Donkey Kong: Difference between revisions

|image = [[File:MarioPartySuperstars Donkey Kong.png|300px|Donkey Kong]]

Official artwork of Donkey Kong from ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Party Superstars}}''.

|firstgame = ''{{b|Donkey Kong|game}}'' (1981)

|lastappearance= ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Strikers: Battle League}}'' (2022)

|console = Arcade

|artist = [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] (Donkey Kong)<br>Kevin Bayliss (Donkey Kong series)

As a member of the "[[List of Super Smash Bros. series characters#"Perfect-attendance crew"|perfect-attendance crew]]", Donkey Kong has been featured as a playable character throughout the entire ''{{b|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series.

Donkey Kong was created by Shigeru Miyamoto as the titular character of the [[mariowiki:Donkey Kong (game)|arcade game of the same name]]. According to Miyamoto, he chose the name "Donkey" to reflect the character's stubbornness,<ref name=Wired>Kohler, Chris (October 14, 2016). "[https://www.wired.com/2016/10/miyamoto-donkey-kong-secrets/ Miyamoto Spills Donkey Kong’s Darkest Secrets, 35 Years Later]. ''Wired''. Retrieved October 14, 2016</ref> while "Kong" was chosen as a surname due to being considered a generic term for large apes in Japan.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/donkeykong.asp "Donkey Wrong" - An article about the origin of Donkey Kong's name]. Snopes.com. 2011. (Retrieved June 28, 2012)</ref> 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".<ref name=Wired/>

In ''Donkey Kong'', the titular ape is [[Mario]]'s first enemy who held his girlfriend, Lady (later known as [[Pauline]]), captive over a {{s|mariowiki|construction site}}. Mario had to make his way to the top of the site to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong, the latter of whom would impede Mario's progress by easily throwing countless {{s|mariowiki|barrel}}s and stomping the construction site with such force that the girders would bend. Donkey Kong would later return in ''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Jr.|game}}'', which saw his [[mariowiki:Donkey Kong Jr.|young son]] rescuing him from Mario's captivity. He would once again be featured in ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong 3}}'', which saw him go up against {{s|mariowiki|Stanley the Bugman}}.

[[File:Donkey Kong (64).jpg|thumb|left|125px|Official artwork of Donkey Kong from ''Donkey Kong 64''.]]

For a time, Donkey Kong seemed to be largely forgotten in the video game industry aside from ports of the arcade classics to home consoles, with a notable entry being a remake of the original for {{s|nintendowiki|Game Boy}} in 1994 that would later inspire the ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Vs. Donkey Kong}}'' series&mdash;that is, until Rareware released ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Country}}'' for the {{s|nintendowiki|Super Nintendo Entertainment System}}. ''Donkey Kong Country'' saw the debut of a new Donkey Kong alongside a new supporting cast; the new Donkey Kong is more muscular and with more realistic gorilla proportions, and sports a characteristic tuft of hair. His only article of clothing is a red tie with his initials printed on, a detail that was first seen in the Game Boy ''Donkey Kong'' remake. This design was subsequently used in nearly every appearance of Donkey Kong since then. He is joined by characters such as his "little buddy" [[Diddy Kong]] and his grandfather {{s|mariowiki|Cranky Kong}}, ''Donkey Kong Country'' depicted DK's first battle with his arch-enemy [[King K. Rool]], and was such a massive success that it helped the SNES take the lead in the 16-bit console war.

 

 

Additionally, Donkey Kong remains a part of the {{uv|Mario}} universe, appearing in many of the ''Mario'' spin-off games since ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Kart 64}}''. DK also appears as a [[mariowiki:Baby Donkey Kong|baby]] in ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Island DS}}'', the main playable protagonist of the ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Adventure}}'' story expansion of ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle}}'' and a major character in the ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario vs. Donkey Kong|series}}'' series.

 

Donkey Kong has been shown throwing barrels with ease. His strength is very great as shown by his ability to generate [[mariowiki:Sound Wave Attack|damaging sound waves]] by clapping with sufficient force and, most notably, punching the moon out of orbit during the climax of ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Country Returns}}''.

 

Donkey Kong also boasts potent hand-to-hand combat skills, as shown in ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Jungle Beat}}'' and when he is destroying a {{s|mariowiki|Slot Machine Barrel}}. Compared to his grandfather, he is most consistently depicted as a laid-back, simple-minded character who only retaliates when his friends or banana hoard are threatened. While Donkey Kong varies between protagonist and antagonist depending on the game, his intentions are rarely portrayed as truly malevolent. Even in his antagonistic roles, such as ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'', he is generally depicted as more of a friendly rival to Mario instead of a true nemesis nowadays.

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 is one of the strongest 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. He is ranked 9th out of 12 on the current [[tier list]].

Donkey Kong returns as a starting playable character in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''. He is no longer the sole fighter of his series, as [[Diddy Kong]] appears alongside him as well. 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 [[spring]]s 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.

! Character(s)

| [[mariowiki:Donkey Kong|DK]]

| {{SortKey|DK Diddy}}{{Head|Donkey Kong|g=SSBB|s=16px}}{{Head|Diddy Kong|g=SSBB|s=16px}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong}}

| {{SortKey|DK Diddy}}{{Head|Donkey Kong|g=SSBB|s=16px}}{{Head|Diddy Kong|g=SSBB|s=16px}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong}}

| {{SortKey|DK Diddy}}{{Head|Donkey Kong|g=SSBB|s=16px}}{{Head|Diddy Kong|g=SSBB|s=16px}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong}}

| {{SortKey|DK Diddy}}{{Head|Donkey Kong|g=SSBB|s=16px}}{{Head|Diddy Kong|g=SSBB|s=16px}}

On the ''SSB4'' [[tier list]], Donkey Kong ranks 22nd out of 55 characters, placing him in C tier. He has been [[buff]]ed 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 {{SSB4|Bowser}}, 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.

|desc-3ds-ntsc=Donkey Kong pulls no punches when it comes to fighting. Or headbutts, as it turns out. His Headbutt special move will bury anyone on the ground who gets hit, leaving them open to some serious damage. If Donkey Kong strikes an airborne foe with this move, they'll go crashing downward]].

*Unlike in most ''Donkey Kong'' games and ''Mario'' spin-offs, where Donkey Kong has a cartoonish voice, voiced by {{s|mariowiki|Takashi Nagasako}}, the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series has Donkey Kong using more realistic gorilla grunts. This also applies to [[Bowser]], with realistic roars instead of {{s|mariowiki|Kenneth W. James}}, 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, {{s|mariowiki|Toru Minegishi}}, [[Diddy Kong]], who uses realistic chimpanzee screeches instead of using voice clips from his current voice actor {{s|mariowiki|Katsumi Suzuki}}, and [[King K. Rool]], who uses realistic crocodile grunts instead of his current voice actor in the ''Donkey Kong'' games, {{s|mariowiki|Toshihide Tsuchiya}}.

*Despite being able to crawl in their respective home series, Donkey Kong, [[Mario]], [[Pit]], [[Young Link]], and [[Toon Link]] are unable [[Crawl|to do so]] in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series.

*Donkey Kong himself is the only character in the {{uv|Donkey Kong}} 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 the only character who has more than four [[Throw]]s.

*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 {{iw|mariowiki|DK Rap}}.

*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 villains.