Donkey Kong
Originally designed by Shigeru Miyamoto.
The core elements of Donkey Kong include:
Challenging 2D platforming
Partner mechanic
The Donkey Kong series can be categorized as:
Donkey Kong Country (Rareware)
Donkey Kong 64 (Rareware)
Donkey Kong Country (Retro Studios)
DK Bongos
Donkey Kong Country (Rareware)
Developed by Rareware using the Donkey Kong IP. It is arguably the most popular series of Donkey Kong games. It redesigned Donkey Kong and introduced series staples such as Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, King K. Rool, and Kremlins.
Games
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong-Quest
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble
Donkey Kong Land | Rareware
Developed by Rareware as a subseries of interquels to each of the Donkey Kong Country games.
They play the same as the Donkey Kong Country games however they are graphically limited due to being on the GBA.
Donkey Kong 64 | Rareware
Developed by Rareware using the Donkey Kong IP and acts as a sequel to the Donkey Kong Country series.
It is a 3D platformer similar to Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie.
Donkey Kong Country (1994)
During a stormy night on Donkey Kong Island, Donkey Kong orders Diddy Kong to guard his banana hoard. Diddy gets ambushed by Klump and other Kremlings. He seals Diddy in a DK Barrel and kicks it across the jungle. The Kremlings load the entire banana hoard onto their vehicles and carry them through the jungle, dropping behind trails of bananas.
The next morning, Donkey Kong exits his tree house, only to find Cranky Kong outside. Cranky prompts Donkey Kong to check the banana cave for a "big surprise". Inside the cave, Donkey Kong finds out that all of his bananas were stolen. Donkey Kong goes on an adventure to save Diddy and recover the stolen bananas.
In the first level, Donkey Kong releases Diddy Kong, who tags along during the adventure. Together, the Kongs travel through Donkey Kong Island’s various areas, including jungles, mines, forests, temples, snowy mountains, caves, and factories. With assistance from Cranky, Funky, and Candy Kong, the two Kongs eventually reach a large pirate ship, the Gangplank Galleon, where they are confronted by the Kremling Krew's leader, King K. Rool. After Donkey Kong and Diddy defeat King K. Rool, Cranky congratulates them and tells them to check the banana hoard. They do so, finding that the bananas have been returned.
F.A.Q.
Collecting all the KONG letters does not unlock anything extra.
How to Save Your Game: visit Candy Kong on the world map and jump into the barrel to save the game.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong-Quest (1995)
Some time after the events of Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong is relaxing at a beach and falls asleep.
At night, Diddy Kong and his girlfriend, Dixie Kong, are worried because Donkey Kong has not returned. They go to the beach to investigate, and the Kongs find many footprints surrounding Donkey Kong's broken chair. They find a note in the chair revealing that Kaptain K. Rool has captured Donkey Kong.
Cranky suggests handing over the banana hoard to K. Rool. Diddy and Dixie both say that they want to rescue Donkey Kong themselves. Diddy and Dixie first travel aboard Gangplank Galleon, a large pirate ship docked at the coast of Crocodile Isle, the hometown of the Kremlings. Diddy and Dixie move on to the volcanic world, Crocodile Cauldron, then the swampy Krem Quay, then the abandoned amusement park Krazy Kremland, and a spooky woods, Gloomy Gulch. With assistance from Cranky, Funky, Swanky, and Wrinkly Kong, Diddy and Dixie eventually reach K. Rool's Keep, where they find Donkey Kong tied up in a chamber. Just as they celebrate, Donkey Kong is pulled up into K. Rool's personal airship, The Flying Krock.
Aboard the giant airship, Diddy and Dixie find Donkey Kong tied up, and they battle Kaptain K. Rool. Donkey Kong eventually breaks free from his ropes, and he uppercuts K. Rool out of the roof. Kaptain K. Rool falls all the way down Crocodile Isle and into the surrounding water, where he is seemingly eaten up by sharks.
During their adventures, Diddy and Dixie can also enter the Lost World by paying a 15 Kremkoin fee to Klubba at his kiosk. The Kongs eventually enter Crocodile Isle's power source, Krocodile Kore, where they re-encounter Kaptain K. Rool. After a short battle, K. Rool's blunderbuss explodes, which propels him into the energy geyser powering Crocodile Isle. This blocks the power flow, which then destroys Crocodile Isle.
