Donkey Kong for ''[[Mario Party Superstars]]''
|species=[[Kong]]
|first_appearance=''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' ([[Cranky Kong|as the original Donkey Kong]]) ([[List of games by date#1981|1981]])<br>''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' (as the current Donkey Kong) ([[List of games by date#1994|1994]])
|first_appearance=''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' ([[Cranky Kong|as the original Donkey Kong]]) ([[List of games by date#1981|1981]])<br>''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' (as the current Donkey Kong) ([[List of games by date#1994|1994]])
|species=[[Kong]]
|latest_appearance=''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Nintendo Switch)|Mario vs. Donkey Kong]]'' ([[Nintendo Switch]]) ([[List of games by date#2024|2024]])
|latest_appearance=''[[Mario Party Superstars]]'' ([[List of games by date#2021|2021]])
|latest_portrayal=[[Takashi Nagasako]] ([[List of games by date#2004|2004]]–present)
|latest_portrayal=[[Takashi Nagasako]] ([[List of games by date#2004|2004]]-present)
}}
}}
{{quote|My [[banana]]s and my buddy, [[Diddy Kong]], they are gone! The [[Kremling]]s will pay! I'll hunt them down through every corner of my island, until I have every last banana from [[banana hoard|my hoard]] back!|Donkey Kong|Donkey Kong Country}}
{{quote|My [[banana]]s and my buddy, [[Diddy Kong]], they are gone! The [[Kremling]]s will pay! I'll hunt them down through every corner of my island, until I have every last banana from [[banana hoard|my hoard]] back!|Donkey Kong|Donkey Kong Country}}
<!--Do not add that he is Donkey Kong III after Donkey Kong Jr and Cranky Kong, the title of "Donkey Kong" was given to him by Cranky-->
'''Donkey Kong''', also known simply as '''DK''', '''D.K.''', '''D. Kong''',<ref>[https://themushroomkingdom.net/mk64_j-e.shtml#pselect ''Mario Kart 64'' (From Japanese to English)] The Mushroom Kingdom (Retrieved August 15, 2018)</ref><ref>[https://www.themushroomkingdom.net/ssbm_j2e.shtml#cselect ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' (From Japanese to English)] The Mushroom Kingdom (Retrieved May 29, 2010)</ref> or rarely '''Donkey''', is a major character in the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]] and the main protagonist of the [[Donkey Kong (franchise)|''Donkey Kong'' franchise]]. He is a powerful and carefree [[Kong]] that lives in [[Donkey Kong Island]], and he likes to collect [[banana]]s and spend time with his friends, particularly his best friend and sidekick [[Diddy Kong]]. However, he has also been portrayed as an antagonist on multiple occasions, mainly in the [[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (series)|''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series]].


<!--Do not add that he is Donkey Kong III after Donkey Kong Jr and Cranky Kong, the title of "Donkey Kong" was given to him by Cranky
The [[Donkey Kong Country (series)|''Donkey Kong Country'' series]] establishes that Donkey Kong is something of a title rather than a singular character, and that at least two separate Kongs have bore it. This includes [[Cranky Kong]] and the current Donkey Kong. After the 1994 [[Game Boy]] ''[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Donkey Kong]]'', Cranky Kong retired the usage of the name, passing it on to his grandson to use in ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' and onward.<ref>「1994年に発売された『ドンキーコング』(ゲームボーイ)を最後に、孫に“ドンキーコング”の名を譲り渡す。」 ("''After the release of 'Donkey Kong' (Game Boy), he turned over the Donkey Kong name to his grandchild.''") - Nintendo Online Magazine</ref> [[Cranky Kong#Identity confusion|This has caused confusion and continuity issues]], with certain games and miscellaneous pieces of media contradicting the identity of Donkey Kong in early titles and his relationship with Cranky Kong.
-->
'''Donkey Kong''', also known simply as '''DK''', '''D.K.''', or '''D. Kong''',<ref>[https://themushroomkingdom.net/mk64_j-e.shtml#pselect ''Mario Kart 64'' (From Japanese to English)] The Mushroom Kingdom (Retrieved August 15, 2018)</ref><ref>[http://www.themushroomkingdom.net/ssbm_j2e.shtml#cselect ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' (From Japanese to English)] The Mushroom Kingdom (Retrieved May 29, 2010)</ref> is a major character in the [[Mario (franchise)|''Mario'' franchise]] and the main protagonist of the [[Donkey Kong (franchise)|''Donkey Kong'' franchise]]. A powerful, yet carefree [[Kong]] from [[Donkey Kong Island]], Donkey Kong spends his days collecting [[banana]]s and spending time with his friends, particularly his best friend [[Diddy Kong]]. When trouble arises, Donkey Kong jumps headfirst into the action to help his friends and protect his island. However, he has also been portrayed as an antagonist on multiple occasions, such as in the [[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (series)|''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series]]. Donkey Kong is the name of two Kongs; as of ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', the original Donkey Kong is currently known as [[Cranky Kong]], with the current Donkey Kong being Cranky's grandson and [[Donkey Kong Jr.]]'s son.


==Creation==
==Creation==
Donkey Kong's character design was created by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] for the ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' arcade game, in which the big ape kidnaps [[Mario]]'s original girlfriend, [[Pauline]]. Miyamoto says that he chose the name "Donkey" to reflect the character's stupidity<ref name="Wired">Kohler, Chris (October 14, 2016). "[https://www.wired.com/2016/10/miyamoto-donkey-kong-secrets/ Miyamoto Spills Donkey Kong’s Darkest Secrets, 35 Years Later]. ''Wired''. Retrieved October 14, 2016</ref>, while "Kong" was considered a generic term for large apes in Japan<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/donkeykong.asp "Donkey Wrong" - An article about the origin of Donkey Kong's name]. Snopes.com. 2011. (Retrieved June 28, 2012)</ref>. Miyamoto was informed by [[Nintendo]] of America staff that the word "donkey" is not a synonym for "idiot" in English despite what the dictionary he consulted said, but decided to ignore this particular suggestion because he liked the name "Donkey Kong"<ref name="Wired"/>. However, this is contradicted by the deposition he gave during {{wp|Universal Studio}}'s lawsuit against Nintendo. He stated that his proposals for Kong's first name were rejected and that he was unaware of who came up with it. Export manager Shinichi Todori's deposition revealed that he came up with the first name after trying to translate 「頓馬」  (''tonma'') into English. It was either [[Gunpei Yokoi]] or [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] who gave the final approval for the name.<ref>[https://youtu.be/aTyxQfpOEbE?t=749 How the Mario Characters Got Their Names | Gaming Historian]. YouTube. Retrieved November 28, 2021.</ref><ref name=GHTwitter>[https://twitter.com/GamingHistorian/status/1220101899455692801?s=20 Gunpei Yokoi deposition, 1983]</ref> It should also be noted that the word “donki” (鈍器) in Japanese means “blunt weapon”, which could refer to the barrels used by Kong to hit Mario in the Donkey Kong arcade game, and the word could additionally—or alternatively—refer to the hammers used by Mario in the same game.<ref>[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/鈍器#Japanese 鈍器#Japanese]. Wiktionary. Retrieved February 21, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/鈍器 鈍器]. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 21, 2022.</ref> Interestingly, the first character of “donki”, which is “鈍”, can be used to mean “stupid” in Japanese,<ref>[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/鈍#Japanese 鈍#Japanese]. Wiktionary. Retrieved February 21, 2022.</ref> while the second character, “器”, on its own can mean “container” or “vessel”.<ref>[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/器#Japanese 器#Japanese]. Wiktionary. Retrieved February 21, 2022.</ref>
[[File:DK Popeye.jpg|thumb|left|{{wp|Bluto}} throwing [[barrel]]s at {{wp|Popeye}} in early concept art of the arcade game that would develop into ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]''.]]
Donkey Kong's character design was created by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] for the ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' arcade game, in which Donkey Kong kidnaps [[Mario]]'s original girlfriend, [[Pauline|Lady]]. Miyamoto says that he chose the name "Donkey" to reflect the character's stupidity,<ref name="Wired">Kohler, Chris (October 14, 2016). "[https://www.wired.com/2016/10/miyamoto-donkey-kong-secrets/ Miyamoto Spills Donkey Kong’s Darkest Secrets, 35 Years Later] ''Wired''. Retrieved October 14, 2016</ref> while "Kong" was considered a generic term for large apes in Japan.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/donkeykong.asp "Donkey Wrong" - An article about the origin of Donkey Kong's name]. Snopes.com. 2011. (Retrieved June 28, 2012)</ref> Miyamoto was later informed by [[Nintendo]] of America staff that the word "donkey" is not a synonym for "idiot" in English, but he decided to ignore this because he liked the name "Donkey Kong".<ref name="Wired"/> However, this is contradicted by the deposition he gave during {{wp|Universal Studio}}'s lawsuit against Nintendo. He stated that his proposals for Kong's first name were rejected and that he was unaware of who came up with it. Export manager Shinichi Todori's deposition revealed that he came up with the first name after trying to translate「頓馬」(''tonma'') into English. It was either [[Gunpei Yokoi]] or [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] who gave the final approval for the name.<ref>GamingHistorian (January 22, 2020). [https://twitter.com/GamingHistorian/status/1220101899455692801?s=20 Gunpei Yokoi deposition, 1983]. ''Twitter''. Retrieved November 27, 2021.</ref><ref>Gaming Historian (September 29, 2021). [https://youtu.be/aTyxQfpOEbE?t=749 How the Mario Characters Got Their Names]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved November 28, 2021.</ref> Excluding the title, the Japanese arcade instructions and flyer refer to him simply as「コング」(Kong).


The ''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special]]'' states that Shigeru Miyamoto supposedly claimed that Donkey Kong's character was inspired by the fairy tale ''{{wp|Beauty and the Beast}}'', though no further source or statement is provided<ref>"This could be considered plausible but Miyamoto blew his credibility by claiming that the character was inspired by the legend of Beauty And The Beast (a story with very few apes in it, when you come to think about it!)". ''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special]] (Steve May), p. 21. ''Fleetway Publications''. Retrieved January 23, 2022</ref>.  
The ''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special]]'' states that Shigeru Miyamoto claims that Donkey Kong's character was inspired by the ''{{wp|Beauty and the Beast}}'' fairy tale, though no further source or statement has been provided.<ref>"This could be considered plausible but Miyamoto blew his credibility by claiming that the character was inspired by the legend of Beauty And The Beast (a story with very few apes in it, when you come to think about it!)". ''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special]] (Steve May), p. 21. ''Fleetway Publications''. Retrieved January 23, 2022</ref> However, it is known that Donkey Kong took over the role of Bluto in a scrapped ''Popeye'' arcade game as the primary antagonist.


Donkey Kong's exact role in the [[Mario (franchise)|''Mario'' franchise]] is somewhat hazy. His original appearance portrayed him as a villainous or confused ape with unequaled strength. In these games, Donkey Kong did not wear a tie. The 1994 [[Game Boy]] ''[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Donkey Kong]]'' was the first game to feature the tie (a red tie with the letters "DK" printed in white, later changed to yellow), but otherwise Donkey Kong is the same as he was in the original.
Donkey Kong's original appearance portrayed him as a villainous or confused ape with unequaled strength. In these games, Donkey Kong did not wear a tie. The 1994 [[Game Boy]] ''[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Donkey Kong]]'' was the first game to feature the tie (a red tie with the letters "DK" printed in white, later changed to yellow. However, with the release of ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' later that year, Donkey Kong was given a new personality. Donkey Kong's newer design by [[Kevin Bayliss]] was modeled after the {{wp|Battletoads}}, particularly the sunken eyes;<ref>Shesez (November 21, 2019). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwWHzilbQ34&t=479s The Donkey Kong Country 25th Anniversary Interview Documentary] (7m49s). ''YouTube''. Retrieved August 8, 2023.</ref> additionally, when [[Steve Mayles]] had trouble modeling the mouth early on, [[Tim Stamper]] folded a flattened sphere and gave it depth, which was a technique reused for most characters such as [[Enguarde]]. Shigeru Miyamoto also supervised the development of the design process via fax, reminding Rare to include the tie and correcting the number of digits that should be on the hands and feet.<ref>Shesez (November 21, 2019). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwWHzilbQ34&t=587s The Donkey Kong Country 25th Anniversary Interview Documentary] (9m47s). ''YouTube''. Retrieved August 8, 2023.</ref> ''Donkey Kong Country'' also saw the appearance of the elderly Cranky Kong, who is described as the original Donkey Kong from the older arcade games. While the relationship of Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong has been [[Cranky Kong#Identity confusion|inconsistent]], most sources indicate that the current Donkey Kong is the grandson of Cranky Kong.
 
However, with the release of ''Donkey Kong Country'' later that same year, Donkey Kong was given a new personality and a new home. ''Donkey Kong Country'' also saw the appearance of the elderly Cranky Kong, who is described as the original Donkey Kong from the older arcade games. While the relationship of Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong has been [[Cranky Kong#Identity confusion|inconsistent]], most sources indicate that the current Donkey Kong is the grandson of Cranky Kong.


==History==
==History==
===Background===
{{Main|History of Donkey Kong}}
{{main|Baby Donkey Kong}}
Donkey Kong debuted in the titular game, ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' as the antagonist who kidnaps [[Pauline|Lady]] (later renamed Pauline). Becoming a reoccurring character, he appears as a protagonist, antagonist or a supporting character. He made appearances as the antagonist in ''Donkey Kong'' video game adaptations and ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (series)|Mario vs. Donkey Kong]]''. Donkey Kong appears as a protagonist in his [[Donkey Kong (franchise)|titular franchise]] with [[Diddy Kong]] as his ally. In ''Mario spin-offs'', Donkey Kong appears either as a playable character or an ally.
[[File:YIDSbabydk.png|thumb|left|upright=0.66|[[Baby Donkey Kong]] helps the [[Yoshi (species)|Red Yoshi]] climb vines]]
During Donkey Kong's infancy, he is stolen from his treetop home by [[Kamek]] and his [[Toady]] army during their massive kidnapping spree. However, Baby DK meets the Yoshis and helps them in their quest to defeat the [[Koopa Troop]]. When riding on a Yoshi's back, Baby Donkey Kong helps the Yoshis perform many special moves, such as climbing vines and charging. Baby Donkey Kong is one of the seven [[star children]].
{{br}}
 
===''Donkey Kong'' series=== 
====''Donkey Kong''====
{{multiple image
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|footer=Donkey Kong as he appears in various different versions of ''Donkey Kong''
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Donkey Kong's first appearance (where he is later confirmed to be a younger [[Cranky Kong]]) is in the arcade game of the same name, where he is the main antagonist. In the game, Donkey Kong was the pet gorilla of [[Mario]]<ref>[http://themushroomkingdom.net/interview_miyamoto_nom18_feb2000.shtml Shigeru Miyamoto Interview]. The Mushroom Kingdom. (Retrieved July 1, 2012)</ref><ref>https://www.nintendo.com/nes-classic/donkey-kong-developer-interview</ref>, but he escapes and angrily carries Mario's girlfriend, [[Pauline|Lady]], to the top of a high construction site. He is pursued by Mario and attacks him by throwing [[barrel]]s and creating living [[Fireball (Donkey Kong)|Fireball]]s. He is eventually chased to the top of the construction site, where Mario causes the girders supporting him to collapse, sending him plummeting to the ground.
{{br|left}}
 
====''Donkey Kong Jr.''==== 
{{multiple image
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|footer=Donkey Kong as he appears in various different versions of ''Donkey Kong Jr.''
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}}
[[File:DKJ Arcade Stage 1 Screenshot.png|thumb|Donkey Kong Jr. attempting to rescue Donkey Kong in the game ''Donkey Kong Jr.'']]
Donkey Kong is in need of rescue during ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. (game)|Donkey Kong Jr.]]'' In this game, Mario kidnaps Donkey Kong as punishment for kidnapping Pauline and stands guard next to his cage with a whip, and sends various enemies like [[Snapjaw]]s and [[Nitpicker]]s to attack Donkey Kong Jr. In the end, Donkey Kong Jr. defeats Mario and frees Donkey Kong.
{{br|left}}
 
====''Donkey Kong 3''==== 
{{multiple image
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}}
In ''[[Donkey Kong 3]]'', Donkey Kong is the main villain once again. In this game, Donkey Kong goes on a rampage inside a greenhouse, where a local exterminator named [[Stanley]] is called in to defeat him. Donkey Kong uses a system of ropes to lower himself to the greenhouse floor. When he reaches the floor, Donkey Kong is able to destroy the rest of the greenhouse and the game ends. Once Stanley sprays Donkey Kong with insecticide three times he runs away. In the final stage, Donkey Kong is forced back and gets his head stuck in a beehive. In the arcade version, upon his head getting stuck in a beehive, he tries to get the beehive off only to fall to the ground, with the beehive breaking in half and revealing his sting-swollen face.
{{br}}
 
====''Donkey Kong'' (Game Boy)====
Donkey Kong resumes his role as the main villain in the 1994 [[Game Boy]] rendition of ''[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Donkey Kong]]'', where he once again abducts Pauline. However, instead of it ending at [[100m]], he instead manages to quickly retake Pauline and force Mario to pursue him for the rest of the game, with his son Donkey Kong Jr. aiding his father in preventing Mario from rescuing her. Donkey Kong's tactics otherwise remain virtually the same, attacking mainly by throwing a variety of objects at Mario, although there are sometimes stage hazards Donkey Kong can utilize, such as pressing a [[Direction Switch|switch]] to make bridges appear and disappear.
 
Eventually, he is cornered at the [[Tower (world)|Tower]] and falls off upon defeat; however, he is then enlarged by several [[Super Mushroom]]s, forcing Mario to fight the newly enlarged ape off by throwing barrels at his face. Defeating Donkey Kong again causes him to shrink and fall onto Mario, who had become [[Super Mario (form)|Super Mario]] beforehand thanks to a Super Mushroom provided by Pauline. Donkey Kong then begs for help, with Donkey Kong Jr. rushing to his father's aid. The final credits photograph shows Pauline, Mario, Donkey Kong, and Donkey Kong Jr. at [[Rocky-Valley]], indicating that they had become friends.
 
===Game & Watch series===
{{multiframe
|[[File:DK-GWGallery3DKJr.png]] [[File:DK-GWGallery4DK3.png]]
|Some of Donkey Kong's sprites from the ''Game & Watch Gallery'' series
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====''Donkey Kong''====
In the ''[[Donkey Kong (Game & Watch)|Donkey Kong]]'' game, Donkey Kong attempts to stop Mario from releasing Pauline by throwing barrels at him. Mario has to use a hook mechanism to loosen four wires supporting Donkey Kong's platform. When the four wires are removed Donkey Kong will fall.
 
====''Donkey Kong Jr.''====
An offshoot of the arcade game of the same name with a similar premise, in ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. (Game & Watch)|Donkey Kong Jr.]]'', the eponymous ape must obtain four [[key]]s from a tree to unlock his father's cage.
 
====''Donkey Kong II''====
A direct follow-up to the previous adventure, ''[[Donkey Kong II]]'' sees Donkey Kong Jr. in a pseudo-amalgamation of the third and fourth screens of his arcade game. Donkey Kong Jr. must once again climb upwards, pushing the locks open to free his father.
 
====''Donkey Kong 3''====
Similar to ''[[Greenhouse|Green House]]'' and the arcade game ''[[Donkey Kong 3]]'', the Game & Watch game ''[[Donkey Kong 3 (Game & Watch)|Donkey Kong 3]]'' has [[Stanley]] protecting his plants. Donkey Kong releases bees aiming at Stanley. To win, Stanley's job is to spray them back at Donkey Kong.
 
====''Donkey Kong Circus''====
In ''[[Donkey Kong Circus]]'', Mario watches Donkey Kong juggle [[pineapple]]s while balancing on a barrel. When Donkey Kong makes a mistake, Mario laughs at his performance.
 
====''Donkey Kong Hockey''====
In ''[[Donkey Kong Hockey]]'', Mario and Donkey Kong compete in a game of ice hockey. Player 1 is Mario, while Player 2, or the CPU, is Donkey Kong.
 
===''Donkey Kong'' (coloring/activity books)===
In the ''Donkey Kong'' coloring/activity books released in 1982 and 1983, Donkey Kong is a new attraction at Video Land Amusement Park. Because of his love for Pauline, he breaks free from his cage to kidnap her. This led to his confrontation with little Mario the carpenter, who also loves Pauline.
 
===''Saturday Supercade''===
Donkey Kong, along with Mario and Pauline, appears in several episodes of ''[[Saturday Supercade]]''. Here, Donkey Kong is a circus escapee and is now traveling across the country with Mario and Pauline on his tail. [[Donkey Kong Jr.]] is also featured in a separate segment. In that segment, Donkey Kong Jr., along with his pal [[Bones (character)|Bones]], travels across the globe searching for Donkey Kong.
 
===''Captain N: The Game Master''===
[[File:CaptainN QotA DK 2.png|thumb|left|Donkey Kong as seen in ''Captain N: The Game Master'']]
Donkey Kong makes occasional appearances on ''[[Captain N: The Game Master]]''. Here, he is a giant, bestial monster, with some more "civilized" behaviors mixed in, such as showering and wearing clothes. He likes to be left alone, and seeing people in his part of the jungle of Kongoland makes him violently angry. Oftentimes on the show, Donkey Kong is manipulated by Mother Brain and her minions to do their bidding, though he will occasionally help the heroes fight a shared enemy before demanding they leave. It is of note that in the episode "The Lost City of Kongoland," he is shown living in a tree house and sometimes wears a tie, something his video game counterpart would not be shown doing until four years after the episode aired. Donkey Kong also appears in the ''Captain N'' comics.
 
===''[[Nintendo Adventure Book]]s''===
Donkey Kong appears in the sixth ''Nintendo Adventure Book'', ''[[Doors to Doom]]'', in a recreation of the original game where Mario and Luigi are trying to rescue [[Princess Peach]] instead of [[Pauline]]. Assuming the Mario Bros. successfully reach the top of the tower, Donkey Kong is ultimately sent plummeting out of sight when Peach jabs him in the backside with her crown.
 
===''Mario Golf'' series===
In ''[[NES Open Tournament Golf]]'', a gorilla looking similar to Donkey Kong appears wearing a white outfit. His role is to tell the player how much money they have and when they reach certain milestones, as well as keep it.
 
Donkey Kong formally first appears as an unlockable playable character in [[Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)|''Mario Golf'']] for the [[Nintendo 64]]. He has a drive of 275 yards. Unique to Donkey Kong, he swings his golf club with one hand in the series.
 
Donkey Kong reappears in ''[[Mario Golf: Super Rush]]''.
{{stub|section=yes}}
 
===''Donkey Kong Country'' series===
[[File:Donkey Kong - Ducking Art - Donkey Kong Country.png|thumb|upright=0.85|Artwork from ''Donkey Kong Country'']]
Years after the events of ''Donkey Kong 3'', Donkey Kong relocated to [[Donkey Kong Island]], where he grew old and bitter and was renamed to [[Cranky Kong]]. His grandson, also named Donkey Kong, forges lasting friendships with many of the other Kongs, including [[Diddy Kong]], [[Dixie Kong]], [[Funky Kong]], and his girlfriend, [[Candy Kong]]. This Donkey Kong would first appear in ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''.
 
====''Donkey Kong Country''====
In the backstory for ''Donkey Kong Country'', Donkey Kong assigned his nephew, Diddy Kong, to guard his [[banana hoard]] at night. Later, the [[Kremling Krew]] overpowered Diddy and stole Donkey Kong's entire hoard. The next morning, [[Cranky Kong]] wakes up Donkey Kong and shows him that his entire banana hoard is missing. Donkey Kong is upset, also noticing that Diddy is missing, and goes on an adventure to find retrieve the banana hoard and rescue Diddy, who he rescues from a [[DK Barrel]] in the first level, [[Jungle Hijinxs (Donkey Kong Country)|Jungle Hijinxs]].
 
