Donkey Kong

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This article is about the character Donkey Kong, as of Donkey Kong Country. For information about other uses of the name "Donkey Kong", see here.
"DK" redirects here. For information about other uses of the name DK, see here.
Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong, as he appears in Mario Party 8.
Full name Donkey Kong III
Species Kong
First appearance Donkey Kong (1981) (Original Donkey Kong) / Donkey Kong Country (1994) (current Donkey Kong)
Latest appearance The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Latest portrayal Mark Betteridge (1994–1995)[1]
Chris Sutherland (1994, when failing a Bonus Level)[2]
Grant Kirkhope (1999-2010)
Takashi Nagasako (2004–present)
Seth Rogen (English, 2023)
“My bananas and my buddy, Diddy, 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 shortened to DK) is the main and titular protagonist of the Donkey Kong franchise. He is the grandson of Cranky Kong, the son of Donkey Kong Jr., and the uncle of Diddy Kong.[3] While Donkey Kong made his debut appearance in Donkey Kong Country, the "Donkey Kong" title was first used by Cranky, who debuted in the arcade game Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong's goal is protect his Banana Hoard, defend Kong Island, and help his friends whenever they are in trouble. Most of the time, Donkey Kong is joined by Diddy, serving as his sidekick. Although he is the Donkey Kong franchise's main protagonist, some of the games have a premise of Donkey Kong being kidnapped, so a different Kong, specifically Diddy or Dixie, is substituted as the main protagonist.

Creation and Development

Donkey Kong's character design was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the Donkey Kong Arcade game, in which the big ape kidnaps Mario's (or Jumpman's) girlfriend, Pauline. Miyamoto says that he chose the name "Donkey" to reflect the character's stubbornness, while "Kong" was considered a generic term for large scary apes in Japan[4].

Donkey Kong's exact role in the Mario series is somewhat hazy. His original appearance portrayed him as a villainous or confused ape with unequaled strength. In these games, Donkey Kong didn't 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), but otherwise Donkey Kong is the same as he was in the original.

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 was the original Donkey Kong from the older Arcade games. Indeed, this new Donkey Kong was a character built for a new generation.

Donkey Kong also seems to be based off King Kong. Both apes terrorise someone, and both are on some kind of tower at some time in the story.

History

Background

Main article: Baby Donkey Kong
Baby Donkey Kong helps the Red Yoshi climb vines.

During Baby 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 greatly 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 DK is one of the seven Star Children.

Donkey Kong Arcade series

Donkey Kong

The original Donkey Kong with Pauline.

Donkey Kong's first appearance is in the Arcade game of the same name, where he is the main enemy. In the game, Donkey Kong was the pet gorilla of "Jumpman", but he escapes and angrily carries Mario's girlfriend Pauline to the top of a high construction site. He is pursued by Mario and attacks him by throwing Barrels and creating living Fire. He is eventually pursued to the top of the construction site, where Mario causes the bars supporting him to crash, sending him to the ground.

Donkey Kong tries to kidnap Pauline yet again in the 1994 Game Boy remake Donkey Kong, and this time he's accompanied by his son, Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong's tactics in this game remain virtually the same, attacking mainly by throwing a variety of objects at Mario, although there are unique stage hazards whenever he confronts Donkey Kong. In the end, Donkey Kong transformed into a giant using the Super Mushrooms, but he was defeated.

Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong Jr. trying to save Cranky Kong.

Donkey Kong takes the role of damsel-in-distress during Donkey Kong Jr. In this game, Jumpman actually kidnaps Donkey Kong (to ship him back to the wild to ensure he will never kidnap Pauline again) and stands guard next to his cage with a whip, sending various enemies like Snapjaws and Nitpickers to attack Donkey Kong Jr. In the end, Donkey Kong Jr. defeats Mario to free Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong 3

In Donkey Kong 3, Donkey Kong is a main villain once again, although this time, he does not fight Mario (who had gone on to star in his own series and would not meet with Donkey Kong again until much later). In this game, Donkey Kong goes on a rampage inside a greenhouse, and a local exterminator called Stanley the Bugman is called in to defeat him (along with various insects that are destroying plants in the greenhouse). Donkey Kong uses a system of ropes to lower himself to the greenhouse floor. When he reaches the floor, the game ends, and Donkey Kong is able to destroy the rest of the greenhouse. After Stanley sprays Donkey Kong with insecticide three times to keep him off of the greenhouse floor, he runs away. In the final stage (though after this the first stage follows again, tougher than before), Donkey Kong is forced back and gets his head stuck in a beehive.

The Saturday Supercade

Donkey Kong, along with Mario and Pauline appears in several episodes of The Saturday Supercade. Here, Donkey Kong is a circus escapee and is now traveling across the country, Mario and Pauline on his tail. Donkey Kong Jr. is also featured in a few of The Saturday Supercade's episodes. On the show, Donkey Kong Jr., along with his pal Bones, travels across the globe searching for Donkey Kong.

