Donkey Kong (game)

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Template:Articleabout Template:Infobox Arcade Game

Donkey Kong was Nintendo's first big hit in America. It also marked the first appearances of Mario (originally known as "Jumpman", a carpenter) and of the original Donkey Kong.

The game sold well in the United States. It is one of four games to be inducted into the Nintendo Hall of Fame. The original arcade version has four screen levels, but the NES version only has three (50m was cut from this version).

Super Smash Bros. Brawl also has the game Donkey Kong as an unlockable masterpiece. Instead of starting from the beginning stage, players will start at the second stage. To unlock it, the player must play the game for ten hours. There is also an unlockable stage, 75m that is based on the third level of the game.

Characters Appearing in This Game

Story

Donkey Kong has kidnapped Mario's girlfriend Pauline (originally known as Lady), and taken her to the top of a construction site. Mario must climb to the top of this construction site and rescue Pauline from the giant ape.

Official Story Quoted From Nintendo of America

File:Donkeykongflier.jpg
The flier for the game, which was handed out in arcades and places like Toy Stores and such.

"HELP! HELP!" cries the beautiful maiden as she is dragged up a labyrinth of structural beams by the ominous Donkey Kong. "SNORT. SNORT". Foreboding music warns of the eventual doom that awaits the poor girl, lest she somehow be miraculously rescued. "But, wait! Fear not, fair maiden. Little Mario, the carpenter, is in hot pursuit of you in this very moment".

Throwing fate to the wind, risking life and limb, or worse, little Mario tries desperately to climb the mighty fortress of steel, to save the lovely lady from the evil Mr. Donkey Kong. Little Mario must dodge all manner of obstacles - fireballs, plummeting beams and a barrage of exploding barrels fired at him by Donkey Kong. Amidst the beautiful girls' constant please for help, your challenge is to maneuver little Mario up the steel structure, while helping him to avoid the rapid-fire succession of hazards that come his way.

As little Mario gallantly battles his way up the barriers, he is taunted and teased by Donkey Kong, who brazenly struts back and forth, beating his chest in joyful exuberance at the prospect of having the beautiful girl all to himself. It is your job to get little Mario to the top. For it is there, and only there, that he can send the mighty Donkey Kong to his mortal doom. Leaving little Mario and the beautiful girl to live happily ever after. "SIGH. SIGH".

Enemies

History

File:DKMachineBlue.gif
The cabinet.

Donkey Kong was created when Shigeru Miyamoto, under the supervision of the late Gunpei Yokoi, was assigned by Nintendo to convert Radar Scope, a poorly selling arcade game in the U.S., into a game that would have more appeal to gamers. The result was a major breakthrough for Nintendo and for the video game industry. Sales of the machine were brisk, with the game becoming the best-selling arcade machine of all time in its era. The gameplay itself was the first of its time. With the growing base of arcades to sell to, the game was able to gain huge distribution. A little well-known fact is that Donkey Kong was the first appearance of Nintendo's world famous Mario character - originally known as Jumpman in this game, but early renamed Mario by Nintendo of America. The machine was Nintendo's first worldwide success.

In 1982, Universal Studios sued Nintendo, claiming that Donkey Kong infringed on Universal Studios' intellectual property rights to the film King Kong. Howard Lincoln, attorney and future president of Nintendo of America, decided to fight the case, and hired seasoned attorney John Kirby to represent Nintendo. When Kirby showed that not only was Nintendo not in violation of any copyrights, but also that Universal Studios themselves had sued RKO Pictures in 1975 to prove that the plot of King Kong was in fact in the public domain, Judge Robert W. Sweet ruled in Nintendo's favor, ordering Universal to pay Nintendo $1.8 million in legal fees. In an ironic twist, Judge Sweet also ruled that Tiger's King Kong video game, licensed by Universal, infringed on Donkey Kong. After the victory, Nintendo awarded John Kirby with a $30,000 sailboat, christened the Donkey Kong, and gave him exclusive worldwide rights to use the name for sailboats.

The Donkey Kong arcade saved Nintendo from certain bankruptcy. Due to the huge success of Donkey Kong, Nintendo of America was able to grow and release many more games in succeeding years and had the resources necessary to release the Nintendo Entertainment System in the USA.

Sequels

File:Donkey Kong arcade.PNG
Mario just jumps over a barrel

Donkey Kong has seven sequels to date.

Ports

In addition to the arcade version, Donkey Kong was ported into several other gaming systems.

