Donkey Kong

File:Donkey Kong Artwork.jpg

Donkey Kong's typical modern appearance.

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkī Kongu) is the protagonist from the Donkey Kong series. In his first appearance, Donkey Kong, he was the antagonist of Mario, but he soon starred in his series of games which depicted him as the hero, though he remains a featured character in Mario spinoff games. He has appeared in all three Smash Bros. games to date.

For fighter info, see Donkey Kong (SSB), Donkey Kong (SSBM), and Donkey Kong (SSBB).

Character description

Donkey Kong made his first appearance in the arcade game of the same name. Here, he was the antagonist who held Mario's girlfriend, Pauline, captive over a construction building. Mario had to make his way to the top of the tower to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong would later return in Donkey Kong Jr. which saw his young son rescuing him from Mario. He would once again be featured in Donkey Kong 3 which saw him go up against Stanley the Bugman.

After this, Donkey Kong seemed to be largely forgotten in the video game industry aside from remakes of the arcade classic, until Rareware released Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo, which depicted Donkey Kong's first battle with his arch-enemy King K. Rool. Donkey Kong Country was such a massive success that it helped the SNES take the lead in the 16-bit console war. The series was followed by two sequels in which Donkey Kong was, surprisingly, not playable.

However, Donkey Kong would be featured in Super Smash Bros. which marked his first appearance in a fighting game. He would then finally be featured once again as a playable character in Donkey Kong 64 for the Nintendo 64. He would then be featured in Super Smash Bros. Melee before starring in the Donkey Konga series and Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat.

While he has switched between appearing as a protagonist and as a antagonist, Donkey Kong has never truly been "evil" and he remains a part of the Mario universe appearing in many of the Mario spinoff games.

In Super Smash Bros.

As a playable character

Main article: Donkey Kong (SSB)

File:DonkeykongSSB.gif

Donkey Kong makes his first appearance in a fighting game as a starting playable character in the original Super Smash Bros. DK is surprisngly fast for his size and is one of the strongest characters in the game. His Neutral B move is the Giant Punch which becomes stronger depending on how long the player lets DK charge it before using it. His Up B is the Spinning Kong which causes DK to spin around wildly with his arms striking anyone nearby. His Down B move is the Hand Slap which allows DK to pound the ground with his fists repeatedly creating a small earthquake.

In Single-player

In the game's single-player mode, you and two randomly chosen allies will fight a Giant DK on the Kongo Jungle stage.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

As a playable character

Main article: Donkey Kong (SSBM)

File:Donkeykongmelee.jpg

Donkey Kong returns in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a starting playable character. He remains mostly the same from the original, but his new B-Forward move, the Headbutt, allows DK to embed his opponents into the ground giving him some free hits. Donkey Kong is known for his incredible strength -- he is capable of walking and jumping while carrying Crates, Barrels, and Party Balls, items that normally decrease a character's walking speed and cause them to become unable to jump.

In Single-player

Donkey Kong appears in Stage 2 of Melee's Adventure Mode, Kongo Jungle in two parts. In the first part, the player battles two tiny Donkey Kongs on the Kongo Jungle stage and after they are beaten, the player will battle a giant Donkey Kong on the Jungle Japes stage.

Donkey Kong is featured in the following Event Matches:

• Event 2: Lord of the Jungle: As a giant DK, the player battles a tiny DK on the Kongo Jungle stage.
• Event 10: All-Star Match 1: DK is the second opponent you must fight in this series of staged battles. Your character battles him on the Jungle Japes stage, and your character has 2 stock while DK has 1. With a timer of four minutes, you must defeat him and the other four characters with the overall time and life you have: Mario, Yoshi, Peach, and Bowser.
• Event 13: Yoshi's Egg: As Yoshi, you must protect a Yoshi Egg from Fox, Pikachu, and Donkey Kong on the Rainbow Cruise stage for 55 seconds.
• Event 25: Gargantuans: A scenario designed in homage to old, campy monster movies like Godzilla and King Kong: On the Fourside stage with unlimited time, you play as a giant-sized Bowser (symbolically representing "Godzilla") with 1 stock against a giant-sized Donkey Kong (symbolically representing "King Kong") with two stock. Two other characters on the match are a tiny Mario and a tiny Peach, who will be KO'ed within seconds of the battle between the two main monsters.

Trophies

By tradition, Donkey Kong as a playable character is featured on his personal 3 trophies. His normal trophy is acquired by beating the Classic mode with Donkey Kong on any difficulty, and his Smash Red and Smash Blue trophies are acquired the same way by beating the Adventure and All-Star modes, respectively.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Main article: Donkey Kong (SSBB)

File:DonkeyKongBrawl.jpg

Donkey Kong is confirmed to return as a starting playable character in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Despite the new physics in the game, Donkey Kong is one of the few characters who is relatively unchanged at all from Super Smash Bros. Melee. His Final Smash is the Konga Beat in which DK will take out the Bongos and plays them. By timing their button presses, the attack power can be increased. During this move, DK is invincible, but it is not recommended when playing on a moving stage like Rumble Falls (ironically, DK's stage).