Captain N: The Game Master

Donkey Kong as seen in Captain N: The Game Master

Donkey Kong makes occasional appearances on Captain N: The Game Master. Here he is more or less a giant, bestial, monster. Oftentimes on the show, Donkey Kong is manipulated by Mother Brain and her minions to do their bidding. Donkey Kong also appears in the Captain N comics.

Nintendo Adventure Books

Donkey Kong appears in the sixth Nintendo Adventure Book, Doors to Doom, in a recreation of the original game (though Mario and Luigi are trying to reach the top 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 sports games

Donkey Kong as he appears in Mario Tennis.

He is also playable in all of the golf, tennis and other sports titles. He is usually portrayed as a slow but powerful character. He often takes unconventional approaches to certain sports, like swinging a Golf Club one-handed or using a Boxing Glove for a Baseball Bat. The most interesting of these is the fact that he regularly uses his hands when playing soccer, to the point of holding the ball in one hand as he prepares to punch it with the other.

NES Open Tournament Golf

Donkey Kong appears in various Mario sub-series. In NES Open Tournament Golf, a gorilla looking exactly like Donkey Kong, except for the fact that it was wearing white clothes, appears. It is presumed that this gorilla is Donkey Kong. His role is to tell the player how much money they have.

Mario Tennis series

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 DK scratches his head. Donkey Kong's taunt is showing muscles.

Donkey Kong franchise

The modern Donkey Kong is both an agile and strong ape, capable of defending the island.

Sometime after the battles between Donkey Kong and Jumpman played out, the original Donkey Kong took the name Cranky Kong. The new Donkey Kong forges lasting friendships with many of the other Kongs, including his eager nephew Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, and his girlfriend Candy Kong. He eventually begins his reign over the island's jungle. Much of the young ape’s time is spent collecting Bananas to add to his Banana Hoard, and he lives a relatively laid back lifestyle as compared to his father figure, Cranky.

However, a band of Kremlings known as the Kremling Krew forms during this time. Their acts of violence and thievery put them at odds with Donkey Kong constantly, forcing him to guard his Banana Hoard every night.

Canon

In Donkey Kong Country, DK was charged with protecting the Banana Hoard until it was stolen by the Kremling Krew soldiers. He with the help of his nephew Diddy explored the whole island to recover all his Bananas, expel Klump with his army and defeat the big boss K. Rool.

In Donkey Kong Land, Donkey Kong with his nephew Diddy is tested by his grandfather Cranky to recover the Banana Hoard from K. Rool's hands.[5]

In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest/Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, Donkey Kong was held hostage by K. Rool.[6] First he was imprisoned in the Crocodile Isle to extort his Banana Hoard and serves as a power source for KAOS together with Diddy.[7][8]

In Donkey Kong 64, DK had to recover the Golden Bananas, free his friends, find the Banana Fairies and mainly save his island from the Kremling Krew's bellicose power called Blast-O-Matic. It was on this journey that Donkey Kong received his Coconut Gun by Funky Kong, he was allowed to use his pad by Cranky Kong, received his Bongo Blast by Candy Kong, received the Strong Kong by Cranky Kong, collecting various items with his color code which is yellow, defeating Army Dillo twice to win the keys to K. Lumsy's cage and defeat K. Rool.

In DK: King of Swing, Donkey Kong explore the whole island for second time to recover all DK Medals which was stolen by K. Rool and save the Jungle Jam Tournament. As playable in the Jungle Jam, his Jump and Attack are 3 out of 5.

In DK: Jungle Climber, DK and his gang find a giant banana on top of Sun Sun Island first. Donkey Kong meet Xananab discovering that K. Rool and his minions stole the 5 crystal bananas from same. He with the help of his nephew Diddy explored the more 4 islands to recover all the Crystal Bananas and save the universe from K. Rool's hands.

In Donkey Kong Country Returns, DK discover that the animals on his own island steal the Banana Hoard, is faced by Kalimba and throws him out starting his journey. He explore the whole island by third time with Diddy to recover all his Bananas again, break the enchantment of the Tikis freeing the enslaved animals, preventing the Tiki army production, destroy the Tiki Tong and get the Orbs in the Key Temples to open the Golden Temple's entrance.

In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on his birthday, Donkey Kong and the Kong Family are expelled from own island by the Snowmads and discovers that the islands are conquered by them too. So DK along with Diddy, Dixie and Cranky will have to remove the Snowmads from islands first to recover his home, kick out Lord Fredrik with his underlings and get the Relics in the Key Temples from islands to activate the Secret Seclusion.

Spin-off

In Donkey Konga series, DK together with his friends make their performances on magic bongos that were found in the beach.

In Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, DK had to go through several kingdoms to recover his bananas which was stolen by Ghastly King. He freed the Kong Kings from spell, strikes Rocs, fought with Hogs, destroy Tusks and defeated Ghastly King twice.

In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, DK is first playable character from selection in which his Boost, Speed and Agility are 3 out of 5. His counterpart is a individual Kritter. If the player complete all 32 of Candy's Challenges, the Ultra Barrel DK is unlocked where the Boost, Speed and Agility are 5 out of 5.

