Donkey Kong Jr.
- This article is about the character. For other uses of the name, see Donkey Kong Jr. (disambiguation). For Donkey Kong as a baby, see Baby Donkey Kong.
| Donkey Kong Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Artwork from Mario Tennis | |
| Full name | Donkey Kong Junior |
| Species | Kong |
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) |
| Latest appearance | WarioWare: Move It! (2023) |
| Portrayed by | Frank Welker (Saturday Supercade) |
- “Monkey Muscle!”
- —Donkey Kong Jr., Saturday Supercade
Donkey Kong Jr. (sometimes referred to as DK Jr., DKJr., or just Junior) is a Kong character that debuted in Donkey Kong Jr. as the titular hero. In the events of the game, he has to rescue his father, Donkey Kong, from Mario. For a time, he sporadically appeared in spinoff Super Mario games as a playable character, though he was effectively replaced with Diddy Kong in this regard starting with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, coinciding with the latter becoming fully acquired from Rare Ltd. by Nintendo.
While he is occasionally identified as a younger version of the modern Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. is most commonly referenced as his father, and the son of Cranky Kong.[1]
History
Donkey Kong series
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr.'s premier appearance is in the eponymous Donkey Kong Jr. He is the star of the game and the only playable character. Following the events of the original Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr.'s father, Donkey Kong, has been locked up by Mario. Donkey Kong Jr. must travel through four stages by climbing up vines and navigating other obstacles, as well as avoiding the enemies Mario sends at him to impede his progress, such as Snapjaws and Nitpickers. However, if he drops fruit on the enemies, they are defeated. Once Donkey Kong Jr. reaches the top of each stage, he attempts to insert a key into his father's cage, but appears confused as Mario hauls his father away to the next stage. In the NES version, all characters simply remain idle at the end of each stage before the next one begins.
When Donkey Kong Jr. defeats Mario at last by inserting all of the keys into their keyholes in the Chain Scene, Donkey Kong and Mario both fall, but Donkey Kong Jr. catches his father and then walks off-screen with him as Mario chases them. In the NES version, this scene only has Donkey Kong Jr. catch his father, with the rest of the scene being omitted.
In the original arcade game, he also appears during the transition scene between the Jump Board Scene and Mario's Hideout, where he pursues Mario's chopper by floating with a parasol.
In the Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong Jr. appears as the playable character. He must dodge birds and Snapjaws and grab a key swinging from a tree to unlock his father's cage.
Donkey Kong II
In Donkey Kong II, Donkey Kong Jr. appears in the same capacity as the previous Game & Watch title. In this game, he must dodge Snapjaw, Sparks, and birds and use keys to open the locks on his father's restraints.
Donkey Kong Jr. Math
Donkey Kong Jr. makes another playable appearance in Donkey Kong Jr. Math. In Calculate A and B, His father stands at the top of the stage, holding a sign with a random number placed on it. Donkey Kong Jr. must climb among multiple vines to gather the correct numbers and mathematical signs to create the number on his father's sign. In +-×÷ Exercise, Donkey Kong Jr. has to solve equations by climbing multiple chains to input the digits of the answer. In the instruction booklet, he is dubbed Junior (I).[2]
This game also features a pink-colored palette swap of Donkey Kong Jr. named Junior (II),[2] who is playable in a Calculate A and B. He and Donkey Kong Jr. compete to calculate Donkey Kong's number until one of them does so five times.
Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
In Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, Donkey Kong Jr. teams up with his father to kidnap Pauline, and Mario must defeat both of them before rescuing her. For most of the game, Donkey Kong Jr. usually stays in areas inaccessible by Mario, activating and deactivating switches in ways that can either help or harm Mario. Sometimes, Donkey Kong Jr. appears out in the open and throws Poison Mushrooms. It is shown in Stage 4-11 and Stage 8-9 that Donkey Kong Jr. can cause Mario to lose a life if Mario touches him. In Stage 9-4, Donkey Kong Jr. gets locked him in a cage by Mario in a fashion similar to the Vine Scene of the original Donkey Kong Jr. In the ending, Donkey Kong Jr. manages to free himself and lays in wait as Pauline gives Mario a Super Mushroom to catch Donkey Kong, and acts as soon as his father calls for help. In the end, the group take a photo together.