From a cliff, Donkey Kong, Diddy, and Dixie watch as Crocodile Isle explodes while sinking into the ocean. Just before the isle sinks, K. Rool escapes on a boat, laughing as he sails off into the horizon.
F.A.Q.
Collecting all the KONG letters and DK Coins does not unlock anything.
How to Unlock Lost World levels: 5 of the world maps contains a Klubba encounter where the player must pay 15 Kremkoins to enter a level in the Lost World. In order to access all 5 levels of the Lost World, the player will need to have collected a total of 75 Kremkoins (via Bonus Levels or via 75 Kremkoins Trick) throughout the levels.
How to Unlock Lost World Boss Level: To unlock the Lost World Boss level, the player must complete all 5 Lost World levels.
75 Kremkoins Trick: To instantly collect 75 Kremcoins, head to the game's first level, Pirate Panic. From the level start, head to the right a little bit until Diddy reaches a dropping point leading to the first line of bananas (there will be two of them). Instead of collecting the bananas, turn around and head through the door behind Diddy to enter K. Rool's cabin. Inside K. Rool's cabin will be a note and a balloon, ignore both of these for now and head back outside to where Diddy Kong just was. Now, begin heading to the right and DO NOT collect the two bananas near the cabin. Simply jump over them and continue through the level until Diddy reaches a banana bunch floating above some barrels. It is okay to kill the enemies along the way in this section as long as the first two bananas are left untouched. After collecting the banana bunch, head back to K. Rool's cabin while making sure to avoid those two bananas again. Re-enter K. Rool's cabin, this time making sure to grab the balloon and then repeat the previous step of avoiding the two bananas and collecting the banana bunch. After collecting the banana bunch for a second time, head back to the cabin to find a Kremkoin floating above the note. Collecting this Kremkoin will instantly add 75 to Diddy's total, allowing players access to all of Klubba's levels.
How to Save Your Game: to save the game, the player must visit Wrinkly Kong on the world map and talk to her. The first save in each world is free however subsequent saves will cost 2 banana coins.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble (1996)
Shortly after the events of Diddy's Kong Quest, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong suddenly disappear in the Northern Kremisphere. Dixie Kong sets off to find the pair and is joined by her cousin Kiddy Kong and aided by Funky Kong's vehicles to traverse the land. They reach Kastle KAOS, the lair of a robot named KAOS, who was thought to be the new leader of the Kremlings. After they destroy KAOS, the curtain in the background rolls up to reveal the robot was being controlled by Baron K. Roolenstein, the new moniker of King K. Rool. After the duo fights him, Donkey and Diddy pop out of the destroyed KAOS, implying they were being used to power the robot.
Dixie and Kiddy uncover the extinct volcanic island of Krematoa. They meet Boomer, an exiled member of the Brothers Bear. He agrees to destroy the rocks hindering the path in exchange for bonus coins. After Dixie and Kiddy find all bonus coins and five cogwheels hidden in Krematoa, the duo give the cogs to Boomer, who puts them into a machine which re-activates Krematoa, revealing the Knautilus, K. Roolenstein's personal submarine. The Kongs board the submarine and battle against him in there, but he escapes once again.
Once the Kongs collect all DK coins, they give the coins to Funky, who in exchange gives them a gyrocopter. The duo then finds an enigmatic creature called the Banana Bird Queen, who is bound to a barrier cast by K. Roolenstein. She tells the Kongs that she can only be freed if her separated children are returned to her, and that she will rid the land of K. Rool if she is freed. The Kongs find each of her children in a cave. After rescuing them, the Kongs return the children to the Queen. The Queen and her children all sing, annihilating the barrier. The Queen proceeds to chase K. Rool, who is fleeing in a hovercraft. When she catches up to him, she drops a giant eggshell on top of him, which Dixie and Kiddy land on. The Kongs repeatedly knock on the shell, annoying the captured K. Rool.
F.A.Q.
All DK Coins Trick: On the file select screen, select the file that is intended to use so it is highlighted. Open the cheat code screen by pressing LRR LRR LR LR. Input the word "WATER” and start the game.
Once in the game, swim over to the waterfall that is to the left of Bazaar's General Store & enter it. The player will have to actually swim into the waterfall to get into the cave, the player can NOT get in using one of Funky's vehicles. Once inside the player will find themselves in a Banana Bird Cave and will be shown a sequence of 6 notes corresponding to the A, B, X, Y buttons. The exact sequence of notes will be different each time.