Club Nintendo

Donkey Kong as he appears in the comic "Donkey Kong Country."

He is also the main character in the Club Nintendo 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 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 only have taken "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 bananas, 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 Country television series

For a complete list of the episodes of Donkey Kong Country that Donkey Kong has appeared in, see List of Donkey Kong Country episodes featuring Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong is a main character in the 1996 TV series of 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 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.

Mario Kart series

Mario Kart 64

Donkey Kong from Mario Kart 64.
DK's expression after losing a race.

Donkey Kong first appears in the Mario Kart series in the Nintendo 64 game, Mario Kart 64 (replacing Donkey Kong Jr. from the previous installment). In this game, he is classified as a heavyweight character, along with Bowser and Wario. His personal track is 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!!

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, King Boo and Petey Piranha also appear as heavyweight characters. Donkey Kong also gets his own personal track, DK Mountain. He and Diddy share an 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 Giant Banana, and the Conga. Like most of the characters, Donkey Kong has his own cup, which is simply named DK Cup. In this cup, two of Donkey Kong's personal tracks appear, Donkey Kong Jungle and Bananan Ruins.

Mario Kart DS

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's 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 track, 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

Donkey Kong, holding a red shell on his personal 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; they're DK Summit, DK's Jungle Parkway, and 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

Donkey Kong, preparing to launch a Spiny Shell.

Donkey Kong appears as a racer again in the Nintendo 3DS title, Mario Kart 7, and has his own personal track, 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.

Game & Watch series

Some of Donkey Kong's sprites from the Game & Watch Gallery series.

Donkey Kong has played different roles in select Game & Watch titles.

Donkey Kong

In Donkey Kong game, Donkey Kong would attempt to stop Jumpman from releasing Pauline by throwing barrels at him, and Jumpman had to use a hook mechanism to loosen the wires supporting Donkey Kong's platform. If four wires are removed, Donkey Kong will fall. This was re-released in Game & Watch Gallery 2 and Game & Watch Gallery 4, with Princess Peach replacing Pauline and Mario replacing Jumpman and other minor gameplay changes in the modern version. A more accurate port is available in Game & Watch Collection.

Donkey Kong Jr.

An offshoot of the Arcade game of the same name with a similar premise. In Donkey Kong Jr., the eponymous ape must obtain four keys from a tree to unlock his father's cage. This was re-released in Game & Watch Gallery 3 and Game & Watch Gallery 4, with three screens in the modern version and a variation of Mushroom Kingdom enemies working for Jumpman.

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. This is unlockable in Game & Watch Gallery 3, without a modern edition.

Donkey Kong 3

Similar to Greenhouse and the Arcade Donkey Kong 3, the Game & Watch Donkey Kong 3 has Stanley the Bugman protecting his plants. Donkey Kong released bees aiming at the bugman, and his job was to spray them back at Donkey Kong. In Game & Watch Gallery 4, the modern version replaced Stanley with Mario, and the game adopted a Ghost House theme.

Donkey Kong Circus

In Donkey Kong Circus, Jumpman watches Donkey Kong juggling pineapples while balancing on a barrel. When Donkey Kong makes a mistake, Jumpman laughs at his performance.

Donkey Kong Hockey

In Donkey Kong Hockey, Mario and Donkey Kong settle the score with a game of ice hockey. Player 1 is Mario, while Player 2 or the CPU is Donkey Kong. It also happens to be their first instance being in a competitive, physically athletic position.

Game Boy Camera

Donkey Kong makes a cameo as a stamp for photos in the Game Boy Camera peripheral.

Mario Party series

Donkey Kong is a playable character in all of the Mario Party games up until Mario Party 5. Here, he leaves the playable character roster but gains his own space. He is basically the opposite of Bowser, since when a character lands on his space, something good happens.

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".

Additionally, 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.

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 Cannons into the area, allowing the players to access banana bunches that are higher up.

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. fighter
Donkey Kong
Game appearances
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Special moves
Standard:  Giant Punch
Side:  Headbutt (SSBM), (SSBB)
Up:  Spinning Kong
Down:  Hand Slap
Final Smash:  Konga Beat (SSBB)
Battle entrance
Donkey Kong breaks out of a DK Barrel. (SSB, SSBB)

Donkey Kong is playable in all three Super Smash Bros. games. Donkey Kong is always one of the strongest characters in the game. 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 barrels and crates, without having his speed hindered.

Super Smash Bros.

Giant Donkey Kong.

In Super Smash Bros., DK is a default character. In one-player mode, the player must fight Giant Donkey Kong. This is the only fight in which the player is given two partners to help them instead of one. Giant Donkey Kong can withstand about 350% damage before being knocked off the stage.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

DK 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 transform into Giant Donkey Kong for a few moments. A Giant Donkey Kong also appears in the Event Mode, in two particular events: First in Event 2, where the player controls him and must defeat Tiny Donkey Kong, then in Event 25 where the player must defeat him using Giant Bowser. Donkey Kong can transform into Giant Donkey Kong by using a Super Mushroom (it only lasts for brief moments) or playing Giant Melee.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Donkey Kong's unique carrying ability seen in Brawl.
The original Donkey Kong, as seen on the 75m stage in Brawl.