Saturday Supercade
Donkey Kong Jr., voiced by Frank Welker, is featured as the main protagonist of the cartoon short Donkey Kong Junior from the animated series Saturday Supercade. Here, Donkey Kong Jr., after discovering his father is missing from the circus, decides to track him down with the help of a clumsy biker named Bones.
Nintendo Adventure Books
Donkey Kong Jr. makes an appearance in the sixth Nintendo Adventure Book, Doors to Doom; in the book, Mario and Luigi find themselves in Donkey Kong Jr.'s jungle after entering one of the doorways created by Dr. Sporis von Fungenstein. Upon seeing Mario and Luigi, Donkey Kong Jr. attacks them, forcing the two to flee. Eventually, after a vine-climbing chase, the Mario Bros. escape Donkey Kong Jr.
Mario Kart series
Super Mario Kart
Donkey Kong Jr. appears as a playable character in Super Mario Kart. He is classified as a heavyweight character alongside Bowser. His preferred item is the Banana, with which he litters the racecourses as a CPU. His kart has maximum top speeds; however, if he drifts away from the main course, its speed decreases greatly.
Official artwork of Super Mario Kart shows a red "J" on Donkey Kong Jr.'s shirt, but his sprite during his victory animation shows a yellow "V" on his shirt instead. This was likely an intentional design choice to make Donkey Kong Jr.'s sprite entirely symmetrical. This means only half of the sprite is required to be stored in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's limited graphics memory as tiles of 8x8 pixels each, with the same tiles being flipped to display the other half of the sprite. During gameplay, the letter on Donkey Kong Jr.'s shirt is obscured by his kart's steering wheel.
In the next title of the series, Mario Kart 64 onward, Donkey Kong Jr. was replaced by the modern Donkey Kong since Donkey Kong Country.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Donkey Kong Jr. makes a cameo in the background audience of Waluigi Stadium in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Interestingly, as the image for the audience is repeated, multiple, countless versions of him can be seen at one time. In this game, his head is redesigned to be more reminiscent of the modern Donkey Kong.
He was planned to appear in the game as a playable character, but was ultimately replaced with Diddy Kong.[3]
Mario Kart Tour
A 2D sprite variant of Donkey Kong Jr. debuts in Mario Kart Tour as a playable character in his 16-bit Super Mario Kart appearance under the name Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES), debuting in the Super Mario Kart Tour. His special item is the Triple Bananas. This is the first game since Super Mario Kart to feature Donkey Kong Jr. as a playable character in the Mario Kart series. As the game treats Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES) as a variant in his name, this also makes him the only character in the game without a base driver.
Super Mario-kun
Donkey Kong Jr. appears as a participating racer and an opponent to Mario in the Super Mario Kart adaption in one of the volumes of Super Mario-kun.
Super Mario series
Super Mario All-Stars / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
In the Super Mario Bros. 3 remake in Super Mario All-Stars, the king of Big Island is transformed into Donkey Kong Jr. This change is retained in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3.
Super Mario Maker
In Super Mario Maker, Donkey Kong Jr. appears as one of the costumes that Costume Mario can wear.
Mario's Time Machine
Donkey Kong Jr. makes a cameo in Mario's Time Machine, appearing on several paintings in the background of Bowser's Museum.
Mario Tennis series
Donkey Kong Jr. is a playable character in two games of the Mario Tennis series. In Mario's Tennis, Donkey Kong Jr. is the largest among the playable characters, and this is also the only game where he wears shoes and socks. In the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Tennis, Donkey Kong Jr. is classified as a Power character, who can be unlocked by winning the Star Cup in Doubles. Unlocking Donkey Kong Jr. makes him Donkey Kong's partner in doubles, otherwise, Yoshi takes his place.
In the Game Boy Color version of Mario Tennis, Donkey Kong Jr. cameos as one of the Nintendo 64 status icons.
Mario Clash
In Mario Clash, Donkey Kong Jr. appears alongside Donkey Kong and the two congratulate the player for scoring over 800,000 points.
Game & Watch Gallery series
Donkey Kong Jr. is a recurring character in the Game & Watch Gallery series, often having to be rescued.
