Donkey Kong (game)

For other uses, see Donkey Kong (disambiguation).

Donkey Kong
Promotional North American arcade flyer for the game Donkey Kong.
Developer(s)	Nintendo R&D1, Ikegami Tsushinki
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Main Development Staff	Director: Shigeru Miyamoto Producer: Gunpei Yokoi Designers: Gunpei Yokoi Shigeru Miyamoto Programmers (Arcade): Hirohisa Komanome Minoru Iinuma Mitsuhiro Nishida Yasuhiro Murata ROM Creation (Arcade): Kenzou Sekiguchi Shigeru Kudou Artist: Shigeru Miyamoto Composer: Yukio Kaneoka Sound Effects: Hirokazu Tanaka
Platform(s)	Arcade, Game & Watch, Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii U
Release Date(s)	Arcade July 9, 1981 July 31, 1981 November 1981 Famicom/NES July 15, 1983 June 1, 1986 October 15, 1986 Game Boy Advance February 14, 2004 June 2, 2004 July 9, 2004 Nintendo Wii Virtual Console (Famicom/NES version) November 19, 2006 December 2, 2006 December 8, 2006 Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console (Famicom/NES version) October 17, 2012 August 15, 2013 November 21, 2013 Nintendo Wii U Virtual Console (Famicom/NES version) July 15, 2013 July 15, 2013 July 15, 2013
Genre(s)	Platformer
Ratings	N/A
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Media(s)	Arcade Board, Famicom/NES ROM Cartridge
Input(s)	Arcade Controller, Famicom/NES Controller
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkī Kongu in Japan) is a platformer game developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Ikegami Tsushinki, and released by Nintendo for the arcades in July 9, 1981. This title marked the grand debut of the iconic characters Mario (known then as "Jumpman", a carpenter), Donkey Kong (who was Mario's pet), as well as Pauline (known as Lady, Jumpman's girlfriend). The game was Nintendo's (specifically Shigeru Miyamoto's) first major hit internationally and is the first installment of both the Donkey Kong and Mario franchises, making itself one of the most important video games ever created.

The game sold quite well in the United States. It is one of four titles to be inducted into the Nintendo Hall of Fame. The original arcade version has four screen stages, but the Nintendo Entertainment System version only has three (50m was cut from this version). Most other home versions have only two screens, 25m and 100m. It wasn't until Donkey Kong '94 on the Game Boy where any version of Donkey Kong features the full four levels.

Story

Following the events of the game Donkey Kong Circus, Jumpman (Mario) unintentionally laughs at a local circus animal, known as Donkey Kong (Sr.) who escapes and kidnaps Jumpman's girlfriend Lady for revenge, and runs to the top of a construction site. Jumpman must climb to the top, save Lady, and defeat the rampaging Donkey Kong.

Gameplay

Screenshot of the original arcade version, in the 25m level

Donkey Kong is an early example of the platform genre (it is sometimes said to be the first platform game, although it was preceded by Space Panic and Apple Panic). Competitive video gamers and referees stress the game's high level of difficulty compared to other classic arcade games such as Space Invaders or Pac-Man. Winning the game requires patience and the ability to accurately time Mario's ascent. In addition to presenting the goal of saving the Lady, the game also gives the player a score. Points are awarded for finishing screens, leaping over obstacles, destroying objects with a hammer power-up, collecting items such as hats, parasols, and purses (presumably belonging to Lady), and completing other tasks. The player receives three lives with a 1-up awarded for the first 7,000 points.

The game is divided into four different one-screen stages. Each represents 25 meters of the structure Donkey Kong has climbed, one stage being 25 meters higher than the previous. The final screen occurs at 100 meters. Later ports of the game omit or change the sequence of the screens. The original arcade version includes:

