Donkey Kong (universe)

Donkey Kong (universe)
Developer(s)	Nintendo Rare Namco Paon Retro Studios
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto
Genre(s)	Action adventure Platformer Puzzle Racing Music
Console/platform of origin	Arcade
First installment	Donkey Kong (1981)
Latest installment	Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014)
Article on Donkey Kong Wiki	Donkey Kong (universe)

The Donkey Kong universe (ドンキーコング, Donkey Kong) refers to the Super Smash Bros. series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that originate from the subset of Nintendo's Mario franchise that is focused on the character Donkey Kong. It is like the other "sub-franchises" to Mario - Yoshi and Wario - in that its characters are regularly featured in Mario games, but also stars them in its own games. In this case, it is a series that was initially established by developer Rareware, then a second-party developer for Nintendo, to feature Donkey Kong and an extended simian cast, crocodilian enemies, and an exclusive setting. The Super Smash Bros. series therefore saw fit to categorize Donkey Kong and these related properties with its own series symbol, rather than the iconic image of a Super Mushroom assigned to the "main" Mario series. The first two Smash Bros. games featured Donkey Kong as the series' only playable representative, and then added Diddy Kong for Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.

Franchise description

The character Donkey Kong was introduced to the fledgling video game industry at the same time as Mario, in the hugely successful 1981 coin-op arcade game named after him that defined Nintendo's future business as a video game company. The game was named after the de facto villain, a gorilla (which was named after the classic 1933 movie monster King Kong), instead of the player-character Mario (or "Jumpman", as he was named at the time), because designer Shigeru Miyamoto had felt Donkey Kong to be the strongest character in the love triangle displayed on-screen - the game used then-innovative techniques to tell the on-screen story of how the stubborn pet gorilla of "Jumpman" the carpenter steals away his girlfriend, Pauline, and it is up to the hero to save the damsel in distress. The success of the game prompted Nintendo to release two arcade follow-ups: Donkey Kong Jr. in 1982, where the gorilla's son Donkey Kong Jr. goes on a similar quest to free Donkey Kong from the cage Mario (in his only "villainous" appearance ever in a video game) keeps him trapped inside, and Donkey Kong 3 in 1983, where Donkey Kong invades a greenhouse to eat vegetables and stirs up flower-devouring insects in the process, and a one-time character and protagonist, Stanley the Bugman, must shoot bug spray both at the bugs and Donkey Kong to keep both the flowers and vegetables intact.

While Donkey Kong rivals Mario relatively closely as one of Nintendo's most popular characters today, what was essentially an eleven-year hiatus awaited the character following the release of Donkey Kong 3, as he never made a new "official" appearance in a release during that time period that was not some kind of port or compilation of the original games. Evidently, this was due to Nintendo's newfound focus on nurturing Mario's new NES-based franchise that exploded onto the public spotlight as a result of the world-famous, industry-defining Super Mario Bros. for the NES in 1985. Given that the seminal side-scrolling platformer had singlehandedly defined Nintendo's future styles and practices as a video game company more strongly and specifically than Donkey Kong had four years earlier, Donkey Kong was, for a time, treated as a relic of Nintendo's past; in fact, in Super Mario Kart for the SNES in 1992, Donkey Kong Jr. was one of the eight playable racers, chosen over his father. The hiatus was only partially alleviated in June 1994 when a Game Boy game titled Donkey Kong was released; while technically a remake of the original coin-op, it retooled the gameplay and provided an enormous increase in stage count (from 3 to 100), making it a project in its own right, and it is acclaimed as one of the best Game Boy games.