Donkey Kong and Diddy adventure through six worlds, and are assisted by three other Kongs along their way: Cranky, Candy, and Funky. In some of the [[level]]s, Donkey Kong and Diddy are assisted by an [[Animal Friends|Animal Friend]], such as [[Rambi]].
 
In gameplay, Donkey Kong can defeat [[Krusha]]s and [[Klump]]s by jumping on them whereas Diddy cannot. Donkey Kong is less agile than Diddy, and one of his attacks is to [[Roll Attack|roll]] into enemies (Diddy's equivalent to the move is performing a [[cartwheel]]). Donkey Kong can perform a [[Hand Slap]] on the ground to sometimes unearth a hidden item. Donkey Kong carries a [[barrel]] above him instead of holding it out in front like Diddy.
 
Donkey Kong and Diddy eventually reach the final destination, [[Gang-Plank Galleon]], where they engage in a final boss battle against [[King K. Rool]]. The Kongs manage to defeat K. Rool and reclaim the whole banana hoard, thus ending their adventure.
 
====''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest''====
[[File:Caged DK DKC2 group art.jpg|thumb|left|Artwork of Diddy and Dixie attempting to rescue Donkey Kong in ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'']]
In ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]'', Donkey Kong does not appear as a playable character. The main plot involves Diddy and his girlfriend, [[Dixie Kong]], having to rescue Donkey Kong from the [[Kremling]]s and [[King K. Rool#Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest|Kaptain K. Rool]] on [[Crocodile Isle]].
 
In the intro of the game, Donkey Kong is relaxing on the beach. [[Cranky Kong]] shows up, arguing that Donkey Kong should not take a rest because he is a video game hero. After some discussion, Donkey Kong asks Cranky to leave. During the day, the Kremlings ambush Donkey Kong, tie him up, and carry him up into [[The Flying Krock]]. K. Rool writes a note demanding the banana hoard as a ransom for Donkey Kong's return. On the beach, the Kong family discuss the incident. Diddy refuses to give up the banana hoard to the Kremlings, so he and Dixie go on an adventure to rescue him.
 
At the end of [[K. Rool's Keep]], in [[Stronghold Showdown]], Diddy and Dixie find Donkey Kong tied up in the chamber. As they celebrate over finding Donkey Kong, he gets carried up into The Flying Krock, and Diddy and Dixie rush after him (the entire event was replaced with a boss fight against [[Kerozene]] in the [[Game Boy Advance]] version).
 
During the boss level [[K. Rool Duel]], Diddy and Dixie manage to enter inside the airship. They witness in shock as Kaptain K. Rool beats Donkey Kong, still tied up, with his blunderbuss. In parts of the battle, when K. Rool is knocked down, Donkey Kong falls into view, still attempting to break free from his ropes. At the end of the battle, Donkey Kong manages to break free, and he punches K. Rool out of the airship. In the Game Boy Advance version, a cutscene is shown of the Kongs escaping the Flying Krock just before it falls into the water.
 
Donkey Kong also appears in the 102% ending, after Diddy and Dixie defeat Kaptain K. Rool in the [[Lost World (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest)|Lost World]]. He, Diddy, and Dixie witness as Crocodile Isle sinks underwater.
 
The plot for ''[[Donkey Kong Land 2]]'' is the same as ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest''{{'}}s, although a simplified version.
 
====''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!''====
In the backstory for ''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]'', Donkey Kong and Diddy go on a fishing trip in the [[Northern Kremisphere]]. After a few days, neither of the Kongs returned, causing Dixie to become worried, so she goes on an adventure to search for them with her toddler cousin, [[Kiddy Kong]].
 
After a long adventure, Dixie and Kiddy discover that [[King K. Rool|Baron K. Roolenstein]] (an alter-ego of K. Rool's) was behind the plot. She and Kiddy manage to defeat K. Rool and his robot invention, [[KAOS]], which Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are held captive inside. The two Kongs are freed, and Donkey Kong is impressed at Dixie and Kiddy for rescuing them.
 
====''Donkey Kong 64''====
[[File:Kong family DK64 artwork.jpg|thumb|Donkey Kong and his allies.]]
In ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', King K. Rool develops a doomsday machine, the [[Blast-o-Matic]], inside [[Crocodile Isle (Donkey Kong 64)|Crocodile Isle]] and plans to destroy [[Donkey Kong Island|DK Isles]] with it. Due to the incompetence of his [[Kremling]] underlings, Crocodile Isle crashes into a rock, severely damaging the Blast-o-Matic. [[Squawks the Parrot|Squawks]] alerts Donkey Kong that all of his [[Golden Banana]]s were stolen and his four friends are kidnapped: [[Diddy Kong]], [[Lanky Kong]], [[Tiny Kong]], and [[Chunky Kong]], all of whom are locked behind cages throughout the island.
 
Donkey Kong discovers an isle attached to Crocodile Isle. Inside he meets [[K. Lumsy]], an enormous Kremling who was locked up for not destroying the island. When DK promises to free him, K. Lumsy jumps for joy, opening up a pathway to the first level, [[Jungle Japes]]. In there, Donkey Kong finds Diddy Kong and frees him. Donkey Kong and his friends receive help from various characters during his adventure, including [[Funky Kong]], [[Cranky Kong]], [[Snide]], [[Troff]] and [[Scoff]]. Starting with [[Angry Aztec]], [[Candy Kong]] also joins in helping Donkey Kong and his friends.
 
Donkey Kong is a heavyweight, which makes him slow and strong. He is the strongest Kong, next to [[Chunky Kong]]. During his adventure, Donkey Kong learns a few unique abilities at [[Cranky's Lab]]: [[Strong Kong]], [[Baboon Blast]], and Gorilla Grab. Strong Kong allows him to be invincible, which is necessary for safely crossing stage hazards like lava or quicksand. Baboon Blast allows Donkey Kong to partake in a challenge involving him firing from a series of [[Barrel Cannon]]s. Lastly, Gorilla Grab allows him to pull levers. The [[Coconut Shooter]] is Donkey Kong's personal weapon, given to him by Funky Kong, and it allows him to shoot out coconuts. His personal instrument is the [[bongo]]s, given to him by Candy Kong. Donkey Kong's corresponding in-game color is yellow, making him the only character who can collect yellow [[banana]]s, [[Banana Coin|Banana Bunch Coin]]s, and [[blueprint]]s.
 
As the other Kongs are rescued, they help Donkey Kong find his Golden Bananas and the [[Boss Key]]s to unlocking K. Lumsy's cage. At the end of their adventure, the five Kongs get in a final boss battle against K. Rool, set within a boxing arena.
 
Like all of the playable Kongs, Donkey Kong has four colors that the player can select in Monkey Smash mode. By default, DK has brown fur and a red tie; his other costumes include tan fur with a purple tie, orange fur with a yellow tie, and dark blue fur with a light blue tie.
 
This game also reveals that his weight is 800lbs.
 
====''Donkey Kong Country Returns''====
[[File:DKCR-Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong Artwork.png|thumb|Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'']]
Both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong return as playable characters in ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'' and the [[Nintendo 3DS|3DS]] remake ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D]]''.
 
Like ''Donkey Kong Country'', the story also centers around Donkey Kong's banana hoard being stolen, this time by a different group of villains, the [[Tiki Tak Tribe]]. After being released from the [[Volcano]], the tikis hypnotize the animals of [[Donkey Kong Island]] to steal the [[banana]]s. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong witness from [[DK's Tree House|their treehouse]] as the banana hoard gets taken away, and [[Tiki Tak Tribe#Kalimba|Kalimba]] suddenly appears and knocks Donkey Kong back into his treehouse. Kalimba unsuccessfully attempts to hypnotize Donkey Kong, who is somehow immune to its hypnosis.
 
The first level, [[Jungle Hijinxs (Donkey Kong Country Returns)|Jungle Hijinxs]], is followed right after the cutscene. In the start of the level, Donkey Kong repeatedly beats Kalimba, kicks it out of his tree house, and starts his adventure.
 
Donkey Kong controls much like how he did in the earlier ''Donkey Kong Country'' games, being able to [[roll]] and [[Hand Slap|Ground Pound]]. When paired with Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong can roll indefinitely and briefly hover when Diddy uses his [[Barrel Jet]].
 
Together, Donkey Kong and Diddy travel throughout the island. They are assisted by [[Cranky Kong]] and the [[Professor Chops|Tutorial Pig]]s during their adventure. The Kongs eventually enter inside the Volcano and battle the main villain, [[Tiki Tong]]. After defeating him, Donkey Kong and Diddy reclaim their banana hoard.
 
====''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze''====
[[File:Donkey Kong Artwork - Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze.png|thumb|upright=0.85|Donkey Kong in ''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'']]
Donkey Kong also returns as the main protagonist of ''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]'' and its Nintendo Switch [[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo Switch)|port of the same name]]. In the introduction cutscene, the Kongs are in the treehouse celebrating Donkey Kong's birthday. Meanwhile, an arctic group of vikings, the [[Snowmads]], make their way to conquer Donkey Kong Island. Just as Donkey Kong is about to blow out his candle, a cold wind comes in and blows it out. The Kongs go outside the treehouse to investigate and get blown away by the [[ice dragon]] to the [[Lost Mangroves]]. The ice dragon covers Donkey Kong Island in a freeze, and the Snowmads conquer it for their own. The four Kongs go on an adventure to return to Donkey Kong Island and reclaim it from the Snowmads.
 
Donkey Kong was given an updated appearance in the game (due to the [[Wii U]]'s and [[Nintendo Switch]]'s higher quality visuals). Donkey Kong's fur is a lighter brown, with more details and added texture, and the shape of his nose is different. In the game, Donkey Kong can be paired with [[Dixie Kong]] and [[Cranky Kong]], aside from Diddy Kong. He also retains his rolling ability from ''Donkey Kong Country Returns''.
 
After traveling through a chain of islands, the Kongs eventually return to Donkey Kong Island. They engage in a final boss battle against [[Lord Fredrik]], set inside a volcano. The Kongs manage to defeat Lord Fredrik, and afterwards Donkey Kong blows a horn to melt away all the snow on the island.
 
===''Club Nintendo''===
[[File:DKC CN1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|left|Donkey Kong as he appears in the comic "Donkey Kong Country"]]
He is also the main character in the ''[[Club Nintendo (magazine)|Club Nintendo]]'' comic "[[Donkey Kong Country (comic)|Donkey Kong Country]]," which tells the story of the game of the same name: With Diddy Kong, he tries (and manages) to fetch the banana hoard back from King K. Rool.
 
During the events of the comic "[[Super Mario in Die Nacht des Grauens]]," published in the same magazine, he lives in a [[Nintendo Skyscraper|skyscraper]] in [[Brooklyn]] with many other [[Nintendo]] characters. Due to a contract signed by [[Wario]], the skyscraper is invaded by several monsters. One of them, [[Chuckie]], invades the Kongs' room while Donkey and Diddy are watching TV. They are terrified by the evil doll but get rescued by Mario, [[Link]], and Kirby. Afterwards, Donkey claims that had he and Diddy defeated the monsters, they would have taken only "half of the time."
 
He once again appears as the main character in "[[Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24]]." The Kongs have to save the world from freezing, since a giant UFO is pulling the [[Earth]] away from the sun. Together with Diddy, Dixie, Kiddy, and Cranky, Donkey enters a space shuttle and flies into space in order to talk to the aliens. As it turns out, the reason for them pulling away the Earth is that they mistake the planet for a giant [[coconut]]. When the Kongs bring them some [[banana]]s, they agree to return the Earth to its original position. In the comic, Donkey appears as the bravest of the Kongs, as he is the one to start talking to the aliens.
 
===''Donkey Kong Land'' series===
====''Donkey Kong Land''====
Donkey Kong reappears in ''[[Donkey Kong Land]]'', which takes place after the events of ''Donkey Kong Country''. In the backstory, which is told in the game's instruction manual, [[Cranky Kong]] admits that Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's previous adventure was more successful than he expected. Cranky, breaking the [[fourth wall]], believes it was due to the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]'s graphical capabilities, so he  bets with Donkey Kong and Diddy that they cannot finish an adventure on an 8-bit handheld, the [[Game Boy]]. The Kongs accept the bet, so Cranky arranges for the [[Kremling Krew]] to steal the Kongs' bananas again.
 
Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong travel through four worlds. At the end of the fourth world, [[Big Ape City]], the two Kongs engage in a final boss fight against K. Rool in [[K. Rool's Kingdom]]. They manage to defeat K. Rool and thus complete their adventure on an 8-bit handheld.
 
====''Donkey Kong Land III''====
Donkey Kong does not appear in ''[[Donkey Kong Land III]]'' itself, making it the only ''[[Donkey Kong (franchise)|Donkey Kong]]'' title that he does not appear in. However, he and Diddy are mentioned during the game's backstory, where they join a contest to find the [[Lost World (Donkey Kong Land III)|Lost World]]. Dixie and Kiddy also hear about of the contest and decide to enter as well.
 
===''Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle''===
[[File:Rumble Jungle Illustration - Kongs and Squawks.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Squawks the Parrot]] discovering Donkey Kong and his friends in a dark cave, from ''[[Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle]]'']]
In the 1995 novel ''[[Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle]]'', Donkey Kong leaves his treehouse in the jungle with his friend [[Diddy Kong]] and grandfather [[Cranky Kong]], after discovering that [[Funky Kong]]'s plane has mysteriously crashed near [[Big Ape City]]. They traverse through the [[Tree Top Town]] on the edge of the forest, and Donkey Kong takes the lead in confronting and defeating a large group of [[Kremling]]s. Later, Donkey Kong uses his "extraordinary lung power" to cry for help from [[Squawks the Parrot]] when they find themselves trapped within a mountain cave. After reaching Big Ape City, Donkey Kong is angered to discover that the Kremlings are rebuilding a large factory which is releasing large amounts of pollution into the air. He finds a way for the Kongs to enter the factory by hiding in a [[Mine Cart]], and they locate Funky within a cell. Donkey Kong uses a mini [[TNT Barrel]] to break open the cell door, and later uses a powerful shoulder charge to break open the door to the factory's cargo room.
 
Just like "climbing vines back in the jungle", Donkey Kong climbs a cable within an elevator shaft to reach the factory's defensive system. He encounters the most powerful Kremling, [[Krusha]], who threatens to bring him to King K. Rool. Knowing that he is unable to defeat Krusha using strength alone, Donkey Kong tricks him into thinking that inside his backpack is a list of where to find all the [[Kong]]s on Donkey Kong Island. This gives him the chance to knock out Krusha using a barrel, and he proceeds to destroy the defense system. While escaping the factory in Funky's repaired plane, he and Diddy Kong decide to enter King K. Rool's zeppelin from the air and plant it with time-delayed TNT Barrels. After choosing to allow the "coward" King K. Rool to escape, Donkey Kong and Diddy re-enter the plane, and celebrate a victory as they watch the zeppelin fall and land on the factory, destroying it with an explosion.
 
Throughout the novel, Donkey Kong uses a range of physical attacks which were originally seen in the ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' game, including [[Roll Attack|Barrel Roll]]s, [[Cartwheel Attack]]s and [[Hand Slap]]s. He also carries a large supply of miniature [[barrel]]s and [[TNT Barrel]]s in his backpack, which are utilized against the Kremlings and their weapons.
 
===''Donkey Kong Country'' television series===
{{Appeared|Donkey Kong Country}}
 
[[File:DKCTVDonkeyKong.png|thumb|Donkey Kong in the ''Donkey Kong Country'' television series]]
Donkey Kong is the main protagonist in the 1998 TV series ''[[Donkey Kong Country (television series)|Donkey Kong Country]]''. In it, Donkey Kong is an anthropomorphic ape who, due to finding the Crystal Coconut in [[Inka Dinka Doo]]'s temple, is predicted to be the future ruler of [[Donkey Kong Island|Kongo Bongo Island]]. Ever since, it has been made Donkey Kong's duty to guard the Crystal Coconut until the day it officially proclaims him ruler of the island. However, [[King K. Rool]] wants to steal the Crystal Coconut so that he can rule the island, and DK and his pals have to stop him and the [[Kremling Krew]], as well as another villain, [[Kaptain Skurvy]]. On this show, Donkey Kong is depicted as somewhat of a slacker who loves bananas above all else, much like his portrayal in recent games. On this show, he is also bipedal as opposed to walking on all fours like he normally does (although he sometimes goes on all fours when running). This would carry over to ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', though in that game, he stands on all fours when idle.
 
===''Mario Kart'' series===
====''Mario Kart 64''====
[[File:Mk64dk.png|thumb|left|125px|Donkey Kong from ''Mario Kart 64'']]
[[File:DK thinking.png|frame|Donkey Kong's expression after losing a race]]
Like [[Wario]], Donkey Kong first appeared in the ''[[Mario Kart (series)|Mario Kart]]'' series in the [[Nintendo 64]] game, ''[[Mario Kart 64]]'' (replacing [[Donkey Kong Jr.]] from the [[Super Mario Kart|previous installment]]). In this game, he is classified as a heavyweight character, along with [[Bowser]] and Wario. His personal track is [[N64 DK's Jungle Parkway|D.K.'s Jungle Parkway]].
 
====''Mario Kart: Super Circuit''====
Donkey Kong reappears as a heavyweight character in the [[Game Boy Advance]] game, ''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]''. Again, Wario and Bowser join him as the heavyweight characters. Donkey Kong does not have his own course in this game.
 
====''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!''====
[[File:Donkey Kong and Diddy - Mario Kart Double Dash.png|thumb|left|125px|Donkey Kong, along with Diddy Kong, from ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'']]
Donkey Kong appears in ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'', along with another [[Kong]], [[Diddy Kong]]. Donkey Kong, again, is classified as a heavyweight character. Besides Bowser and Wario, [[Petey Piranha]] and [[King Boo]] also appear as heavyweight characters. Donkey Kong also gets his own personal course, [[GCN DK Mountain|DK Mountain]]. He and Diddy share a [[Special Item (Mario Kart series)|special item]], the [[Giant Banana]]. Donkey Kong's kart is the [[DK Jumbo]].
 
====''Mario Kart Arcade GP''====
Donkey Kong appears in the arcade game, ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP]]''. He has four special items. They are the [[Barrel]], the 10T Hammer, the [[Banana#Mario Kart: Double Dash!!|Giant Banana]], and the Conga. Like most of the characters, Donkey Kong has his own cup, which is simply named [[Donkey Kong Cup|DK Cup]]. In this cup, two of Donkey Kong's personal tracks appear, [[DK Jungle (arcade)|DK Jungle]] and [[Bananan Ruins]].
 
====''Mario Kart DS''====
[[File:MKDS Donkey Kong Rambi Rider Artwork.png|thumb|125px|Donkey Kong riding on the Rambi Rider in ''Mario Kart DS'']]
Donkey Kong appears in the [[Nintendo DS]] game, ''[[Mario Kart DS]]''. Like with his past appearances, Donkey Kong is a heavyweight character, but in this game, he is the lightest heavyweight; the other heavyweight racers include Wario, Bowser, and [[R.O.B.]]. Donkey Kong has three personal karts, the Standard DK, the [[Rambi Rider]], and the [[Wildlife]], and he has one personal course, [[DS DK Pass|DK Pass]].
 
====''Mario Kart Arcade GP 2''====
Donkey Kong appears in the second ''Mario Kart'' arcade game, ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP 2]]''. He is a power racer, along with Wario and Bowser. His personal cup is renamed [[DK Stage]], but the same courses appear in the cup.
 
====''Mario Kart Wii''====
[[File:Donkey Kong Art - Mario Kart Wii.png|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Donkey Kong holding a red shell in his [[Flame Flyer]]]]
Donkey Kong also appears in the [[Wii]] game, ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]''. He is classified as a large-sized character, along with [[Wario]], [[Waluigi]], [[Bowser]], [[King Boo]], [[Rosalina]], [[Funky Kong]], and [[Dry Bowser]]. He has three courses in this game (with two of them being retro courses): [[Wii DK Summit|DK Summit]], [[N64 DK's Jungle Parkway]], and [[GCN DK Mountain]].  Donkey Kong receives a small boost of weight, acceleration, and handling, along with a small mini-turbo boost in this game.
 
====''Mario Kart 7''====
[[File:Donkeykong-spinyshellnmdww.png|thumb|x200px|Donkey Kong preparing to launch a [[Spiny Shell (blue)|Spiny Shell]]]]
Donkey Kong appears as a racer again in the [[Nintendo 3DS]] title, ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'', and has his own personal course, [[3DS DK Jungle|DK Jungle]].  He is classified as a Cruiser-type character in this game, and his speed, weight, and off-road stats are given a slightly above average boost.
 
====''Mario Kart Arcade GP DX''====
Donkey Kong also appears as a racer again in ''[[Mario Kart Arcade GP DX]]''. He is once again a heavyweight racer and the Donkey Kong Cup becomes the Don-chan Cup.
 
====''Mario Kart 8'' / ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''====
[[File:MK8-Line-DK-Wheel.gif|left|thumb|175px|[[LINE]] sticker of Donkey Kong's kart breaking down in ''Mario Kart 8''.]]
Donkey Kong appears in ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'', where he is once again a playable character. His fur has a similar texture as in ''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze''. While the official website states that he is a heavyweight, Donkey Kong is actually a lighter heavyweight, sacrificing some speed and weight to boost acceleration, handling, and traction. He shares this trait with [[Waluigi]], [[Rosalina]], [[Roy Koopa]] and [[Link]].
 
He is the Staff Ghost for [[Thwomp Ruins]] and {{classic-link|3DS|DK Jungle}}.
 
Donkey Kong also owns a brand of sports drink which appears as a sponsor in the game, called [[Burning DK]].
 
Donkey Kong returns in the [[Nintendo Switch]] port ''[[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]'', where he now shares stats with only Waluigi and Roy.
 
====''Mario Kart Tour''====
Donkey Kong appears in ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'' as a playable character. He is available as a Super character in said game, with the [[Giant Banana]] returning as his special item. He also has his [[Donkey Kong Cup|self-named cup]] in the game, as well as a [[Bowser vs. DK Tour|duel tour]] against [[Bowser]].
{{br|left}}
 
===Game Boy Camera===
Donkey Kong makes a cameo as a stamp for photos in the [[Game Boy Camera]] peripheral.
 
===''Mario Party'' series===
[[File:Donkey_Kong_Artwork_-_Mario_Party_4.png|thumb|left|Donkey Kong in ''[[Mario Party 4]]'']]
Donkey Kong is a playable character in all of the [[Mario Party (series)|''Mario Party'']] games up until ''[[Mario Party 4]]''.
 
The ''Mario Party 3'' instruction booklet claims that Donkey Kong's favorite item is the [[Reverse Mushroom]]. His default partner in Duel Mode is Whomp.
 
Starting in ''[[Mario Party 5]]'', he leaves the playable character roster but gains his own [[DK Space|space]]. He is basically the opposite of Bowser, since when a character lands on his space, something good happens. But when a [[Koopa Kid]] lands on his space in story mode, he acts surprised and DK punches him, making the Koopa Kid lose half of his coins. He is playable in [[Super Duel Mode]] only, where he must be unlocked.
 
In ''[[Mario Party DS]]'', Donkey Kong is the primary feature of his own board, [[DK's Stone Statue]]. During story mode, Donkey Kong is turned to stone by a [[Dry Bones]] while he and Diddy run to [[Bowser's Castle]] after being invited to a banquet hosted by him. The player has to win the game and beat the Dry Bones to free Donkey Kong. The ape then runs away to the castle. At the end, he is seen with Diddy enjoying the meals Bowser had prepared as traps for the 8 "party characters".
 
In ''[[Mario Party 9]]'', Donkey Kong appears as the "boss" of his own board, [[DK's Jungle Ruins]]. His boss minigame is called [[DK's Banana Bonus]]. During the minigame, Donkey Kong tosses Golden [[Barrel Cannon]]s into the area, allowing the players to access banana bunches that are higher up.
 
Donkey Kong returns as a playable character in the Wii U title ''[[Mario Party 10]]'', marking his first playable appearance in the series since ''Mario Party 4''.
 