• Screen 1 (25m) - Mario must scale a seven-story construction site made of crooked girders and ladders while jumping over or hammering barrels and oil barrels tossed by Donkey Kong. The hero must also avoid flaming balls, which generate when an oil barrel collides with an oil drum. Players routinely call this screen "Barrels".
• Screen 2 (50m) - Mario must climb a five-story structure of conveyor belts, each of which transports pans of cement. The fireballs also make another appearance. This screen is sometimes referred to as the "Factory", "Cement Factory" or "Pie Factory", due to the resemblance of the cement pans to pies.
• Screen 3 (75m) - Mario rides up and down elevators while avoiding fireballs and bouncing objects, presumably spring-weights. The bouncing weights (the hero's greatest danger in this screen) emerge on the top level and drop near the rightmost elevator. The screen's common name is "Elevators".
• Screen 4 (100m) - Mario must disable eight golden rivets, which support Donkey Kong. The fireballs remain the primary obstacle. Disabling the final rivet causes Donkey Kong to fall and the hero to be reunited with the Lady. This is the final screen of each level. Players refer to this screen as "Rivets".

These screens combine to form stages, which become progressively harder. For example, Donkey Kong begins to hurl barrels more rapidly and sometimes diagonally, and fireballs get quicker. The victory music alternates between stages 1 and 2. The 22nd level is unofficially known as the "Kill Screen" due to an error in the game's programming that kills Mario entirely after a few seconds, effectively ending the game. With its four unique stages, Donkey Kong was the most complex video game at the time of its release, and only the second game to feature multiple stages.

Enemies

• Donkey Kong (main antagonist)
• Normal Barrels (can be thrown in any direction)
• Blue Barrels (can only be thrown directly down to the bottom of the stage)
• Trouble Bugs
• Oil Drums
• Springs

Development History and Impact

Donkey Kong was created when Shigeru Miyamoto was assigned by Nintendo to convert Radar Scope, a poorly selling arcade game in the U.S., into a game that would have more appeal to Americans. The result was a major breakthrough for Nintendo and for the video game industry. Sales of the machine were brisk, with the game becoming the best-selling arcade machine of all time in its era. The gameplay itself was the first of its time. With the growing base of arcades to sell to, the game was able to gain huge distribution. A little well-known fact is that Donkey Kong was the first appearance of Nintendo's world-famous Mario character - known as Jumpman in this game. The machine was Nintendo's first worldwide success.

In 1982, Universal Studios sued Nintendo, claiming that Donkey Kong infringed on Universal Studios' intellectual property rights to the film King Kong. Howard Lincoln, attorney and future president of Nintendo of America, decided to fight the case, and hired seasoned attorney John Kirby to represent Nintendo. When Kirby showed that not only was Nintendo not in violation of any copyrights, but also that Universal Studios themselves had sued RKO Pictures in 1975 to prove that the plot of King Kong was in fact in the public domain, Judge Robert W. Sweet ruled in Nintendo's favor, ordering Universal to pay Nintendo $1.8 million in legal fees. In an ironic twist, Judge Sweet also ruled that Tigervision's King Kong video game, licensed by Universal, infringed on Donkey Kong. After the victory, Nintendo awarded John Kirby with a $30,000 sailboat, christened the Donkey Kong, and gave him exclusive worldwide rights to use the name for sailboats.

Due to the huge success of Donkey Kong, Nintendo of America was able to grow and release many more games in succeeding years and had the resources necessary to release the Nintendo Entertainment System in the U.S. in 1985, and dawn the Super Mario series. The arcade itself would also have two sequels, Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong 3.

Releases

Home Console Ports

The arcade version of the game Donkey Kong was first ported for the Game & Watch in Japan on June 3, 1982.

Coleco did not offer the game cartridge of Donkey Kong stand-alone, instead they bundled it with their ColecoVision. The units went on sale in July 1982. Coleco's version was a more accurate port than earlier games that had been done.

Donkey Kong was also released on the Atari 2600 in North America in July 1982. Due to the 1977 console's hardware limitations, this version has down-graded graphics and sound in comparison to other home ports, though it still had the same gameplay mechanic.

The game Donkey Kong was eventually ported for the Family Computer (FC) in Japan on July 15, 1983, being one of the three launch games for the system alongside Donkey Kong Jr. and Popeye. Later, it was also released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America on June 1, 1986, and in Europe on October 15 at the same year. These versions omitted the second stage (50m) and lack some cutscenes due to the small memory size of earlier ROM cartridges.