The hiatus for Donkey Kong was definitively ended later that year, however, thanks to the efforts of the British developer Rare. Rare sought out a partnership with Nintendo as a second-party developer and appealed to them with their work at Silicon Graphics, Inc. in the field of pre-rendered three-dimensional graphics in animated sprite form, and Nintendo consented to Rare developing a new game centered on Donkey Kong using this technology. Rare adopted the trademark name "Rareware" and released Donkey Kong Country for the SNES in November 1994. The side-scrolling platformer received widespread critical acclaim and became the second best-selling SNES game in the system's lifespan, and was revolutionary for being one of the first games for a mainstream home video game console to use pre-rendered 3D graphics. Rareware debuted the familiar modern-day design of Donkey Kong with the game, which included his trademark red necktie (though this was actually introduced in the aforementioned Game Boy Donkey Kong), and introduced a full supporting cast of side-characters and enemies that were owned by Rareware themselves during their affiliation with Nintendo. The most well-known of these new side characters is Diddy Kong, which was originally intended to be a redesign of Donkey Kong Jr., but Rareware decided he would be a separate character when Nintendo expressed disapproval of how much of a radical change it was from Donkey Kong Jr.'s established design. (Donkey Kong Jr., oddly enough, was forever relegated to extremely occasional cameo appearances in future Mario games following this.)

Some retrospectives express doubt on whether the success of Donkey Kong Country necessarily reflected the actual quality of the gameplay itself, but Rareware released two sequels on the SNES: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, starring Diddy Kong and his newly introduced girlfriend Dixie Kong, and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!!, starring Dixie Kong and a gorilla toddler named Kiddy Kong, both of which were reviewed as improvements. Rareware then created the highly acclaimed and successful Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64 in 1997, and then created the 3D adventure-platformer Donkey Kong 64 in 1999, in a similar vein to their previous work on Banjo-Kazooie. Meanwhile, Donkey Kong's thoroughly established resurgence in the Nintendo lineup guaranteed he would forever appear in either starring or side-roles not only in future Mario games, but in the Nintendo crossover series Super Smash Bros.. But then, in late 2002, Microsoft bought out 100% of Rareware's shares, turning Rare into a first-party developer for the Xbox line of consoles and leaving the Donkey Kong Country aesthetic and related characters under Nintendo's ownership (and incidentally letting their last planned console game, Dinosaur Planet for the Nintendo 64, get revised and released as Star Fox Adventures for the GameCube).

Donkey Kong remained a regular in Mario games as always, and his contributions have included the full Mario vs. Donkey Kong series of puzzle games that pay homage to the original Donkey Kong coin-op's scenario. And the characters and setting originally introduced by Rareware and associated with the Donkey Kong Country brand have made fairly regular appearances in games published by Nintendo but, for the most part, are developed by a variety of second-party developers: the Paon Corporation developed the Game Boy Advance puzzle game DK: King of Swing and its Nintendo DS sequel DK: Jungle Climber, as well as the Wii racer Donkey Kong Barrel Blast; Namco, meanwhile, developed all three titles in the Donkey Konga series of GameCube rhythm games that use a unique bongo drum-themed peripheral for input (a peripheral also used as a controller for the Nintendo-developed GameCube platformer Donkey Kong Jungle Beat); and most recently, the "official" return of the side-scrolling gameplay style of Donkey Kong Country was the 2010 Wii title Donkey Kong Country Returns, which was developed by Retro Studios (previously famous for bringing forth the revival of the Metroid franchise with the full Metroid Prime subseries). A Wii U sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, was released in February 2014.

The modern-day Donkey Kong seen in all Mario and Donkey Kong games since Donkey Kong Country is stated by the games featuring Rareware's extended Donkey Kong cast and setting to be the son (or grandson) of the "Donkey Kong" that was featured in the classic coin-op arcade games, and this original "Donkey Kong" is depicted in the Rareware-originated series as an elderly curmudgeon named Cranky Kong. (Nintendo has sometimes ignored Rareware's decision on this matter in the past, but nowadays counts this as part of the Mario canon.) Donkey Kong's extended family and friends, all of them simians, are collectively referred to as the Kong Family, living on an island shaped like Donkey Kong's head named Donkey Kong Island, and in every Kong Family-centered game their enemies are an expansive army of humanoid crocodilians called the Kremling Krew. They and their ruler, the comically obese and cantankerous King K. Rool, constantly try to steal the Kong Family's enormous hoard of bananas for unspecified reasons, and to this end they have allies of different species such as vultures and giant spiked wasps; Donkey Kong, his nephew Diddy Kong, and certain other Kong Family members embark on quests to defeat the Kremling Krew and safeguard their bananas, and the Kongs sometimes call on animal allies of their own.

In Super Smash Bros.