Successfully entering the sequence of notes will earn the player all 85 DK Coins. After beating the final boss, talk to Funky who will outfit the vehicle into the Gyrocopter.
How to Acquire All Banana Birds: to acquire all the Banana Birds, the player will have to have collected at least 75 Bear Coins (15 for a shell, 50 for a mirror, and 10 to buy back the mirror) and all 85 DK Coins (to unlock the Gyrocopter).
Donkey Kong Country (Retro Studios)
Developed by Retro Studios as a continuation of the Rareware Donkey Kong Country series.
Games
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010)
One day on Donkey Kong Island, a large stream of lava erupts from a volcano sending out small boulders. A tower emerges from the eruption as well as the rest of the Tiki Tak Tribe. The Tikis drift down into the jungle, where they hypnotize the wildlife, including elephants, giraffes, zebras, and squirrels. The Tikis' minions steal every banana from the banana hoard and load them onto an airship. Diddy looks out from DK's Tree House and spots the animals with the stolen bananas. Diddy goes down to check the banana hoard and realizes no bananas are left, and then angrily chases the thieves. Donkey Kong awakens and opens the tree house door, noticing the last few loads of bananas being stolen. One of the Tikis' high-ranking members suddenly appears and pushes Donkey Kong back into his tree house. It attempts to hypnotize Donkey Kong multiple times, but he remains unaffected. Donkey Kong punches the Tiki and sends it out the front door, Donkey Kong then jumps down from his tree house and starts his new adventure with Diddy Kong.
After traversing the island's many regions, the Kongs come face-to-face with Tiki Tong, who turns the stolen bananas into banana juice and spews it on each high-ranking member of the Tiki Tak Tribe to transform them into a pair of hands. After defeating Tiki Tong, a resulting explosion sends the Kongs into outer space. The Kongs panic and realize they are about to crash into the moon. Donkey Kong puts Diddy on his back, and with the help of the Barrel Jet and his wind-up punch, the Kongs send the moon down to earth, which destroys the Tikis' base. The bananas are released in a explosion, which sends the Kongs and the moon flying out of the volcano. With the Tiki Tak Tribe defeated, the animals on Donkey Kong Island are freed from their hypnosis. Donkey Kong and Diddy land back on the island and celebrate their victory as the bananas rain from the volcano.
A Golden Temple appears on the island. The Kongs get all the Rare Orbs from the 8 Kong Temples to gain access to the Golden Temple.
A port Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D was released for the 3DS and includes some quality of life features as well as additional content
Adds an additional heart to the life meter (both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong)
Adds the option of purchasing Rare Orbs from Cranky rather than completing Key Temple levels
Cloud is a new ninth and final world with 8 additional new levels; the Golden Temple, originally the ninth world in and of itself, becomes the new ninth world's final level.
F.A.Q.
Each world has level(s) that are locked. To unlock the level, the player must go to Cranky’s Shop and buy a Map Key (cost 20 Banana Coins) in each world to access that world’s level.
Play as Diddy Kong Using Co-Op: if playing co-op mode, Player 2 will take control of Diddy Kong who is able to use the Barrel Jet and use his Peanut Popgun to stun enemies.
How to Unlock the Golden Temple level: collect all the KONG letters in each world to unlock that world’s Key Temple level. Completing the Key Temple level will reward the plyaer with aa Rare Orb. Once all 8 Rare Orbs are obtained, the Golden Temple door will unlock and send Donkey Kong and Dixie Kong to the final level.
World 7 - Factory: to progress to the final boss, the player must find a total of 3 red button switches—one button in each level.
7-5 Cog Jog: After the “O” letter; the player will reach a giant machine with a lever on each side. Ground pound where there is a downward pointing arrow made out of bananas. The wheel will turn and a hatch will open which contains the Blast Barrel that will lead to the level’s big red button.
7-6 Switcheroo: After the “K” letter; hit the blue circle by the purple balls of electricity then run back to the left and ground pound the broken bit of flooring to reach the Blast Barrel that will lead to the level's big red button.
7-7 Music Madness: After the “G” letter; hit the metal slab in between the two flames to reach the Blast Barrel that will lead to the level’s big red button.