Donkey Kong is also playable in ''[[Mario Party: Star Rush]]'', marking his first appearance as an unlockable playable character (not counting Super Duel Mode in ''Mario Party 5'') and his second appearance as a playable character in the series since ''Mario Party 5''. He can be unlocked if players earn enough part points to reach level 8 or if they scan a Donkey Kong [[amiibo]]. In Toad Scramble, he can break barrels to earn coins. His [[Brawny Dice Block]] has a 1 out of 3 chance to roll a 10, but other than that it will return a 0.
 
Donkey Kong appears in ''[[Mario Party: The Top 100]]'' as a non-playable opponent in [[Jump, Man]] and [[Vine Country]], both minigames returning from ''[[Mario Party 7]]''.
 
Donkey Kong returns in ''[[Super Mario Party]]'' as an unlockable playable character, unlocked by completing three different courses in River Survival, then talking to him in the Party Plaza. Every playable character in this game has a unique [[Dice Block]]; in Donkey Kong's case, three of its faces display a 0, two of its faces display a 10, and one face gives him five [[coin]]s (without moving).
 
Donkey Kong reappears as a playable character in ''[[Mario Party Superstars]]''.
 
===''Mario Tennis'' series===
[[File:mt64dk.png|thumb|Donkey Kong as he appears in ''Mario Tennis'']]
In the [[Mario Tennis (series)|''Mario Tennis'' series]], Donkey Kong appears as a playable Power-type character in most titles, the only exception being ''[[Mario's Tennis]]'' where Donkey Kong Jr. is playable.
 
In ''[[Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64)|Mario Tennis]]'' for the [[Nintendo 64]]'s intro, Donkey Kong participates in the tournament, where he loses to [[Mario]] (allowing the latter to advance to a semi-finals match against [[Yoshi]]). His doubles partner is Donkey Kong Jr., but if he isn't unlocked yet, Donkey Kong's doubles partner is Yoshi instead.
 
Donkey Kong appears in ''[[Mario Power Tennis]]'' as a playable character. His offensive power shot is the [[Barrel Cannon Blast]], and his defensive power shot is the [[Boomerang Banana Return]]. When Donkey Kong wins the championship, Toad brings him the trophy, and he grabs it with Toad still holding on. He waves it around, shaking up Toad in the process. When he finally stops, Toad faints, and Donkey Kong scratches his head. Donkey Kong's taunt is showing muscles and his doubles partner is [[Diddy Kong]].
 
In ''[[Mario Tennis Aces]]'', Donkey Kong reappears as a playable character. He also appears in the adventure mode, where he blocks the entrance to [[Piranha Plant Forest]] until the player completes the tutorials at [[Bask Ruins]]. When the player beats the tutorials, he challenges Mario to a match of tennis. When the player beats him then, he allows the player to pass.
{{br}}
 
===''Super Smash Bros.'' series===
{{SSB Infobox
|color=green
|emblem=DK_Emblem.png
|image=DonkeyKong_SSBU.png
|games=''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''<br>''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''<br>''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''<br>''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]]''<br>''[[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]''<br>''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''
|standard=[[Giant Punch]]
|side=[[Headbutt]]
|up=[[Spinning Kong]]
|down=[[Hand Slap]]
|final=[[Konga Beat]] (''Brawl'', ''for 3DS'' / ''Wii U''); [[Jungle Rush]] (''Ultimate'')
|entrance=Donkey Kong explodes out of a [[DK Barrel]].
}}
Donkey Kong is playable in all five ''[[Super Smash Bros. (series)|Super Smash Bros.]]'' games. Donkey Kong is always, as expected from a heavyweight, one of the strongest characters in the games. When he picks up a character, he also has the power to carry them a short distance, which is something that none of the other characters can do. He can also carry large objects, such as [[barrel]]s and [[crate]]s, without having his speed hindered.
 
Donkey Kong's special moves are [[Giant Punch]], a punch that can be charged to increase its power, [[Headbutt]], which has him headbutt his opponents into the ground, [[Spinning Kong]], which has him spin and lets him momentarily float, and [[Hand Slap]], which has him repeatedly stamp on the ground. For his [[Final Smash]], he uses [[Konga Beat]], pulling out two [[bongo]]s and tapping them in time to the beat of ''Donkey Kong Country''{{'}}s first level, with each tap sending shockwaves that deal damage to opponents.
 
Donkey Kong is unique from other heavyweights; though he is unsurprisingly strong, he is also fast for a character of his weight. His combination of power, speed, and good range from his size and long arms contributes to making him arguably a versatile character to use throughout the ''Smash'' games.
 
Even though Donkey Kong is a [[Mario (franchise)|''Mario'' franchise]] character, his emblem is the DK symbol, which represents his [[Donkey Kong (franchise)|own franchise]]. Unlike in the ''Mario series'' titles, Donkey Kong is given a gorilla voice for the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. This is even more noticeable in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''.
 
====''Super Smash Bros.''====
[[File:SSB_Giant_DK.png|thumb|left|upright=0.85|Giant Donkey Kong]]
{{main-external|SmashWiki|Donkey Kong (SSB)}}
In ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'', Donkey Kong is a default character. In Classic Mode, the player must fight '''Giant Donkey Kong''' (spelled in-game as '''Giant DK'''), where they are provided two partners to help. It is the only match where the player is assisted by two fighters instead of one. As with other giant characters, Giant Donkey Kong is more resistant to knockback and can withstand around 350% damage before being knocked off the stage. Donkey Kong is the heaviest character in this game, weighing 141 units; however, he is somewhat sluggish, though his moves boast very high power.
 
====''Super Smash Bros. Melee''====
{{main-external|SmashWiki|Donkey Kong (SSBM)}}
Donkey Kong is also a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''. Once again, he is a default character.
 
In the new one-player mode, ''Adventure'', the player must first fight two Tiny Donkey Kongs and then fight Giant Donkey Kong at [[Jungle Japes]]. By picking up a [[Super Mushroom]], Donkey Kong can become larger briefly, before reverting to normal. In Giant Melee, the player can play as Giant Donkey Kong or fight against him. Similar to ''Super Smash Bros.'', Donkey Kong is one of the possible giant opponents who appears in stage 5 of Classic Mode, and is fought at Jungle Japes.
 
Giant Donkey Kong appears in two events of Event Mode:
 
*In Event 2, the player plays as Giant Donkey Kong, whose objective is defeating Tiny Donkey Kong
*In Event 25, the player must defeat Giant Donkey Kong using [[Bowser#Size|Giant Bowser]].
 
Donkey Kong's weight is decreased from 141 units to 114, no longer making him the heaviest character in the game; instead, that title goes to fellow heavyweight Bowser. As compensation, however, Donkey Kong's movement and attack speed are both much faster, while his moveset receives a mix of buffs and nerfs. Starting from ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', Donkey Kong is a speedy heavyweight with decent combo ability.
 
====''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''====
{{main-external|SmashWiki|Donkey Kong (SSBB)}}
{{multiple image
|align=left
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|image1=Donkeykong carrying brawl.jpg
|width1=160
|caption1=Donkey Kong's unique carrying ability seen in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''.
|image2=DonkeyKongOriginal-SSBBrawl.png
|width2=200
|caption2=The original Donkey Kong, as seen on the 75 m stage in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''.
}}
Donkey Kong reappears as a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''. His moves are carried over from ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', and he, like other characters, is given a [[Final Smash]], his being the Konga Beat, most likely inspired by the games ''Donkey Konga'' and ''Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat''. Some even go as far to say Donkey Kong's Final Smash is based on his instrumental attack from ''Donkey Kong 64'', in which he uses a pair of bongos to create a shock-wave that can defeat any enemy on which it is used, except bosses (mainly because they cannot be used in any boss battles). Donkey Kong also gets a new white recolor. Donkey Kong's weight is slightly increased to 116 units from 114.
 
An 8-bit Donkey Kong appears on the [[75 m (stage)|75 m]] stage (which is based on the third level of the original ''Donkey Kong''). Touching him will harm the player.
 
Donkey Kong appears in several events, usually in giant form.
*In Event 9: "The Monster beneath the Earth", Giant DK is a hidden opponent. If the player does not KO the two Diddy Kongs fast enough, Giant DK must be fought as well.
*In Event 22: "Monkeys Unite", Giant Donkey Kong is Diddy Kong's partner in a fight against [[Sheik]] and [[Lucario]].
*In Event 27: "Three-Beast Carnage", Giant Donkey Kong is among the three giant opponents fought by [[R.O.B.]], along with [[Bowser#Size|Giant Bowser]] and Giant Charizard.
 
Like ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', Donkey Kong briefly turns larger from using a Super Mushroom. In Giant Brawl, the successor to Giant Melee, the player can either play as Giant Donkey Kong or fight against one.
 
Ironically, despite his common appearances in ''Super Smash Bros.''{{'}}s 1P Game as well as ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''{{'}}s Classic Mode, Donkey Kong does not appear in Classic Mode as a giant opponent. He shares this trait with the ''Zelda'' characters and Diddy Kong.
 
=====The Subspace Emissary=====
[[File:SubspaceIntro-DonkeyKong.png|thumb|upright=1.1|Donkey Kong's snapshot in The Subspace Emissary]]
The [[Koopa Troop]] and [[Bowser]] steal Donkey Kong's banana hoard. As a [[Hammer Bro]] drives a car which contains all the bananas of Donkey Kong's, Donkey Kong watches it from a cliff. Hammer Bro and the [[Goomba]]s aboard the car spot Donkey Kong and shoot [[Bullet Bill]]s at him. However, Diddy Kong comes out from a bush, and, with his [[Peanut Popgun]]s, shoots the Bullet Bills. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong then follow the Hammer Bro to retrieve the banana hoard. After finding their bananas, Bowser appears from behind with a [[Dark Cannon]]. As Bowser charges the cannon, Donkey Kong, realizing the danger, charges his Giant Punch. He then launches Diddy to the sky and out of harm's way, sacrificing himself in the process as Bowser shoots him with the Dark Cannon and turns him into a [[Trophy (Super Smash Bros. series)|trophy]]. Later, [[Diddy Kong]], who (forcefully) enlisted the help of [[Fox McCloud]] and [[Falco Lombardi]], sees a [[Smash Skiff|ship]] carrying Donkey Kong's trophy form to a mysterious floating island. Falco then follows it with his Arwing and takes the little Kong with him. He then drops him, and Diddy gets on his [[Rocket Barrel]], takes out his Popguns, and shoots the ship. After seeing this, [[Captain Falcon]] and [[Captain Olimar]] decide to help him and jump to the ship. Diddy frees Donkey Kong, and all four fight the Primids and other enemies.
 
The ship takes them inside a factory producing Subspace Bombs, and they encounter various R.O.B.s that live on the island. They later meet up with [[Pikachu]] and [[Samus Aran]] and see the [[Ancient Minister]] and a plethora of R.O.B.s. After Ganondorf manipulates the R.O.B.s into activating all of the Subspace Bombs, the Ancient Minister is shown to be [[R.O.B.]], the leader of all the lesser R.O.B.s who were forced to work for the [[Subspace Army]]. R.O.B. then fights alongside the others. Donkey Kong carries R.O.B., who refuses to leave his kind behind to perish, as they all flee to escape the doomed island on Captain Falcon's summoned [[Falcon Flyer]]. [[Meta Ridley]] then appears and follows behind to impede group's escape, forcing DK and his group to fight him. After that, they all meet up with the other heroes.
 
Donkey Kong and the other smashers enter Subspace and meet [[Tabuu]], who turns everyone into trophies with his Off Waves. However, [[King Dedede]] had anticipated this and created badges that revived certain fighters back into their original forms without having to touch them. With his team, consisting of [[Luigi]] and [[Ness]], Dedede rescues Donkey Kong and most of the others, although some of them are rescued by [[Kirby]]. They also recruit Bowser, [[Ganondorf]], and [[Wario]] after they are informed about Tabuu. At the end of [[the Great Maze]], [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] shows up and helps weaken Tabuu's Off Waves so that Donkey Kong and the others are able to beat him.
 
====''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' / ''Wii U''====
{{main-external|SmashWiki|Donkey Kong (SSB4)}}
[[File:Giant Punch SSB4 Wii U.jpg|thumb|left|Donkey Kong in ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'']]
Donkey Kong returns as a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]''. His moveset has remained largely intact, but has nevertheless received a few noticeable changes, most notably his unique forward throw and Final Smash; Donkey Kong's weight is also increased from 116 units to 122. Like the majority of the cast (DLC fighters notwithstanding), each of Donkey Kong's special moves now possess two variants. Giant Punch has Lightning Punch and Storm Punch; Headbutt has Jumping Headbutt and Stubborn Headbutt; Spinning Kong has Chopper Kong and Kong Cyclone; and Hand Slap has Focused Slap and Hot Slap.
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====''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''====
{{main-external|SmashWiki|Donkey Kong (SSBU)}}
Donkey Kong appears as a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. He has a new Final Smash, [[Jungle Rush]], which involves him rapidly punching an opponent, as a reference to his attack method in ''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Beat]]''. Donkey Kong is more expressive; when he charges his Giant Punch, he starts scowling, and using it in the air no longer makes him helpless. He is heavier, tying with [[King Dedede]] in weight, and Headbutt now gives Donkey Kong super armor for a short time. His recovery is also extended by the reintroduction of directional air dodge, can use any ground attack out of a run, and use any aerial attack while holding on the ladders officially called a "ladder attack". However, Giant Punch has more ending lag and Aerial Spinning Kong is weaker. His Classic Mode is titled "Journey to [[New Donk City]]". Donkey Kong's down tilt is officially nicknamed the Slouch Slap while his forward throw is referred to as Kong Carry. His weight has been further increased; however, he is no longer the second heaviest fighter in the game, instead giving up that title to his arch-nemesis, [[King K. Rool]]. Donkey Kong is tied with King Dedede for the third heaviest fighter.
 
Owing to King K. Rool's ties to Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong appears alongside Diddy Kong in K. Rool's debut trailer for ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''. Specifically, Donkey Kong lounges lazily in his tree house after eating some bananas while watching various video game heroes confronting their respective nemeses on his TV, only to be startled by quakes before looking outside with Diddy to investigate. They then see an ominous and familiar shadow, only for it to be revealed to be King Dedede wearing a cape and King K. Rool's mask, to their surprise. King Dedede then proceeds to laugh at the practical joke he played on them, only for him to be smacked upside the head and knocked away by the actual King K. Rool, much to Donkey and Diddy Kong's horror, with King K. Rool roaring. In the ending of the trailer, Donkey Kong is knocked backwards, only to proceed to charge at his arch-nemesis on all fours, with King K. Rool doing the same in kind before proceeding to have their fists make contact with each other with enough force as to cause a shockwave to be emitted throughout the jungle.
 
Similarly, Donkey Kong also appears in [[Banjo]] & [[Kazooie]]'s reveal trailer. Much like the King K. Rool trailer, Donkey Kong lounges around in his tree house eating bananas and watching TV, with Diddy Kong and a sleeping King K. Rool also present. A Jiggy bounces past the three, catching the Kongs' attention. After Diddy wakes King K. Rool up, the three look outside and see what appear to be the silhouettes of Banjo and Kazooie, but turn out to be [[Duck Hunt (character)|Duck Hunt]] playing a prank on them, to their surprise. Duck Hunt proceed to laugh at this joke played on the Kongs and Kremling, only for the dog and duck to be knocked away from above by the real Banjo and Kazooie, holding their respective namesake instruments. This causes the Kongs and King K. Rool to celebrate. Near the end of the trailer, Donkey Kong can be seen in the background as Banjo and Kazooie perform a victory pose.
 
In the Adventure Mode, World of Light, Donkey Kong is present when he and other fighters oppose their ultimate enemy, [[Galeem]]. Although Donkey Kong is not shown to be hit by Galeem's beams directly, he, like many other fighters, except [[Kirby]], is imprisoned in the World of Light. Donkey Kong is found in the jungle segment of the Light Realm, on a space that looks like the treehouse he lives in. Donkey Kong, upon being defeated, joins the party and fight Galeem.
 
A giant Donkey Kong based on the one from the original ''Super Smash Bros.'' also appears as the final opponent of [[Jigglypuff]]'s route, due to its route being a callback to the original game.
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=====Classic Mode route=====
By completing Donkey Kong's Classic Mode route, it is possible to unlock Bowser, [[Pokémon Trainer]], [[Rosalina]] & [[Luma]], King Dedede, [[Sheik]], [[Greninja]], Diddy Kong, and [[Duck Hunt (character)|Duck Hunt]].
 
Donkey Kong's Classic Mode route initially has him fight Diddy Kong, who joins him as a partner in all subsequent battles. Together, they fight opponents who live in urban settings, with their penultimate battle being against the Mario Bros. The penultimate battle alludes to the rivalry between Donkey Kong and Mario.
 
On a side note, before the version 3.0.0 update, Donkey Kong was the only character to face [[Master Hand]] and [[Crazy Hand]] as their Classic Mode route's final boss on the Ω form of a stage different from [[Final Destination]]. As of version 3.0.0, however, this trait is now shared with [[Joker]] and [[Sephiroth]], as their final rounds take place in the Ω form of [[Mementos]] and [[Northern Cave]].
 
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto;"
!colspan="5"|Journey to New Donk City
|-
!width=20px|Round
!width=250px|Opponent(s)
!width=150px|Rule
!width=150px|Stage
!width=280px|Song
|-
!1
|[[Diddy Kong]]
|
|[[Kongo Jungle (Super Smash Bros.)|Kongo Jungle]]
|Jungle Level <small>(64)</small>
|-
!2
|[[King K. Rool]]
|Team Battle<br>('''Ally:''' Diddy Kong)
|[[Kongo Falls]]
|Gang-Plank Galleon
|-
!3
|[[Wario]], [[Captain Falcon]]
|Team Battle<br>('''Ally:''' Diddy Kong)
|[[Pilotwings]]
|Gear Getaway
|-
!4
|[[Ness]], [[Lucas]]
|Team Battle<br>('''Ally:''' Diddy Kong)
|[[Onett]]
|The Map Page / Bonus Level
|-
!5
|[[Inkling]] Girl, Inkling Boy
|Team Battle<br>('''Ally:''' Diddy Kong)
|[[Moray Towers]]
|Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley
|-
!6
|[[Mario]], [[Luigi]]
|Team Battle<br>('''Ally:''' Diddy Kong)
|[[New Donk City Hall (stage)|New Donk City Hall]]
|New Donk City
|-
!Final
|[[Master Hand]], [[Crazy Hand]] ''(intensity 7.0 or higher)''
|Team Battle<br>('''Ally:''' Diddy Kong)
|New Donk City Hall (Ω)
|Master Hand<br>Master Hand / Crazy Hand ''(intensity 7.0 or higher)''
|}
<gallery>
SSBU Classic Victory Donkey Kong.png|Victory Photo
Donkey Kong.png|Donkey Kong's stock icon
</gallery>
 
===''Donkey Konga'' series===
====''Donkey Konga''====
In ''[[Donkey Konga]]'', Donkey Kong discovers a magical set of bongos on a beach. Once Cranky Kong realizes his grandson's potential for being a professional, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong set out to become famous. On their travels, they revisit many locales and play popular songs through cooperative performances and musical face-offs.
 
====''Donkey Konga 2''====
In ''[[Donkey Konga 2]]'', when Dixie Kong joins Donkey and Diddy for a practice session, the trio realizes their potential for musical chemistry. Shortly after, they set out on another tour, which is very similar to Donkey and Diddy Kong's first one. However, they change up their song list to include current popular songs of the time.
 
===''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series===
====''Mario vs. Donkey Kong''====
[[File:Mvsdk.jpg|thumb|left|Donkey Kong stealing the Mini-Mario toys]]
In the opening for ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong]]'', Donkey Kong is channel surfing when sees a commercial for the new [[Mini Mario (toy)|Mini-Mario]] toy. Desiring one for himself, Donkey Kong rushes to the local toy store, only to find that they are sold out. However, he notices the [[Mario Toy Company]] building nearby, and he breaks in and steals a sack full of the Mini-Marios, which makes Mario chase him to get the toys back. Donkey Kong is fought at the end of each world, after Mario has collected all of the Mini-Marios in the world. Depending on the world, Donkey Kong uses several tactics during his battles.
 
After a while of being chased, Donkey Kong checks the sack, only to see that it is entirely empty. Mario, the toys, and three Toads laugh at him. Enraged, Donkey Kong grabs the Toads and climbs up a nearby a building with them. After Donkey Kong is defeated again, he falls off the building, only to land on a truck containing several Mini-Marios, which he decides to steal. Donkey Kong is then fought at the end of each world once more, though his arenas are variants of their original versions. After Mario defeats Donkey Kong in the final battle against [[Donkey Kong Plus|his robot]], Mario gives Donkey Kong his own Mini-Mario toy.
 
====''Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis''====
[[File:M vs DK 2 DK Sprite.PNG|frame|Donkey Kong in ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis'']]
 
In the sequel, ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis]]'', he now works in the Mario Toy Company. Donkey Kong then kidnaps Pauline, the V.I.P. guest Mario had for the opening of Super Mini Mario World, when she chooses Mario's Mini-Mario toy over his [[Mini Donkey Kong|Mini-DK]] toy. It is likely that he is the manufacturer of the Kong toys (besides Mini DK) that appear in the game. In the end, Pauline is safe as DK treated her to gifts and food. She then shows her appreciation by kissing the DK toy he gave her.
 
====''Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!''====
In ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!]]'', Donkey Kong is waiting in a line to buy a ticket for the opening of the [[Super Mini Mario World|Super Mini Mario World theme park]]. However, by the time he reaches the ticket booth, the tickets are sold out. Donkey Kong becomes furious over this, and therefore decides to break in while taking Pauline with him. Mario brings out his Mini Marios and chases Donkey Kong through all the theme park's floors. Later, when Mario rescues Pauline, Donkey Kong turns off the lights and escapes with Pauline through a nearby window. After four more floors are cleared, Mario walks into a room to see Donkey Kong, Pauline, and all the Toads smiling. Pauline reveals that it was all a test for the Mini Marios, who all passed with flying colors, much to Mario's surprise.
 
====''Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem''====
In ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem]]'', Donkey Kong arrives at the newly-opened Mini-Land to desperately get a [[Mini Pauline]], only to find out that he is the 101st guest to arrive and it sold out after 100. Donkey Kong gets incredibly mad and, in his rage, kidnaps the real Pauline, forcing Mario and his force of Mini Marios to rescue her. After Donkey Kong is defeated in [[Final Ferris Wheel]], Pauline welcomes Mario and is ready to give him a hug, but Donkey Kong suddenly appears and kidnaps her again. After defeating him for a second time in Plus Mode, it is shown Donkey Kong is given a Pauline doll by Mario and the trio rides the Ferris wheel together.
 
====''Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move''====
In ''[[Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move]]'', Donkey Kong is one of the organizers of the carnival and sometimes appears with Pauline to congratulate the player.
 
====''Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars''====
In the intro of ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars]]'', Donkey Kong is shown kidnapping Pauline, which causes Mario and the Mini Marios to chase him. In the end, the kidnapping was revealed to be a plan to lure Mario to a surprise party that is hosted by Donkey Kong, Pauline and a few [[Toad (species)|Toads]].
 
===''Donkey Kong Jungle Beat''===
[[File:DK Clap.png|thumb|left|Donkey Kong using his [[Sound Wave Attack]] from ''Donkey Kong Jungle Beat'']]
In ''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Beat]]'', Donkey Kong travels to the [[Banana Kingdom]] to take down the possessed [[Dread Kong]] who ruled it, and then does the same for the other sixteen kingdoms nearby. Eventually, he fight and defeats the evil [[Ghastly King|Cactus King]], freeing the other Kongs of his curse and presumably allowing them to resume their duties.
 
===''DK'' series===
====''DK: King of Swing''====
Donkey Kong has more work to do during ''[[DK: King of Swing]]''. It is time for the annual Jungle Jam, a festival for the Kongs. However, King. K. Rool returns and steals all of the medals needed to have the festival. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong go after him to get the medals back. In the end, they defeat K. Rool, and the festival is celebrated.
 