Game & Watch Gallery
In Game & Watch Gallery, Donkey Kong Jr. appears in the Modern versions of three games: Manhole, Fire, and Oil Panic. In Manhole, Donkey Kong Jr. is one of the pedestrians whom Yoshi must keep from falling into the water. In Fire, Donkey Kong Jr. is one of the characters whom the Mario Bros. must rescue from a fire at Princess Peach's Castle. If the Mario Bros. do not catch Donkey Kong Jr., he runs away with a sore bottom, earning the player a miss. In Oil Panic, Donkey Kong Jr. fiddles with a stick while sitting on the ground on the left side of the castle from the top of which Bowser dumps oil. If any oil is spilled on Donkey Kong Jr., he gets mad, earning the player a miss.
Game & Watch Gallery 2
In Game & Watch Gallery 2, Donkey Kong Jr. is one of the characters that Mario must catch in Parachute. Donkey Kong Jr. opens his parachute at the last minute.
Game & Watch Gallery 3
In Game & Watch Gallery 3, Donkey Kong Jr. is the star of his own minigame, which is a small remake of the original Donkey Kong Jr. Game & Watch game. He is also the star of another minigame: Donkey Kong II.
Game & Watch Gallery 4
In Game & Watch Gallery 4, Donkey Kong Jr. reprises his roles in Fire and Donkey Kong Jr. He also appears as one of the characters that Mario must protect from Bowser's water balloons in Rain Shower, hanging from the rope beside the swing on the lower left. If a water balloon hits Donkey Kong Jr., he releases the rope and get mad, giving Mario a miss.
Super Smash Bros. series
Donkey Kong Jr. has made a few cameo appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, there is a trophy of Donkey Kong Jr. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there are two stickers of Donkey Kong Jr.: one shows him holding a key over his head, and it raises launch resistance by twenty-one in The Subspace Emissary, while Donkey Kong Jr.'s other sticker shows him holding a tennis racket from Mario Tennis. Additionally, DKJR is one of the names that appears when the player presses the "Random Name" button when naming their custom stage. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Donkey Kong Jr. appears as a spirit.
Donkey Kong Jr. did not return as a collectible trophy, though unused data shows that he would have appeared as one.
WarioWare series
Donkey Kong Jr. appears as the playable character in the Donkey Kong Jr. microgame in WarioWare: Twisted! and WarioWare Gold and the Donkey Kong Jr. microgame in WarioWare: Move It!
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Donkey Kong Jr. appears as a cameo at the end of the Aqueduct Assault level in the background in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze inside a Wii U GamePad held high by the original Donkey Kong.
Other appearances
Donkey Kong Jr. makes a few cameo appearances in the Punch-Out!! series. In the first game in the Punch-Out!! series, Donkey Kong Jr. can be found watching the fight in the audience along with Mario, Luigi, and Donkey Kong. In the second arcade game, Donkey Kong Jr. can be found in the audience again, along with Mario, Luigi, and Donkey Kong, this time with a different color scheme.
In the Family Computer Disk System port of Konami's Ping Pong, Smash Ping Pong, Donkey Kong Jr. appears in the audience and replaces Pentarou from Antarctic Adventure, another Konami game.
Donkey Kong Jr. has made some appearances in Kodansha's Super Mario manga.
Donkey Kong Jr. was featured in Fleetway Publication's pitch for a Nintendo comic, looking much bigger and monstrous than his usual depictions.
Donkey Kong Jr. appears in an e-Reader commercial, where he is on an assembly line and undergoes a personal hygiene makeover, only to be compressed into an e-Reader card.
In Tetris DS, Donkey Kong Jr. appears on the title screen. He distracts Mario long enough for him to get hit by a Tetrimino block thrown by Donkey Kong.
In NES Remix and Ultimate NES Remix, Donkey Kong Jr. appears in the stages derived from the Donkey Kong Jr. game.
Unused appearances
Unused sprites of Donkey Kong Jr. can be found in the code of Donkey Kong 3, but he does not appear in the final game.[4]
General information
Physical description
Donkey Kong Jr. bears a resemblance to his father, the original Donkey Kong. He has brown fur and wears a leotard with the letter J on it. His size varies between games, but is usually smaller or about the same size as the current Donkey Kong.
Personality
Donkey Kong Jr. is portrayed as the hero of his own game and a villain of Mario in Donkey Kong for the Game Boy. He always sides with Donkey Kong, and is shown to be athletic and mischievous.