Donkey Kong's universe, treated by Super Smash Bros. as separate from Mario's due to the different series symbol, features only around as much representation of itself as most other standalone universes in the game, with one character, one stage, and one item.

Character

• 
  Donkey Kong: The original version of Donkey Kong was introduced as a fearsome pet of Mario that was the antagonist in a love triangle, in which he kidnapped a maiden that Mario was forced to rescue. However, the modern depiction of Donkey Kong was introduced over a decade later by Rareware in the form of a descendant to the original, with a monogrammed necktie and a more consistently friendly rivalry with Mario that only occasionally flares into an outright conflict in games such as the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. Regardless, he shares the spotlight with Mario as one of the video game medium's most famous characters, and in many Mario games where he can be selected, he conforms to a "big, strong, and slow" archetype. This carries over into his debut as a fighter in Super Smash Bros., both casually and competitively; he is the heaviest in the roster, has a uniquely capable grabbing and throwing game in which he is the only character who can carry his opponent around on his back, and has powerful and long-reaching attacks, including a chargeable and retainable KO move in Giant Punch. His qualities are offset by his generally lacking mobility and high ending lag for his attacks, his large frame and the resultant ease in which he can be attacked and damaged, and the horizontally aligned nature of his sole recovery method. In high-level play, he has particular problems with dealing with projectile-wielding opponents, which helps rank him as a mid-to-low-tier character competitively.

Stage

• 
  Congo Jungle: This stage features visuals, audio, and layout designed in direct homage to the first level of Donkey Kong Country for the SNES, and is named (albeit with a misspelling) after the first level set of said game, Kongo Jungle. It has a pair of rotating platforms in the center and a Barrel Cannon hovering below the stage which can be used by fighters to save themselves from falling.

Item

• Hammer: The giant mallet from the original arcade Donkey Kong that could be picked up by Mario and compel him to swing it uncontrollably to the tune of a "super" melody for a period of time, pulverizing any obstacles in his way. Its function is extremely similar in Smash Bros., in which when a character picks it up, they swing it uncontrollably for the next ten seconds to the same classic melody, and they are unable to discard the hammer beforehand (save for rare instances while the user is hit by another attack), nor can they perform any other move or double jump. Enemies that get hit by the hammer take a massively powerful and damaging hit, and the difficulty of landing a hit on a character swinging the hammer compels many characters - especially the A.I. - to spend the entire duration trying to keep their distance.

Music

• 6: A remix of the first level music heard in Donkey Kong Country. It is heard in Congo Jungle, and both the music and the stage were reused in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
• 16: The victory fanfare of Donkey Kong is an orchestration of the "Boss Defeated" music or the theme played after clearing a Bonus Level, first heard in Donkey Kong Country for SNES.
• 26: Sped-up 8-bit music that occurs when Mario picks up the Hammer, in homage to the music that would occur when Mario would pick up a hammer in the original Donkey Kong (in the SSB series, the NES version is used as the basis).

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

While Super Smash Bros. Melee features an abundance of new content, the Donkey Kong series is still only represented by one character. However, what stands out about the series' representation in Melee is that it has a total of three representative stages - two new, one ported from the previous game.

Character

• Donkey Kong: Returning from Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong gains Headbutt as his new side special move, which inflicts the new Buried condition - immobilizing the target and potentially helping DK land a Giant Punch with more certainty. As if to cede the title of being the purest example of a strong-but-slow-and-large fighter to newcomer Bowser, DK has gained a general increase in movement and attack speed, which serves him well in the speed-oriented environment of competitive Melee, but at the expense of some of his exemplary power and reach. DK is considered to be more nerfed than buffed overall, which taken together with the problems he retains from the previous game causes him to be graded as slightly lower-tier in professional gameplay than he already was.