====''DK: Jungle Climber''====
In ''[[DK: Jungle Climber]]'', Donkey Kong, along with Diddy, Dixie, Cranky, Wrinkly, Funky, and Candy, is resting on the beach when Diddy notices a giant banana. Donkey Kong, Diddy, and Cranky go up to the top and find a [[Banana Spaceship]]. Donkey Kong fights this spaceship and finds [[Xananab]]. They find that K. Rool and the Kremlings have escaped with his five Crystal Bananas, and he needs them back. Donkey Kong and friends agree, and the four travel through the islands, going through wormholes and other lands, such as Glass Labyrinth, Toybox, and Veggie Patch. At the end of each island, Donkey Kong fights one of K. Rool's assistant Kremlings and eventually defeats the third Kremling. K. Rool then flees to the [[King Kruiser IV]]. Donkey Kong chases him and eventually reaches K. Rool's spaceship. There, he defeats the fourth Kremling as K. Rool goes through a wormhole. Donkey Kong follows, and the group lands on Xananab's home planet. There, they fight K. Rool, which is no easy task. Eventually, the DK Crew once again wins, and Donkey Kong, Diddy, and Cranky get to eat as many bananas as they desire.
 
===''Mario Baseball'' series===
[[File:MarioSB DK.jpg|thumb|Donkey Kong's artwork for ''Mario Superstar Baseball'']]
Donkey Kong appears as a fully playable default character in ''[[Mario Superstar Baseball]]'' and ''[[Mario Super Sluggers]]'' as the team captain of the [[DK Wilds]] with [[Diddy Kong]] as subcaptain and his home stadium is the [[Donkey Kong Jungle (baseball stadium)|Donkey Kong Jungle]]. Unlike most batters, Donkey Kong uses a boxing glove to punch the ball. There is a small contact point between the ball and the glove, making it more difficult for Donkey Kong to land a hit, but Donkey Kong has great hitting power. Donkey Kong has also above-average pitching. Donkey Kong has below average running and fielding stats, however. In this game, DK has good chemistry with Diddy Kong, [[Dixie Kong]], and [[Petey Piranha]].
 
Donkey Kong's special ball and bat is called the [[Banana Ball]]. This makes the pitched or hit ball have a banana-like trajectory. Donkey Kong's player abilities include [[Clamber]], which allows him to climb walls and catch high-flying balls that would otherwise be fair or home-runs. He also has [[Laser Beam]], which makes his throws from outfield to home quick, potentially preventing runners from scoring a point.
 
In ''[[Mario Super Sluggers]]'', Donkey Kong is mostly unchanged. He still uses a boxing glove to bat. His Star Pitch and Star Swing are also altered to [[Barrel Ball]] and [[Barrel Swing]], which involve him throwing a barrel. He has also lost his Laser Ball ability. As for his stats, Donkey Kong has better batting, but with worse fielding and even worse running. His pitching also lost one point, but it remains above-average. In this game, DK has good chemistry with Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, [[Tiny Kong]], [[Funky Kong]] and [[Baby Donkey Kong]], and his chemistry with [[Kritter]] and [[King K. Rool]] is bad, which is odd considering that they are on DK's team. Donkey Kong has the second highest batting stat in this game, only surpassed by [[Bowser]], King K. Rool, and Petey Piranha.
{{br}}
 
===''Donkey Kong Barrel Blast''===
[[File:Normal donkeykong.jpg|thumb|left|Artwork of Donkey Kong in ''Donkey Kong Barrel Blast'']]
In ''[[Donkey Kong Barrel Blast]]'', which marks his debut in a ''Donkey Kong'' series racing title, Donkey Kong and the Kongs compete against the Kremlings and King K. Rool in the Jungle Grand Prix, where racers use jet-powered bongos. Similar to [[Mario]], Donkey Kong has all-around stats, each of them being 3 out of 5.
 
Donkey Kong has average stats, and his main rival is a [[Kritter]]. If the player completes all of [[Candy's Challenges]], they unlock [[Ultra Barrel DK]], whose stats are all maxed out at 5 out of 5.
{{stub|section=yes}}
{{br}}
 
===''Mario Strikers'' series===
[[File:MSC Thunder Wham Screenshot.png|thumb|A replay of Donkey Kong performing his [[Thunder Wham!]] [[Super Ability]]]]
Donkey Kong appears in both ''[[Super Mario Strikers]]'' and ''[[Mario Strikers Charged]]'' as a default playable character. Donkey Kong plays the same as the other characters; the only difference is that in [[Super Strike]]s, it is easier to land the white needle on the dark green zone, but more difficult to land it in the surrounding light green zone.
 
In ''[[Mario Strikers Charged]]'', Donkey Kong is a Power character. While his tackling and his shooting are excellent, his movement and his passing are poor. Donkey Kong's deke involves him beating his chest and knocking away any would-be attackers. His [[Super Ability]] is [[Thunder Wham!]] He pounds the ground with his fists, creating a shockwave that sends any nearby player away, including his teammates. Alongside [[Wario]], [[Hammer Bro]], [[Birdo]], and [[Boo]], Donkey Kong has a unique way of shooting the ball. He shoots it by picking it up and headbutting it towards the goal.
{{br}}
 
===''Punch-Out!!''===
[[File:DonkeyKong-PunchOut.png|thumb|upright=1.4|left|Donkey Kong in the Wii version of ''Punch-Out!!'']]
In the Wii title, ''[[wikipedia:Punch-Out!! (Wii)|Punch-Out!!]]'', an updated sequel of the classic NES game, Donkey Kong appears as a hidden bonus opponent, found initially in the game mode, Mac's Last Stand. If the player fights Donkey Kong in that game mode, they can fight him at any time in Exhibition mode.
 
{{br}}
 
===''Mario & Sonic'' series===
[[File:MSOWG_dksnowboard.png|thumb|Donkey Kong in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]'']]
Donkey Kong, along with [[Birdo]], [[Goomba]], and a few others, were originally planned to appear as playable characters in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]'', but were scrapped prior to the end-product for unknown reasons.<ref>[http://forums.x-cult.org/index.php?showtopic=3891 Ripped character IDs for ''Mario & Sonic'']. (Retrieved on July 12, 2008)</ref> However, Donkey Kong did appear in all 5 sequels.
 
====''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games''====
In the [[Wii]] and [[Nintendo DS]] versions of the video game ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]'', he is a power playable character. His main rival is Knuckles the Echidna.
 
;Adventure Tours
In [[Icepeak]], Mario, Sonic, and Toad find Donkey Kong crying due to one of his bananas fell in a deep ledge which he can't reach. [[Silver the Hedgehog|Silver]] then comes uses his psychic powers to bring the banana back to him. Donkey Kong thanks Silver and challenge him to [[Moguls (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games for Nintendo DS)|Moguls]]. When Silver finally defeats him, Donkey Kong joins the group.
 
Toad tells him that there's a pole back in Polastraits. There are also obstacles on the pole, such as ice and bombs. When the ape presses the button on the pole, a bridge forms. Later in Icepeak, Donkey Kong who meets [[Vector the Crocodile|Vector]] challenge him a match of Short Track 500m.  After beating Vector, Donkey Kong wants him to join the group which Vector agrees.
 
====''Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games''====
Donkey Kong returns as a playable Power-type character in the Wii [[Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii)|version]] of ''Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games'', where he appears in the opening with the other athletes as well as competing in [[Beach Volleyball (Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games for Wii)|Beach Volleyball]]. A [[Mii]] outfit based on Donkey Kong can be unlocked, and Donkey Kong also appears as a character that can be spoken to in London Party mode in order to play minigames and earn stickers.
 
In the Nintendo 3DS [[Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)|version]], Donkey Kong is included in the Wild Ones group, meaning that he is only playable in certain [[Event]]s. In the story mode, Donkey Kong challenges [[E-123 Omega|Omega]] after he ruins his banana, and in the process manages to remove the chip from him that was causing him to rampage. [[Miles "Tails" Prower|Tails]] and [[Espio the Chameleon|Espio]] then explain to Donkey Kong about Bowser and [[Dr. Eggman]]'s plan to use the [[Phantasmal Fog]] to stop the Olympic Games, and Donkey Kong tells Omega that he will forgive him if he helps stop Dr. Eggman. Omega agrees and heads off with Tails and Espio while Donkey Kong stays behind to keep an eye on [[ExCeL London]]. Donkey Kong later appears to support Mario, Luigi, Sonic and Tails when they face Bowser and Dr. Eggman, having helped [[Knuckles the Echidna|Knuckles]] and Vector clear the fog from [[Horse Guards Parade]], and later appears at the opening ceremony. Donkey Kong also appears in the bonus episode [[Bowser's Blues]], where [[Magikoopa]] tricks Donkey Kong into setting up a match for Bowser using some bananas and a [[Thwomp]]. After Bowser wins the match, Magikoopa takes Donkey Kong to find some real bananas. A [[List of badges in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)|badge]] of Donkey Kong can also be obtained from the badge machine.
 
====''Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games''====
Donkey Kong returns in the fourth installment as a power type athlete once again.
====''Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games''====
Donkey Kong returns in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games]]'' and is once again a power type. In the Nintendo 3DS version, he is exclusive to Boxing and Beach Volleyball.
 
====''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020''====
Donkey Kong once again returns as a playable character in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020]]''. He is once again a Power type. However, unlike most of the playable characters, DK doesn’t wear clothing appropriate to the events he competes in.
 
===''Mario Sports Mix''===
[[File:MSMart5.png|thumb|Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong playing basketball in ''[[Mario Sports Mix]]'']]
Donkey Kong appeared in ''[[Mario Sports Mix]]'', where he was classified as a Powerful type character. While his technique is average, along with a very high power stat, Donkey Kong's speed is quite slow. His stage court is [[DK Dock]].
 
Donkey Kong's special shot involves slamming the ground (which would briefly stun opponents) and then aiming the ball/puck at the goal, or at an opposing player. In Dodgeball, Donkey Kong can repel dodgeball attacks by spinning his body while having his arms stretched out. However, this defensive maneuver is rendered useless when the dodgeball is equipped with an item.
 
===''Fortune Street''===
Donkey Kong appears as an opponent in single player mode in ''[[Fortune Street]]'', but he is playable in multiplayer. He is a Rank D opponent, which means he spends less investing in his property than most characters spend on their properties.
 
===''Super Mario'' series===
====''Super Mario Maker''====
If the player scans the Donkey Kong [[amiibo]] on the [[Wii U#Wii U GamePad|Wii U GamePad]] while the game ''[[Super Mario Maker]]'' is running, they will be granted access to a [[Mystery Mushroom]] that, once collected by [[Mario]], transforms him into Donkey Kong. He can become playable afterwards; much of his animations are based on the ones from ''Donkey Kong Country'', while the sound effects that are heard during some of his actions, such as falling into a pit or clearing the level, are from the arcade version of ''Donkey Kong''.
 
====''Super Mario Odyssey''====
An 8-bit Donkey Kong from the original ''Donkey Kong'' appears as an obstacle in ''[[Super Mario Odyssey]]''. In [[A Traditional Festival!]] of the [[Metro Kingdom]], Mario has to traverse through a lengthy 2D stage while Donkey Kong tosses barrels down slanted beams, similar to [[25m]]. Once Mario reaches him, he can defeat Donkey Kong by hitting all four [[? Block]]s underneath him. He also appears in a 2D segment in the [[Darker Side]] during [[Long Journey's End]]. The entirety of Metro Kingdom's city, New Donk City, is meant to be a tribute to the ''Donkey Kong'' series, as it features various references to the original arcade title and the ''Donkey Kong Country'' games. A graffiti painting of Donkey Kong's original artwork can also be seen in the city.
 
===''Mario Sports Superstars''===
Donkey Kong appears as a playable captain character in ''[[Mario Sports Superstars]]''. In most sports, he is classified as a Power type character, giving his shots more power (and thus speed), as well as giving him more stamina in horse racing. In golf, DK's default drive is 224 yards, and his shots travel slightly low in a draw trajectory.
 
===''Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle''===
[[File:MRKB Donkey Kong Splash.jpg|thumb|left|Splash Screen featuring Donkey Kong]]
{{quote2|Ground Poundin' Primate!|Introductory tagline}}
''[[Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle]]'' features a boss named [[Rabbid Kong]], a large, ape-like [[Rabbid]] that strongly resembles Donkey Kong, right down to wearing his signature necktie. A figure of Donkey Kong on a girder appears in the introductory cutscene, as well.
 
DK himself was added as a playable character in the [[Donkey Kong Adventure]] story expansion pack in June 2018. This pack sees DK joining forces with [[Rabbid Peach]] and [[Rabbid Cranky]], and taking on Rabbid Kong and his army.
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===''Luigi's Mansion 3''===
In ''[[Luigi's Mansion 3]]'', a sketch of Donkey Kong can be seen on the wall of the [[Editing Room]] in [[Paranormal Productions]]. This sketch of Donkey Kong can be destroyed and sucked up by [[Luigi]]'s [[Poltergust G-00]], just like any other poster in the game.
 
===''Dr. Mario World''===
[[File:DrMarioWorld - SpriteDonkeyKong.png|thumb|50px|Donkey Kong's mugshot in ''Dr. Mario World'']]
Donkey Kong makes his [[Dr. Mario (series)|''Dr. Mario'' series]] debut in ''[[Dr. Mario World]]'', in which he is known as '''Dr. Donkey Kong''' in that game, where he is equipped with a stethoscope and an armband. He was made available as a playable character in ''[[Dr. Mario World]]'' on October 31, 2019 when [[World 9 (Dr. Mario World)|World 9]] was first available. He is also available as a special stage reward in [[World 25]].
 
In stage mode, Dr. Donkey Kong's skill is to eliminate objects in a 3x3 range. The way the skill works is that after it is activated, Dr. Donkey Kong will pound his chest and then a target will move around the stage. By tapping the screen, the targeted objects within range will be eliminated with a [[DK Barrel]]. Prior to version 2.3.0, the target moves in a predetermined direction in a cycle, but since that version, the target moves slower and in random directions orthogonally. It is possible to hit a target that do not contain any objects. In versus mode, Dr. Donkey Kong's skill is to instead send a row (level 1 and 2) or two rows (level 3 to 5) of viruses to the opponent's play area, in which the current stage objects are pushed down (red arrows act as a warning when this skill is activated by the opponent). This skill is not affected by the opponent's innate defenses, but it has a chance of being blocked by [[Ant Trooper]]'s effect should the opponent have it equipped.
 
===''Paper Mario: The Origami King''===
In ''[[Paper Mario: The Origami King]]'', a papier-mâché model of Donkey Kong's head known as the [[Jungle King Mask]] can be seen in the staff room of [[Shogun Studios]] among two others of a [[Goomba Mask]] and [[Samus Aran|Samus]]'s helmet. When worn, Mario will beat on his chest while [[Bob-omb (Paper Mario: The Origami King)|Bob-omb]] describes the sound with words that rhyme with "Kong".
 
===Other appearances, cameos, and references===
[[File:DK truck1.jpg|thumb|left|The Donkey Kong monster truck]]
[[File:Donkey Kong - SkylandersSuperChargers.jpg|thumb|''Skylanders: SuperChargers'']]
The results screen for the NES version of ''[[Tetris]]'' features Donkey Kong as part of a band composed of himself, Bowser, Link, Pit, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Samus Aran. He is playing the marching bass drum with his fists. Donkey Kong in particular appears when the player has completed height 3 of Game B's ninth level.
 
Donkey Kong has made a few appearances outside the extended ''Mario'' series. In ''[[jiggywikki:Banjo-Tooie|Banjo-Tooie]]'', for the [[Nintendo 64]], [[jiggywikki:Goggles|Goggles]] is playing with a Donkey Kong doll. His name also appears as an answer to one of Grunty's questions in either the Tower of Tragedy or the final battle. In ''{{wikia|goldeneye|GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64)|GoldenEye 007}}'', another game developed by Rare, Donkey Kong's face can be seen on a mountain in the first mission of the game, the Dam.<ref>[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B9b5ySgcdE8| DK's cameo in ''Goldeneye 007'']</ref> In both this game and its spiritual successor ''{{wikia|perfectdark|Perfect Dark}}'' which was also developed by Rare, there is an unlockable cheat called "DK Mode". This cheat will make it so that all characters in those games will have a similar body shape to Donkey Kong, with a larger head and arms extending all the way to the ground so as to resemble Donkey Kong's primal posture. He also appears in ''[[Picross NP]] Vol. 8'' as one of the figures that must be cleared.
 
At E3 2001, three ''Donkey Kong'' series titles were unveiled, ''[[Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)|Diddy Kong Pilot]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers]]'', and ''[[Donkey Kong Racing]]''. All three of these games were eventually canceled due to [[wikipedia:Microsoft Corporation|Microsoft]] acquiring [[Rare Ltd.|Rare]], causing them to lose the rights to the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise. He was planned as a playable character in ''Diddy Kong Pilot'' and presumably ''Donkey Kong Racing'', as he can be seen racing on a [[Rambi the Rhino|Rambi]] and a [[Zinger]] in different parts of the trailer.
 
Donkey Kong is a playable character in the canceled 2003 version of ''[[Diddy Kong Pilot (2003)|Diddy Kong Pilot]]''. He is a member of Team Kong and has high weight and speed but medium acceleration. He was later replaced by Mumbo Jumbo in ''[[jiggywikki:Banjo-Pilot|Banjo-Pilot]]'', where his groaning sound effect even remained intact with Mumbo Jumbo.
 
A skeleton named [[Bink]] from ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'' strongly resembles Donkey Kong, although this quirk was not carried over to that game's [[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions|remake]]. Bink even throws barrels and eats bananas. While Donkey Kong himself does not appear in ''[[Yoshi's Woolly World]]'' and ''[[Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World]]'', a pattern based on him, named Donkey Kong Yoshi, is featured via [[amiibo]].
 
[[File:Donkey Kong-Pixels.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Donkey Kong (in original form) in ''Pixels'']]
Donkey Kong also appears in ''[[Skylanders: SuperChargers]]'' under '''Turbo Charge Donkey Kong'''. He appears alongside [[Bowser]] with a special figurine sold exclusively in the Wii U starter pack. However, due to an agreement between Nintendo and [[wikipedia:Activision|Activision]], they are playable only on the Nintendo versions of the game. He also appears in the Wii U and Switch versions of ''[[wikipedia:Skylanders: Imaginators|Skylanders: Imaginators]]''.
 
Outside of video games, Donkey Kong appears as a property in [[Nintendo Monopoly]]. He takes the place of Marvin Gardens and costs $280. Also, a [[Donkey Kong (monster truck)|monster truck]] based on Donkey Kong competed in {{wp|Monster Jam}} from 2007 until 2010.
 
Donkey Kong also makes an appearance in the film ''[[Pixels]]''. Aside from appearing in gameplay of the ''Donkey Kong'' arcade game, he appears on [[Earth]] as a clone created by aliens. In the film, the clone throws pixelated barrels at protagonist Sam Brenner (played by [[wikipedia:Adam Sandler|Adam Sandler]]) in a location very much like [[25m]]. Brenner manages to avoid the barrels, defeat Donkey Kong, and rescue the Kong's hostages (who were positioned in the same location that Pauline was in ''Donkey Kong'').
 
In the Super Mario Mash-up in ''[[Minecraft]]'', Donkey Kong appears as a playable skin.
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===Physical appearance===
===Physical appearance===
{{multiframe
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|[[File:DKCFrontDK.png|148px]] [[File:DKMP10.png|148px]] Donkey Kong's appearance from the SNES era (left) and his current appearance (right).
|[[File:DKCFrontDK.png|148px]] [[File:DKMP10.png|148px]]
|Donkey Kong's appearance from the SNES era (left) and his current appearance (right)
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Donkey Kong is a [[Kong]] resembling a gorilla who sports a burly physique; in addition to having particularly large pecs, biceps and triceps, he is noted to weigh 800 pounds (363 kg) according to the [[Ring announcer|talking microphone that serves as the announcer]] for the fight against King K. Rool in ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', as well as having the traditional large feet of primates with opposable thumbs. Donkey Kong also has brown fur, with the fur on his head being distinctly shaped to the point of looking like a hairstyle. As of ''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'', his fur has also consistently sported a realistic texture. The shade of brown his fur is colored, however, has been inconsistent between games, being either a lighter shade or its original darker shade. Donkey Kong wears only a single item of clothing: a red necktie with the "DK" logo printed on it in yellow from ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' onwards.
{{quote|She came to have lunch with DK! Big, tall with lots of muscles DK! Not the half-pint version.|Diddy Kong|Ape Foo Young}}
Donkey Kong is a [[Kong]] resembling a gorilla who sports a burly physique; in addition to having particularly large pecs, biceps and triceps, he is noted to weigh 800 pounds (363 kg) according to the talking [[Microphone]] that serves as the announcer for the fight against King K. Rool in ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', as well as having the traditional large feet of primates with opposable thumbs. Donkey Kong also has brown fur, with the fur on his head being distinctly shaped to the point of looking like a hairstyle. As of ''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'', his fur has also consistently sported a realistic texture. The shade of brown his fur is colored, however, has been inconsistent between games, being either a lighter shade or its original darker shade. Donkey Kong wears only a single item of clothing: a red necktie with the "DK" logo printed on it in yellow and tied in a Windsor knot<ref>"[[List of miscellaneous Play Nintendo opinion polls#Donkey Kong makeover poll|Donkey Kong makeover poll]]" on [[Play Nintendo]]</ref> from ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' onwards.


Within the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, Donkey Kong's appearance has changed. In ''Super Smash Bros.'', Donkey Kong was somewhat cartoonish in appearance, though his design did not originate from a specific ''Mario'' or ''Donkey Kong'' game. In ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', Donkey Kong gains a darker color scheme, while his design appears to have more details; Donkey Kong is also shown with teeth, which are colored white. In ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', Donkey Kong's fur is lighter in color, but it is further detailed. Donkey Kong's teeth are now yellowish in color. In ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' / ''Wii U'', Donkey Kong's fur receives even more detail, akin to ''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'', though he has a more vibrant color scheme. In ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', Donkey Kong gains a more subdued color scheme, though not to the same extent as ''Melee'' or ''Brawl''; additionally, his fur is slightly less detailed, though his necktie has simple detailing.
Within the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, Donkey Kong's appearance has changed. In ''Super Smash Bros.'', Donkey Kong was somewhat cartoonish in appearance, though his design did not originate from a specific ''Super Mario'' or ''Donkey Kong'' game. In ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', Donkey Kong gains a darker color scheme, while his design appears to have more details; Donkey Kong is also shown with teeth, which are colored white. In ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', Donkey Kong's fur is lighter in color, but it is further detailed. Donkey Kong's teeth are now yellowish in color. In ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' / ''Wii U'', Donkey Kong's fur receives even more detail, akin to ''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'', though he has a more vibrant color scheme. In ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', Donkey Kong gains a more subdued color scheme, though not to the same extent as ''Melee'' or ''Brawl''; additionally, his fur is slightly less detailed, though his necktie has simple detailing.