Profiles and statistics
- Main article: List of Donkey Kong Jr. profiles and statistics
Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten
Super Smash Bros. Melee
| Trophy Donkey Kong Junior | ||
| ||
| Game/move: Donkey Kong Junior Arcade 1982 | ||
| How to unlock: Collect every playable character's first trophy either by playing 100 VS matches or by completing Classic Mode with all characters | ||
| Donkey Kong Jr. came to the rescue when Mario imprisoned his father. DK Jr.'s challenge was to collect the keys to Donkey Kong's cage, all the while dropping fruit on the enemies from high above. He was able to climb faster by using two ivy vines at once. This ape is also quite skilled as kart racing, tennis, and mathematics. | ||
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit
| Name | Image | Game | Type | Class | Effect | How to obtain | Spirit battle | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponents | Battle conditions | Stage | Song | |||||||
| Donkey Kong Jr. | 
|
Donkey Kong Series | Primary (1) | Ace | limegreen Throw Power ↑ |
World of Light (Light Realm); Spirit Board | Tiny Donkey Kong, Giant Donkey Kong |
|
Kongo Jungle | Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley |
List of appearances by date
| Title | Description | Release Date | System/Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donkey Kong Jr. | Playable character | 1982 | Arcade |
| Donkey Kong Jr. | Playable character | 1982 | Game & Watch |
| Donkey Kong II | Playable character | 1983 | Game & Watch |
| Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Sansū Lesson | Playable character | 1983 | Family Computer |
| Donkey Kong Jr. Math | Playable character | 1983 | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Punch-Out!! | Cameo as member of crowd | 1984 | Arcade |
| Super Punch-Out!! | Cameo as member of crowd | 1984 | Arcade |
| Donkey Kong Classics | Playable character in port of Donkey Kong Jr. | 1988 | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Super Mario Kart | Playable character | 1992 | Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Super Mario All-Stars | Cameo as the transformation of the World 4 King | 1993 | Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Donkey Kong | Enemy in certain stages | 1994 | Game Boy |
| Mario's Time Machine | Cameo as a picture hanging in Bowser's Museum | 1994 | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World | Cameo as the transformation of the World 4 King | 1994 | Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Mario's Tennis | Playable character | 1995 | Virtual Boy |
| Mario Clash | Cameo at 800,000 points | 1995 | Virtual Boy |
| Game & Watch Gallery | NPC in Modern versions of Manhole, Fire, and Oil Panic | 1997 | Game Boy |
| Game & Watch Gallery 2 | NPC in Modern version of Parachute | 1997 | Game Boy |
| Game & Watch Gallery 3 | Playable character in Modern and Classic versions of Donkey Kong Jr. and in a port of Donkey Kong II | 1999 | Game Boy Color |
| Mario Tennis | Unlockable playable character | 2000 | Nintendo 64 |
| Mario Tennis | Cameo as N64 Status's Icon (after N64 Link) | 2001 | Game Boy Color |
| Super Smash Bros. Melee | Trophy | 2001 | Nintendo GameCube |
| Doubutsu no Mori | Playable Character in emulation of Donkey Kong Jr. Math | 2001 | Nintendo 64 |
| Animal Crossing | Playable Character in emulation of Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong Jr. Math | 2001 | Nintendo GameCube |
| Game & Watch Gallery 4 | Playable character in Modern and Classic versions of Donkey Kong Jr. and NPC in Modern versions of Rain Shower and Fire. He also appears on the title screen. | 2002 | Game Boy Advance |
| Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 | Cameo as the transformation of the World 4 King | 2003 | Game Boy Advance |
| Mario Kart: Double Dash!! | Cameo as similar-looking Kong audience members in Waluigi Stadium. | 2003 | Nintendo GameCube |
| Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Jr./Mario Bros. | Playable character in Donkey Kong Jr. | 2004 | Arcade |
| WarioWare: Twisted! | Cameo in microgame | 2004 | Game Boy Advance |
| Tetris DS | Cameo in the title screen | 2006 | Nintendo DS |
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Cameo as Sticker | 2008 | Wii |
| Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition | Cameo as the transformation of the World 4 King | 2010 | Wii |
| NES Remix | Playable character on the Donkey Kong Jr. stages | 2013 | Wii U |
| NES Remix Pack | Playable character on the Donkey Kong Jr. stages | 2014 | Wii U |
| Ultimate NES Remix | Playable character on the Donkey Kong Jr. stages | 2014 | Nintendo 3DS |
| Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | Cameo in the background at the end of the Aqueduct Assault level | 2014 | Wii U |
| Super Mario Maker | Costume Mario outfit | 2015 | Wii U |
| Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | Cameo in the background at the end of the Aqueduct Assault level | 2018 | Nintendo Switch |
| WarioWare Gold | Cameo in microgame | 2018 | Nintendo 3DS |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Cameo as Spirit | 2018 | Nintendo Switch |
| Mario Kart Tour | Unlockable playable character | 2020 (Super Mario Kart Tour) | iOS, Android |
| WarioWare: Move It! | Cameo in microgame | 2023 | Nintendo Switch |
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Donkey Kong Jr.
