Donkey Kong


 * For the universe, see Donkey Kong (universe). For other meanings of Donkey Kong or DK, see Donkey Kong (disambiguation), Smasher:DK, or Smasher:dk.

Donkey Kong (, Donkey Kong), also known simply as DK, is the main protagonist of the series, and a recurring character in the  series. The original Donkey Kong was an antagonist for Mario, but in later games it was established to be Donkey Kong's grandfather,. The current Donkey Kong is the main protagonist of the Rare-developed Donkey Kong Country series, first appearing in . However, he also appears as a featured character in spinoff titles.

As a member of the "perfect-attendance crew", Donkey Kong has been featured as a playable character throughout the entire  series.

Original Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong was created by Shigeru Miyamoto as the titular character of the arcade game of the same name, based on the character Bluto/Brutus from the Popeye cartoons., According to Miyamoto, he chose the name "Donkey" to reflect the character's stubbornness, while "Kong" was chosen as a surname due to being considered a generic term for large apes in Japan. Although Miyamoto was informed by Nintendo of America staff that the word "donkey" is not a synonym for "idiot" in English despite what the dictionary he consulted had said, he nevertheless decided to ignore this particular suggestion because he liked the name "Donkey Kong".

In Donkey Kong, the titular ape is Mario's first enemy who held his girlfriend, Lady (later known as Pauline), captive over a. Mario had to make his way to the top of the site to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong - in the first level, 25M, Donkey Kong would begin by jumping so hard that the girders tilt, and impede Mario's progress by throwing barrels, but in the later levels he would simply stand by and let the enemies do the work. Donkey Kong would later return in , which saw his young son rescuing him from Mario's captivity. He would once again be featured in , which saw him go up against. Donkey Kong would prove to be a highly popular character, spawning cartoons, cereal, toys and multiple other merchandising ventures - though a lot of said merchandising would portray Donkey Kong as a misguided animal instead of a villain, somewhat foreshadowing the character's future - eventually, Mario would begin appearing in games without Donkey Kong, and following the success of Super Mario Bros., the gorilla would disappear into the background, with his son receiving very infrequent cameos in Mario games such as Mario's Tennis and Super Mario Kart.

Modern Donkey Kong
For a time, Donkey Kong seemed to be largely forgotten in the video game industry, that is, until former Nintendo partner Rare developed  for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, released alongside a new instalment in the classic arcade DK series for Game Boy. Donkey Kong Country saw the debut of a new Donkey Kong alongside a new supporting cast including his chimp friend Diddy Kong, loyal rhino steed Rambi, and nemesis King K. Rool; the new Donkey Kong sports a characteristic tuft of hair and signature tie, and has a somewhat slimmer, muscular physique. This Donkey Kong was said to be the son of Donkey Kong Jr., with the original Donkey Kong taking the title of "Cranky Kong" and appearing as an elderly character who complained about the modern state of the gaming industry through meta-humor. Compared to his grandfather, Rare's DK is most consistently depicted as a laid-back, simple-minded character who only retaliates when either his friends or prized banana hoard are threatened. In Donkey Kong Country 2, DK would not be playable, and instead would've been kidnapped by Kaptain K. Rool, meaning that players would control Diddy Kong and the new character Dixie Kong instead; a role he would reprise in Donkey Kong Country 3, followed by a complete absence from Diddy Kong Racing, before DK would become the main protagonist of a Donkey Kong game again in Donkey Kong 64, where he had to rescue the other Kongs and team up to stop King K. Rool from blowing up the DK Islands with his Blast-O-Matic. Following Microsoft's acquisition of Rare, the Donkey Kong franchise would exist in a somewhat unusual place, receiving multiple experimental spin-offs, most notably the peripheral-based rhythm series Donkey Konga where Donkey Kong discovers magic bongos and performs licensed music - this would change with the release of Retro Studios' Donkey Kong Country Returns, a continuation of the Donkey Kong Country franchise where DK once again has to retrieve his banana hoard, this time from a new team of villains named the Tiki Tak Tribe, who can hypnotise animals - though the Kongs are so dumb that their hypnotism doesn't work on them - the ending of the game infamously has Donkey Kong perform a comically exaggerated feat of strength, punching the moon so hard that it falls to the ground and destroys the Tiki Tak Tribe's base. This would be followed by Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, where DK Island has been frozen solid by the Snowmads, an evil team of Arctic creatures like penguins, seals, and walruses, and the Kongs have been sent by a magical wind to a distant island, where they must go home and break the curse.

