Donkey Kong (franchise): Difference between revisions

Nintendo's first ''Donkey Kong'' title for the Game Boy Advance after Rare left was ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong]]'', a return to the arcade-style games that incorporated many elements from the Game Boy version. Although it retained the gameplay style of the earlier releases, Donkey Kong now used his Rare design. The character returns to his original role as a villain; wanting a [[Mini Mario (toy)|Mini Mario]] clockwork toy, he finds that they are sold out at a local toy store, and furiously terrifies the [[Toad (species)|Toads]] at the factory and steals the toys. This prompts Mario to chase Donkey Kong around and eventually take the Mini-Marios back from him.  The game was followed up by ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis|March of the Minis]]'' and later ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!|Mini-Land Mayhem!]]'' for the Nintendo DS, ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!|Minis March Again!]]'' on [[DSiWare]], ''[[Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move|Minis on the Move!]]'' for Nintendo 3DS, and ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars|Tipping Stars]]'' and ''[[Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge]]'' for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The later installments of the series reintroduced Pauline, Mario's first damsel-in-distress, now no longer described as his love interest; and featured the Mini Marios as the playable characters instead of Mario himself, with gameplay revolving around manipulating elements of each stage to guide the Mini Marios (and in later games, miniature toy versions of other ''Mario'' characters) to the goal while avoiding hazards.

''Donkey Kong'' was originally part of the ''[[Super Mario (franchise)|Super Mario]]'' franchise, as Mario debuted with Donkey Kong in his original arcade games. ''Mario'' became its own brand starting in 1983 with Game & Watch games like ''[[Mario's Cement Factory]]'' and ''[[Mario Bros. (Game & Watch)|Mario Bros.]]''; the [[Mario Bros. (game)|popular arcade title]] to which the latter handheld lent its name subsequently spawned the ''[[Super Mario (series)|Super Mario]]'' series, which elevated the character to a new status as Nintendo's mascot. Mario gained widespread recognition and fame through his numerous platform games, and spin-offs like ''[[Mario Kart (series)|Mario Kart]]'' and ''[[Mario Party (series)|Mario Party]]''.

Donkey Kong has appeared as a playable character in every ''Mario'' sports series since the [[Nintendo 64]] era, including ''[[Mario Golf (series)|Mario Golf]]'', ''[[Mario Tennis (series)|Mario Tennis]]'', ''[[Mario Strikers (series)|Mario Strikers]]'', and ''[[Mario Baseball (series)|Mario Baseball]]''. Diddy Kong is also featured as a playable character in many titles, while additional characters from the ''Donkey Kong Country series'', such as Dixie Kong, Funky Kong, and King K. Rool have made rare appearances. Additionally, Donkey Kong appears as a playable character in every game in the ''[[Mario & Sonic (series)|Mario & Sonic]]'' series except for the [[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games|original]], with Diddy joining the series starting in ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games|Rio 2016 Olympic Games]]''.

As a spin-off of the ''Mario'' franchise, ''Donkey Kong'' has featured many of its characters and scenarios in the various manga series based on that property, including the ''[[wikipedia:Comic BomBom|Comic BomBom]]'' stories published under [[wikipedia:Kodansha|Kodansha]]'s [[KC Deluxe]] banner, and [[wikipedia:Shogakukan|Shogakukan]]'s ''[[wikipedia:CoroCoro Comic|CoroCoro Comic]]'' magazine, which featured ''Donkey Kong'' characters in both its ''[[Super Mario-kun]]'' series and [[Uho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong|a short-lived 2000 manga]] based on the ''Donkey Kong Country'' animated show. ''[[Club Nintendo (magazine)|Club Nintendo]]'', Nintendo's official magazine in Germany, also published two comics directly centered around ''Donkey Kong'': one [[Donkey Kong Country (comic)|adapted]] from the ''Donkey Kong Country'' video game and another called [[Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24]]. In winter 2000, the children's entertainment magazine ''[[wikipedia:Disney Adventures|Disney Adventures]]'' featured a four-page comic called ''[[Donkey Kong in When the Banana Splits]]'', loosely based on ''Donkey Kong 64''. Also in 2000, the German magazine Nintendo Fun Vision published the comic ''[[Bumm-Badabumm im Urwald]]'', which, despite being advertised as a tie-in to ''Donkey Kong 64'' actually adapted the plot of ''Donkey Kong Country 2''.

''Donkey Kong'' has been merchandised into various products throughout its lifespan, including a [[Donkey Kong Card Game|tabletop card game]] produced by the [[wikipedia:Milton Bradley Company|Milton Bradley Company]], a series of [[Gallery:Donkey Kong Country (television series) trading cards|trading cards]] based on the ''Donkey Kong Country'' TV series (only released in Japan), and ''[[Donkey Kong Jenga]]'', a [[wikipedia:Jenga|Jenga]] game themed after the original arcade iteration. Additionally, various Donkey Kong pieces of merchandise have been released in ''Mario'' and ''Mario Kart''-related lines.