View source for Donkey Kong (character)

{{CharacterInfobox
| name = Donkey Kong
| image = Donkey Kong SSB4.png
| caption = 
| series = Donkey Kong
| games = Donkey Kong (game)
| alt_names = DK
| alterego = 
| ja_name = ドンキーコング, Donkī Kongu
| status =
| affiliation = 
| occupation =
| position = 
| rank = 
| nationality = 
| species = Kong-like ape
| age = 
| height = 
| weight = 
| gender = Male
| bloodtype = 
| birthdate = 
| birthplace = 
| likes = Bananas
| dislikes = Banana thieves, Kremlings
| hobbies = 
| family = Kong family 
| home =
| powers = 
| style = 
| weapon = [[Coconut Gun]]
| skill = 
| spskill =
| creator = Shigeru Miyamoto
| actor = 
| trademark = Red DK Tie
| notes = 
}}
{{about|the character|the arcade game of the same name|Donkey Kong}}

'''Donkey Kong''' is an ape-like character from [[Nintendo]] who appeared in many [[video game]]s since [[1981]]. He is also the star of the [[Donkey Kong (series)|Donkey Kong series]]. Donkey Kong was created by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]. However, since ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', the Donkey Kong in appearances prior to the game retroactively became the elderly [[Cranky Kong]] in his youth, and the current Donkey Kong is his grandson (occasionally referred to as his son).

The original Donkey Kong first appeared in ''[[Donkey Kong]]'' as the main antagonist, whom [[Mario]] has to rescue [[Pauline]] from. The current Donkey Kong was introduced as the hero of his own platforming series, ''[[Donkey Kong Country (series)|Donkey Kong Country]]'', which established his home on [[Donkey Kong Island]] and introduced his extended family of [[Kong]]s, the [[Kong Family]]. This heroic, yet powerful persona would define Donkey Kong's frequent appearances in the ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'' franchise at large.

==Naming==
The exact origins of the name "Donkey Kong" are unclear and debated. The most common explanation of the name is that it was a combination of the word "Kong" from King Kong, and "Donkey", a word which Miyamoto (with his loose understanding of English) believed was a general synonym for "stupid." Another similar version of the story said that Miyamoto used the word "Donkey" to represent the stubborn aspect of the ape's personality. It has been falsely theorized that the name "Donkey Kong" was the result of a typo on the original cabinet's art work for "Monkey Kong",{{citation needed}} but this has been denied by Miyamoto and others.

==Physical appearance==
Donkey Kong was originally designed as just a large, cartoony King Kong-like gorilla. When [[Rare]]ware got hold of the license, they made the current Donkey Kong, a much more distinct looking gorilla with a strange tuft of hair at the top of his head, along with a red necktie bearing his "DK" emblem in yellow letters.

==Powers and abilities==
In general, Donkey Kong is strong and muscular. When he slams the ground, this often causes tremors.

Across numerous ''Mario'' spin-off titles, Donkey Kong's attributes consistently involve his heaviness or power. In the ''[[Mario Kart]]'' series, Donkey Kong is a staple heavyweight driver, while in sports series like ''[[Mario Tennis (series)|Mario Tennis]]'' and even crossovers like the ''[[Super Smash Bros. (series)|Super Smash Bros.]]'' series, Donkey Kong's strength translates to powerful shots at the cost of running speed.

==''Donkey Kong'' franchise==
===''Donkey Kong Country'' series===
====''Donkey Kong Country''====
In ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', Donkey Kong and his sidekick [[Diddy Kong]] go on an adventure to recover his [[banana hoard]] stolen by the [[Kremling]]s and their leader, [[King K. Rool]].

====''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest''====
In ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]'', Donkey Kong is kidnapped and held for ransom by [[Kaptain K. Rool]], the pirate alias of K. Rool, who demands the banana hoard in exchange for Donkey Kong's release. Diddy Kong and his girlfriend, [[Dixie Kong]], refuse and go on an adventure to save him.