Throughout the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, Donkey Kong has had eight alternate costumes to choose from; in ''Super Smash Bros.'' and ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', he has 5 costumes; in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl '', he has 6 costumes; lastly, in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' / ''Wii U'' and ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', he has 8 costumes. Donkey Kong's first alternate costume gives him black fur, making him resemble his in-game sprite in ''Donkey Kong '94'' and ''Donkey Kong Land''; his second alternate costume gives him red fur, resembling his appearance in the original ''Donkey Kong''; his third alternate costume gives him blue fur, resembling one of his alternate colors from ''Mario Golf'' and ''Donkey Kong 64''{{'}}s multiplayer mode; his fourth alternate costume gives him green fur, having no inspiration. In ''Melee'', Donkey Kong's black costume receives a blue tie, his red costume receives a navy blue tie, and his blue costume receives a purple tie. In ''Brawl'', Donkey Kong's black costume receives a yellow tie with green insignia and his blue costume receives a lavender tie; his green costume is much darker. Donkey Kong also gains a fifth alternate costume with white fur, later inspiring [[Super Kong]]'s colors. In ''3DS'' / ''Wii U'', Donkey Kong's green costume regains its pre-''Brawl'' color, while his sixth and seventh alternate costumes are introduced: the former gives Donkey Kong a light blue tie and golden brown fur, resembling one of his alternate colors from ''Mario Golf''; the latter gives Donkey Kong a yellow tie and pink fur, resembling [[Junior (II)]]'s color in ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. Math]]''.
Throughout the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, Donkey Kong has had eight alternate costumes to choose from; in ''Super Smash Bros.'' and ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', he has 5 costumes; in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl '', he has 6 costumes; lastly, in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' / ''Wii U'' and ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', he has 8 costumes. Donkey Kong's first alternate costume gives him black fur, making him resemble his in-game sprite in ''Donkey Kong '94'' and ''Donkey Kong Land''; his second alternate costume gives him red fur, resembling his appearance in the original ''Donkey Kong''; his third alternate costume gives him blue fur, resembling one of his alternate colors from ''Mario Golf'' and ''Donkey Kong 64''{{'}}s multiplayer mode; his fourth alternate costume gives him green fur, having no inspiration. In ''Melee'', Donkey Kong's black costume receives a blue tie, his red costume receives a navy blue tie, and his blue costume receives a purple tie. In ''Brawl'', Donkey Kong's black costume receives a yellow tie with green insignia and his blue costume receives a lavender tie; his green costume is much darker. Donkey Kong also gains a fifth alternate costume with white fur, later inspiring [[Super Kong]]'s colors. In ''3DS'' / ''Wii U'', Donkey Kong's green costume regains its pre-''Brawl'' color, while his sixth and seventh alternate costumes are introduced: the former gives Donkey Kong a light blue tie and golden brown fur, resembling one of his alternate colors from ''Mario Golf''; the latter gives Donkey Kong a yellow tie and pink fur, resembling [[Donkey Kong Jr.|Junior (II)]]'s color in ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. Math]]''.
 
In ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'', Donkey Kong has a more realistic look than his previous appearances. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, his design takes inspiration from his depictions prior to ''Donkey Kong Country'' in order to give him a more comical personality and design.<ref>[https://youtu.be/ohJrpHUoZ10?t=293]</ref> His body is also more detailed, similar to his appearance from the ''Super Smash Bros.'' games.


===Speech===
===Speech===
In the ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' arcade game, the original Donkey Kong only spoke in growls as he took Lady (or [[Pauline]]) on top of a construction site (which sounded like "heh heh heh"), as well as when ascending further up the structure upon Mario completing a level (except for [[100m]]). ''[[Saturday Supercade]]'' depicted him with the ability to speak broken English in contrast to [[Donkey Kong Jr.]], his son. While he mainly verbalized realistic ape noises in-game, the instruction manuals for the ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong Land]]'' and ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]'' showed that the current Donkey Kong has the ability to speak rather intelligently, which was also seen during the ending of ''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]''. Donkey Kong later spoke intelligibly in a few ''[[Club Nintendo (magazine)|Club Nintendo]]'' comics as well as ''[[Super Mario-Kun]]''. Donkey Kong first received voice acting in the [[Donkey Kong Country (television series)|1998 computer-animated ''Donkey Kong Country'' television series]], where he was portrayed by [[Richard Yearwood]]. Donkey Kong next received voice acting in ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', where he was portrayed by [[Grant Kirkhope]], a composer for [[Rare Ltd.]] and the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise. Here, Donkey Kong had a few lines where he spoke broken English while referring to himself in the third person. Grant Kirkhope would continue to portray Donkey Kong until 2006; unlike in ''Donkey Kong 64'', Mr. Kirkhope would provide a mixture of cartoonish gorilla noises and actual words/phrases (though in fluent English). After 2006, [[Takashi Nagasako]] took over as Donkey Kong's voice actor, though he mainly provided him with cartoonish gorilla noises, although he is able to say his name, "Let's go!", and "Yeah, hey!" In current games where Donkey Kong is intended to speak in full sentences, there is in-game text to signify what he is saying. In the early ''Mario Party'' games, ''Mario Kart 64'', ''Mario Kart Super Circuit'', ''Mario Tennis'', ''Mario Golf'', as well as the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, Donkey Kong is instead given chimpanzee screams and realistic gorilla roars, respectively, instead of a voice actor; Donkey Kong's voice clips from the N64 era use the Chimpanzee Screeches and Vocalizes from The Hollywood Edge Sound Effects Library.<ref>https://www.whosampled.com/sample/515022/Nintendo-Character-Sound-Effects-The-Hollywood-Edge-Sound-Effects-Library-Chimpanzee-Screeches-and-Vocalizes/</ref>
In the ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' arcade game, the original Donkey Kong only spoke in growls as he took Lady (or [[Pauline]]) on top of a construction site, as well as when ascending further up the structure upon Mario completing a level (except for [[100m]]). ''[[Saturday Supercade]]'' depicted him with the ability to speak broken English in contrast to [[Donkey Kong Jr.]], his son. While he mainly verbalized realistic ape noises in-game provided by Mark Betteridge, the instruction manuals for the ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong Land]]'' and ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]'' showed that the current Donkey Kong has the ability to speak rather intelligently, which was also seen during the ending of ''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]''. Donkey Kong later spoke intelligibly in a few ''[[Club Nintendo (magazine)|Club Nintendo]]'' comics as well as ''[[Super Mario-Kun]]''. Donkey Kong first received voice acting in the [[Donkey Kong Country (television series)|1998 computer-animated ''Donkey Kong Country'' television series]], where he was portrayed by [[Richard Yearwood]]. Donkey Kong next received voice acting in ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', where he was portrayed by [[Grant Kirkhope]], a composer for [[Rare Ltd.]] and the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise. Here, Donkey Kong had a few lines where he spoke broken English while referring to himself in the third person. Grant Kirkhope would provide a mixture of cartoonish gorilla noises and actual words, including "Yeah!", "Cool", "Hey!", and "OK!". After 2006, [[Takashi Nagasako]] took over as Donkey Kong's voice actor, first heard in ''[[Mario Power Tennis]]'', though he mainly provided him with cartoonish gorilla noises, although he is able to say his name, "Let's go!", and "Yeah, hey!" In current games where Donkey Kong is intended to speak in full sentences, there is in-game text to signify what he is saying. In the early ''Mario Party'' games, ''Mario Kart 64'', ''Mario Kart Super Circuit'', ''Mario Tennis'', ''Mario Golf'', as well as the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, Donkey Kong is instead given chimpanzee screams and realistic gorilla roars, respectively, instead of a voice actor; Donkey Kong's voice clips from the N64 era use the Chimpanzee Screeches and Vocalizes from The Hollywood Edge Sound Effects Library.<ref>https://www.whosampled.com/sample/515022/Nintendo-Character-Sound-Effects-The-Hollywood-Edge-Sound-Effects-Library-Chimpanzee-Screeches-and-Vocalizes/</ref> In ''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'', Donkey Kong, as all other Kongs, is fully capable of speech and can normally talk to non-Kong characters, where he is portrayed by [[Seth Rogen]].


===Personality===
===Personality===
[[File:Angry DK - Super Mario Sticker.gif|thumb|rightt|200px|LINE sticker depicting an angered Donkey Kong]]
[[File:Angry DK - Super Mario Sticker.gif|thumb|200px|LINE sticker depicting an angered Donkey Kong]]
[[File:SMRL-Line-DK-Banana.gif|thumb|left|200px|LINE sticker depicting Donkey Kong relaxing on a beach chair]]
[[File:SMRL-Line-DK-Banana.gif|thumb|left|200px|LINE sticker depicting Donkey Kong relaxing on a beach chair]]
In the games, despite his carefree lifestyle, Donkey Kong is a brave and friendly hero who highly cares for his friends and [[banana hoard]], and becomes enraged if either are threatened. He is always keen to be helpful and use his strength whenever possible. The [[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (series)|''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series]] portray him as prone to temper tantrums if he doesn't get what he wants, which leads to him and Mario clashing when he steals the Mini Mario Toys and even kidnaps Pauline, though he does show remorse once Mario resolves the matter. Donkey Kong is also shown as more aggressive and willing to fight in ''Donkey Kong Jungle Beat''.
In the games, despite his carefree lifestyle, Donkey Kong is a brave and friendly hero who highly cares for his friends and [[banana hoard]], and becomes enraged if either are threatened. He is always keen to be helpful and use his strength whenever possible. The [[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (series)|''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series]] portray him as prone to temper tantrums if he doesn't get what he wants, which leads to him and Mario clashing when he steals the Mini Mario Toys and even kidnaps Pauline, though he does show remorse once Mario resolves the matter. Donkey Kong is also shown as more aggressive and willing to fight in ''Donkey Kong Jungle Beat''.
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In the TV series, Donkey Kong's personality is largely the same, albeit depicting him as lazy instead of carefree. Donkey Kong is shown to have a somewhat stronger moral back bone, as shown in [[I Spy with My Hairy Eye]] with his reluctance to use the [[Crystal Coconut]] to wish for more bananas until Diddy manipulated him into doing it. Donkey Kong also seems easier to startle and more sensitive overall, but maintains an aggressive wariness of King K. Rool, Kaptain Skurvy and their goons.
In the TV series, Donkey Kong's personality is largely the same, albeit depicting him as lazy instead of carefree. Donkey Kong is shown to have a somewhat stronger moral back bone, as shown in [[I Spy with My Hairy Eye]] with his reluctance to use the [[Crystal Coconut]] to wish for more bananas until Diddy manipulated him into doing it. Donkey Kong also seems easier to startle and more sensitive overall, but maintains an aggressive wariness of King K. Rool, Kaptain Skurvy and their goons.
In ''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'', Donkey Kong is portrayed as a fun-loving, sarcastic, arrogant, and relaxed character who enjoys his popularity, but also suffers from self-confidence issues when it comes to how his father Cranky Kong views him as a joke, as well as being heavily embarrassed at the fact he was defeated in battle and then had his life saved by Mario. He also throws a fit of rage when Mario calls him a "smash monkey", showing his frustration about being seen as nothing more than a mindless brute "who smashes things".


===Powers and abilities===
===Powers and abilities===
[[File:Donkey Kong - Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.png|thumb|left|Donkey Kong flexing.]]
[[File:Donkey Kong - Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.png|thumb|left|Donkey Kong flexing.]]
Unlike most characters, who have some kind of special power, Donkey Kong relies mainly on his brute strength. He sometimes has the title of "The strongest of the Kongs", though this claim may refer to his combat prowess instead of strength alone, as some Kongs like Chunky Kong and [[Sumo Kong]] are clearly larger and stronger than Donkey Kong. In the original ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' he had a seemingly unlimited supply of Barrels, and could throw them easily. This carried on to the ''Donkey Kong Country'' games, where he can pick up and throw Barrels with ease. Also in ''Donkey Kong Country'', he can defeat certain enemies that [[Diddy Kong]] cannot hurt with a single jump. In ''Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat'', his strength is shown yet again, it makes him so strong that when he claps, a sound-wave is produced, which  is his main attack throughout the game. In the ending of ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'', Donkey Kong is shown to be strong enough to knock the moon out of its orbit and into the planet's atmosphere with a single punch (though the fact he was falling towards it at an alarming speed may have helped with it).
Unlike most characters, who have some kind of special power, Donkey Kong relies mainly on his brute strength. He sometimes has the title of "The strongest of the Kongs", in spite of some Kongs like [[Chunky Kong]] and [[Sumo Kong]] being larger than Donkey Kong. In the original ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' he had a seemingly unlimited supply of Barrels, and could throw them easily. This carried on to the ''Donkey Kong Country'' games, where he can pick up and throw Barrels with ease. Also in ''Donkey Kong Country'', he can defeat certain enemies that [[Diddy Kong]] cannot hurt with a single jump. In ''Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat'', his strength is shown yet again, it makes him so strong that when he claps, a sound-wave is produced, which  is his main attack throughout the game. In the ending of ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'', Donkey Kong is shown to be strong enough to knock the moon out of its orbit and into the planet's atmosphere with a single punch (though the fact he was falling towards it at an alarming speed may have helped with it).
 
Donkey Kong also appears to either immune or highly resistant to hypnosis since the [[Tiki Tak Tribe#Kalimba|Kalimba Tiki]] was unable to hypnotize him when it was easily able to do so to other animals on the island. In ''Donkey Kong 64'', he has a personal weapon, the [[Coconut Shooter]], and has a special ability called [[Strong Kong]] which allows him to become invincible and use up more Crystal Coconuts the longer he maintains the form. Donkey Kong also has some skill with musical instruments, to the point that he can even weaponize music and song in combat. This is demonstrated in ''Donkey Kong 64'', where Donkey Kong is talented in playing bongos and uses it to solve puzzles and attack surrounding enemies; the ability of playing bongos is also shown in the [[Donkey Konga (series)|''Donkey Konga'' games]]. In the ''Mario Strikers'' series, Donkey Kong is shown to wield electric powers, exerting bolts of lightning during his [[Super Strike]] and [[Mega Strike]].  


Donkey Kong also appears to either immune or highly resistant to hypnosis since the Kalimba Tiki was unable to hypnotize him when it was easily able to do so to other animals on the island. In ''Donkey Kong 64'', he has a personal weapon, the [[Coconut Shooter]], and has a special ability called [[Strong Kong]] which allows him to become invincible and use up more Crystal Coconuts the longer he maintains the form. Donkey Kong also has some skill with musical instruments, to the point that he can even weaponize music and song in combat. This is demonstrated in ''Donkey Kong 64'', where Donkey Kong is talented in playing bongos and uses it to solve puzzles and attack surrounding enemies; the ability of playing bongos is also shown in the [[Donkey Konga (series)|''Donkey Konga'' games]]. In the ''Mario Strikers'' series, Donkey Kong is shown to wield electric powers, exerting bolts of lightning during his [[Super Strike]] and [[Mega Strike]].  
Though his size and weight may suggest otherwise, Donkey Kong is deceptively fast and agile; in ''Mario Strikers: Battle League'', he break dances after scoring a goal and performs acrobatics while vine swinging in his victory scene. In ''Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat'' he is shown to be very proficient in hand to hand combat, delivering a vast amount of fast punches and kicks in a few seconds and is quick in countering the attacks he dodges, enabling him to contend with and defeat master martial artists like [[Karate Kong]] and [[Ninja Kong]] or physically stronger opponents like Sumo Kong. DK's speed and agility have also been consistently demonstrated throughout his appearances in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' franchise.


Though his size and weight may suggest otherwise, Donkey Kong is deceptively fast and agile. In ''Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat'' he is shown to be very proficient in hand to hand combat, delivering a vast amount of fast punches and kicks in a few seconds and is quick in countering the attacks he dodges. DK's speed and agility have also been consistently demonstrated throughout his appearances in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' franchise.
===Identity===
:''Main articles: [[Cranky Kong#Identity confusion]] and [[Donkey Kong Jr.]]''
According to various pieces of official media, starting with ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', the Donkey Kong that appears in the titles prior to ''Donkey Kong Country'', such as ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. (game)|Donkey Kong Jr.]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong 3]]'' and the [[Game Boy]] ''[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Donkey Kong]]'', goes on to age and become [[Cranky Kong]], passing down his name to the current and modern Donkey Kong, his grandson. Some sources would go on to imply that the Donkey Kong that appeared in games after ''Donkey Kong Country'' is a grown up [[Donkey Kong Jr.]]<ref>Scribes - April 25, 1999. [https://web.archive.org/web/20020805184158/rareware.com/the_site/talk_to_us/scribes/aug25_99/aug25_99.html Rareware Website Archive]. ''Rareware.com''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Game-Boy-Advance/Donkey-Kong-Country-266551.html ''Donkey Kong Country'' web page.] (April 13, 2017). ''Nintendo.co.uk''. Retrieved April 13, 2017.</ref>; this was later contradicted in a 2017 [[Prima Games]] book that establishes Donkey Kong Jr. as the father of Donkey Kong and son of Cranky Kong.<ref>"<i>''Super Mario Kart'' is the only ''Mario Kart'' game to feature Donkey Kong Jr. Due to the success of ''Donkey Kong Country'', all future ''Mario Kart'' entries featured Donkey Kong, who is actually Donkey Kong Jr.’s son, with Cranky Kong, aka Donkey Kong Sr., canonically being the character featured in the original ''Donkey Kong'' game. Makes sense, right?</i>" - ''Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide'', ''Super Mario Kart'' 16 Bits Tab.</ref> The relationship between Cranky Kong and Donkey Kong has also been contradicted on occasion, between being his father (as seen mostly in ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'')<ref>"''That darn Donkey has all the luck! His girl Candy waits around in her hut, always willing to offer her musical help to that undeserving son of mine and his fancy polygonal friends. Pah!''" - ''Donkey Kong 64'' instruction booklet, page 9 (among various in-game lines)</ref> and being his grandfather.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Ghoulyboy/status/859502066225606656 Gregg Mayles in a May 2017 Twitter post]. Retrieved May 2, 2017.</ref>


===Relationships===
===Relationships===
====Friends====
====Friends====
[[File:DKandDiddy DKCR.png|thumb|left|Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'']]
[[File:DKandDiddy DKCR.png|thumb|left|Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'']]
[[Diddy Kong]] is Donkey Kong's "little buddy" who looks up to him. Diddy Kong has gone on many adventures with his best friend (with DK showing excitement at having another adventure with his friend when selected as his ally character in ''Super Mario Party''), and the two often look out for each other, sharing a brotherly bond. In sports, Diddy Kong is often Donkey Kong's default partner. Diddy was stated to be DK's nephew in ''Donkey Kong Country'', though different sources question whether this relation is true or not.
[[Diddy Kong]] is Donkey Kong's "little buddy" who looks up to him. Diddy Kong has gone on many adventures with his best friend (with DK showing excitement at having another adventure with his friend when selected as his ally character in ''Super Mario Party''), and the two often look out for each other, sharing a brotherly bond. In sports, Diddy Kong is often Donkey Kong's default partner. Diddy has rarely been suggested as [[Diddy Kong#Relationships|a relative of DK's]], though most sources do not claim that they are related.  


[[Dixie Kong]] is one of Donkey Kong's closest friends, sometimes hanging out with him and Diddy Kong. She actively helped rescue him when he's kidnapped and joined him in retaking Donkey Kong Island from the Snowmads. Donkey Kong seems to act like a big brother to Dixie, similar to how he is with Diddy. He was very defensive of her when she was antagonized by a [[Dry Bones]] in ''Mario Super Sluggers''. Dixie does show minor exasperation with DK when he's rash and stubborn, but they nonetheless have a close friendship.
[[Dixie Kong]] is one of Donkey Kong's closest friends, sometimes hanging out with him and Diddy Kong. She actively helped rescue him when he is kidnapped and joined him in retaking Donkey Kong Island from the Snowmads. Donkey Kong seems to act like a big brother to Dixie, similar to how he is with Diddy. He was very defensive of her when she was antagonized by a [[Dry Bones]] in ''Mario Super Sluggers''. Dixie does show minor exasperation with DK when he is rash and stubborn, but they nonetheless have a close friendship.


[[Funky Kong]] is another one of Donkey Kong's recurring friends. The two share a good friendship, with Funky referring DK by the nickname "Donkey-Dude". Though he prefers not adventuring, Funky does support Donkey Kong by giving him either transportation or weaponry, or acting as a shopkeeper.
[[Funky Kong]] is another one of Donkey Kong's recurring friends. The two share a good friendship, with Funky referring DK by the nickname "Donkey-dude". Though he prefers not adventuring, Funky does support Donkey Kong by giving him either transportation or weaponry, or acting as a shopkeeper.


====Relatives====
====Relatives====
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In the TV series, Cranky acts as a direct mentor to Donkey Kong, but still gets angry with him easily. Regardless, the two care about each other as family as shown in [[Message in a Bottle Show]] where the two hugged each other, although they may be loathe to admit it at times. Despite his low patience, Cranky has high faith in DK and views as the best hope for the well-being of Kongo Bongo and admits when Donkey Kong actually has [[A Thin Line Between Love & Ape|a good idea]].
In the TV series, Cranky acts as a direct mentor to Donkey Kong, but still gets angry with him easily. Regardless, the two care about each other as family as shown in [[Message in a Bottle Show]] where the two hugged each other, although they may be loathe to admit it at times. Despite his low patience, Cranky has high faith in DK and views as the best hope for the well-being of Kongo Bongo and admits when Donkey Kong actually has [[A Thin Line Between Love & Ape|a good idea]].
[[Donkey Kong Jr.]] is the son of the original Donkey Kong, who became known as Cranky Kong. As the original Donkey Kong is said to be the current Donkey Kong's grandfather, this would make Donkey Kong Jr. his father. Some sources instead claim that Donkey Kong Jr. became the modern Donkey Kong as an adult, but this accompanies the [[Cranky Kong#Identity confusion|outdated notion]] of Cranky Kong being the current Donkey Kong's father. Donkey Kong Jr. supported his "''papa''" and saved him from the clutches of [[Mario]] in ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. (game)|Donkey Kong Jr.]]'' However, Donkey Kong Jr. and the current Donkey Kong have had virtually no interaction - they have only appeared alongside each other in ''[[Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64)|Mario Tennis]]'' for the [[Nintendo 64]].


====Love interests====
====Love interests====
[[Candy Kong]] is one of Donkey Kong's closest friends who others believe he will marry one day, although he is not ready to settle down in Candy Kong's opinion. According to ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', the idea of her being his girlfriend is only a rumor. This may be due to the fact Donkey Kong seemed to spontaneously show romantic interest in [[Pauline]] at the time. In Rare-developed games, DK prefers to keep a then-recent framed photograph of Candy in [[DK's Tree House|his home]]. To explain Candy Kong's absence in later games, one official review of ''[[Donkey Kong Land 2]]'' states that she broke up with Donkey Kong,<ref>''Nintendo Magazine System'' (UK) #50, page 52. "''You’d have thought that after retrieving his banana stash, Donkey Kong would be able to live out his days in peace and harmony with Candy Kong by his side. Unfortunately, she’s given him the push. And to make matters even worse, he’s been captured by those oh-so-pesky Kremlings!''"</ref> although the ''Donkey Kong 64'' manual suggests otherwise.<ref>''Donkey Kong 64'' instruction booklet, page 9. "''That darn Donkey has all the luck! His girl Candy waits around in her hut, always willing to offer her musical help to that undeserving son of mine and his fancy polygonal friends. Pah!''"</ref>
[[Candy Kong]] is one of Donkey Kong's closest friends who others believe he will marry one day, although he is not ready to settle down in Candy Kong's opinion. The Rarewhere website suggests that the two have known each other since childhood.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010420120315/http://www.rare.co.uk/recent/games/dkc/castlist/cast_candy.html DKC Trilogy Cast List]. ''Rarewhere''. Retrieved April 25, 2022.</ref> According to ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', the idea of Candy being DK's girlfriend is only a rumor, which may be due to the fact Donkey Kong seems to spontaneously show romantic interest in [[Pauline]]. In Rare-developed games, DK tends to keep a framed photograph of Candy in [[DK's Tree House|his home]]. To explain Candy Kong's absence in later games, one official review of ''[[Donkey Kong Land 2]]'' states that she broke up with Donkey Kong,<ref>''Nintendo Magazine System'' (UK) #50, page 52. "''You’d have thought that after retrieving his banana stash, Donkey Kong would be able to live out his days in peace and harmony with Candy Kong by his side. Unfortunately, she’s given him the push. And to make matters even worse, he’s been captured by those oh-so-pesky Kremlings!''"</ref> although the ''Donkey Kong 64'' manual suggests otherwise.<ref>''Donkey Kong 64'' instruction booklet, page 9. "''That darn Donkey has all the luck! His girl Candy waits around in her hut, always willing to offer her musical help to that undeserving son of mine and his fancy polygonal friends. Pah!''"</ref>


In the TV series, Donkey Kong and Candy Kong are dating. The two love each other, not because of their looks, but for personality. Donkey Kong loves Candy Kong for her sweet side, her kindness, her dedication, and banana cream pies while Candy Kong loves Donkey Kong for his kindness and sweetness. Though Candy Kong can get angry at Donkey Kong for his foolishness as shown in several episodes, the two love one another nonetheless.
In the TV series, Donkey Kong and Candy Kong are dating, but their affection tends to be very on-and-off. Donkey Kong is blindly in love with Candy even when she dismisses him, as she often gets angry with him for his foolishness as shown in several episodes. Candy even occasionally expresses romantic interest in Bluster Kong instead.


