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Donkey Kong (universe): Difference between revisions
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==Franchise description== | ==Franchise description== | ||
The character [[Donkey Kong]] was introduced to the fledgling video game industry at the same time as [[Mario]], in the hugely successful 1981 [[mariowiki:Donkey Kong (game)|coin-op arcade game named after him]] that defined Nintendo's future business as a video game company. The game was named after the ''de facto'' villain, a gorilla (which was named after the classic 1933 movie monster ''King Kong''), instead of the player-character Mario (or "Jumpman", as he was named at the time), because designer Shigeru Miyamoto felt Donkey Kong had to be the strongest character in the love triangle displayed on-screen. The game used then-innovative techniques to tell the on-screen story of how the stubborn pet gorilla of "Jumpman" the carpenter steals away his girlfriend, [[Pauline]], and it is up to the hero to save the damsel in distress. The success of the game prompted Nintendo to release two arcade follow-ups. The first, ''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Jr.|game}}'' in 1982, involves the gorilla's son {{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Jr.}} embarking on a similar quest to free his father from the cage that Mario (in his only truly "villainous" appearance) keeps him trapped inside. ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong 3}}'', in 1983, sees Donkey Kong invade a greenhouse to eat vegetables and stir up flower-devouring insects in the process; a one-time protagonist, {{s|mariowiki|Stanley the Bugman}}, must shoot bug spray both at the bugs and Donkey Kong to protect the flowers and vegetables. | The character [[Donkey Kong]] was introduced to the fledgling video game industry at the same time as [[Mario]], in the hugely successful 1981 [[mariowiki:Donkey Kong (game)|coin-op arcade game named after him]] that defined Nintendo's future business as a video game company. The game was created as a response to the financial failure of their 1980 arcade game ''{{iw|wikipedia|Radar Scope}}'' that left them with thousands of unsold units. Then young game designer Shigeru Miyamoto was tasked to quickly develop a game that salvaged as much of ''Radar Scope'' as possible, such as the physical cabinets and the boards inside them. The final product became ''Donkey Kong''. The game was named after the ''de facto'' villain, a gorilla (which was named after the classic 1933 movie monster ''King Kong''), instead of the player-character Mario (or "Jumpman", as he was named at the time), because designer Shigeru Miyamoto felt Donkey Kong had to be the strongest character in the love triangle displayed on-screen. The game used then-innovative techniques to tell the on-screen story of how the stubborn pet gorilla of "Jumpman" the carpenter steals away his girlfriend, [[Pauline]], and it is up to the hero to save the damsel in distress. The game became a massive critical and financial success for the company, especially in international markets where they previously struggled to get a foothold in. The success of the game prompted Nintendo to release two arcade follow-ups. The first, ''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Jr.|game}}'' in 1982, involves the gorilla's son {{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Jr.}} embarking on a similar quest to free his father from the cage that Mario (in his only truly "villainous" appearance) keeps him trapped inside. ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong 3}}'', in 1983, sees Donkey Kong invade a greenhouse to eat vegetables and stir up flower-devouring insects in the process; a one-time protagonist, {{s|mariowiki|Stanley the Bugman}}, must shoot bug spray both at the bugs and Donkey Kong to protect the flowers and vegetables. | ||
While Donkey Kong rivals Mario relatively closely as one of Nintendo's most popular characters today, what was essentially an eleven-year hiatus awaited the character following the release of ''Donkey Kong 3'', as he never made a new "official" appearance in a release during that time period that was not some kind of port or compilation of the original games. Evidently, this was due to Nintendo's newfound focus on nurturing [[Mario (universe)|Mario's new NES-based franchise]] that exploded onto the public spotlight as a result of the world-famous, industry-defining ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Bros.}}'' for the NES in 1985. Given that the seminal side-scrolling platformer had singlehandedly defined Nintendo's future styles and practices as a video game company more strongly and specifically than ''Donkey Kong'' had four years earlier, Donkey Kong was, for a time, treated as a relic of Nintendo's past; in fact, ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Kart}}'', a 1992 release for the SNES, features Donkey Kong Jr. as one of the eight playable racers rather than his father. The hiatus was only partially alleviated in June 1994 when a Game Boy game titled ''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Kong|Game Boy}}'' was released; while technically a remake of the original coin-op, it retooled the gameplay and provided an enormous increase in stage count (from 4 to 100), making it a standalone title that is considered to be one of the best Game Boy games of all time. | While Donkey Kong rivals Mario relatively closely as one of Nintendo's most popular characters today, what was essentially an eleven-year hiatus awaited the character following the release of ''Donkey Kong 3'', as he never made a new "official" appearance in a release during that time period that was not some kind of port or compilation of the original games. Evidently, this was due to Nintendo's newfound focus on nurturing [[Mario (universe)|Mario's new NES-based franchise]] that exploded onto the public spotlight as a result of the world-famous, industry-defining ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Bros.}}'' for the NES in 1985. Given that the seminal side-scrolling platformer had singlehandedly defined Nintendo's future styles and practices as a video game company more strongly and specifically than ''Donkey Kong'' had four years earlier, Donkey Kong was, for a time, treated as a relic of Nintendo's past; in fact, ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Kart}}'', a 1992 release for the SNES, features Donkey Kong Jr. as one of the eight playable racers rather than his father. The hiatus was only partially alleviated in June 1994 when a Game Boy game titled ''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Kong|Game Boy}}'' was released; while technically a remake of the original coin-op, it retooled the gameplay and provided an enormous increase in stage count (from 4 to 100), making it a standalone title that is considered to be one of the best Game Boy games of all time. | ||