===''Donkey Kong 64''===
''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'' is Donkey Kong's first 3D platforming adventure, a la [[Mario]] with ''[[Super Mario 64]]''.

==''Mario'' franchise==
===''Mario Party'' series===
Donkey Kong varied between a playable and a helpful non-playable character throughout the ''[[Mario Party (series)|Mario Party]]'' series. In his non-playable appearances, Donkey Kong is often contrasted with Bowser as being a helpful ally whilst Bowser maintains his usual role of being disadvantage to the playable characters.

====''Mario Party''====
In ''[[Mario Party]]'', Donkey Kong is one of six playable characters, and went on to retain his status of being a core member of the playable cast for the next three installments. Like the other playable characters, Donkey Kong has his own playable [[Board (Mario Party series)|board]], [[DK's Jungle Adventure]].

====''Mario Party 2''====
In ''[[Mario Party 2]]'', Donkey Kong and each of the other playable characters have their own favorite [[item]]: Donkey Kong's is the [[Bowser Bomb]].

====''Mario Party 3''====
In ''[[Mario Party 3]]'', Donkey Kong is one of the opponents in Story Mode. He is the opponent on the [[Pipesqueak]] board, where the player's character competes against him for the Strength [[Star Stamp]]. Donkey Kong is still playable in all modes, so if the player chooses him as their character in Story Mode, [[Luigi]] is the opponent instead.

In Duel Mode, Donkey Kong's default partner is [[Whomp]].

====''Mario Party 4''====
''[[Mario Party 4]]'' is Donkey Kong's last consecutive appearance as a playable character in the ''Mario Party'' series.

====''Mario Party 5''====
Beginning with ''[[Mario Party 5]]'', Donkey Kong was removed from the playable roster and repurposed as a helpful non-playable character who hosts the [[DK Space]]. Landing on this space would trigger a positive event, often a DK mini-game, where the characters collect bananas for [[coin]]s.

====''Mario Party 6''====
In ''[[Mario Party 6]]'', Donkey Kong's role is largely the same as in ''Mario Party 5'', other than the fact that he has a larger, more direct role in two of the boards, [[Castaway Bay]] and [[Clockwork Castle]], so neither board feature Donkey Kong at his own DK Space. Both boards exhibit the dichotomy between Donkey Kong and [[Bowser]], as the player can receive a [[Star (Mario Party series)|Star]] from Donkey Kong whilst Bowser takes one away.

At Castaway Bay, Donkey Kong is on his own [[DK's Riverboat|riverboat]], where the player can purchase a Star from Donkey Kong for 20 [[coin]]s if he is at the [[Star Space]], but if Bowser is there on his [[Bowser's Battle Yacht|battle yacht]], he gives them a [[Ztar|Shadow Star]] and takes away their coins instead.

At Clockwork Castle, Donkey Kong roams the board during the daytime. Whenever he walks up to a character, they forcibly pay him 20 coins for a Star. If a character encounters Donkey Kong from behind, they can receive a Star from him by paying 20 coins. At night, Donkey Kong is replaced by Bowser, who gives a Shadow Star to whomever he encounters.

====''Mario Party 7''====
In ''[[Mario Party 7]]'', Donkey Kong retains the same role as in the previous games, especially ''Mario Party 5'' because Donkey Kong has no unique role on any of the boards.

====''Mario Party 8''====
In ''[[Mario Party 8]]'', Donkey Kong's role is more dynamic, not only from having a different role at DK Spaces depending on the board but from having his own board, [[DK's Treetop Temple]]. Here, if a character lands on a DK Space, Donkey Kong shows up and throws them to the Star Space. There are also two large [[Barrel Cannon]]s on the lowest part of the board, where Donkey Kong shows up if a character arrives, and the player can pay him five coins to be launched through a series of Barrel Cannons that take them higher on the board.

At [[Goomba's Booty Boardwalk]], by landing on a DK Space, Donkey Kong shows up with a [[DK Barrel]]. The character who landed on the space deposits five coins into the DK Barrel. For three seconds, the character must shake the barrel as fast as they can to receive more coins, for a maximum of 25 coins.