Stages

• 
  DK Island: Kongo Jungle: This stage does not represent any specific location in any Donkey Kong game, but is instead a general representation of one type of location in Donkey Kong's home jungle environment, which is on multiple wooden platforms built into the edge of a waterfall near a cabin. One type of Kremling enemy, a Klap Trap, sometimes flows down the river and snaps at players as it falls off the waterfall.
• 
  DK Island: Jungle Japes: This stage, though sharing the name of the first level of Donkey Kong 64, more closely resembles the jungle level tileset from Donkey Kong Country, and therefore resembles the original stage from Super Smash Bros., at least aesthetically. It is set on multiple wooden platforms built on top of a fast-flowing jungle river at sunset (a river that makes it hard for characters to recover from falling into), and the silhouette of Cranky Kong is regularly seen passing by the window of a cabin in the background. Klap Traps that swim and jump out of the water to bite at players amount to very powerful stage hazards.
• 
  Past Stages: Kongo Jungle: The original Congo Jungle stage from Super Smash Bros. is one of three such stages to have been ported to Melee; besides a correctly spelled name, it is seemingly an exact replica of the stage, with a slightly larger size and a slight delay to the launch process of the barrel cannon underneath the stage.

Items

• Barrel Cannon: A portable version of the many empty barrels in the series that Donkey Kong and other characters can launch themselves out of as if shot out of cannons. These barrels are typically fixtures on stages themselves and usually cannot be controlled by players, and while some of them can launch a character out when commanded to by a player, others launch the character out as soon as they enter. As an item in Melee, a player can pick up a barrel cannon and throw it at another to trap him inside it, and the victim must wait until the barrel rolls along the ground into a proper-facing direction before they can shoot themselves out of it with a button press.
• Hammer: The Super Smash Bros. Melee version of this item is somewhat powered down, and there is now a one-out-of-eight chance that the hammer's head will fall off its stick as soon as it is picked up, forcing the holder of the stick to be swinging a non-damaging stick helplessly for the entire duration. The discarded hammer head, meanwhile, can be picked up by a separate character and thrown as a powerful projectile, and can be repeatedly used this way for as long as it remains on the stage, up until it naturally disappears.

Music

• 3: Kongo Jungle: A cover band performance of the "DK Rap" made infamous in the opening sequence of Donkey Kong 64, with a much different assortment of instruments and rhythms from its original appearance. The same, unaltered track from Melee was also used in Donkey Konga. It is heard only in the Kongo Jungle stage.
• 4: Jungle Japes: A calm and atmospheric remix of the standard "Jungle music" in various stages of Donkey Kong Country for SNES. It is heard in Jungle Japes.
• 27: Kongo Jungle N64: SSB’s version of "Jungle Japes", which itself is a calm and atmospheric remix of the standard "Jungle music" heard in various stages of Donkey Kong Country for SNES. It appears in the Past stage attached to it, Past Stages: Kongo Jungle.
• 39: DK's Victory: The victory fanfare of Donkey Kong is an orchestration of the "Boss Defeated" music or the theme played after clearing a Bonus Level, first heard in Donkey Kong Country for the SNES.
• 76: Hammer: Sped-up 8-bit music that occurs when the player picks up the Hammer, in homage to the music that would occur when Mario would pick up a hammer in the original Donkey Kong.

Full Trophy List

• Donkey Kong's three game trophies
• Hammer
• Barrel Cannon
• Dixie Kong
• Klaptrap
• King K. Rool

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl debuts the second representative character from the Donkey Kong series; these two characters occupy a column on the game's roster shared with the stars of the other two Mario subseries, Yoshi and Wario, which neighbors the column devoted to the core Mario series itself. A data package for a third playable character, Dixie Kong, was discovered by hackers following the game's release, suggesting that her inclusion in the roster was considered during development.

Characters

• 
  Donkey Kong: Donkey Kong returns from his Super Smash Bros. Melee appearance with a more natural look to his fur, but with no particular changes to his attack and movement patterns otherwise. His new Final Smash is the Konga Beat, in which he enters an invincible, immobile mode and slaps on bongo drums to the beat of the jungle-tileset theme from Donkey Kong Country - for each successfully timed button input by the player during this process, DK emits a large damaging shockwave. These drums are a replica of the bongo drum controller peripheral used for the GameCube games Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and Donkey Konga, which in turn was based on an "ultimate musical attack" DK could use in Donkey Kong 64. As a fighter, Donkey Kong has regained a good degree of power and force in his attacks, and has better mobility as well; despite this, the different Brawl environment and his ever-present weaknesses against projectile-using characters in high-level play causes him to remain a mid-to-low-tier character in the competitive community's grading rubric.