====Rivals====
====Rivals====
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Donkey Kong and [[Mario]] have had a rivalry for some time. The rivalry is witnessed in the ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series. However the rivalry is friendlier in spin-off games, as implied in ''Super Smash Bros.'', and in [[Solid Snake]]'s codec conversation from ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''. Aside from their rivalry, Donkey Kong is good friends with Mario and gets along with him and his friends in some games such as the ''Mario Party'' series. Though the current Donkey Kong is large, he is actually quite a bit younger than Mario. Although Mario did fight Donkey Kong's grandfather in the original Donkey Kong game, [[Cranky Kong]] admits that Mario is a true [[Cranky's Video Game Heroes|video game hero]] and even looks back at his nostalgic antics with a fond respect. Donkey Kong and Mario do not seem to hold grudges against one another in spite of their occasional conflicts. One of the evident facts about this is whenever a player lands on a DK Space in the ''Mario Party'' series, Donkey Kong will reward them with coins and stars. Another sign of Mario and Donkey Kong's friendship is how quickly Mario forgives a remorseful DK in the ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series, even giving him a toy a few times.  
Donkey Kong and [[Mario]] have had a rivalry for some time. The rivalry is witnessed in the ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series. However the rivalry is friendlier in spin-off games, as implied in ''Super Smash Bros.'', and in [[Solid Snake]]'s codec conversation from ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''. Aside from their rivalry, Donkey Kong is good friends with Mario and gets along with him and his friends in some games such as the ''Mario Party'' series. Though the current Donkey Kong is large, he is actually quite a bit younger than Mario. Although Mario did fight Donkey Kong's grandfather in the original Donkey Kong game, [[Cranky Kong]] admits that Mario is a true [[Cranky's Video Game Heroes|video game hero]] and even looks back at his nostalgic antics with a fond respect. Donkey Kong and Mario do not seem to hold grudges against one another in spite of their occasional conflicts. One of the evident facts about this is whenever a player lands on a DK Space in the ''Mario Party'' series, Donkey Kong will reward them with coins and stars. Another sign of Mario and Donkey Kong's friendship is how quickly Mario forgives a remorseful DK in the ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series, even giving him a toy a few times.  


Donkey Kong displays good friendships with characters from the ''Sonic'' franchise. He has a friendly rivalry with [[Knuckles the Echidna]] and [[Vector the Crocodile]]. During the opening of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]'', Donkey Kong, as a hockey goalie, thwarts Knuckles' shot. In Adventure Tour, Donkey Kong quickly establishes good rapport with Vector and [[Silver the Hedgehog]]. In [[Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games|London]], Silver and Donkey Kong compete together in Volleyball, while Donkey Kong, Knuckles, and Vector work together clearing out the fog in the wrestling venues, with Vector offering a detective job to DK. In [[Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games|Rio]] games, Donkey Kong and Knuckles accuse each other of cheating after being deceived by two Miis dressed as Mario and Sonic. Following their losses in the Boxing Event, they make peace after realizing their misunderstanding. [[Big the Cat]] also invites Donkey Kong to outing. Donkey Kong has special victory animations with Knuckles and Vector in [[Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games|Sochi]] and Rio, as well as being shown flexing with Vector in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020]]''.
Donkey Kong displays good friendships with characters from the ''Sonic'' franchise. He has a friendly rivalry with [[Knuckles|Knuckles the Echidna]] and [[Vector|Vector the Crocodile]]. During the opening of ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]'', Donkey Kong, as a hockey goalie, thwarts Knuckles' shot. In Adventure Tour, Donkey Kong quickly establishes good rapport with Vector and [[Silver|Silver the Hedgehog]]. In [[Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games|London]], Silver and Donkey Kong compete together in Volleyball, while Donkey Kong, Knuckles, and Vector work together clearing out the fog in the wrestling venues, with Vector offering a detective job to DK. In [[Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games|Rio]] games, Donkey Kong and Knuckles accuse each other of cheating after being deceived by two Miis dressed as Mario and Sonic. Following their losses in the Boxing Event, they make peace after realizing their misunderstanding. [[Big (character)|Big the Cat]] also invites Donkey Kong to outing. Donkey Kong has special victory animations with Knuckles and Vector in [[Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games|Sochi]] and Rio, as well as being shown flexing with Vector in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020]]''.


====Enemies====
====Enemies====
[[King K. Rool]] and his Kremlings are archenemies of Donkey Kong and the Kong Family. They have stolen DK's hoard often for unknown reasons and kidnapped him and his friends. Even when the king and four colored Kritters join the Kongs to form the [[DK Wilds]], their antagonism still shows. In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', King K. Rool's trailer is called "The Rivals" as a reference to the enmity between him and Donkey Kong. In the show, the feud is still the same. Donkey Kong enjoys giving the Kremlings beatings, causing them to have great fear and apprehension of him.  
[[King K. Rool]] and his Kremlings are archenemies of Donkey Kong and the Kong Family. They have stolen DK's hoard often for unknown reasons and kidnapped him and his friends. However, Donkey Kong was willing to help a Kremling named [[K. Lumsy]] when he realized that he did not wish to harm the Kong Family. Even when the king and four colored Kritters join the Kongs to form the [[DK Wilds]], their antagonism still shows. In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', King K. Rool's trailer is called "The Rivals" as a reference to the enmity between him and Donkey Kong. In the show, the feud is still the same. Donkey Kong enjoys giving the Kremlings beatings, causing them to have great fear and apprehension of him.  


The Tiki Tak Tribe and the Snowmads are other adversaries to Donkey Kong, who has personal grudges with the groups for stealing all the bananas on Donkey Kong Island, including the ones in his hoard, and exiling him and his friends while conquering their home, respectively.
The Tiki Tak Tribe and the Snowmads are other adversaries to Donkey Kong, who has personal grudges with the groups for stealing all the bananas on Donkey Kong Island, including the ones in his hoard, and exiling him and his friends while conquering their home, respectively.
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{{multiframe
{{multiframe
|[[File:MK8 Donkey Kong Emblem.png|100px]][[File:MK8 Donkey Kong Car Horn Emblem.png|100px]]  
|[[File:MK8 Donkey Kong Emblem.png|100px]][[File:MK8 Donkey Kong Car Horn Emblem.png|100px]]  
|Donkey Kong's emblems, from ''[[Mario Kart 8]]''.
|Donkey Kong's [[emblem]]s, from ''[[Mario Kart 8]]''.
|size=200
|size=200
|align=right
|align=right
}}
}}
Donkey Kong's official profiles often characterize him as the "king of the jungle" and discuss how he is both a heroic adventurer and the laid-back leader of the DK Crew. In spinoffs he is typically a heavyweight power character with decent speed. His emblem in the spin-offs are his initials.
Donkey Kong's official profiles often characterize him as the "king of the jungle" and discuss how he is both a heroic adventurer and the laid-back leader of the DK Crew. In spinoffs he is typically a heavyweight power character with decent speed. His emblem in the spin-offs are his initials.


==Portrayals==
==Portrayals==
{{Quote2|When Nintendo asked me for the samples, I couldn't believe it! It was like, what, you wanna use this? Y'know. [...] We thought they were totally shit.|Grant Kirkhope on his performance in ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]''}}<ref>[https://youtu.be/hsqCnMMjylg?t=2687 The Kongversation - 734: Inteview: Grant Kirkhope]</ref>
*[[Milton Supman|Soupy Sales]] (1983, the first portrayal of Donkey Kong overall)
*[[Milton Supman|Soupy Sales]] (1983, the first portrayal of Donkey Kong overall)
*[[Charles Martinet]] (1994){{ref needed}}
*Mark Betteridge (1994–1995)<ref>Shesez (November 22, 2019). [https://youtu.be/TwWHzilbQ34?t=3072 The Donkey Kong Country 25th Anniversary Interview Documentary] (52m12s). ''YouTube''. Retrieved January 17, 2023.</ref>
*[[Chris Sutherland]] (1994, when failing a Bonus Level)
*[[Charles Martinet]] (1994, [[Mario in Real Time]])
*[[Stevie Coyle]] (1994, Mario in Real Time)
*[[Richard Yearwood]] (1997-2000)
*[[Richard Yearwood]] (1997-2000)
*[[Sterling Jarvis]] (1997-2000, singing voice)
*Sterling Jarvis (1997-2000, singing voice)
*[[Grant Kirkhope]] (1999-2009)
*[[Grant Kirkhope]] (1999–2001, voice clips recycled from 2003-2010)
*[[Takashi Nagasako]] (2004-present)
*[[Takashi Nagasako]] (2004-present)
*[[Seth Rogen]] (2022 film)
*[[Seth Rogen]] (2023 film)
{{br}}
{{br}}
==Gallery==
{{main-gallery|Donkey Kong}}
<gallery>
Donkey Kong Lifting Barrel.jpg|''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]''<br>(American flier)
DK3 Donkey Kong Artwork.png|''[[Donkey Kong 3]]''
DKGameBoy.png|[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|''Donkey Kong''<br>(Game Boy)]]
DonkeyDKC.png|''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''
DKDKJB2.png|''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Beat]]''
DK Konga.jpg|''[[Donkey Konga 3: Tabehōdai! Haru Mogitate 50 Kyoku|Donkey Konga 3]]''
Donkey Kong Artwork (alt) - Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze.png|''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]''
Donkey Kong Artwork - Mario Kart 8.png|''[[Mario Kart 8]]''
</gallery>


==Quotes==
==Quotes==
===''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''===
===''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''===
All quotes are from the instruction booklets, with some narration.
All quotes are from the instruction booklets, with some narration.
*"''"OK, little buddy," Donkey had said in his patronizing voice. "As part of your hero training, you've got to stand guard tonight over my bananas... I'll relive you at midnight, so try and stay awake until then!"''"
*"''"OK, little buddy," Donkey had said in his patronizing voice. "As part of your hero training, you've got to stand guard tonight over my bananas... I'll relive{{sic}} you at midnight, so try and stay awake until then!"''"
*"''"Keep it down!!" he growled.''"
*"''"Keep it down!!" he growled.''"
*"''Morning already... I slept through my watch!''"
*"''Morning already... I slept through my watch!''"
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===''[[Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle]]''===
===''[[Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle]]''===
*"''<nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Squawks the Parrot]]] always carries a high-powered flashlight. He led us through the caves and tunnels once before. Maybe he can help us again.''"
*"''<nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Squawks|Squawks the Parrot]]] always carries a high-powered flashlight. He led us through the caves and tunnels once before. Maybe he can help us again.''"
*"''I can tell you where [[Kremling|''you're'']] going. Right into that wall!''"
*"''I can tell you where [[Kremling|''you're'']] going. Right into that wall!''"
*"''Time for some masterful monkey maneuvers!''"
*"''Time for some masterful monkey maneuvers!''"
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*"''Yeah!''"
*"''Yeah!''"
*"''Cool!''"
*"''Cool!''"
*"''Ok!''"
*"''Hey!''"
*"''OK!''"
*"''What did Cranky mean about training? Donkey all confused...''"
*"''What did Cranky mean about training? Donkey all confused...''"
*"''Yes, Donkey will help K. Lumsy!''"
*"''Yes, Donkey will help K. Lumsy!''"
*"''Ohhh, banana!''"


===[[Donkey Kong Country (television series)|''Donkey Kong Country'' TV Series]]===
===[[Donkey Kong Country (television series)|''Donkey Kong Country'' TV Series]]===
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*"''Ook ook! (The [[Kritter]]s, [[King K. Rool]], and my best pal, [[Diddy Kong]].)''"
*"''Ook ook! (The [[Kritter]]s, [[King K. Rool]], and my best pal, [[Diddy Kong]].)''"
*"''Ook ook! Ooooook! (Nothing! I hate finding nothing.)''"
*"''Ook ook! Ooooook! (Nothing! I hate finding nothing.)''"
===''The Super Mario Bros. Movie''===
*''"I'm [[DK Rap|D.K.! I'm Donkey Kong!]]"''
*''"Hi, [[Cranky Kong|Dad]]!"''
*''"Dad, wave back!"''
*''"What do [[Cranky Kong|you]] mean? [[Kongs|They]] like it! It's what they came here for! Dancing pecs!"''
*''"I don't need [[List of power-ups|anything special]] to break EVERY BONE in [[Mario|your]] tiny body!"''
*''"It is on... like Donkey Kong!"''
*''"Had enough?"''
*''"HA! [[Mario|You]] got the [[Cat Mario|cat]] [[? Block|box]]! Oh my- [sighs] I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Okay. Now [[Mario|you]] die."''
*''"Not… even… close…"''
*''"I hate [[Mario|you]]."''
*''"See ya!"''
*''"Stop talking! I don't want the last thing I hear, before I die, to be [[Mario|your]]..."''
*''"I. AM. MORE. THAN A GUY. WHO SMASHES THINGS!!!"''
*''"Now we're even!"''
*''"Yes I do!"''
*''"Yes! [[Fire Flower|Fire]]!"''
*''"This is fun!"''
*''"Loser!"''
*''"Cool [[Tanooki Suit|raccoon suit]]!"''
*''"No time now. Definitely later!"''
*''"HA! [[Bowser|He]] got the [[Mini Mushroom|Blue Mushroom]]!"''
*''"Aww, bring it in!"''


==Voice samples==
==Voice samples==
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|title4=''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Beat]]''
|title4=''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Beat]]''
|description4=Donkey Kong's {{wp|Tarzan yell}}-like cry (Takashi Nagasako)
|description4=Donkey Kong's {{wp|Tarzan yell}}-like cry (Takashi Nagasako)
|file5=TSMBM - Donkey Kong.oga
|title5=''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]''
|description5=''"It is on like DONKEY KONG!"'' - Donkey Kong before battling [[Mario]] (Seth Rogen)
}}
}}


==List of appearances by date==
==List of appearances by date==
{|class=sortable cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 border=1 align=center width=100% style="border-collapse:collapse; font-family:Arial"
{|class="wikitable sortable" width=100%
|-
|-
!width=40%|Title
!width=40%|Title
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|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]''
|''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]''
|Non-playable character (by name)
|Boss
|1981
|1981
|Arcade, [[Nintendo Entertainment System]]
|Arcade, [[Nintendo Entertainment System]]
|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong (Game & Watch)|Donkey Kong]]''
|''[[Donkey Kong (Game & Watch)|Donkey Kong]]''
|Non-playable character (by name)
|Boss
|1982
|1982
|[[Game & Watch]]
|[[Game & Watch]]
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|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong 3]]''
|''[[Donkey Kong 3]]''
|Non-playable character (by name)
|Antagonist
|1983
|1983
|Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System
|Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System
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|1983
|1983
|Nintendo Entertainment System
|Nintendo Entertainment System
|-
|''[[nwiki:Punch-Out!! (arcade)|Punch-Out!!]]''
|Cameo as member of crowd
|1984
|Arcade
|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū]]''
|''[[Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū]]''
|Non-playable character (by name)
|Antagonist
|1984
|1984
|[[NEC PC-88]], NEC PC-6601, Sharp X1
|[[NEC PC-88]], NEC PC-6601, Sharp X1
|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong 3 (Game & Watch)|Donkey Kong 3]]''
|''[[Donkey Kong 3 (Game & Watch)|Donkey Kong 3]]''
|Non-playable character (by name)
|Antagonist
|1984
|1984
|Game & Watch
|Game & Watch
|-
|''[[nwiki:Super Punch-Out!! (arcade)|Super Punch-Out!!]]''
|Cameo as member of crowd
|1984
|Arcade
|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Circus]]''
|''[[Donkey Kong Circus]]''
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|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Classics]]''  
|''[[Donkey Kong Classics]]''  
|Non-playable character (by name)
|Boss
|1988
|1988
|Nintendo Entertainment System
|Nintendo Entertainment System
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|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Donkey Kong]]''
|''[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Donkey Kong]]''
|Non-playable character (by name)
|Boss
|1994
|1994
|[[Game Boy]]
|[[Game Boy]]
|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong (Nelsonic Game Watch)|Donkey Kong]]''
|''[[Donkey Kong (Nelsonic Game Watch)|Donkey Kong]]''
|Non-playable character (by name)
|Boss
|1994
|1994
|[[Nelsonic Game Watch]]
|[[Nelsonic Game Watch]]
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|Nintendo 64
|Nintendo 64
|-
|-
|''Donkey Kong Country
|''[[Mario Artist: Paint Studio]]''
|Stamp
|1999
|[[Nintendo 64DD]]
|-
|''[[Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color)|Donkey Kong Country]]''
|Playable character
|Playable character
|2000
|2000
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|Nintendo GameCube
|Nintendo GameCube
|-
|-
|''Donkey Kong Country''
|''[[Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Advance)|Donkey Kong Country]]''
|Playable character
|Playable character
|2003
|2003
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|-
|-
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong]]''
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong]]''
|Non-playable character
|Boss
|2004
|2004
|Game Boy Advance
|Game Boy Advance
|-
|-
|''Donkey Kong Country 2''
|''[[Donkey Kong Country 2 (Game Boy Advance)|Donkey Kong Country 2]]''
|Non-playable character
|Non-playable character
|2004
|2004
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|[[Nintendo DS]]
|[[Nintendo DS]]
|-
|-
|''[[Donkey Konga 3: Tabehōdai! Haru Mogitate 50 Kyoku]]''
|''[[Donkey Konga 3 JP]]''
|Playable character
|Playable character
|2005
|2005
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|Arcade
|Arcade
|-
|-
|''Donkey Kong Country 3
|''[[Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance)|Donkey Kong Country 3]]''
|Non-playable character
|Non-playable character
|2005
|2005
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|-
|-
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis]]''
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis]]''
|Non-playable character
|Boss
|2006
|2006
|Nintendo DS
|Nintendo DS
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|-
|-
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!]]''
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!]]''
|Non-playable character
|Boss
|2009
|2009
|Nintendo DSi
|Nintendo DSi
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|-
|-
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!]]''
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!]]''
|Non-playable character
|Boss
|2010
|2010
|Nintendo DS
|Nintendo DS
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|2011
|2011
|Wii
|Wii
|-
|''[[Mario Kart 7]]''
|Playable character
|2011
|[[Nintendo 3DS]]
|-
|-
|''[[Mario Party 9]]''
|''[[Mario Party 9]]''
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|-
|-
|''[[Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move]]''
|''[[Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move]]''
|Non-playable character
|Boss
|2013
|2013
|Nintendo 3DS
|Nintendo 3DS
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|-
|-
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars]]''
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars]]''
|Non-playable character
|Boss
|2015
|2015
|Wii U, Nintendo 3DS
|Wii U, Nintendo 3DS
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|Nintendo 3DS
|Nintendo 3DS
|-
|-
|''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze''
|''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo Switch)|Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]''
|Playable character
|Playable character
|2018
|2018
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|Playable character
|Playable character
|2019
|2019
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''{{wp|Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics}}''
|Cameo ([[Mario Playing Cards|playing cards]])
|2020
|Nintendo Switch
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|-
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|Cameo
|Cameo
|2020
|2020
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[Mario Golf: Super Rush]]''
|Playable character
|2021
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[WarioWare: Get It Together!]]''
|Cameo in microgame
|2021
|Nintendo Switch
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|-
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|Playable character
|Playable character
|2021
|2021
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[Mario Strikers: Battle League]]''
|Playable character
|2022
|Nintendo Switch
|-
|''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Nintendo Switch)|Mario vs. Donkey Kong]]''
|Boss
|2024
|Nintendo Switch
|Nintendo Switch
|}
|}
==Gallery==
{{main-gallery|Donkey Kong}}
<gallery>
Donkey Kong Lifting Barrel.jpg|''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]''<br>(American flier)
DK3 Donkey Kong Artwork.png|''[[Donkey Kong 3]]''
DKGameBoy.png|[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|''Donkey Kong''<br>(Game Boy)]]
DonkeyDKC.png|''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''
DKDKJB2.png|''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Beat]]''
DK Konga.jpg|''[[Donkey Konga 3: Tabehōdai! Haru Mogitate 50 Kyoku|Donkey Konga 3]]''
Donkey Kong Artwork (alt) - Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze.png|''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]''
Donkey Kong Artwork - Mario Kart 8.png|''[[Mario Kart 8]]''
</gallery>


==Names in other languages==
==Names in other languages==
===Donkey Kong===
{{foreign names
{{foreign names
|Jap=ドンキーコング
|Jap=ドンキーコング
|JapR=Donkī Kongu
|JapR=Donkī Kongu
|JapM=Donkey Kong
|JapM=Donkey Kong
|ChiS=森喜刚
|Cat=Donkey Kong <small>(''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'')
|ChiSR=Sēnxǐgāng
|ChiS=森喜刚<br>''Sēnxǐ Gāng''<br>咚奇刚<ref name="CN name">[https://www.nintendo.com.hk/support/information/2022/1223.html 部分角色的中文名稱變更通知], ''Nintendo HK''. Retrieved December 23, 2022.</ref>  <small>(since December 23, 2022)</small><br>''Dōngqí Gāng''
|ChiSM=Literally "Forest Happy Kong"
|ChiSM=Literally "Forest Happy Kong"<br><br>Transliteration of the Japanese name
|ChiT=大金剛<ref>https://www.nintendo.tw/ds/ds_software2007.htm</ref><ref>https://www.nintendo.com.hk/wii/wii_software_2.htm</ref><br>''Dàjīn'gāng''<br>森喜剛<ref>https://www.nintendo.com.hk/ssqj/adventure/index.html</ref><ref>https://www.nintendo.tw/mp9/adventure/index.html</ref> <small>(since ''Mario Party 9'')</small><br>''Sēnxǐgāng''
|ChiT=大金剛<ref>https://www.nintendo.tw/ds/ds_software2007.htm</ref><ref>https://www.nintendo.com.hk/wii/wii_software_2.htm</ref><br>''Dàjīn'Gāng''<br>森喜剛<ref>https://www.nintendo.com.hk/ssqj/adventure/index.html</ref><ref>https://www.nintendo.tw/mp9/adventure/index.html</ref> <small>(since ''Mario Party 9'')</small><br>''Sēnxǐ Gāng''<br>咚奇剛<ref name="CN name"/> <small>(since December 23, 2022)</small><br>''Dōngqí Gāng''
|ChiTM=Transliteration of the Japanese name<br><br>Literally "Forest Happy Kong"<br><br>
|ChiTM=Transliteration of the Japanese name<br><br>Literally "Forest Happy Kong"<br><br>Transliteration of the Japanese name
|Dut=Donkey Kong
|Dut=Donkey Kong
|DutM=-
|Fin=Donkey Kong
|Fin=Donkey Kong
|FinM=-
|Fre=Donkey Kong<br>Donkey<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20001210101500/http://www.france2.fr/jeunesse/dktv/kongs.shtml#haut Official website] for [[Donkey Kong Planet]]</ref>
|Fra=Donkey Kong
|Ger=Donkey Kong<br>Donkey
|FraM=-
|Ger=Donkey Kong
|GerM=-
|Gre=Ντόνκυ Κονγκ
|Gre=Ντόνκυ Κονγκ
|GreR=Donky Kong
|GreR=Donky Kong
|GreM=Donkey Kong
|GreM=Donkey Kong
|Heb=דונקי קונג
|HebR=Donki Kong
|HebM=Donkey Kong
|Hun=Donkey Kong<br><small>({{media link|Kinder Surprise 2020 Hungarian-Romanian package.png|2020 ''Mario Kart'' Kinder<br>Surprise promotion in Romania<br>and Hungary}})</small>
|Hun=Donkey Kong<br><small>({{media link|Kinder Surprise 2020 Hungarian-Romanian package.png|2020 ''Mario Kart'' Kinder<br>Surprise promotion in Romania<br>and Hungary}})</small>
|HunM=-<br><br><br><br>
|HunM=-<br><br><br><br>
|Ita=Donkey Kong
|Ita=Donkey Kong
|ItaM=-
|Kor=동키콩
|Kor=동키콩
|KorR=Dongki Kong
|KorR=Dongki Kong
|KorM=Donkey Kong
|KorM=Donkey Kong
|Por=Donkey Kong
|Por=Donkey Kong
|PorM=-
|Rom=Donkey Kong<br><small>({{media link|Kinder Surprise 2020 Hungarian-Romanian package.png|2020 ''Mario Kart'' Kinder<br>Surprise promotion in Romania<br>and Hungary}}, ''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'')</small>
|Rom=Donkey Kong<br><small>({{media link|Kinder Surprise 2020 Hungarian-Romanian package.png|2020 ''Mario Kart'' Kinder<br>Surprise promotion in Romania<br>and Hungary}})</small>
|RomM=-<br><br><br><br>
|RomM=-<br><br><br><br>
|Rus=Донки Конг
|Rus=Донки Конг
Line 1,401: Line 882:
|RusM=Donkey Kong
|RusM=Donkey Kong
|Spa=Donkey Kong
|Spa=Donkey Kong
|SpaM=-
|Tha=ดองกี คอง<ref>[https://youtu.be/3Egwz629D8c Thai version] of the official trailer for ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'' (November 30, 2022), ''YouTube''. Retrieved December 9, 2022.</ref>
|ThaR=Dong-ki Khong
|ThaM=Donkey Kong
}}
 