Additionally, Donkey Kong remains a part of the universe, appearing in many of the Mario spin-off games since . Donkey Kong also appears as baby DK in ', the main playable protagonist of the ' story expansion of ', the antagonist in the ' series, and as an ally to Mario in . Though relatively unchanged, his design has been slightly changed since Donkey Kong Country. Starting with , Donkey Kong was given new design, with more detailed fur. His appearance in  onwards mark the first use of the current variation of his modern design, with fur colored a lighter brown, more detailed fur, in addition to more realistic proportions than his prior design.

As a playable character


Donkey Kong makes his first appearance in a fighting game as a starting playable character in the original Super Smash Bros. His design is based on his appearance from Donkey Kong Country. DK is surprisingly fast for his size and, damage-wise, is one of the strongest and sturdiest characters in the game. His neutral special move is Giant Punch, which becomes stronger depending on how long the player lets DK charge it before using it. His up special is Spinning Kong, which causes DK to spin around wildly with his arms striking anyone nearby. His down special move is Hand Slap, which allows DK to pound the ground with his fists repeatedly creating a small earthquake. While his attacks are powerful when they land, his high weight, lack of projectiles, and slow attack speed result in him being very easily susceptible to combos and struggling to catch up to faster and longer-ranged characters. As a result, he is ranked 9th out of 12 on the current tier list.

His in-game description is as follows:


 * Donkey Kong
 * Donkey Kong and Mario started out as arch-rivals, but they've patched things up in recent years. These days DK 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.


 * Works:
 *  (Arcade),
 * Donkey Kong Country (SNES),
 * Mario Kart 64 (N64)

As a playable character
Donkey Kong returns in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a starting playable character. His appearance now somewhat resembles his design from Donkey Kong 64, albeit with a yellowish skin tone. He remains mostly the same from the original, but his new side special move, Headbutt, allows DK to embed his opponents into the ground giving him some free hits. As before, he is incredibly strong and agile, capable of walking and jumping while carrying Crates, Barrels, and Party Balls, items that normally decrease a character's walking speed and cause them to become unable to jump. He is also no longer the heaviest Super Smash Bros. character; newcomer surpassed him. Donkey Kong is now ranked slightly higher, but is still low-mid tier, being ranked 16th out of 26 on the current tier list in C- tier.

Trophies
As a playable character, Donkey Kong has three trophies - a normal trophy acquired by beating the with Donkey Kong on any difficulty, and "Smash Red" and "Smash Blue" trophies won by beating the Adventure and All-Star Modes, respectively.

As a playable character
Donkey Kong returns as a starting playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is no longer the sole fighter of his series, as he is joined by his buddy, Diddy Kong. His appearance is based on his current design from the Mario spin-off games and the later Donkey Kong games. With new physics in the game, Donkey Kong can no longer be comboed as easily, like in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and his power, range, recovery and speed stats have slightly improved. His Final Smash is Konga Beat, in which DK takes out some DK Bongos and plays them. By timing their button presses, the attack power can be increased. During this move, DK is invincible, but it becomes a bit more risky when playing on a moving stage like Rumble Falls - though the screen scrolls much more slowly while the Final Smash is in action to compensate. He also appears as a stage hazard along with springs in the 75m stage. Donkey Kong is now ranked around the middle of the tier list, placing 21st out of 38 in the D tier.

As a stage hazard
A key part of the 75m stage is the arcade sprite of the original Donkey Kong, who sits on the long platform. He normally sits behind the stage in the background, but will sometimes light up and comes into the foreground. When this happens, the stage's usual background music will briefly fade out and play his theme for a few seconds, giving an opportunity for players to react before he attacks. While he is in the foreground, contacting him causes moderate damage and knockback. Four jacks will also bounce in from the left at irregular intervals (for example, Donkey Kong can throw one jack, briefly pause, and then resume throwing the jacks) and fall after they bounce off the long platform, also causing damage and knockback. After a certain amount of time, Donkey Kong will go back into the background.