Donkey Kong reappears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His moves are carried over from 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 can't be used in any boss battles). Donkey Kong also gets a new white recolor.

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.

Also, an 8-bit Donkey Kong appears on the 75m stage (which is based on the 3rd level in the original Donkey Kong).

Even though Donkey Kong is a Mario series character, his emblem is the DK symbol, which represents his own series.

Donkey Kong appears in several events, usually in giant form.

  • First he appears as a secret opponent in Event 9: "The Monster beneath the Earth". If the player does not KO the two Diddy Kongs fast enough, Giant DK must be fought as well.
  • He also appears in Event 22: "Monkeys Unite", as Diddy Kong's partner, in which the player uses Diddy to defeat Sheik and Lucario.
  • He is fought in Event 27: "Three-Beast Carnage" as well, alongside Giant Bowser and Giant Charizard.
Solid Snake Codec Conversation
  • Snake: Otacon, there's a gorilla wearing a tie here. He's huge.
  • Otacon: That's Donkey Kong. As you can tell, he's got strength to spare. He may be king of the jungle, but he lives in a house just like you or me. And he seems pretty smart--well, for an ape, anyway. The Donkey Kong who fought that epic battle with Mario was this guy's grandfather.
  • Snake: That was a long time ago. What about this Donkey Kong? Does he get along with Mario?
  • Otacon: Nope, they're still at it. Seems like they're always competing in something--kart racing, sports, you name it.
  • Snake: A chip off the old block....
Role in the Subspace Emissary
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 Goombas aboard the car spot Donkey Kong and shoot Bullet Bills at him. However, Diddy Kong comes out from a bush, and, with his Peanut Popguns, shoots the Bullet Bills. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong then follow the Hammer Bro. to retrieve the Banana Hoard. After following it, they see Bowser with a Dark Cannon, revealing that he is working for the Subspace Army. When Bowser charges the cannon, Donkey Kong charges his Giant Punch. He then launches Diddy to the sky and out of the way, sacrificing himself. Bowser shoots him with the Dark Cannon, which turns him into a trophy. Later, Diddy Kong, Fox McCloud, and Falco Lombardi meet up with a ship carrying Donkey Kong as a trophy to a mysterious floating island. Falco then helps Diddy by following it with his Arwing and taking 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 with the others. When trying to escape, Captain Falcon calls for his Falcon Flyer and tries to leave the cave. Meta Ridley then appears, forcing the heroes to fight him. After that, they all meet up with the other heroes.

Donkey Kong and the other heroes 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.

Special Moves

Giant Punch
The Giant Punch in Melee.
The Giant Punch in Brawl.
The Giant Punch in Smash Wii U.

Giant Punch is a move used by Donkey Kong in all three Super Smash Bros. games. It is used by just simply pressing B Button. Donkey Kong will swing his arms back and forth, getting faster with each swing. The more time the player spends winding up Donkey Kong's arm, the stronger the punch will be. Donkey Kong can walk with his punch loaded (much like Samus Aran can). However, when B Button is pressed again, the move will be released, sending a strong punch to whoever is in front of Donkey Kong. When charged to its maximum, it will sometimes have enough energy to result in an instant KO. Giant Punch can also be used by Kirby if he copies Donkey Kong's powers.

Headbutt
The Headbutt in Melee.
The Headbutt in Brawl.

Headbutt is a move used by Donkey Kong in the games Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is performed by pressing Side and B Button. When executed, Donkey Kong will swing his head forward, dealing minor damage to enemies. This move will also plow a character into the ground. The foe will be unable to move once caught, leaving them open to a barrage. The grounded player can get up by rotating the Control Stick, or doing nothing. A good strategy is to plow the foe into the ground with Headbutt and then using Hand Slap.

This move also has Meteor Smash properties, but it's usually rather easy to Meteor Cancel it in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Spinning Kong
Spinning Kong in Melee

Spinning Kong is one of Donkey Kong's special moves seen in all three games in the Super Smash Bros. series. It is executed by pressing Up plus B Button. As the name suggests, Donkey Kong will spin using this attack. He can use this when falling off a ledge, or use it to attack players. As a lot of Donkey Kong's moves take a while to use, and usually hit one player, Spinning Kong can be used as a last minute resort when Donkey Kong is surrounded by foes. This move, along with Link's Spin Attack move, acts different when on the ground.

Hand Slap
The Hand Slap in Melee.
The Hand Slap in Brawl.
The Hand Slap in Smash 3DS.

Hand Slap is one of Donkey Kong's special moves in all games from the Super Smash Bros. series. It is executed by the buttons Down + B Button. Donkey Kong will slap the ground, severely damaging any characters near him. The attack is very useful in the event when Donkey Kong is surrounded by opponents. However, the attack takes a while to use, but once used, all the player must do is hold the control stick down and continuously tap B Button. Donkey Kong will keep using the attack over and over, and he will not stop until the player stops tapping B Button or is hit by an opponent. Hand Slap is very useful to use in the Multi-Man Melee challenges. However, the move cannot be executed in mid-air.