• 
  Diddy Kong: Diddy Kong, a monkey, was introduced as Donkey Kong's nephew and best friend in Donkey Kong Country, and in that game and many games to follow he has become the most prolific "secondary" playable character to Donkey Kong in the latter's games, even being the main character of some of his own games. Due to his introduction in a British-developed title, Diddy Kong is the only European character in the Brawl roster. His special move arsenal includes generating and tossing Banana Peel items that trip opponents, as well as some technology from his playable role in Donkey Kong 64 - his Peanut Popguns give him a second projectile, while his Rocketbarrel Boost is usable for recovery. His final smash, Rocketbarrel Barrage, combines these two implements into a temporary flying mode that shoots very powerful explosive projectiles downwards. While this utility, together with Diddy's good overall speed, is offset in concept by his weak smash attacks and weak KO moves, the greatly versatile capabilities of his banana peels - useful for offensive maneuvers, defensive maneuvers, and stage control alike - more than make up for his shortcomings and manage to cement him as one of the game's best competitive character choices.

Stages

• 
  Rumble Falls: Based on the game Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Rumble Falls is a large level, filled with ladder-like layers of platforms, in which the camera and the blast boundaries continuously scroll upwards, forcing combatants to constantly climb up while fighting, much like the Icicle Mountain stage from Melee. The stage is one of few in the game to include ladders that characters can climb, and also has various traps and buttons that can be hit to activate them. Once the top of the waterfall is reached in the background, the stage background fades into the starting waterfall and restarts itself.
• 
  75m: An almost perfect recreation of the elevator stage in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, rendered in an identical 8-bit style. Another of few stages that contain climbable ladders, the unorthodox, platform-packed stage includes many stage hazards: mobile fireballs, bouncing jacks across the long top platform, and the original arcade-style Donkey Kong himself at the top left.
• 
  Melee Stages: Jungle Japes: The Jungle Japes stage makes a return appearance as part of Brawl’s collection of Melee Stages, with one primary difference: characters are now buoyant in the rushing river underneath the platforms because of the new Swimming mechanic. While the river is still dangerous and carries off characters very fast, it is possible for a character that falls into it on the right side of the screen to be able to jump back out and recover.

Items

The Barrel Cannon is removed as a traditional item, despite a black, metallic variation on it now appearing as a common stage element in various levels of the Subspace Emissary adventure mode. Meanwhile, the Peanuts that Diddy Kong can create are not available as items that can be switched off or on in matches, but while the Banana Peels he creates are official items in and of themselves, they are counted as representative of the core Mario universe instead of Donkey Kong.

• Hammer: The Super Smash Bros. Brawl version of the Hammer is virtually unaltered in function or specifics from its Melee version, besides some slightly altered damage values for a hurled Hammer head.
• Spring: This item's design is taken directly from the second level of Donkey Kong Jr., as well as the sound that plays when it is jumped on, though the concept of a spring that can be carried and hurled more closely resembles Super Mario World. As an item, this is a fairly weak throwing projectile, but while grounded, its purple-facing side can propel away characters that bump into it, whether the spring is left lying upright or on its side.