Donkey Kong Classics

Both NES versions of the games Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. were also re–released in 1988 on a compilation called Donkey Kong Classics.

Donkey Kong for Game Boy

The game Donkey Kong for Game Boy, also known as Donkey Kong '94, is a semi-remake for the original Donkey Kong game, and also the latest game in the classic series. The game starts by Donkey Kong kidnapping Pauline again and taking her to a construction site. Mario goes to save his girlfriend by advancing throughout the four main stages of the original game. However, after these stages are cleared, Donkey Kong escapes again, and Mario pursues him by traversing nine worlds containing a total of ninety-seven new stages. The game also features Mario's new abilities, new enemies and Donkey Kong Jr.. The game itself is also the precursor for the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series.

Donkey Kong 64

Inside the level Frantic Factory in Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64, Donkey Kong can activate an arcade machine of the original Donkey Kong game. The game is a full port of the arcade version, and includes all four stages, unlike most other ports. After clearing all stages once, Donkey Kong receives a Golden Banana, and can spend two yellow Banana Coins to play through the game again in order to receive the Nintendo Coin, which is essential to complete the game.

After the player has collected six Banana Fairys, DK Bonus will be unlocked in the Mystery option at the main menu screen of the game. Here, the player can play Donkey Kong for arcade (called "DK Arcade"), alongside other score minigames for free, such as Jetpac, Rambi the Rhinoceros arena and Enguarde the Swordfish arena.

Animal Crossing

Between about fifteen games for the NES, including Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong Jr. Math and Donkey Kong 3, can be unlocked as items in the game Animal Crossing for Nintendo GameCube. In the North American version, the game Donkey Kong can be obtained by the player visiting the Tom Nook's store, speaking to the owner, Tom Nook, picking the options "Other things" and "Say code", and inputting "2n5@N%8JUjE5fj ljcGr4%ync5EUp". By regular means, until three correct codes can be entered per day. A few in-game days later, the player will receive a letter from the character and a present attached to it. The present box contains a NES console and the game cartridge for Donkey Kong, and it can be played after the item is set on the ground.

It is also possible to earn the item of the game Donkey Kong randomly as a reward in the Tom Nook's Lottery, a purchasable item appearing at the Crazy Redd's store or a buried item by other Villagers.

e-Reader and Classic NES Series

The NES version of the game Donkey Kong was re-released as a card for the e-Reader device for the Game Boy Advance in 2002.

Later, the same game version was also released on the Game Boy Advance as part of Nintendo's "Classic NES Series" ports of popular NES games, in Japan on February 14, 2004, in North America on June 2, 2004, and in Europe on July 9, 2004. It is a relatively unchanged, faithful port of the original Nintendo Entertainment System version.

Virtual Console

The NES version of the game Donkey Kong was released on the Virtual Console for Nintendo Wii in North America on November 19, 2006, in Japan on December 2, 2006, and in Europe on December 8, 2006. However, the service was discontinued for Wii in January 2019.

The same game version was later released on the Virtual Console for Nintendo 3DS in Japan on October 17, 2012, in North America on August 15, 2013, and in Europe on November 21, 2013. The game was also available on the Virtual Console for Nintendo Wii U in Japan, North America and Europe on July 15, 2013.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Nintendo Wii also has the NES version of the game Donkey Kong as an unlockable masterpiece. Instead of starting from the beginning stage, players will start at the second stage. To unlock it, the player must play the game for ten hours. There is also an unlockable battle stage, 75m that is based on the third stage of the game.

Donkey Kong: Original Edition

A modified port of the NES version of Donkey Kong, called Donkey Kong: Original Edition, was first released in Europe on October 29, 2010 as a preinstalled game onto a limited-edition red Nintendo Wii. The special console bundle celebrates the 25th anniversary of the game Super Mario Bros. This version of Donkey Kong: Original Edition restores the second stage (50m) and some missing animations when compared to the arcade version (see Videos section below). A rendition of the Donkey Kong Country main theme was added to the main title screen of the game, which also plays during the demo gameplay cutscene.