Trivia

File:Dkmachine64.jpg
The arcade machine found in the Frantic Factory.
  • In the Frantic Factory level of Donkey Kong 64, an original arcade machine can be found. If Donkey Kong has learned to pull levers, he can play the original game (as Mario, though). In order to reach King K. Rool, this game must be completed up to the last level, with Mario starting out with one life and able to gain one more each per 10,000 points.
  • Donkey Kong was the second platformer ever made, Space Panic being the first in history.
    • Donkey Kong's original engine was actually a heavily edited engine of Space Panic.
  • Pauline, according to the manual for the game, had blond hair. However, in the newer Mario Vs. Donkey Kong games, Pauline has brown-maroon hair.
  • It is debated whether or not the Donkey Kong in this game is actually Cranky Kong, and that the Donkey Kong that appears today is actually his son, probably Donkey Kong Jr.. However, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Otacon says that the Donkey Kong fought in this game is Donkey Kong's grandfather.
  • Billy Mitchell, currently, has the world's highest score in the arcade game: 1,050,200 points.
  • The pie factory (second) stage from the arcade game wasn't present in the NES version, supposedly due to a lack of space. As a result, that version only contains three stages, as opposed to the original four.
  • In the game of 1995 for SNES: EarthBound (featuring Ness), in the town of Onett, there is a shop and several arcade video game machines are silhouettes of Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. Ness in Arcade Shop (Onett)

External links


Template:DKGames

[Edit]
Arcade games
Super Mario franchise Donkey Kong (1981) • Crazy Kong (1981) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) • Mario Bros. (1983) • Stroke & Match Golf (1984) • VS. Pinball (1984) • VS. Wrecking Crew (1984) • VS. Super Mario Bros. (1986) • VS. Dr. Mario (1990) • Mario Roulette (1991) • Super Mario Bros. (pinball) (1992) • Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World (1992) • Terebi Denwa: Super Mario World (1992) • Būbū Mario (1993) • Mario Undōkai (1993) • Koopa Taiji (1993) • Super Mario World (1993) • Super Mario Kart: Doki Doki Race (1994) • Mario Kart 64 (slot machine) (1996) • Super Mario Attack (1996) • Super Mario Fushigi no Janjan Land (2003) • Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party (2004) • Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Junior/Mario Bros. (2004) • Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party 2 (2005) • Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005) • Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (2007) • Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher (2009) • New Super Mario Bros. Wii Coin World (2011) • Mario Party Kurukuru Carnival (2012) • Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (2013) • Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher 2 (2013) • Luigi's Mansion Arcade (2015) • Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition (2016) • Mario Party Challenge World (2016) • Mario Kart Arcade GP VR (2017) • Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition (2020)
Donkey Kong franchise Donkey Kong (1981) • Crazy Kong (1981) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) • Donkey Kong 3 (1983) • Donkey Kong (slot machine) (1996) • Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Jr./Mario Bros. (2004) • Donkey Kong: Jungle Fever (2005) • Donkey Kong: Banana Kingdom (2006)

Template:VirtualConsole

[Edit]
Family Computer / Nintendo Entertainment System games
Super Mario franchise Donkey Kong (1983) • Mario Bros. (1983) • Pinball (1984) • Golf (1984) • Family BASIC† (1984) • Family BASIC V3† (1985) • Wrecking Crew (1985) • Super Mario Bros. (1985) • Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988) • Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) • Dr. Mario (1990) • NES Open Tournament Golf (1991) • Mario is Missing!* (1993) • Mario's Time Machine* (1994)
Donkey Kong franchise Donkey Kong (1983) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1983) • Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Sansū Lesson† (1983) • Donkey Kong Jr. Math (1983) • Donkey Kong 3 (1984) • Donkey Kong Classics* (1988)
Yoshi franchise Yoshi (1991) • Yoshi's Cookie (1992)
Wario franchise Wario's Woods (1994)
Family Computer Disk System Golf (1986) • Super Mario Bros. (1986) • Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels‡ (1986) • I am a teacher: Super Mario Sweater‡ (1986) • All Night Nippon: Super Mario Bros.‡ (1986) • Golf: Japan Course‡ (1987) • Golf: U.S. Course‡ (1987) • Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic‡ (1987) • Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race‡ (1987) • Donkey Kong^ (1988) • Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally‡ (1988) • Donkey Kong Jr.^ (1988) • Mario Bros. Returns^ (1988) • Wrecking Crew^ (1989) • Pinball^ (1989)
Miscellaneous Nintendo World Championships 1990* (1990) • Nintendo Campus Challenge* (1991)
* NES only
† Famicom only
‡ Disk System only
^ Disk Writer only
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