Music

• Jungle Level Ver. 2 - A fast-paced, jazzy, rock-tinged arrangement of the "DK Island Swing" music from Donkey Kong Country. It is the theme of the Rumble Falls stage.
• Jungle Level - Another remix of "DK Island Swing". This remix is taken directly from the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack. It is used on the Rumble Falls stage.
• King K. Rool / Ship Deck 2 - A completely redone version of the song used during the battle against King K. Rool in Donkey Kong Country. It is used on the Rumble Falls stage. This theme is also played during both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's Classic Mode credits.
• Bramble Blast - From Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, where it was known as "Stickerbush Symphony," this is a faster remix of said song, which played in all of the bramble-filled levels. It is used on the Rumble Falls stage.
• Battle for Storm Hill - Music for the first stage of the Durian Kingdom named "Battle for Storm Hill", taken directly from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. It is used on the Rumble Falls stage.
• DK Jungle 1 Theme (Barrel Blast) - Taken directly from the recently released racing title Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, it is used on the Rumble Falls stage.
• The Map Page / Bonus Level - A combination of two themes taken directly from the Donkey Kong Country—the world map and Bonus Levels. It is used on the Rumble Falls stage.
• Donkey Kong - A techno arrangement of the themes from the original Donkey Kong arcade game, composed by the original game's sound effects producer, Hirokazu Tanaka. It is the theme of the 75m stage.
• Opening (Donkey Kong) - A remix of several themes from the original Donkey Kong arcade game. It is used on the 75m stage.
• 25m BGM - The music of the first level of the original Donkey Kong arcade game, it is used on the 75m stage.
• Jungle Japes (Melee) - Taken directly from Melee. A calm and atmospheric remix of "DK Island Swing". It is the theme of the Jungle Japes stage.
• Kongo Jungle (Melee) - Taken directly from Melee. A cover band performance of the infamous "DK Rap". It is used on the Jungle Japes stage.
• Donkey Kong victory theme - A whimsical-sounding remix of the victory fanfare played in Donkey Kong Country after defeating a boss or successfully completing a bonus level.

Trophies

Donkey Kong Diddy Kong Konga Beat Rocketbarrel Barrage Hammer Spring Dixie Kong Funky Kong Candy Kong Lanky Kong Wrinkly Kong Rambi Enguarde Kritter

Tiny Kong Cranky Kong Squitter Expresso King K. Rool Kass Kip Kalypso Kludge Helibird Turret Tusk Xananab Peanut Popgun Rocketbarrel Pack

Stickers

Banana Bunch Banana Coin Chunky Kong Cranky Kong Diddy Kong Donkey Kong DK Barrel DK with Barrel Funky Kong Gale Hawg

Kalypso Klaptrap Kritter Junior Lanky Kong Manky Kong Pauline & Donkey Kong Wrinkly Kong Xananab

In Super Smash Bros. 4

The Donkey Kong franchise continues to be well represented within Super Smash Bros. 4. While there are no new characters, other content within the games has been updated to reflect such recent titles like Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong return.

Characters

• 
  Donkey Kong: Donkey Kong returns as a starter character, and has once again received a furrier appearance than his prior game appearance. While most of his moves are the same, many of them have been buffed, for example, his Spinning Kong now spins at an angle when used on the ground and Hand Slap can now be used in midair. His dash attack has also been changed to his roll attack, the Barrel Roll, from the Donkey Kong Country games. He now sports more exaggerated facial expressions while performing attacks. When Donkey Kong is launched, his eyes will even bulge out of his head.
• 
  Diddy Kong: A returning starter character, revealed to promote the Western releases of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. His proportions have been tweaked to match his recent appearances like his head being smaller. Due to his arms and legs stretching while performing attacks, several of his moves involving his limbs now have longer range in general. A significant nerf is that he can now only have one Banana Peel out at a time. Much like Donkey Kong, his general expressiveness has also been exaggerated.

Mii Fighter Costumes

Hats

• King K. Rool Hat (DLC)

Costumes

• King K. Rool Outift (Brawler): This outfit is based on King K. Rool, a reoccuring antagonist of the early Donkey Kong Country series. He has been a highly requested fighter among fans. The outfit was released with a corresponding hat in K. Rool's likeness on July 31st, 2015 as downloadable content. As King K. Rool is not inherently a human-like character, there is no QR code available based on the character.

Enemy

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• Kritter
• Blue Kritter
• Tiki Buzz

Stages

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• Jungle Japes: A familiar stage from Melee and the only Donkey Kong stage on Smash for Nintendo 3DS. With the absence of swimming mechanics, the river functions like how it did in Melee as opposed to Brawl. The hazardous Kremling, Klaptrap, also returns.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

• Jungle Hijinxs: A new stage based on the first level in Donkey Kong Country Returns. Notably, the stage has two layers, allowing fighters to travel between the foreground and background areas via Barrel Cannons. After doing so, a character will be covered in non damaging flames. Attempting to use a barrel while in flames will cause an explosion, preventing stalling. While in the background, attacks will cause more knockback to compensate for the further distance from the blast lines. Occasionally, the middle part of the foreground will crumble away and reveal a Barrel Cannon. It explodes after use and leaves the pit open until the ground regenerates. A Screaming Pillar may also appear on the right side of the stage between the foreground and background. Blasting into it from the one side will cause it to fall toward the other side and damage anyone it hits.
• Kongo Jungle 64: An unlockable returning stage from the original Super Smash Bros. This stage is available in 8-Player Smash.
• 75m: A returning stage from Brawl. Walk-offs on the right side of the screen have been removed. This stage is available in 8-Player Smash.