Donkey Kong: Original Edition was later available in Japan on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS and exclusively for users who purchased the game New Super Mario Bros. 2 or Brain Age: Concentration Training between July 28, 2012 and September 2, 2012. In North America, the same game version was also available for Nintendo 3DS via the Nintendo eShop exclusively for users who purchased the game Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! or Crosswords Plus between October 1, 2012 and January 6, 2013. And in Europe, Donkey Kong: Original Edition was released on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS on September 18, 2014.

Gallery

Smaller replica based on the original Donkey Kong arcade machine.

Title Screen (Arcade).

Top Score Screen in Arcade version.

Pre-stage screen of the Arcade version. (As player climbs higher and higher through the level more Donkey Kongs appear on this screen.)

Atari 2600 version gameplay.

Colecovision version gameplay.

Colecovision Tabletop version gameplay.

Intellivision version gameplay.

NES/3DS version gameplay.

Commodore 64 (Atarisoft) version gameplay.

Commodore 64 (Ocean) version gameplay.

Atari 8-bit version gameplay.

TI-99/4a version gameplay.

VIC-20 version gameplay.

Apple II version gameplay.

Coleco Adam version gameplay.

Amstrad CPC version gameplay.

MSX version gameplay.

Atari 7800 version gameplay.

GBA version gameplay.

North American boxart of Donkey Kong for NES.

The Donkey Kong 64 version of the Arcade game.

North American boxart of of the game Donkey Kong, as part of the Classic NES Series, for GBA.

Concept art for Jumpman (later known as Mario).

Videos

Donkey Kong Original Edition for the Nintendo Entertainment System-Wii

Walkthrough of the main four stages of the game Donkey Kong: Original Edition on the Wii.

Soundtrack

To hear the soundtrack for Donkey Kong, see Donkey Kong (game)/Soundtrack.

Original Soundtrack

Donkey kong arcade ost

Donkey Kong arcade music

Trivia

• The Donkey Kong game is inspired by Beauty and the Beast fairy tale as well as the popular 1930s Popeye series and King Kong. Mario is based on Popeye, while Donkey Kong is for Bluto, and Pauline for Olive Oil. Ironically, according to Shigeru Miyamoto, this game was originally intended to be a Popeye game but the license attempt failed, though an actual arcade would be released in 1982.
  • Universal City Studios unsuccessfully sued Nintendo, alleging that Donkey Kong violated its trademark of the King Kong franchise.
• The current highest recorded score of Donkey Kong for the arcade was set by Robbie Lakeman on June 8, 2021. He achieved 1,272,800 points.

  

  The Donkey Kong in this game and it sequels, according to Cranky Kong (and Rare), is himself at his prime years

• When Donkey Kong was reformed from an antagonist to a heroic character in the critically acclaimed 1994 Super NES title Donkey Kong Country (which this game's theme song from home ports was reused for its own), Rareware, the company who developed the game and its sequels, claimed the titular character in this title alongside Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong 3 is the elderly and grumpy Cranky Kong at a younger age, while the current DK is his son or grandson (suggesting to be a grown Donkey Kong Jr.). This had led to widespread confusion among fans and media and even met with controversy, as Nintendo or his creator Shigeru Miyamoto had never outright stated it at the time and since then.
• Although often believed by fans to be part of the Mario franchise as Donkey Kong is the first appearance of Mario alongside Donkey Kong himself, it is not technically such, as that series' first true installment is in fact Mario Bros. in 1983, two years later.
• Donkey Kong's role of kidnapping Pauline for Mario to rescue in this title is likely a precursor of Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach in the Super Mario series.
• In the game WarioWare Gold for Nintendo 3DS, one of the 9-Volt's microgames is called "Donkey Kong". During the minigame, the player must protect Mario from barrels thrown by Donkey Kong. at the stage 25m by using the 3DS touch screen.
• In Oracle of Ages of The Legend of Zelda franchise for the Game Boy Color, after Vire kidnaps Princess Zelda and takes her to the Black Tower, a recreation of this game happens. Vire appears as Donkey Kong, Princess Zelda as Pauline, and Link as Jumpman (Mario).

External Links

• Donkey Kong on Mario Wiki
• Donkey Kong on Moby Games
• Donkey Kong for Arcade on Gamefaqs
• Donkey Kong on Wikipedia