===Donkey Kong (Gladiator)===
{{foreign names
|Jap=ドンキーコング (戦士)
|JapR=Donkī Kongu (Senshi)
|JapM=Donkey Kong (Warrior)
|ChiS=森喜刚 (战士)
|ChiSR=Sēnxǐ Gāng (Zhànshì)
|ChiSM=Donkey Kong (Warrior)
|ChiT=森喜剛 (戰士)
|ChiTR=Sēnxǐ Gāng (Zhànshì)
|ChiTM=Donkey Kong (Warrior)
|Fre=Donkey Kong (gladiateur)
|FreM=Donkey Kong (gladiator)
|Ger=Donkey Kong (Gladiator)
|Ita=Donkey Kong (gladiatore)
|ItaM=Donkey Kong (gladiator)
|Kor=동키콩(전사)
|KorR=Dongki Kong (Jeonsa)
|KorM=Donkey Kong (Warrior)
|Por=Donkey Kong (gladiador)
|PorM=Donkey Kong (gladiator)
|SpaA=Donkey Kong (gladiador)
|SpaAM=Donkey Kong (gladiator)
|SpaE=Donkey Kong (Gladiador)
|SpaEM=Donkey Kong (Gladiator)
}}
}}


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{{DK}}
{{DK}}
{{DKJR}}
{{DKJR}}
{{SS}}
{{SS (DK)}}
{{DK3}}
{{DK3}}
{{MIM}}
{{MIM}}
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{{DKL2}}
{{DKL2}}
{{DKC3}}
{{DKC3}}
{{DKCTV}}
{{DKC TV}}
{{MK64}}
{{MK64}}
{{MP}}
{{MP}}
{{SSB}}
{{SSB}}
{{MG64}}
{{MG N64}}
{{MGGBC}}
{{MG GBC}}
{{DK64}}
{{DK64}}
{{MP2}}
{{MP2}}
{{MT64}}
{{MT N64}}
{{MTGBC}}
{{MT GBC}}
{{MP3}}
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{{MKSC}}
{{MKSC}}
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{{MSB}}
{{MTPT}}
{{MTPT}}
{{MKAGP}}
{{MP7}}
{{MP7}}
{{MKDS}}
{{MKDS}}
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{{Super Mario Strikers}}
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{{MH3O3}}
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{{M&SATOGT}}
{{MGSR}}
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{{MPS}}
{{MSBL}}
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[[Category:Itadaki Street DS characters]]
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[[Category:Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games characters]]
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[[Category:Mario Party: The Top 100 characters]]
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[[de:Donkey Kong]]
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[[it:Donkey Kong]]
[[it:Donkey Kong]]

Revision as of 02:55, March 26, 2024

This article is about the character Donkey Kong. For other uses of the name "Donkey Kong", see Donkey Kong (disambiguation). For other uses of the moniker "DK", see DK (disambiguation).
Donkey Kong
Artwork of Donkey Kong in Mario Party Superstars
Artwork of Donkey Kong for Mario Party Superstars
Species Kong
First appearance Donkey Kong (as the original Donkey Kong) (1981)
Donkey Kong Country (as the current Donkey Kong) (1994)
Latest appearance Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Nintendo Switch) (2024)
Latest portrayal Takashi Nagasako (2004–present)
“My bananas and my buddy, Diddy Kong, they are gone! The Kremlings will pay! I'll hunt them down through every corner of my island, until I have every last banana from my hoard back!”
Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong, also known simply as DK, D.K., D. Kong,[1][2] or rarely Donkey, is a major character in the Super Mario franchise and the main protagonist of the Donkey Kong franchise. He is a powerful and carefree Kong that lives in Donkey Kong Island, and he likes to collect bananas and spend time with his friends, particularly his best friend and sidekick Diddy Kong. However, he has also been portrayed as an antagonist on multiple occasions, mainly in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series.

The Donkey Kong Country series establishes that Donkey Kong is something of a title rather than a singular character, and that at least two separate Kongs have bore it. This includes Cranky Kong and the current Donkey Kong. After the 1994 Game Boy Donkey Kong, Cranky Kong retired the usage of the name, passing it on to his grandson to use in Donkey Kong Country and onward.[3] This has caused confusion and continuity issues, with certain games and miscellaneous pieces of media contradicting the identity of Donkey Kong in early titles and his relationship with Cranky Kong.

Creation

Concept art for 25m with Popeye characters. The sheet is dated March 21, Showa 56 (1981).
Bluto throwing barrels at Popeye in early concept art of the arcade game that would develop into Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong's character design was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the Donkey Kong arcade game, in which Donkey Kong kidnaps Mario's original girlfriend, Lady. Miyamoto says that he chose the name "Donkey" to reflect the character's stupidity,[4] while "Kong" was considered a generic term for large apes in Japan.[5] Miyamoto was later informed by Nintendo of America staff that the word "donkey" is not a synonym for "idiot" in English, but he decided to ignore this because he liked the name "Donkey Kong".[4] However, this is contradicted by the deposition he gave during Universal Studio's lawsuit against Nintendo. He stated that his proposals for Kong's first name were rejected and that he was unaware of who came up with it. Export manager Shinichi Todori's deposition revealed that he came up with the first name after trying to translate「頓馬」(tonma) into English. It was either Gunpei Yokoi or Hiroshi Yamauchi who gave the final approval for the name.[6][7] Excluding the title, the Japanese arcade instructions and flyer refer to him simply as「コング」(Kong).

The Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special states that Shigeru Miyamoto claims that Donkey Kong's character was inspired by the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, though no further source or statement has been provided.[8] However, it is known that Donkey Kong took over the role of Bluto in a scrapped Popeye arcade game as the primary antagonist.

Donkey Kong's original appearance portrayed him as a villainous or confused ape with unequaled strength. In these games, Donkey Kong did not wear a tie. The 1994 Game Boy Donkey Kong was the first game to feature the tie (a red tie with the letters "DK" printed in white, later changed to yellow. However, with the release of Donkey Kong Country later that year, Donkey Kong was given a new personality. Donkey Kong's newer design by Kevin Bayliss was modeled after the Battletoads, particularly the sunken eyes;[9] additionally, when Steve Mayles had trouble modeling the mouth early on, Tim Stamper folded a flattened sphere and gave it depth, which was a technique reused for most characters such as Enguarde. Shigeru Miyamoto also supervised the development of the design process via fax, reminding Rare to include the tie and correcting the number of digits that should be on the hands and feet.[10] Donkey Kong Country also saw the appearance of the elderly Cranky Kong, who is described as the original Donkey Kong from the older arcade games. While the relationship of Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong has been inconsistent, most sources indicate that the current Donkey Kong is the grandson of Cranky Kong.

History

Main article: History of Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong debuted in the titular game, Donkey Kong as the antagonist who kidnaps Lady (later renamed Pauline). Becoming a reoccurring character, he appears as a protagonist, antagonist or a supporting character. He made appearances as the antagonist in Donkey Kong video game adaptations and Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong appears as a protagonist in his titular franchise with Diddy Kong as his ally. In Mario spin-offs, Donkey Kong appears either as a playable character or an ally.

General information

Physical appearance

Donkey Kong DKMP10.png
Donkey Kong's appearance from the SNES era (left) and his current appearance (right)
“She came to have lunch with DK! Big, tall with lots of muscles DK! Not the half-pint version.”
Diddy Kong, Ape Foo Young

Donkey Kong is a Kong resembling a gorilla who sports a burly physique; in addition to having particularly large pecs, biceps and triceps, he is noted to weigh 800 pounds (363 kg) according to the talking Microphone that serves as the announcer for the fight against King K. Rool in Donkey Kong 64, as well as having the traditional large feet of primates with opposable thumbs. Donkey Kong also has brown fur, with the fur on his head being distinctly shaped to the point of looking like a hairstyle. As of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, his fur has also consistently sported a realistic texture. The shade of brown his fur is colored, however, has been inconsistent between games, being either a lighter shade or its original darker shade. Donkey Kong wears only a single item of clothing: a red necktie with the "DK" logo printed on it in yellow and tied in a Windsor knot[11] from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest onwards.

Within the Super Smash Bros. series, Donkey Kong's appearance has changed. In Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong was somewhat cartoonish in appearance, though his design did not originate from a specific Super Mario or Donkey Kong game. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Donkey Kong gains a darker color scheme, while his design appears to have more details; Donkey Kong is also shown with teeth, which are colored white. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Donkey Kong's fur is lighter in color, but it is further detailed. Donkey Kong's teeth are now yellowish in color. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Donkey Kong's fur receives even more detail, akin to Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, though he has a more vibrant color scheme. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Donkey Kong gains a more subdued color scheme, though not to the same extent as Melee or Brawl; additionally, his fur is slightly less detailed, though his necktie has simple detailing.

Throughout the Super Smash Bros. series, Donkey Kong has had eight alternate costumes to choose from; in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, he has 5 costumes; in Super Smash Bros. Brawl , he has 6 costumes; lastly, in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he has 8 costumes. Donkey Kong's first alternate costume gives him black fur, making him resemble his in-game sprite in Donkey Kong '94 and Donkey Kong Land; his second alternate costume gives him red fur, resembling his appearance in the original Donkey Kong; his third alternate costume gives him blue fur, resembling one of his alternate colors from Mario Golf and Donkey Kong 64's multiplayer mode; his fourth alternate costume gives him green fur, having no inspiration. In Melee, Donkey Kong's black costume receives a blue tie, his red costume receives a navy blue tie, and his blue costume receives a purple tie. In Brawl, Donkey Kong's black costume receives a yellow tie with green insignia and his blue costume receives a lavender tie; his green costume is much darker. Donkey Kong also gains a fifth alternate costume with white fur, later inspiring Super Kong's colors. In 3DS / Wii U, Donkey Kong's green costume regains its pre-Brawl color, while his sixth and seventh alternate costumes are introduced: the former gives Donkey Kong a light blue tie and golden brown fur, resembling one of his alternate colors from Mario Golf; the latter gives Donkey Kong a yellow tie and pink fur, resembling Junior (II)'s color in Donkey Kong Jr. Math.

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Donkey Kong has a more realistic look than his previous appearances. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, his design takes inspiration from his depictions prior to Donkey Kong Country in order to give him a more comical personality and design.[12] His body is also more detailed, similar to his appearance from the Super Smash Bros. games.

Speech

In the Donkey Kong arcade game, the original Donkey Kong only spoke in growls as he took Lady (or Pauline) on top of a construction site, as well as when ascending further up the structure upon Mario completing a level (except for 100m). Saturday Supercade depicted him with the ability to speak broken English in contrast to Donkey Kong Jr., his son. While he mainly verbalized realistic ape noises in-game provided by Mark Betteridge, the instruction manuals for the Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest showed that the current Donkey Kong has the ability to speak rather intelligently, which was also seen during the ending of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. Donkey Kong later spoke intelligibly in a few Club Nintendo comics as well as Super Mario-Kun. Donkey Kong first received voice acting in the 1998 computer-animated Donkey Kong Country television series, where he was portrayed by Richard Yearwood. Donkey Kong next received voice acting in Donkey Kong 64, where he was portrayed by Grant Kirkhope, a composer for Rare Ltd. and the Donkey Kong franchise. Here, Donkey Kong had a few lines where he spoke broken English while referring to himself in the third person. Grant Kirkhope would provide a mixture of cartoonish gorilla noises and actual words, including "Yeah!", "Cool", "Hey!", and "OK!". After 2006, Takashi Nagasako took over as Donkey Kong's voice actor, first heard in Mario Power Tennis, though he mainly provided him with cartoonish gorilla noises, although he is able to say his name, "Let's go!", and "Yeah, hey!" In current games where Donkey Kong is intended to speak in full sentences, there is in-game text to signify what he is saying. In the early Mario Party games, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, as well as the Super Smash Bros. series, Donkey Kong is instead given chimpanzee screams and realistic gorilla roars, respectively, instead of a voice actor; Donkey Kong's voice clips from the N64 era use the Chimpanzee Screeches and Vocalizes from The Hollywood Edge Sound Effects Library.[13] In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Donkey Kong, as all other Kongs, is fully capable of speech and can normally talk to non-Kong characters, where he is portrayed by Seth Rogen.

Personality

Donkey Kong is angry.
LINE sticker depicting an angered Donkey Kong
Official LINE sticker from the Super Mario series.
LINE sticker depicting Donkey Kong relaxing on a beach chair

In the games, despite his carefree lifestyle, Donkey Kong is a brave and friendly hero who highly cares for his friends and banana hoard, and becomes enraged if either are threatened. He is always keen to be helpful and use his strength whenever possible. The Mario vs. Donkey Kong series portray him as prone to temper tantrums if he doesn't get what he wants, which leads to him and Mario clashing when he steals the Mini Mario Toys and even kidnaps Pauline, though he does show remorse once Mario resolves the matter. Donkey Kong is also shown as more aggressive and willing to fight in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

Donkey Kong is inconsistently depicted as somewhat dim-witted; in Fortune Street, Toad remarks that Donkey Kong is the brawn while Diddy Kong is the brains, and he speaks in broken, third-person English for his few lines in Donkey Kong 64; however, in other appearances, particularly during the Donkey Kong Country series, DK speaks fluent English much like the other Kongs. In The Subspace Emissary, Donkey Kong is shown to be more cautious, sensing the danger of the Dark Cannon Bowser wielded and electing to get the impulsive Diddy Kong to safety. In Snake's codec conversation on Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Otacon claims that Donkey Kong seems "pretty smart" for an ape.

In the TV series, Donkey Kong's personality is largely the same, albeit depicting him as lazy instead of carefree. Donkey Kong is shown to have a somewhat stronger moral back bone, as shown in I Spy with My Hairy Eye with his reluctance to use the Crystal Coconut to wish for more bananas until Diddy manipulated him into doing it. Donkey Kong also seems easier to startle and more sensitive overall, but maintains an aggressive wariness of King K. Rool, Kaptain Skurvy and their goons.

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Donkey Kong is portrayed as a fun-loving, sarcastic, arrogant, and relaxed character who enjoys his popularity, but also suffers from self-confidence issues when it comes to how his father Cranky Kong views him as a joke, as well as being heavily embarrassed at the fact he was defeated in battle and then had his life saved by Mario. He also throws a fit of rage when Mario calls him a "smash monkey", showing his frustration about being seen as nothing more than a mindless brute "who smashes things".

Powers and abilities

Donkey Kong from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Donkey Kong flexing.

Unlike most characters, who have some kind of special power, Donkey Kong relies mainly on his brute strength. He sometimes has the title of "The strongest of the Kongs", in spite of some Kongs like Chunky Kong and Sumo Kong being larger than Donkey Kong. In the original Donkey Kong he had a seemingly unlimited supply of Barrels, and could throw them easily. This carried on to the Donkey Kong Country games, where he can pick up and throw Barrels with ease. Also in Donkey Kong Country, he can defeat certain enemies that Diddy Kong cannot hurt with a single jump. In Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, his strength is shown yet again, it makes him so strong that when he claps, a sound-wave is produced, which is his main attack throughout the game. In the ending of Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong is shown to be strong enough to knock the moon out of its orbit and into the planet's atmosphere with a single punch (though the fact he was falling towards it at an alarming speed may have helped with it).

Donkey Kong also appears to either immune or highly resistant to hypnosis since the Kalimba Tiki was unable to hypnotize him when it was easily able to do so to other animals on the island. In Donkey Kong 64, he has a personal weapon, the Coconut Shooter, and has a special ability called Strong Kong which allows him to become invincible and use up more Crystal Coconuts the longer he maintains the form. Donkey Kong also has some skill with musical instruments, to the point that he can even weaponize music and song in combat. This is demonstrated in Donkey Kong 64, where Donkey Kong is talented in playing bongos and uses it to solve puzzles and attack surrounding enemies; the ability of playing bongos is also shown in the Donkey Konga games. In the Mario Strikers series, Donkey Kong is shown to wield electric powers, exerting bolts of lightning during his Super Strike and Mega Strike.

Though his size and weight may suggest otherwise, Donkey Kong is deceptively fast and agile; in Mario Strikers: Battle League, he break dances after scoring a goal and performs acrobatics while vine swinging in his victory scene. In Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat he is shown to be very proficient in hand to hand combat, delivering a vast amount of fast punches and kicks in a few seconds and is quick in countering the attacks he dodges, enabling him to contend with and defeat master martial artists like Karate Kong and Ninja Kong or physically stronger opponents like Sumo Kong. DK's speed and agility have also been consistently demonstrated throughout his appearances in the Super Smash Bros. franchise.

Identity

Main articles: Cranky Kong#Identity confusion and Donkey Kong Jr.

According to various pieces of official media, starting with Donkey Kong Country, the Donkey Kong that appears in the titles prior to Donkey Kong Country, such as Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3 and the Game Boy Donkey Kong, goes on to age and become Cranky Kong, passing down his name to the current and modern Donkey Kong, his grandson. Some sources would go on to imply that the Donkey Kong that appeared in games after Donkey Kong Country is a grown up Donkey Kong Jr.[14][15]; this was later contradicted in a 2017 Prima Games book that establishes Donkey Kong Jr. as the father of Donkey Kong and son of Cranky Kong.[16] The relationship between Cranky Kong and Donkey Kong has also been contradicted on occasion, between being his father (as seen mostly in Donkey Kong 64)[17] and being his grandfather.[18]

Relationships

Friends

Artwork of both Donkey Kong with Diddy Kong for Donkey Kong Country Returns
Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in Donkey Kong Country Returns

Diddy Kong is Donkey Kong's "little buddy" who looks up to him. Diddy Kong has gone on many adventures with his best friend (with DK showing excitement at having another adventure with his friend when selected as his ally character in Super Mario Party), and the two often look out for each other, sharing a brotherly bond. In sports, Diddy Kong is often Donkey Kong's default partner. Diddy has rarely been suggested as a relative of DK's, though most sources do not claim that they are related.

Dixie Kong is one of Donkey Kong's closest friends, sometimes hanging out with him and Diddy Kong. She actively helped rescue him when he is kidnapped and joined him in retaking Donkey Kong Island from the Snowmads. Donkey Kong seems to act like a big brother to Dixie, similar to how he is with Diddy. He was very defensive of her when she was antagonized by a Dry Bones in Mario Super Sluggers. Dixie does show minor exasperation with DK when he is rash and stubborn, but they nonetheless have a close friendship.

Funky Kong is another one of Donkey Kong's recurring friends. The two share a good friendship, with Funky referring DK by the nickname "Donkey-dude". Though he prefers not adventuring, Funky does support Donkey Kong by giving him either transportation or weaponry, or acting as a shopkeeper.

Relatives

Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong

Cranky Kong is Donkey Kong's crabby and constantly rambling grandfather. He also originally had the name Donkey Kong until he turned it over to his replacement, and has not resumed the title since (with the sole exception being re-releases such as games in the Game & Watch Gallery series). He finds a way to help DK and his friends in their adventures, though it usually entails giving out advice or valuable items for a price. Although he frequently gets frustrated with DK's slow-witted nature, he does nonetheless look out and care for him. In Tropical Freeze, their relationship is shown in the most friendly; Cranky attends his grandson's birthday party, and their Kong POW shows them doing a fist bump. In the Donkey Kong Adventure, Donkey Kong works with a Rabbid counterpart of Cranky.

In the TV series, Cranky acts as a direct mentor to Donkey Kong, but still gets angry with him easily. Regardless, the two care about each other as family as shown in Message in a Bottle Show where the two hugged each other, although they may be loathe to admit it at times. Despite his low patience, Cranky has high faith in DK and views as the best hope for the well-being of Kongo Bongo and admits when Donkey Kong actually has a good idea.

Love interests

Candy Kong is one of Donkey Kong's closest friends who others believe he will marry one day, although he is not ready to settle down in Candy Kong's opinion. The Rarewhere website suggests that the two have known each other since childhood.[19] According to Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the idea of Candy being DK's girlfriend is only a rumor, which may be due to the fact Donkey Kong seems to spontaneously show romantic interest in Pauline. In Rare-developed games, DK tends to keep a framed photograph of Candy in his home. To explain Candy Kong's absence in later games, one official review of Donkey Kong Land 2 states that she broke up with Donkey Kong,[20] although the Donkey Kong 64 manual suggests otherwise.[21]

In the TV series, Donkey Kong and Candy Kong are dating, but their affection tends to be very on-and-off. Donkey Kong is blindly in love with Candy even when she dismisses him, as she often gets angry with him for his foolishness as shown in several episodes. Candy even occasionally expresses romantic interest in Bluster Kong instead.

Rivals

Donkey Kong holding Pauline hostage, an issue that brings him and Mario in conflict.

Donkey Kong and Mario have had a rivalry for some time. The rivalry is witnessed in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. However the rivalry is friendlier in spin-off games, as implied in Super Smash Bros., and in Solid Snake's codec conversation from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Aside from their rivalry, Donkey Kong is good friends with Mario and gets along with him and his friends in some games such as the Mario Party series. Though the current Donkey Kong is large, he is actually quite a bit younger than Mario. Although Mario did fight Donkey Kong's grandfather in the original Donkey Kong game, Cranky Kong admits that Mario is a true video game hero and even looks back at his nostalgic antics with a fond respect. Donkey Kong and Mario do not seem to hold grudges against one another in spite of their occasional conflicts. One of the evident facts about this is whenever a player lands on a DK Space in the Mario Party series, Donkey Kong will reward them with coins and stars. Another sign of Mario and Donkey Kong's friendship is how quickly Mario forgives a remorseful DK in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, even giving him a toy a few times.