Items

• Hammer: An iconic battering item from the original Donkey Kong arcade. When picked up, the fighter enters a state of constantly swinging it. However, there is a rare tendancy of having the head of the hammer fall off, rendering the weapon useless and leaving the fighter vulnerable. The fallen Hammerhead can be picked up and thrown as a very powerful projectile. The length of the attack is much shorter than in Melee and Brawl.
• Spring: Another returning item that debuted in Donkey Kong Jr. It functions as before as a bouncy projectile the fighters can hop on. If it falls on its side after being tossed, it'll bounce opponents from the side, similar to the Bumper item. The base and top of the Spring is more stylized than before, with a yellow ring-like pattern on it.

Music

Original Pieces

• Jungle Level Jazz Style: A jazzy reorchestrated version of "DK Island Swing", the reoccuring Jungle Level music that debuted in Donkey Kong Country. It plays on Jungle Hijinx.
• Jungle Level Tribal Style: Another take on "DK Island Swing", this time in an exotic, tribal interpertation. It plays on Kongo Jungle (64).
• Gear Getaway: Played during the item portion of the Smash Bros Direct, a remix of the Rocket Barrel theme from Donkey Kong Country Returns. This remix plays on Jungles Japes and Jungle Hijinx.
• Donkey Kong Country Returns (Vocals): A rearrangement of the title theme from Donkey Kong Country Returns, with an chorus of singing simians. It plays on Kongo Jungle (64).

Returning Pieces

• Donkey Kong: A returning piece based on the music from the original Donkey Kong. It plays on 75m.
• Opening (Donkey Kong): Another returning piece based on the opening title music from Donkey Kong. It plays on 75m.
• Kongo Jungle: A theme from the original Super Smash Bros., this calm remix of "DK Island Swing" from the SNES title Donkey Kong Country makes its return after not appearing in Brawl. This version of the song plays on Jungle Japes and Kongo Jungle (64).
• Jungle Level: A faithful reorchestrated take on "DK Island Swing". It plays on Jungle Hijinx.
• Jungle Level Ver. 2: A different, faster paced take on "DK Island Swing" that includes minor vocals. It plays on Kongo Jungle (64).
• King K. Rool / Ship Deck 2: From Brawl, a remix of "Gangplank Galleon", the theme played during the fight against King K. Rool in the SNES game Donkey Kong Country. This plays on Kongo Jungle (64).
• Stickerbush Symphony: A returning piece from Brawl formally known as "Bramble Blast". It is a remix of "Stickerbush Symphony", a theme played on all the bramble-based levels in the SNES game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. This track is available to use in Smash Run and also plays on Jungle Hijinx.
• DK Rap: The "Kongo Jungle" track from Melee correctly retitled "DK Rap". For unspecified reasons, the track has been shortened with Lanky and Chunky's verses removed. This pieces plays on Jungle Hijinxs.

Source Pieces

• 25m Theme: The original BGM that would play on the 25m stage of Donkey Kong. It plays on 75m.
• Battle for Storm Hill: A piece from Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. It previously appeared in Brawl as a track on Rumble Falls, a stage from Jungle Beat that did not return in SSB4. The track now plays on Jungle Hijinx.
• Donkey Kong Country Returns: The menu theme music from Donkey Kong Country Returns, taken directly from said game. This plays on Kongo Jungle (64).
• Jungle Hijinx: The Jungle Level music from Donkey Kong Country Returns.
• Mole Patrol: Another barrel theme from Donkey Kong Country Returns, that initially plays in the minecart-based level "Mole Patrol".
• Mangrove Cove: The first level music of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. It has vague similarities to "DK Island Swing".
• Swinger Flinger: The interpertation of "DK Island Swing" arranged for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Curiously, it is mistitled, as the music that plays on the "Swinger Flinger" level in Tropical Freeze is a completely different piece.