Super Mario (Kodansha)
Names in other languages
Donkey Kong Jr.
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ジュニア Junia ドンキーコング Donkī Kongu Junia ドンキーJr. (Mario Tennis) Donkī Junia |
Junior Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Jr. |
|
| Chinese (simplified) | 森乐刚 (Donkey Kong Jr. (Game & Watch)) Sēnlègāng 森喜刚Jr. (since Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) Sēnxǐ Gāng Jr.[?] |
Reference to Donkey Kong's Chinese name "森喜刚" (Sēnxǐgāng), while "乐" (lè, happy) is have same meaning as "喜". Donkey Kong Jr. |
|
| Chinese (traditional) | 森喜剛Jr.[?] Sēnxǐ Gāng Jr. |
Donkey Kong Jr. | |
| French | Donkey Kong Jr.[?] | - | |
| German | Donkey Kong Jr.[?] | - | |
| Italian | Donkey Kong Jr.[?] | - | |
| Korean | 동키콩주니어[?] Dongki Kong Junieo |
Donkey Kong Junior | |
| Portuguese | Donkey Kong Jr.[?] | - | |
| Russian | Донки Конг — младший[?] Donki Kong - Mladshiy |
Donkey Kong Jr. | |
| Spanish | Donkey Kong Jr.[?] | - |
Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ドンキーコングJr. (SFC)[?] Donkī Kongu Junia (SFC) |
Donkey Kong Jr. (SFC) | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 森喜刚Jr. (SFC)[?] Sēnxǐ Gāng Jr. (SFC) |
Donkey Kong Jr. (SFC) | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 森喜剛Jr. (SFC)[?] Sēnxǐ Gāng Jr. (SFC) |
Donkey Kong Jr. (SFC) | |
| French (NOE) | Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] | - | |
| German | Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] | - | |
| Italian | Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] | - | |
| Korean | 동키콩주니어(SFC)[?] Dongki Kong Junieo (SFC) |
Donkey Kong Jr. (SFC) | |
| Portuguese (NOA) | Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] | - | |
| Spanish | Donkey Kong Jr. (SNES)[?] | - |
Trivia
- During development of Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Jr. was originally slated to appear with a redesign. Nintendo did not like the redesigning of the character, and ordered the game's developer, Rare, to either retain the character's original appearance or to make the redesign into a new character.[6] Diddy Kong was created as a new character to fulfill the role.
- Oddly, several games in which Donkey Kong Jr. appears contain doppelgängers. Examples of such games include the Game & Watch Gallery series (which seems to depict Donkey Kong Jr. as a species rather than an individual character), Donkey Kong Jr. Math (which includes a second Donkey Kong Jr. colored pink), and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (which includes many Donkey Kong Jr. lookalikes as audience members in Waluigi Stadium). Template:Media link for the Helper Monkeys in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat also resembled multiple Donkey Kong Jrs. (particularly his Template:Media link), but without his shirt.
References
- ^ "Super Mario Kart is the only Mario Kart game to feature Donkey Kong Jr. Due to the success of Donkey Kong Country, all future Mario Kart entries featured Donkey Kong, who is actually Donkey Kong Jr.’s son, with Cranky Kong, aka Donkey Kong Sr., canonically being the character featured in the original Donkey Kong game. Makes sense, right?" - Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide, Super Mario Kart 16 Bits Tab.
- ^ a b Donkey Kong Jr. Math instruction booklet. Page 5.
- ^ TCRF. Proto:Mario Kart: Double Dash!!/Multi-Game Demo Disc Demo/Unused Scenes § record_entry.arc. The Cutting Room Floor Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ TCRF. Donkey Kong 3 (Arcade). The Cutting Room Floor Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- ^ Super Mario Kart Japanese instruction booklet. Page 22.
- ^ As revealed in Retro Gamer magazine.
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