While the move has a set knockback in Super Smash Bros. Melee, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it can send high damaged opponents flying further than when at low damage.

The attack originates from Donkey Kong Country, in which Donkey Kong is capable of pounding the ground (originally to get items hidden in the ground, which he can do here).

Konga Beat
Konga Beat
The attack gets stronger as long as it is played to the beat of the music.
“As you might expect from Donkey Kong, his Final Smash is something...upbeat. That’s right, he’s breaking out the DK Bongos!”
Masahiro Sakurai, Smash Bros. DOJO!!

The Konga Beat is Donkey Kong's Final Smash in the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. When using it, Donkey Kong will put out two Bongos and start playing the music from the first level of Donkey Kong Country. The player can make the attack stronger by pressing the buttons in tune with each beat of the song.

The bongos Donkey Kong uses in his Final Smash are actually modeled after the actual DK Bongo controllers - a START button and DK logo can be seen in the middle of the two bongos.

Donkey Kong is invincible during the move. Unfortunately he is also unable to move, making the move very risky to use on scrolling stages that require the player to keep on moving (ironically, this is a requirement in one of Donkey Kong's very own stages in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Rumble Falls).

Mario vs. Donkey Kong series

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

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. 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. Using the toys that fall out of the sack, however, Mario chases after him.

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, though the 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. After Mario defeats Donkey Kong in the final battle against his robot, Mario gives Donkey Kong his own Mini Mario toy.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis

Donkey Kong, as he appears 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, when she chooses Mario's Mini-Mario toy over his 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 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. In the end, its shown DK is given a Pauline doll by Mario and the trio rides the Ferris wheel together.

Mario Baseball series

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. 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. DK has the second highest batting stat in this game, only surpassed by Bowser, King K.Rool and Petey Piranha.

Mario Strikers Series

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 as the other characters; the only difference is that in Super Strikes, 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.

Punch-Out!!

Donkey Kong, as he appeared in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!.

In the Wii title, 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.

Mario & Sonic series

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.[9] However, Donkey Kong did appear in both 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.

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 then comes uses his psychic powers to bring the banana back to him. Donkey Kong thanks Silver and challenge him to 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 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 in the third installment Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, as once again a power type playable character.

Story Mode

Donkey Kong is practicing at the Wrestling Stadium, where Espio the Chameleon and Miles "Tails" Prower meet him. E-123 Omega who slips into him causes his banana to drop. Donkey Kong gets mad and Omega challenges him to a Wrestling-Freestyle Match which DK wins. A battery part comes up of Omega which Eggman put into Omega causing him to go amok. Omega who forgets what happen apologize to DK for causing his banana to fall.

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

DK banging his chest

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 propeties.

Other appearances and references

Goggles the mole playing with a Donkey Kong doll.

Donkey Kong was going to appear in the now-canceled games Diddy Kong Pilot, Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers, and Donkey Kong Racing.

Donkey Kong appears as a property in Nintendo Monopoly. He takes the place of Marvin Gardens and costs $280.

In Banjo-Tooie, for the Nintendo 64, Goggles, a minor character, plays with a Donkey Kong doll.

A skeleton named Bink from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga strongly resembles Donkey Kong. Bink even throws barrels and eats bananas.

A Monster Truck based on Donkey Kong appeared at Monster Jam 2007.

Appearances in other media

Television

In the Donkey Kong Country television series from 1996, Donkey Kong is the main protagonist where he finds the Crystal Coconut on Inka Dinka Doo's temple and was predicted by the same that he would be the future ruler of the Kongo Bongo Island.[10] His job was to protect the coconut from K. Rool with his army and Kaptain Skurvy with his mates.

General information

Physical Appearance

Main article: Donkey Kong/Characteristics
DK shows off some muscles.
Donkey Kong with a Santa Hat ready to deliver some gifts to his friends.

Donkey Kong is similar to Donkey Kong Jr. in appearance. His hands, feet, chest, and face are all a light brown color. The rest of his body is covered in long, dark brown fur. At the top of his head, his hair curls up a little bit. His eyes are very penetrating. To keep up a classy, formal appearance, he wears a red tie with his initials (DK) in yellow around his neck. Now that tie is impressive. He loves bananas. A lot.

Personality

Donkey Kong is a typical brave and yet laid-back hero, and highly caring of his friends and Banana Hoard, becoming particularly enraged when his bananas are stolen or threatened in any way or when his friends are harmed. He is sometimes depicted as somewhat dimwitted. In Fortune Street, Toad remarks how Donkey Kong is the brawn and Diddy Kong is the brains, implying Donkey Kong's lack of intelligence. Despite that, he speaks fluent English much like the other Kongs (particularly during the Donkey Kong Country series), but he spoke in broken, third-person English for his few lines in Donkey Kong 64.

