Donkey Kong: Difference between revisions

'''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]]. 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]].  

The [[Donkey Kong Country (series)|''Donkey Kong Country'' series]] establishes that Donkey Kong is a "title" rather than a singular character, and that two separate Kongs have bore it. This includes [[Cranky Kong]] and the current Donkey Kong, who was originally written to be 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>[http://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> 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 or miscellaneous pieces of media contradicting the identity of Donkey Kong in early titles.

Donkey Kong debuts 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 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. Later games, starting with ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', [[Cranky Kong#Identity confusion|retcon the identity of Donkey Kong]] in his first arcade appearances as actually being [[Cranky Kong]], with the title of "Donkey Kong" being later passed down to his grandson.

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]].

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.

[[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.

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.

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 Nintendo selling [[Rare Ltd.|Rare]] to [[wikipedia:Microsoft Corporation|Microsoft]], 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. He is only playable via hacking in the leaked build of ''Diddy Kong Pilot''.

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.]]'', ''[[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. Early pieces of media 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>[http://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 a separate character that is father to Donkey Kong and son to 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 some occasions, 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>

[[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.

[[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.

[[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.

[[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, this 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>

*"''<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.''"