Trophies
Donkey Kong has a trophy that is awarded each time the is completed with Donkey Kong on any difficulty.

As a playable character
Donkey Kong returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His design is based on his appearances in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

On the SSB4 tier list, Donkey Kong ranks 22nd out of 55 characters, placing him in C tier. He has been buffed overall, with faster attacks and improved combo ability, especially with his cargo up throw. The new rage mechanic benefits Donkey Kong very well, which when combined with his heaviness, allows him to deliver greater knockback at higher damage percents. Donkey Kong's trademark power and speed are retained from past games too. Although he is regarded as one of the game's best super heavyweights along with, he still suffers from common weaknesses that plagued him in the past, such as vulnerability to combos due to his weight and size, and his recovery in Spinning Kong still gaining little vertical distance. Nonetheless, Donkey Kong's strengths have allowed him to secure decent tournament representation and above average results.

As a stage hazard
The original Donkey Kong reprises his role on the 75m stage in, functioning the same way as in Brawl.

As a playable character
Donkey Kong returns in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as one of the few characters available from the beginning. He has a new Final Smash in the form of Jungle Rush, which originated from .

As a stage hazard
The original Donkey Kong reprises his role on the 75m stage, functioning the same way as in Brawl.

Trivia

 * Unlike in most Donkey Kong games and Mario spin-offs, where Donkey Kong has a cartoonish voice, voiced by, the Super Smash Bros. series has Donkey Kong using more realistic gorilla grunts. This also applies to Bowser, with realistic roars instead of , Bowser's current voice actor in most Mario games, Petey Piranha, who uses monstrous roars instead of his current voice actor in the Mario games, , Diddy Kong, who uses realistic chimpanzee screeches instead of using voice clips from his current voice actor , and King K. Rool, who uses realistic crocodile grunts instead of his current voice actor in the Donkey Kong games,.
 * Takashi Nagasako is involved in the Super Smash Bros. series, however, by providing the voice of Ganondorf in Melee and Ultimate.
 * Donkey Kong is the only character in the series who can walk at a normal speed when carrying a heavy item such as a Crate or Barrel; he also is the only character who can jump and fall while doing so. This originates from his ability to easily carry and throw barrels from .
 * Additionally, starting with Melee, Donkey Kong moves faster when carrying heavy items if he is tiny.
 * In all games in the Super Smash Bros. series, whenever Donkey Kong uses an item like the Fire Flower or the Ray Gun, he will grasp the top of his head while firing them, as if he is not sure what to make of the weapon.
 * Counting sub-series, Donkey Kong is the only overall character who has never been able to produce a projectile with his moveset in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * He is also the only character to have this trait.
 * Despite being able to crawl in their respective home series, Donkey Kong, Mario, Pit, Young Link, and Toon Link are unable to do so in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * Donkey Kong himself is the only character in the series to be created in Japan. However his design used in the Super Smash Bros. series has been created in the United Kingdom and is considered in-universe to be a different character from the original Donkey Kong.
 * Donkey Kong is one of two characters to be listed by abbreviations on the victory screen, trophies, and character select screen (being listed as DK in Super Smash Bros. and Melee), the other being Captain Falcon.
 * Donkey Kong is the only character who has more than four Throws.
 * Since Smash 4, Donkey Kong has the distinction of being the character with the most attacks that have a meteor effect, at a total of four attacks.
 * Specifically, his Forward aerial, Down aerial, Headbutt (side special), and Hand Slap (down special) all have meteor smash hitboxes.
 * Starting with Smash 4, the chanting by the crowd for Donkey Kong when a player performs well is "DK! Donkey Kong!" This is a reference to the popular.
 * Donkey Kong is the heaviest fighter among the "Original 12", as well as the heaviest protagonist thus far, as the two characters (Bowser and King K. Rool) who are heavier than him are typically antagonists.
 * Donkey Kong is the only character to have a move not result in a helpless state in the first game (being Smash 64), then having it result in a helpless state for the next games (from Melee to Super Smash Bros. 4), then reverting back to not resulting in such (being Ultimate). In this case, Giant Punch.