At [[King Boo's Haunted Hideaway]], if a character lands on a DK Space, a platform falls on a pitfall somewhere in the haunted house, and Donkey Kong lands on it almost immediately afterward. If a character goes to visit Donkey Kong, he gives them a free Star.

At [[Shy Guy's Perplex Express]], if a character lands on a DK Space, the front train car is replaced by a brown train car run by Donkey Kong. In any Party Tent mode, Donkey Kong gives a Star to whomever reaches him there, but in Star Battle Arena, he gives a character several coins instead, as the goal is to buy a Star from [[Holly Koopa]] for 50 coins.

At [[Koopa's Tycoon Town]], if a character lands on a DK Space, Donkey Kong arrives in his own yellow cab and invests either 20 to 30 coins into a random [[Hotel]] on behalf of the character, or their team in Tag Battle.

At [[Bowser's Warped Orbit]], Donkey Kong only appears in the Party Tent modes because if a character lands on his space, he gives them a Star, whereas in Star Battle Arena, the player's character and their opponent compete to steal every Star from one another.

====''Mario Party DS''====
In ''[[Mario Party DS]]'', Donkey Kong is still a non-playable character. Similar to ''Mario Party 8'', Donkey Kong has his own board, [[DK's Stone Statue]], but despite this, Donkey Kong's role is significantly reduced because he has been turned into a stone statue, and there are no DK Spaces.

Donkey Kong's transformation into a statue is explained in Story Mode. He and Diddy Kong went to [[Bowser's Castle]] for a feast, but it is a trap because Bowser turns Donkey Kong into a statue. The playable characters, who have been shrunken from Bowser's [[Minimizer]], go to DK's Stone Statue as the third board, where Diddy Kong pleas them to turn Donkey Kong to normal. Once the player's character becomes the [[Superstar]] and defeats [[Dry Bones]] in the minigame [[Hexoskeleton]], Donkey Kong turns back to normal, and Diddy gives the playable characters the third [[Sky Crystal]].

===''Mario Baseball'' series===
====''Mario Superstar Baseball''====
In ''[[Mario Superstar Baseball]]'', Donkey Kong is one of the playable characters. His [[Star Skill]] is [[Banana Ball]], in which he either pitches or bats the baseball as a curving [[banana]]. Diddy Kong, also a playable character, has a nearly identical Star Skill named [[Boomerang Ball]]. He is one of the major team captains, having his own baseball stadium, [[DK Jungle (baseball stadium)|Donkey Kong Jungle]].

Donkey Kong is one of five team captains whom the player can choose when starting Challenge mode. If the player chooses a different captain, they can challenge Donkey Kong at his stadium.

==Appearances==
{|-
| style="vertical-align:top"|
* ''[[Donkey Kong]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Jr.]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong 3]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. Math]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Classics]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong (1994)]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Land]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Land 2]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]''
* ''[[Super Mario Kart]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Land III]]''
* ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''
* ''[[Mario Kart 64]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]''
* ''[[Mario Golf]]''
* ''[[Mario Tennis]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]''
| style="vertical-align:top"|
* ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''
* ''[[Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour]]''
* ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong]]''
* ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]''
* ''[[Donkey Konga]]''
* ''[[Mario Power Tennis]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Beat]]''
* ''[[Donkey Konga 2]]''
* ''[[DK: King of Swing]]''
* ''[[Donkey Konga 3]]''
* ''[[Super Mario Strikers]]''
* ''[[Mario Superstar Baseball]]''
* ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Barrel Blast]]''
* ''[[DK: Jungle Climber]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]''
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze]]''
* ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''
|}

==External links==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey_Kong Donkey Kong] on Wikipedia

==Trivia==
*The character [[w:c:disney:Wreck-It Ralph|Wreck-It Ralph]] from the hit 2012 Disney movie of the same name was inspired by Donkey Kong.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Donkey_Kong.jpg
DonkeyKong.jpg
</gallery>

{{Donkey Kong stub}}

{{Donkey Kong series}}