Donkey Kong Country - Tropical Freeze (2014)
The story begins at Donkey Kong's hut, where the Kongs are celebrating his birthday, with a banana-themed cake. A fleet of Snowmad ships are stationed far away from the island as a Pointy Tucks observes Donkey Kong's hut and relays info to their leader, Lord Fredrik. Lord Fredrik blows his enchanted horn creating an ice dragon.
Right as Donkey Kong is about to blow out the candle on his cake, a gust of wind extinguishes the candle and a snowflake blows in and lands on the tip of the candle. The Kongs walk out on the front deck to investigate. The ice dragon swoops in on Donkey Kong Island, generating strong winds that blows the Kongs away to the Lost Mangroves. With the Kong family disposed of, the Snowmads invade the island as their command ship stations itself on top of its Volcano and the ice dragon causes it to enter a state of perpetual winter.
After traversing across 5 islands, the Kongs return to Donkey Kong Island. The Kongs make their way through the frozen fortress until they encounter Lord Fredrik, who challenges the Kongs to a final battle deep within the volcano. After a long battle, Donkey Kong delivers the final punch to Lord Fredrik, who is sent flying out from the roof of the Snowmads' ship, destroying it. The Kongs go out of the ship remains and look to see Lord Fredrik crashing into the remainder of the Snowmad ships out at sea.
With the Snowmads defeated, Donkey Kong catches Lord Fredrik's horn and blows into it. This causes a breeze of flowers to carry the Kongs to the bottom of the island. The Kongs celebrate as the breeze of flowers flutter around Donkey Kong Island, melting all of the ice and snow and restoring the island to its original state.
F.A.Q.
Each world has additional levels. These levels are accessed by a secret exit in a previous level, and by reaching it, the Kongs unlock an alternate path from the world map that leads to another level.
Play as Diddy Kong Using Co-Op: if playing co-op mode, Player 2 will take control of Diddy Kong who is able to use the Barrel Jet and use his Peanut Popgun to stun enemies.
How to Unlock the Secret Seclusion world: collect all the KONG letters in each world to unlock that world’s Temple level. Completing each Temple level will reward the player with a mysterious relic. Once 6 mysterious relics are obtained, defeat the final boss, Lord Fredrik, again and a cutscene will play where the Kongs discover a wrapped present on their front lawn, which they open. Inside the box is the final mysterious relic. This will unlock the Secret Seclusion world which contains 3 levels to complete.
DK Bongos
The DK Bongos are a peripheral controller for the Gamecube for Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and the Donkey Konga series.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Developed by Nintendo to take advantage of the DK Bongos peripheral for the Gamecube.
Rather than being a rhythm game like the Donkey Konga series, Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat is a 2D platformer that uses the DK Bongos as a controller.
Donkey Konga | Namco
Developed by Namco to take advantage of the DK Bongos peripheral for the Gamecube.
This is essentially just a rhythm game with a Donkey Kong theme.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (2004)
One day, the peace of the jungle was disrupted by a rampaging pack of wild baddies who wreaked havoc on the residents of the jungle.
Not only that, but they laid claim to every kingdom and stole each one's precious bananas!
This calls for the one and only Donkey Kong!
A port New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was released for the Wii and includes some quality of life features as well as additional content:
Played using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
Rather than use beats as health throughout the kingdom, beats only serve as health in boss battles. In standard levels, the player is given 3 hearts as health, as well as a life counter, which can be increased by collecting 1-Up Coins.
The crest system has also been revised; there are no longer different crests (bronze, silver, gold, platinum), but a number of crests the player obtain by earning a certain number of bananas i.e. 200 beats earns the player one crest, 500 two, and 1000+ three. Collecting all of the crests in one barrel results in the player unlocking the 4th kingdom in that barrel. The unlockable kingdoms are the kingdoms that were in the B Barrel in the original version.
2 new kingdoms (“Kong of the Mountain” boss rush and “Banana Banquet” bonus level) have also been added to the game, and some of the bosses and stages have been swapped compared to the original.
How to Unlock “Kong of the Mountain”: collect 54 crests to unlock the “Kong of the Mountain” level.
How to Unlock “Banana Banquet”: collect 57 crests to unlock the “Banana Banquet” level
All 60 Crests Unlock: collect all 60 crests to have a new song, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, play on the game's title screen. Donkey Kong will also wear a crown.