In the TV series, DK was shown to be kind, lazy, not bright but not stupid, brave, and adventurous. Out of him and Diddy, DK seemed to have much more common sense when it comes to morally right and wrong, as shown in I Spy with My Hairy Eye where he was at first against using the Crystal Coconut to wish for more bananas until Diddy manipulated him into doing it. DK seems to get startled much easier in the TV series and is more sensitive.

Despite having a laid-back personality, he can find a way to get in trouble in several games, such as Mario vs Donkey Kong. In the game, he wants to buy a Mini Mario, but after they are sold out, Donkey Kong steals some of them, and Mario had to save them. However most of his appearances in Mario spin-offs, he seems more friendly. In Mario Party 5, he rewards the player with coins and stars, instead of stealing them away like Bowser.

Abilities

Unlike most characters, who have some kind of special power, Donkey Kong relies mainly on his brute strength to get his way through. 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 destroy 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. This is his main attack throughout the game. In the ending of Donkey Kong Country Returns, DK is shown to be strong enough to knock the Mushroom World's Moon out of its orbit and into the planet's atmosphere with a single punch. He 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 is also talented in playing bongos demonstrated in Donkey Kong 64, where he uses it to solve puzzles and attack surrounding enemies, and Donkey Konga.

Though his size and weight may suggest otherwise, DK is deceptively fast and agile.

Relationships with Other Characters

Diddy Kong

The two heroes of the Jungle! Please welcome DK and Diddy!!!
Main article: Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong is Donkey Kong's nephew who looks up to him. Diddy Kong has gone on countless adventures with his more popular friend, and has even rescued Donkey Kong a couple times. Diddy seems to have a more happy-go-lucky personality than his friend, which is probably due to his youthful age. The relationship between Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong seems to be similar to the relationship of Mario and Luigi, only the two Kongs are not brothers. In the TV series, it is revealed that Diddy is DK's nephew, although he is a monkey and not an ape. Since Diddy's parents are never shown, it can even be implied that DK may have raised Diddy. Fans however have speculated that Funky Kong is DK's brother and Diddy is Funky's son. This has yet to be confirmed however.

Cranky Kong

Main article: Cranky Kong

Cranky Kong is Donkey Kong's crabby and constantly rambling granfather. 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 Donkey Kong and his friends in their adventures, though it usually entails giving out advice or valuable items for a price. Although he frequently gets fustrated with DK, he does nonetheless look out for him. In the TV series, Cranky acts as a direct mentor to DK, but can still get 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.

Donkey Kong Jr.

Main article: Donkey Kong Jr.

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, although some claim that Donkey Kong Jr. became the modern Donkey Kong as an adult. Regardless, Donkey Kong Jr. supported his "papa" and saved him from the clutches of Jumpman in 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 for the Nintendo 64.

Candy Kong

Main article: Candy Kong

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'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 her in his home.

In the TV series, DK and Candy are dating. The two love each other, not because of their looks, but for personality. DK loves Candy for her sweet side, her kindness, her dedication, and banana cream pies while Candy loves DK for his kindness and sweetness. Though Candy can get angry at DK for his foolishness as shown in several episodes, though none the less, the two love one another.

Mario

Main article: Mario

The Donkey Kong line and Mario line have had quite the on and off rivalry since the Arcade era. This rivalry has even taken a new course as witnessed in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. However, they can have a friendly rivalry that sometimes takes a new outlook in spin-offs. Despite their on and off rivalry, they share a common enemy against Bowser in the Mario Party series. Though the current Donkey Kong is large, he is still quite a bit younger than Mario. Although most bitter moments of the rivalry occurred during the time of the original Donkey Kong, Cranky Kong admits that Mario is a true video game hero and even looks back at his nostalgic antics with a fond respect.

Pauline

Main article: Pauline

Pauline was kidnapped by both the original Donkey Kong in the Arcade, and Game & Watch games, and the current Donkey Kong in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. The original Donkey Kong's motive was unclear but it is widely speculated the reason was revenge against Jumpman for not being a good pet owner, while the current Donkey Kong had three 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 Minis March Again!, Donkey Kong appears to have kidnapped Pauline due to theme park tickets being sold out. 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, Mario still assumes the worst when his brash temper acts up and causes him to take her away somewhere. Despite this, Pauline and Donkey Kong remain on friendly terms, and Pauline is generally key to soothing his anger issues.

Official Profiles and Statistics

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros.

  • Instruction Booklet Bio: "Mario's former enemy, this mighty ape is bestowed with tremendous power and overwhelming attacks."
  • Game Bio: Donkey Kong and Mario started out as arch-rivals, but they've patched things up in recent years. These days Donkey Kong spends his time searching the jungle for bananas instead of kidnapping beautiful maidens. In the past few years, other members of the Kong family have cashed in on DK's fame as well, including his favorite nephew, Diddy.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Instruction Booklet

"An ape with overwhelming girth and power."

