Donkey Kong (franchise)

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Template:Series-infobox The Donkey Kong series follows the adventures of Donkey Kong and his friends. The first game in the series, Donkey Kong, is also considered the first game of the Mario series, as it actually starred Mario (known as "Jumpman") as the protagonist (while Donkey Kong was the villain).

Like the Mario series, the Donkey Kong series is a media franchise made up of video games, comics and cartoons. After the initial series of arcade and Game & Watch titles (many of which included Mario), the series ended until Rare, Ltd. created Donkey Kong Country, which was drastically different than the earlier Donkey Kong games: it focused solely on Donkey Kong and his kin, and was set in and around their jungle home on Donkey Kong Island. This led to two more games in the Donkey Kong Country series, three similar Donkey Kong Land games, and various other installations and spin-offs. Both the Banjo and Conker series grew out of one of those spin-offs, Diddy Kong Racing.

Two spin-offs to the series, Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers and Diddy Kong Pilot were canceled. The series faced a five year hiatus until Nintendo EAD released Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Since then, Paon and Retro Studios have taken Rare's place and kept the series alive.

List of Games in the Series

1981-1989

Title, original release and system	Description
Donkey Kong	Shigeru Miyamoto created Donkey Kong. In this game, Donkey Kong was the antagonist who kidnapped Mario's girlfriend (Pauline). It was later ported to the many home systems including the Atari 2600, the Collecovison and the Nintendo Entertainment System. This is a simple platformer, where the player must control Mario while jumping and avoiding obstacles and making it into Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong was Nintendo's first big success and influenced Nintendo to continue making successful games.
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Donkey Kong Jr.	The following year, another arcade game was created, Donkey Kong Jr.. This time, the roles were reversed. Mario was the villain, and DK was a damsel in distress. Here, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong's son, had to save his kidnapped father from Mario. The gameplay is the same as the original Donkey Kong; Donkey Kong Jr. must avoid traps set off by Mario to save Donkey Kong by jumping and simply avoiding them.
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Donkey Kong 3	Donkey Kong 3 was the third installment of the Donkey Kong series, where Stanley the Bugman fought DK. This game differed from its predecessors in that it is a shooter/platformer hybrid and did not include Mario as a character.
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Donkey Kong Jr. Math	Donkey Kong Jr. Math was Donkey Kong Jr.'s second game released in 1983 for the NES. Donkey Kong will hold up a sign, and Donkey Kong Jr. must find the numbers and math sign to get to that number to get a point.
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Donkey Kong Hockey	Donkey Kong Hockey is one of the few two-player Game & Watch games ever manufactured. Donkey Kong and Mario must engage each other in a two-player game of Ice Hockey.
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Donkey Kong Circus	Donkey Kong Circus is a Game & Watch title released as part of the Panorama series. Donkey Kong has been captured by Mario from his home and forced to put on a circus show to entertain the masses.
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Donkey Kong Country	Donkey Kong Country is a game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1994, it is known for being the first game to use pre-rendered sprites, creating a 3D effect throughout the game. It is the first game in the Donkey Kong Country series, with three sequels, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, and Donkey Kong Country Returns. It also has a similar semi-sequel, titled Donkey Kong Land. The game stars Donkey Kong, along with his buddy, Diddy Kong, in his debut, as the two travel across Donkey Kong Island in search for the Banana Hoard. The game was remade for the Game Boy Color in 2000, and was also remade again for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. The two remakes feature some new Bonus Games, the ability to save in the overworld, and several more new elements. Donkey Kong Country was also released on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2006, being the same as the original version.
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Donkey Kong Land	Donkey Kong Land was the first installment of the Donkey Kong Land series, where is was a completely new and original follow-up to the game Donkey Kong Country. This is Cranky Kong's only time being a antagonist. Because he was so jealous of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's success from the previous game, he told them he would never cut in on an 8-bit system (the system being the Game Boy (8-bit)), and told King K. Rool to steal bananas from the Banana Hoard.
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Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest	Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest is the second Donkey Kong Country game for the Super Nintendo. It is the sequel of Donkey Kong Country and is also the predecessor to Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Country Returns. The game has a Game Boy pseudo-sequel, Donkey Kong Land 2, that was released one year after the original. It was released in 1995 and stars Diddy Kong, as he and his partner, Dixie Kong, make their way through Crocodile Isle to save Donkey Kong from the Kremling Krew. In 2004, a remake of the game was made for the Game Boy Advance. It features several differences, including the addition of photographs and extra DK Coins. Later in 2007, the game was remade on the Virtual Console to play on the Wii system.
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Donkey Kong Land 2	Donkey Kong Land 2 is a video game developed by Rareware and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. Released in September 1996, it is a sequel to Donkey Kong Land, a predecessor to Donkey Kong Land III, and the handheld follow-up of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Like its predecessor, the game features a yellow cartridge and Super Game Boy special features, giving the game a special banana border when played on a Super Game Boy.
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Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble	Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! is the third game in the popular Donkey Kong Country game series. It is the sequel to Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. It also has a semi-sequel for the Game Boy, Donkey Kong Land III, as well another sequel, Donkey Kong Country Returns, for the Wii. The game stars Dixie Kong and her little cousin, Kiddy Kong, as they travel through the numerous lands of the Northern Kremisphere in order to rescue Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong from the Kremling Krew and their new leader, KAOS.
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Donkey Kong Land III	Donkey Kong Land III (or Donkey Kong Land 3) is a video game for the Game Boy released by Nintendo in 1997. Loosely based on the Super Nintendo game, Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, it is the third and final entry in the Donkey Kong Land series. Like previous games in the series, it features enhancements for the Super Game Boy and is housed in a yellow cartridge. The original Game Boy game was never released in Japan, however, it was eventually ported to the Game Boy Color and released in Japan on January 28, 2000 as Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong.
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Major Characters