Donkey Kong displays good friendships with characters from the Sonic franchise. He has a friendly rivalry with Knuckles the Echidna and Vector the Crocodile. During the opening of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Donkey Kong, as a hockey goalie, thwarts Knuckles' shot. In Adventure Tour, Donkey Kong quickly establishes good rapport with Vector and Silver the Hedgehog. In London, Silver and Donkey Kong compete together in Volleyball, while Donkey Kong, Knuckles, and Vector work together clearing out the fog in the wrestling venues, with Vector offering a detective job to DK. In Rio games, Donkey Kong and Knuckles accuse each other of cheating after being deceived by two Miis dressed as Mario and Sonic. Following their losses in the Boxing Event, they make peace after realizing their misunderstanding. Big the Cat also invites Donkey Kong to outing. Donkey Kong has special victory animations with Knuckles and Vector in Sochi and Rio, as well as being shown flexing with Vector in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Enemies

King K. Rool and his Kremlings are archenemies of Donkey Kong and the Kong Family. They have stolen DK's hoard often for unknown reasons and kidnapped him and his friends. However, Donkey Kong was willing to help a Kremling named K. Lumsy when he realized that he did not wish to harm the Kong Family. Even when the king and four colored Kritters join the Kongs to form the DK Wilds, their antagonism still shows. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, King K. Rool's trailer is called "The Rivals" as a reference to the enmity between him and Donkey Kong. In the show, the feud is still the same. Donkey Kong enjoys giving the Kremlings beatings, causing them to have great fear and apprehension of him.

The Tiki Tak Tribe and the Snowmads are other adversaries to Donkey Kong, who has personal grudges with the groups for stealing all the bananas on Donkey Kong Island, including the ones in his hoard, and exiling him and his friends while conquering their home, respectively.

Other relationships

Pauline was kidnapped by both the original Donkey Kong in the Arcade, Game & Watch, and Game Boy games, and the current Donkey Kong in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. The original Donkey Kong's motive was revenge against Mario for not being a good pet owner, while the current Donkey Kong had two real different variations of the kidnapping. In March of the Minis, it was due to his perceived rejection of his feelings in favor of Mario, and took Pauline away to shower her with gifts. In Mini-Land Mayhem!, Donkey Kong just missed having the free Mini Pauline that was given to the first 100 guests of the theme park, so he takes the real Pauline instead. Although the current Donkey Kong has ultimately proven to have harmless intentions, Pauline showed constant fear of his temper and anger in Mini-Land Mayhem!. Despite this, they remain on friendly terms, and Pauline is generally key to soothing his anger issues. They are even known to work alongside each other, first in Minis March Again! where the "kidnapping" was made to test the current model of Mini Marios, and later in Tipping Stars, where Donkey Kong "kidnapped" Pauline to simply to lure Mario to a surprise party.

In the Donkey Kong Adventure story expansion pack for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, after DK, Rabbid Cranky, and Rabbid Peach manage to defeat Rabbid Kong, he turns over a new leaf after seeing the generosity from Rabbid Peach. When Rabbid Peach and Beep-0 leave for the Mushroom Kingdom, the group take multiple selfies together in honor of their newly formed friendship.

Donkey Kong also has had acquaintance with Wario. In Mario Party, they are shown doing poses and both specialize in strength. In Mario Superstar Baseball, they are on the same team. Donkey Kong even tries to give Wario a fist bump for the latter's home run, only to unintentionally pound Wario into the ground. Often, Wario has the same demeanor with Donkey Kong as he does with everyone else, but to some degree sees him as a powerful asset on his side.

Profiles and statistics

See also: List of Donkey Kong profiles and statistics
Donkey Kong emblem from Mario Kart 8Donkey Kong's horn emblem from Mario Kart 8
Donkey Kong's emblems, from Mario Kart 8.

Donkey Kong's official profiles often characterize him as the "king of the jungle" and discuss how he is both a heroic adventurer and the laid-back leader of the DK Crew. In spinoffs he is typically a heavyweight power character with decent speed. His emblem in the spin-offs are his initials.

Portrayals

Template:Quote2[22]

Quotes

Donkey Kong Country

All quotes are from the instruction booklets, with some narration.

  • ""OK, little buddy," Donkey had said in his patronizing voice. "As part of your hero training, you've got to stand guard tonight over my bananas... I'll relive[sic] you at midnight, so try and stay awake until then!""
  • ""Keep it down!!" he growled."
  • "Morning already... I slept through my watch!"
  • ""What 'cha do that for?!" Donkey Kong asked, knowing full well that Cranky was prone to cuffing him at every whim."
  • ""Diddy... gone... My little buddy..." he murmured to himself."
  • ""The Kremlings will pay!" he raged. "I'll hunt them down through every corner of my island, until I have every last banana from my hoard back!""
  • "Diddy's obsession with being like me has gone too far! He may be a long way from a true video game hero, but he had the guts, the reflexes, the heart..."
  • ""What do you know about adventuring, you flee-bitten old ape?" yelled Donkey Kong, edging closer and closer, braving Cranky's cane, until he was totally in his face. "I'm sick and tired of hearing about your boring, single screen adventures! Diddy's in trouble, my banana horde is gone, and I'm going to get them all back!""

Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle

  • "[Squawks the Parrot] always carries a high-powered flashlight. He led us through the caves and tunnels once before. Maybe he can help us again."
  • "I can tell you where you're going. Right into that wall!"
  • "Time for some masterful monkey maneuvers!"
  • "Let the coward go. He's just a big windbag, like his ship!"

Donkey Kong 64

  • "Yeah!"
  • "Cool!"
  • "Hey!"
  • "OK!"
  • "What did Cranky mean about training? Donkey all confused..."
  • "Yes, Donkey will help K. Lumsy!"
  • "Ohhh, banana!"

Donkey Kong Country TV Series

  • "Banana-slamma!!"
  • "Got any Banana Cream Pie?"
  • "Hey Inka! Ring-a-ding-ding. It's me, DK, the future ruler of Kongo Bongo. We got business to discuss."
  • "I would have called him something else, but you were present."
  • "Aye aye, nose nose, throat throat, ablast me hardies, and shiver me tree trunks!"
  • "Hmmm, to know everything, I must give up everything... HEY! Little buddy, I'm giving you my tie collection!"
  • "Ohh... feels like I got the stuffing knocked out of me... Oh no! I did get the stuffing knocked out of me! Where's my stuffing?!"
  • "Arr, you got me confused with someone else. I'm Donkey Kroc the pirate, arr, and I'm looking for Donkey Kong the (mimics monkey) ape."
  • "That's not mine! Look, there's still a piece of banana inside! I never leave a banana bit! Can I have it?"
  • "I've never known any problem that couldn't be solved with a little nap."
  • "Help, Diddy! I've fallen, and I can't get up! Can you pass me a banana, little buddy?"
  • "It's hard to believe anybody this cute could have everybody so mad at him."
  • "It's the company's fault for making you want it so much."
  • "Back off or I'll have to slam you."
  • "It's more fun bein' in one of these biplanes than on top of some skyscraper!"
  • "And I say HE'S the one with problems"
  • "It's the dreaded..daba..blaba..curse of double dabble wa...doo be doo!"
  • "Then let's give them something to really listen to."
  • "I'll shower you in coconut cream pies!"
  • "There there, little buddy."

Mario Super Sluggers

  • "Ook! Ook! (I was wondering when you'd arrive.)"
  • "Ookity ook! OOOOK! (Bowser Jr. was here a little while back.)"
  • "OOK OOK OOK! (He dropped our log bridge and then ran off!)"
  • "Ook! Hooo ook! (I wanted to chase him down, but not even I can jump across that gap.)"
  • "Oook? Oooo... (This is pathetic! What am I gonna do now?)"
  • "Ook ook! (No way I can jump all the way over to that side)"
  • "Mmm... Ook? (If only there was some way to cross...)"
  • "OOK! Ook ook! (Banana splits! Could it be...)"
  • "Ookie ook! (It's a Barrel Cannon! Ook! ...I mean, hooray!)"
  • "Oooook! (Looks like Funky Kong has been busy.)"
  • "Ook! Ook! (I can use this to get over that gap! See you on the other side!)"
  • "OOK! OOK OOK! (I'm coming for you, Bowser Jr.!)"
  • "Ook. (Who do you think you are? You'd best stay away from Dixie Kong!)"
  • "Ook? (Are you OK, Dixie Kong?)"
  • "Ook OOK? (He's going to do WHAT?)"
  • "Ook. Ook. (He's trying to take it? This will not stand!)"
  • "Ook ook. (It's no use... I'm clueless.)"
  • "Harooo! (No! It's my ballpark. I should take care of it myself.)"
  • "Hoot hoot ook! (Don't take this wrong, but I need to see what you're made of.)"
  • "Oooookie ooo! (It's settled! I'm leaving it up to you!)"
  • "Ook ook ook! (If you find barrels or boxes, I'll crush 'em with a hand slap.)"
  • "Ooooooooooooook! (Let's send Bowser Jr. packing!)"
  • "Ook ook! (There's a vine here. I love vines!)"
  • "Ook! (Sure did! Give us the lowdown on the stone tablet!)"
  • "Ook! Ook! (Let's go! We have to get the stone tablet back!)"
  • "Ook. Ook. (Tiny Kong! You'll pay for this, Bowser Jr.!)"
  • "Ooka ooka oooo! (Let's move! We have to help!)"
  • "Ook ook! OOOOOOOK! (Coconut thunder! We've picked up every player in the area!)"
  • "Ookookook. (Dixie Kong, Tiny Kong, Funky Kong, Baby DK...)"
  • "Ook ook! (The Kritters, King K. Rool, and my best pal, Diddy Kong.)"
  • "Ook ook! Ooooook! (Nothing! I hate finding nothing.)"

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

  • "I'm D.K.! I'm Donkey Kong!"
  • "Hi, Dad!"
  • "Dad, wave back!"
  • "What do you mean? They like it! It's what they came here for! Dancing pecs!"
  • "I don't need anything special to break EVERY BONE in your tiny body!"
  • "It is on... like Donkey Kong!"
  • "Had enough?"
  • "HA! You got the cat box! Oh my- [sighs] I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Okay. Now you die."
  • "Not… even… close…"
  • "I hate you."
  • "See ya!"
  • "Stop talking! I don't want the last thing I hear, before I die, to be your..."
  • "I. AM. MORE. THAN A GUY. WHO SMASHES THINGS!!!"
  • "Now we're even!"
  • "Yes I do!"
  • "Yes! Fire!"
  • "This is fun!"
  • "Loser!"
  • "Cool raccoon suit!"
  • "No time now. Definitely later!"
  • "HA! He got the Blue Mushroom!"
  • "Aww, bring it in!"

Voice samples

Audio.svg Donkey Kong Country - Donkey Kong yelling
File infoMedia:Donkey Kong Country DK Yell.oga
Audio.svg Mario Kart 64 and the Mario Party series - One of Donkey Kong's chimpanzee vocals
File infoMedia:MK64 DK Sound (Ver. 1).oga
Audio.svg Donkey Kong 64 - "Yeah!" (Grant Kirkhope)
File infoMedia:DK64 Donkey Kong Yeah.oga
Audio.svg Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - Donkey Kong's Tarzan yell-like cry (Takashi Nagasako)
File infoMedia:Donkey Kong Tarzan Yell.oga
Audio.svg The Super Mario Bros. Movie - "It is on like DONKEY KONG!" - Donkey Kong before battling Mario (Seth Rogen)
File infoMedia:TSMBM - Donkey Kong.oga
Help:MediaHaving trouble playing?

List of appearances by date

Title Description Original release date System/format
Donkey Kong Boss 1981 Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Boss 1982 Game & Watch
Donkey Kong Jr. Non-playable character (by name) 1982 Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Jr. Non-playable character (by name) 1982 Game & Watch
Donkey Kong II Non-playable character (by name) 1983 Game & Watch
Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Sansū Lesson Non-playable character (by name) 1983 Family Computer
Donkey Kong 3 Antagonist 1983 Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Jr. Math Non-playable character (by name) 1983 Nintendo Entertainment System
Punch-Out!! Cameo as member of crowd 1984 Arcade
Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū Antagonist 1984 NEC PC-88, NEC PC-6601, Sharp X1
Donkey Kong 3 Antagonist 1984 Game & Watch
Super Punch-Out!! Cameo as member of crowd 1984 Arcade
Donkey Kong Circus Playable character 1984 Game & Watch
Donkey Kong Hockey Playable character 1984 Game & Watch
Donkey Kong Classics Boss 1988 Nintendo Entertainment System
Tetris Cameo 1989 Nintendo Entertainment System
NES Open Tournament Golf Non-playable character (by name) 1991 Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Boss 1994 Game Boy
Donkey Kong Boss 1994 Nelsonic Game Watch
Donkey Kong Country Playable character 1994 Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Land Playable character 1995 Game Boy
Mario Clash Cameo at 800,000 points 1995 Virtual Boy
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Non-playable character 1995 Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Land 2 Non-playable character 1996 Game Boy
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Non-playable character 1996 Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Mario Kart 64 Playable character 1996 Nintendo 64
Mario Party Playable character 1998 Nintendo 64
Super Smash Bros. Playable character 1999 Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong 64 Playable character 1999 Nintendo 64
Mario Party 2 Playable character 1999 Nintendo 64
Mario Artist: Paint Studio Stamp 1999 Nintendo 64DD
Donkey Kong Country Playable character 2000 Game Boy Color
Mario Party 3 Playable character 2000 Nintendo 64
Mario Kart: Super Circuit Playable character 2001 Game Boy Advance
Super Smash Bros. Melee Playable character 2001 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Party 4 Playable character 2002 Nintendo GameCube
Donkey Kong Country Playable character 2003 Game Boy Advance
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour Playable character 2003 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Playable character 2003 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Party 5 Non-playable character
Unlockable playable character (Super Duel Mode only)
2003 Nintendo GameCube
Donkey Konga Playable character 2003 Nintendo GameCube
Mario vs. Donkey Kong Boss 2004 Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Country 2 Non-playable character 2004 Game Boy Advance
Donkey Konga 2 Playable character 2004 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Power Tennis Playable character 2004 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Party 6 Non-playable character 2004 Nintendo GameCube
DK: King of Swing Playable character 2005 Game Boy Advance
Yakuman DS Non-playable character 2005 Nintendo DS
Donkey Konga 3 JP Playable character 2005 Nintendo GameCube
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Playable character 2005 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Superstar Baseball Playable character 2005 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Kart Arcade GP Playable character 2005 Arcade
Donkey Kong Country 3 Non-playable character 2005 Game Boy Advance
Mario Party 7 Non-playable character 2005 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Kart DS Playable character 2005 Nintendo DS
Mario Hoops 3-on-3 Playable character 2006 Nintendo DS
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis Boss 2006 Nintendo DS
Super Mario Strikers Playable character 2005 Nintendo GameCube
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 Cameo 2007 Arcade
Mario Strikers Charged Playable character 2007 Wii
Mario Party 8 Non-playable character 2007 Wii
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast Playable character 2007 Wii
DK: Jungle Climber Playable character 2007 Nintendo DS
Mario Party DS Non-playable character 2007 Nintendo DS
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Playable character 2008 Wii
Mario Kart Wii Playable character 2008 Wii
Mario Super Sluggers Playable character 2008 Wii
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis Playable character 2009 Wii
Punch-Out!! Non-playable character 2009 Wii
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! Boss 2009 Nintendo DSi
Donkey Kong Country Returns Playable character 2010 Wii
Mario Sports Mix Playable character 2010 Wii
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! Boss 2010 Nintendo DS
Fortune Street Playable character 2011 Wii
Mario Kart 7 Playable character 2011 Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party 9 Non-playable character 2012 Wii
Mario Tennis Open Playable character 2012 Nintendo 3DS
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D Playable character 2013 Nintendo 3DS
Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move Boss 2013 Nintendo 3DS
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Playable character 2014 Wii U
Mario Golf: World Tour Playable character 2014 Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart 8 Playable character 2014 Wii U
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS Playable character 2014 Nintendo 3DS
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Playable character 2014 Wii U
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars Boss 2015 Wii U, Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party 10 Playable character 2015 Wii U
Super Mario Maker Playable character (Costume Mario) 2015 Wii U
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Playable character 2016 Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Playable character 2016 Wii U
Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge Playable character 2016 Wii U
Minecraft: Wii U Edition Playable skin in the Super Mario Mash-up 2016 Wii U
Mario Party: Star Rush Unlockable playable character 2016 Nintendo 3DS
Mario Sports Superstars Playable character 2017 Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Playable character 2017 Nintendo Switch
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition Playable skin in the Super Mario Mash-up 2017 Nintendo Switch
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle Playable character (Donkey Kong Adventure DLC) 2017 Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Odyssey Cameo (original Donkey Kong) 2017 Nintendo Switch
Mario Party: The Top 100 Non-playable character 2017 Nintendo 3DS
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Playable character 2018 Nintendo Switch
Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition Playable skin in the Super Mario Mash-up 2018 New Nintendo 3DS
Minecraft (Bedrock version) Playable skin in the Super Mario Mash-up 2018 Nintendo Switch
Mario Tennis Aces Playable character 2018 Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Party Unlockable playable character 2018 Nintendo Switch
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Playable character 2018 Nintendo Switch
Mario Kart Tour Unlockable playable character 2019 Mobile
Dr. Mario World Unlockable playable character 2019 Mobile
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Playable character 2019 Nintendo Switch
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics Cameo (playing cards) 2020 Nintendo Switch
Paper Mario: The Origami King Cameo 2020 Nintendo Switch
Mario Golf: Super Rush Playable character 2021 Nintendo Switch
WarioWare: Get It Together! Cameo in microgame 2021 Nintendo Switch
Mario Party Superstars Playable character 2021 Nintendo Switch
Mario Strikers: Battle League Playable character 2022 Nintendo Switch
Mario vs. Donkey Kong Boss 2024 Nintendo Switch

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Donkey Kong.

Names in other languages

Donkey Kong

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ドンキーコング[?]
Donkī Kongu
Donkey Kong
Catalan Donkey Kong (The Super Mario Bros. Movie)[?] -
Chinese (simplified) 森喜刚
Sēnxǐ Gāng
咚奇刚[24] (since December 23, 2022)
Dōngqí Gāng
Literally "Forest Happy Kong"

Transliteration of the Japanese name
Chinese (traditional) 大金剛[25][26]
Dàjīn'Gāng
森喜剛[27][28] (since Mario Party 9)
Sēnxǐ Gāng
咚奇剛[24] (since December 23, 2022)
Dōngqí Gāng
Transliteration of the Japanese name

Literally "Forest Happy Kong"

Transliteration of the Japanese name
Dutch Donkey Kong[?] -
Finnish Donkey Kong[?] -
French Donkey Kong
Donkey[29]
-
German Donkey Kong
Donkey
[?]
-
Greek Ντόνκυ Κονγκ[?]
Donky Kong
Donkey Kong
Hebrew דונקי קונג[?]
Donki Kong
Donkey Kong
Hungarian Donkey Kong
(Template:Media link)
[?]
-



Italian Donkey Kong[?] -
Korean 동키콩[?]
Dongki Kong
Donkey Kong
Portuguese Donkey Kong[?] -
Romanian Donkey Kong
(Template:Media link, The Super Mario Bros. Movie)
[?]
-



Russian Донки Конг[?]
Donki Kong
Donkey Kong
Spanish Donkey Kong[?] -
Thai ดองกี คอง[30]
Dong-ki Khong
Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong (Gladiator)

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese ドンキーコング (戦士)[?]
Donkī Kongu (Senshi)
Donkey Kong (Warrior)
Chinese (simplified) 森喜刚 (战士)[?]
Sēnxǐ Gāng (Zhànshì)
Donkey Kong (Warrior)
Chinese (traditional) 森喜剛 (戰士)[?]
Sēnxǐ Gāng (Zhànshì)
Donkey Kong (Warrior)
French Donkey Kong (gladiateur)[?] Donkey Kong (gladiator)
German Donkey Kong (Gladiator)[?] -
Italian Donkey Kong (gladiatore)[?] Donkey Kong (gladiator)
Korean 동키콩(전사)[?]
Dongki Kong (Jeonsa)
Donkey Kong (Warrior)
Portuguese Donkey Kong (gladiador)[?] Donkey Kong (gladiator)
Spanish (NOA) Donkey Kong (gladiador)[?] Donkey Kong (gladiator)
Spanish (NOE) Donkey Kong (Gladiador)[?] Donkey Kong (Gladiator)

Trivia

Unused sprite of a Donkey Kong-like Grinder in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
A large Grinder resembling Donkey Kong.

References

  1. ^ Mario Kart 64 (From Japanese to English) The Mushroom Kingdom (Retrieved August 15, 2018)
  2. ^ Super Smash Bros. Melee (From Japanese to English) The Mushroom Kingdom (Retrieved May 29, 2010)
  3. ^ 「1994年に発売された『ドンキーコング』(ゲームボーイ)を最後に、孫に“ドンキーコング”の名を譲り渡す。」 ("After the release of 'Donkey Kong' (Game Boy), he turned over the Donkey Kong name to his grandchild.") - Nintendo Online Magazine
  4. ^ a b Kohler, Chris (October 14, 2016). "Miyamoto Spills Donkey Kong’s Darkest Secrets, 35 Years Later Wired. Retrieved October 14, 2016
  5. ^ "Donkey Wrong" - An article about the origin of Donkey Kong's name. Snopes.com. 2011. (Retrieved June 28, 2012)
  6. ^ GamingHistorian (January 22, 2020). Gunpei Yokoi deposition, 1983. Twitter. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  7. ^ Gaming Historian (September 29, 2021). How the Mario Characters Got Their Names. YouTube. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "This could be considered plausible but Miyamoto blew his credibility by claiming that the character was inspired by the legend of Beauty And The Beast (a story with very few apes in it, when you come to think about it!)". Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special (Steve May), p. 21. Fleetway Publications. Retrieved January 23, 2022
  9. ^ Shesez (November 21, 2019). The Donkey Kong Country 25th Anniversary Interview Documentary (7m49s). YouTube. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  10. ^ Shesez (November 21, 2019). The Donkey Kong Country 25th Anniversary Interview Documentary (9m47s). YouTube. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  11. ^ "Donkey Kong makeover poll" on Play Nintendo
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ https://www.whosampled.com/sample/515022/Nintendo-Character-Sound-Effects-The-Hollywood-Edge-Sound-Effects-Library-Chimpanzee-Screeches-and-Vocalizes/
  14. ^ Scribes - April 25, 1999. Rareware Website Archive. Rareware.com. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  15. ^ Donkey Kong Country web page. (April 13, 2017). Nintendo.co.uk. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  16. ^ "Super Mario Kart is the only Mario Kart game to feature Donkey Kong Jr. Due to the success of Donkey Kong Country, all future Mario Kart entries featured Donkey Kong, who is actually Donkey Kong Jr.’s son, with Cranky Kong, aka Donkey Kong Sr., canonically being the character featured in the original Donkey Kong game. Makes sense, right?" - Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide, Super Mario Kart 16 Bits Tab.
  17. ^ "That darn Donkey has all the luck! His girl Candy waits around in her hut, always willing to offer her musical help to that undeserving son of mine and his fancy polygonal friends. Pah!" - Donkey Kong 64 instruction booklet, page 9 (among various in-game lines)
  18. ^ Gregg Mayles in a May 2017 Twitter post. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  19. ^ DKC Trilogy Cast List. Rarewhere. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  20. ^ Nintendo Magazine System (UK) #50, page 52. "You’d have thought that after retrieving his banana stash, Donkey Kong would be able to live out his days in peace and harmony with Candy Kong by his side. Unfortunately, she’s given him the push. And to make matters even worse, he’s been captured by those oh-so-pesky Kremlings!"
  21. ^ Donkey Kong 64 instruction booklet, page 9. "That darn Donkey has all the luck! His girl Candy waits around in her hut, always willing to offer her musical help to that undeserving son of mine and his fancy polygonal friends. Pah!"
  22. ^ The Kongversation - 734: Inteview: Grant Kirkhope
  23. ^ Shesez (November 22, 2019). The Donkey Kong Country 25th Anniversary Interview Documentary (52m12s). YouTube. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  24. ^ a b 部分角色的中文名稱變更通知, Nintendo HK. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  25. ^ https://www.nintendo.tw/ds/ds_software2007.htm
  26. ^ https://www.nintendo.com.hk/wii/wii_software_2.htm
  27. ^ https://www.nintendo.com.hk/ssqj/adventure/index.html
  28. ^ https://www.nintendo.tw/mp9/adventure/index.html
  29. ^ Official website for Donkey Kong Planet
  30. ^ Thai version of the official trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie (November 30, 2022), YouTube. Retrieved December 9, 2022.

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