Trophies
# Name Image First Game / Move Description
4 Donkey Kong
(Classic)
Donkey Kong
Arcade 1981
While he now prefers the laid-back jungle lifestyle to construction site mischief, DK is often forced back into action by the Kremling Krew. The great ape is quite fast despite his burly physique, and he keeps his strength up with a steady diet of his favorite food: bananas. His one extravagance (and only piece of clothing) is a monogrammed necktie.
5 Donkey Kong [Smash]
(Adventure)
B Button: Giant Punch
Smash B Button: Headbutt
Donkey Kong is a huge target in a fight, so he hates crowds. When he's in the fray, his Giant Punch deals serious damage to multiple opponents. The big ape's Headbutt hits so hard that it temporarily buries opponent's in the ground. DK is a lot faster than he looks, and he's lethal in the hands of a master.
6 Donkey Kong [Smash]
(All-Star)
Up & B Button: Spinning Kong
Down & B Button: Hand Slap
Being the strongest simian around, DK has the upper hand once he grabs an opponent. He can even lift his foe up and make him or her an unwilling traveling companion; if DK grabs you, shake your Control Stick as fast as you can to break his grip. His Spinning Kong covers more lateral distance than vertical, so use it quickly to recover.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Bios
  • Website: "It’s Donkey Kong, ruler of the jungle. The original giant powerhouse makes a triumphant return! Looks like his giant punch is still the haymaker you remember. Don’t doubt his strength or you’ll end up with the ultimate headache!"
  • Instruction Booklet: "The large king of the jungle. He moves with surprising agility."
Trophies
# Name Image Appearance(s) Description
3 Donkey Kong SNES Donkey Kong Country
N64 Donkey Kong 64
A carefree jungle dweller with the charisma of a natural leader. He keeps busy by foiling the plans of the Kremlings and their boss, King K. Rool. As his physique suggests, this ape is a powerhouse. He's got speed to match too, and his love for bananas is second to none. His famous necktie is adorned with his initials, DK.
4 Konga Beat WII Super Smash Bros. Brawl DK about to go to town with some bongos! His performance is so magnificent and upbeat that it creates damage-inducing sound waves. Press the buttons in time to the music, and the sound waves may grow stronger. DK's invulnerable when launching this attack, but he's also immobile, so be careful using it on scrolling stages.
Stickers
Image Game Effect
Mario Superstar Baseball [Head] - Attack +27
Usable by: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis [Specials: Direct] - Attack +15
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat [Arm] - Attack +23
Usable by: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong
Donkey Kong Country [Electric] - Resistance +10
Usable by: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong
Mario Kart DS [Flame] - Resistance +41
Usable by: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong
Donkey Kong [Arm] - Attack +18
Usable by: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong

Mario Kart series

Mario Kart: Super Circuit

  • Speed: **
  • Weight: ****
  • Bio: "Adventurer, rapper and master driver. Is there anything Donkey Kong can't do? DK is heavy enough to avoid being pushed around, but he still has decent speed."

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Donkey Kong's emblem
  • Website Bio: "How fast is Donkey Kong? Just look at the size of his feet! When he stomps on the gas with his big, hairy ape-foot, it's go-go-go time!"
  • Manual Bio: "Straight from the jungle, DK uses his simian strength to scare rivals."

Mario Kart DS

  • Site Stats
    • Acceleration: *
    • Top Speed: ***
    • Off-Road: *
  • Bio: "DK overwhelms opponents with his jungle instincts. He drifts through corners like a madman ... or a mad-ape!"

Mario Kart Wii

Donkey Kong's complete vehicle roster.
  • Size: Large
  • Site Stats
    • Speed: 1/5
    • Acceleration: 4/5
    • Handling: 1.5/5
  • Actual Bonuses
    • Weight: +1
    • Acceleration: +1
    • Handling: +1
    • Mini-Turbo: +1
  • Site Bio: "Kick the tires and light the fires! Pair DK with high-octane action."

Mario Kart 7

  • Class: Cruiser
  • Stat Boosts
    • Speed: 3.75
    • Acceleration: 2.5
    • Weight: 3.75
    • Handling: 2.5
    • Off-Road: 3.75
  • Site Bios:
    • "This big and burly primate is slow to accelerate in a kart race, but his top speed approaches hyper levels."
    • "Donkey Kong is a driver with a wild side, and he's ready to smash his rivals off the track."

Mario Tennis series

Mario Power Tennis

Bio: DK's every swing is a thing of heroic proportions as he relies on his simian strengh to blow the ball by his opponents.

Mario Tennis Open

  • Type: Power
  • Bio: Among all the Power-type players, Donkey Kong can move most quickly. With his dynamic shots, he can overwhelm his opponent.
  • Bio 2: This guy has more strength in his muscle-bound arms than a 12-gauge steam train. He's also the fastest of the Power players and has a huge range of shots.

Mario Baseball series

Mario Superstar Baseball

  • Team Captain: Yes
  • Player Type: Power
  • Star Swing: Banana Ball
  • Star Pitch: Banana Ball
  • Special Skill: Clamber, Laser Beam
Good Chemistry
Bad Chemistry
  • None
Stats
  • Batting: 8
  • Pitching: 7
  • Fielding: 4
  • Running: 4
Bio

""A gorilla known for raw power, DK lives a carefree jungle life... unless someone messes with his bananas, in which case he just loses it. His ancestor, the original Donkey Kong wore no necktie. His talents lead in beating on primate foes and kart-racing. Fear his Banana Ball."