Protagonists

Donkey Kong

Main article: Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong is usually the main character of the Donkey Kong series, and more recently the main protagonist. However, in Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong 3, Donkey Kong is the main antagonist. He is also the damsel in distress in Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong, currently, is a powerful ape who lives a carefree jungle, along with his primate friends, with Diddy Kong being the most prominent. He often stops the villain, King K. Rool, from wreaking havoc into his world.

Diddy Kong

Main article: Diddy Kong

Although first debuting in the Donkey Kong Country series, Diddy Kong still serves as a friend and most reliable buddy to Donkey Kong in the Donkey Kong series. Whereas Donkey Kong usually has all the power, Diddy Kong relies on his speed and quickness. Diddy Kong, with Donkey Kong, also helps his friends in the jungle to prevent havoc caused by King K. Rool.

Cranky Kong

Main article: Cranky Kong

Like Diddy Kong, Cranky Kong also first appeared in the Donkey Kong Country series, but later appeared in many Donkey Kong games. He is Donkey Kong's father, and is stated that he was the original Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong, though is not very clear. He first appeared in the Donkey Kong series under "Cranky" in Donkey Kong 64, where he makes potions for the Kongs so that they can learn new abilities. Later on, he helps the Kongs by teaching them how to perform moves and other similar actions.

Donkey Kong Jr.

File:DonkeyKongJRKey.gif

Main article: Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong Jr. is Donkey Kong's younger self who first appeared in Donkey Kong Jr.. He saved the older Donkey Kong (known as Cranky Kong) from Mario's clutches. Despite the fact that he is Donkey Kong's younger self, they appear together in the game, Mario Tennis. He even has his own line of games, Donkey Kong Jr. Math which was an educational game. He does not make any more appearances in the Donkey Kong series after Donkey Kong Jr..

Stanley the Bugman

File:StanleyTheBugman.jpg

Main article: Stanley the Bugman

Stanley the Bugman, who first appeared in Greenhouse, is the protagonist of Donkey Kong 3. He sprays Donkey Kong (who could be known as Cranky Kong), with his Bug-Spray Gun so that Donkey Kong would get stuck in a beehive and that Donkey Kong wouldn't pester Stanley anymore. He appears in other games, but this is only appearance in the Donkey Kong series.

Antagonists

Mario

Main article: Mario

Mario, usually a protagonist in the Mario series is an antagonist in Donkey Kong Jr.. However, he is the protagonist in Donkey Kong, as he saves Pauline from Donkey Kong. In Donkey Kong Jr., he kidnaps Donkey Kong Jr.'s father and puts him in a cage. Mario then hinders Donkey Kong Jr.'s attempts to save his father by sending his minions out to attack Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong Jr., nevertheless, still saves Donkey Kong from Mario. Mario would later appear as a protagonist in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series.

King K. Rool

File:KROOLDKJUNLGE.jpg

Main article: King K. Rool

King K. Rool, also the main villain in the Donkey Kong Country series, is the current main antagonist in the Donkey Kong series. He first appears in the series in Donkey Kong 64, where he attempts to destroy Donkey Kong Island. He reappears in Donkey Konga, where he played a minor role in the game by either dancing in the background or in a minigame. In DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber, he is the main antagonist where he also caused havoc. He sometimes seen as a sinister villain, and other times as a comic-relief character.

Tiki Tong

Main article: Tiki Tong

Tiki Tong created his Tikis to help him take over Donkey Kong Island. He made the Tikis hypnotize the animals to help them steal the Banana Hoard, which is their life source. Tiki Tong set up a plant in the Factory where Colonel Pluck and his robot created more Tikis. However, Tiki Tong's plans were stopped short by Donkey and Diddy. When Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong invade Tiki Tong's lair, he transforms his minions into hands so he can take care of the two once and for all.

Common Enemies

Kritters

File:DKswingkritter.jpg

Main article: Kritter

Kritters first debuted in the Donkey Kong Country series, but they are also fairly common enemies in the Donkey Kong series, where they are part of the Kremling Krew and worked for King K. Rool. They first appeared in Donkey Kong 64 as common enemies that can be easily defeated, and later in DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber as common enemies that can also be playable.

Snapjaws

Main article: Snapjaw

Snapjaws first appear in Donkey Kong Jr., where they were the first trap set out by Mario in the first level. They can climb up and down vines, depending on their color, and they can hurt Donkey Kong Jr. if he touches them. They later appear in Donkey Kong for the Game Boy where they can be defeated by a hammer.

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