Mario Super Sluggers

Donkey Kong
A strong hitter who can also climb walls.
  • Team Name: DK Wilds
  • Stadium: DK Jungle
  • Star Pitch: {{{star_pitch}}}
  • Star Swing: {{{star_swing}}}
  • Fielding/Running: {{{fielding_running}}}
  • Bats/Throws: {{{bats_throws}}}
Stats
Pitch 6/10
Bat 9/10
Field 3/10
Run 2/10
Chemistry
Character Good Chemistry Bad Chemistry
Donkey Kong Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Funky Kong, Tiny Kong, Brown Mii King K. Rool, Kritter
Online Collectible Card Bio

"As king of the jungle and captain of the DK Wilds, Donkey Kong packs some serious punch at the plate. Pairing him up with his pals Diddy Kong and Funky Kong in the outfield makes for some hairy defense."

Mario Hoops 3-on-3

  • Baller Name: Dunky Monkey
  • Type: Powerful
  • Special Shot: Konga Dunk
  • Letter to Tap: M
  • Manual Bio: "With his spectacular dunks and powerful steals, Donkey Kong is a mighty hoops player. Don't get in his way!"

Mario Strikers Charged

DK's artwork from Mario Strikers Charged.

Stats

  • Movement: 3
  • Shooting: 10
  • Passing: 3
  • Defense: 10

Mario Party DS

# Name Image Description How to Unlock
1 Donkey Kong DK may be the king of the jungle, but most know him as a compassionate ape as well. All he needs is a banana to put him in a good mood! Win 34,000 MP Points.
26 Donkey Kong Friend 33,000 MPP earns you the rank of Donkey Kong Friend, and this is your badge! Makes you wild. Win 33,000 MP Points.

Donkey Kong Country Returns

  • Site Bio: "The ground-pounding, banana-hoarding, rail-riding hero of Donkey Kong Island! With Diddy Kong by his side, nothing gets between this big barrel-buster and his bananas."

Mario Sports Mix

Character Name Character Type Home Court Power Statistic Speed Statistic Technique Statistic
Donkey Kong
Powerful
DK Dock
5/5
1/5
3/5

Fortune Street

  • Bio: A soft-hearted, yet hard as nails hero of the jungle. Is he only here for the banana-selling fruit stalls?

Gallery

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

Music themes

Main article: DK Island Swing

Quotes

Video Games

Donkey Kong Country

  • "Ok, little buddy, as part of your hero training, you've got to stand guard tonight over my bananas... I'll relieve you at midnight, so try and stay awake until then!"
  • "My bananas and my buddy, Diddy, 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 64

  • "What did Cranky mean about training? Donkey all confused..."
  • "Yes, Donkey will help K. Lumsy!"

TV Shows

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."

Name in Other Languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese ドンキーコング
Donkī Kongu
Chinese 大金剛 (Traditional)
大金刚 (Simplified)
Dàjīn Gāng
Korean 동키 콩
Dongki Kong
Russian Данки Конг
Donki Kong
Spanish Donkey Kong

Trivia

References

  1. ^ Shesez (November 22, 2019). The Donkey Kong Country 25th Anniversary Interview Documentary. YouTube. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  2. ^ David Wise on Twitter (retrieved on January 10, 2019)
  3. ^ Playing with Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics Prima Games, p. 112 - "THE DK LINEAGE: 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. Make sense, right?"
  4. ^ "Donkey Wrong" - An article about the origin of Donkey Kong's name. Snopes.com. 2011. (Retrieved June 28, 2012)
  5. ^ Cranky Kong: I'll call old K. Rool and arrange everything. You'll wake up tomorow without your bananas." - Donkey Kong Land Instruction Booklet, Nintendo, 1995, p. 3
  6. ^ Donkey Kong Land 2 Instruction Booklet, Nintendo, 1996, p. 2 - INTRODUCTION: King K. Rool and his band of Kremlings apenapped Donkey Kong. They're demanding the Kongs to hand over the banana hoard for Donkey's safe return. Donkey Kong would have a fit if they lost the banana hoard again. So tt's up to diddy and Dixie Kong to save him. Help the two monkeys make their way through all the Kremlings and all the traps to find Donkey Kong."
  7. ^ K. Rool: Hah-arrrrh! We have got the big monkey! If you want him back, you scurvy dogs, you have to hand over the banana hoard! - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
  8. ^ Donkey Kong: Whoooooaaaa... My head... What happened? One minute, I was dreaming about the world's biggest pile of bananas... The next, I was a power-crazed madman! - Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
  9. ^ Ripped character IDs for Mario & Sonic. (Retrieved on July 12, 2008)
  10. ^ "Kaptain Skurvy:A stupid ape just wandered by and snatched my treasured prize♫" - Booty and the Beast