Victory Fanfares

• Victory! Donkey Kong Series: From Brawl, a remix of the victory fanfare played in Donkey Kong Country after defeating a boss or successfully completing a bonus level.

Trophies

Both Versions

Donkey Kong Donkey Kong (Alt.) Diddy Kong Diddy Kong (Alt.) Peanut Popgun Rocketbarrel Pack Hammer Hammerhead Spring Pauline

Cranky Kong Funky Kong Candy Kong Kritter King K. Rool DK Barrel Dixie Kong Tutorial Pig Krazy Kalimba

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Tiki Buzz Rambi Expresso Squawks Squitter Mugly Cap'n Greenbeard

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Kongo Beat Rocketbarrel Barrage Enguarde Winky Zinger Wrinkly Kong Tiny Kong Lanky Kong Stu

Mole Miner Max Thugly Colonel Pluck Tiki Tong Pointy Tuck Fish Poker Pops Pompy, the Presumptuous Snowmad Ship

Trophy Box

• Donkey Kong and His Friends
• Animal Friends and Items
• Donkey Kong Country Returns
• Tropical Freeze

Games with elements from or in the Super Smash Bros. series

Donkey Kong

Mario and Donkey Kong, the characters who starred in this game became part of the Smash Bros. gang since the original Super Smash Bros.. In addition, the Hammer from this game, as well as the tune that goes with it, is an item in all four Super Smash Bros. games. A section of Donkey Kong's Target Test in Super Smash Bros. Melee resembles the first level of the game. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a stage known as 75m is based directly on the third level in the game. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Mario's down taunt is a reference to his dying animation in this game. In addition, DK's red costume is a reference to his original sprite from this game. The game also appears as a Masterpiece in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. It starts the player on the level 75m takes place on. Pauline appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.

Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong Jr. appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Mr. Game & Watch's down aerial is based on the Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong Jr. The main menu music for this game is part of the Famicom Medley played on the Mario Bros. stage in Brawl.

Donkey Kong Country

The first area in the game, Kongo Jungle, is a stage in Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The music for the first level of the area was also used and remixed for those games. The "King K. Rool / Ship Deck 2" theme and "The Map Page / Bonus Level" theme music is featured in the Rumble Falls stage in Brawl. Various characters, Animal Buddies, and enemies cameo as trophies and stickers in Brawl. Diddy Kong, who made his first appearance in this game, is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Donkey Kong Country was originally intended to be included as a Masterpiece: the reason for its removal is unknown. Many references are made to Donkey Kong Country in the form of movements, attacks and victory poses, as well as a remix of the "Boss defeated" and "bonus room win" fanfare for both the Kong's victory theme. Donkey Kong appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, depicting his artwork for this game. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, when pressing the random button and naming something, one of the names generated is "KROOL," referencing King K. Rool, a boss character who debuted in this game. The Kremlings, specifically the Kritters, appear in the Nintendo 3DS version of Super Smash Bros. 4 in Smash Run, attacking players with spinning attacks on occasion.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

The theme "Stickerbush Symphony" appears in both Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (under the name "Bramble Blast" in SSBB). Dixie Kong, Wrinkly Kong and Squitter the Spider appear as trophies. Wrinkly Kong also appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Donkey Kong 64

The DK Rap, the infamous song in Donkey Kong 64’s opening sequence, is the theme song for the Kongo Jungle stage. Also, Jungle Japes is a stage in Melee, which takes its appearance from this game. All but one of Diddy Kong's special moves come from this game. His neutral special move, the Peanut Popguns, are one of his main weapons in the game, and this becomes his projectile weapon in Brawl. The peanut ammunition used in the move therefore also originated from Donkey Kong 64. Diddy Kong's Final Smash, the Rocketbarrel Barrage, also came from this game. Donkey Kong's forward aerial inspired his jump attack in this game. Also, one of Donkey Kong's attacks are similar to his dash attack in SSBB, and his forward tilt is similar to one of his standard attacks. Konga Beat is Donkey Kong's Final Smash, which is similar to if not the same as Donkey Kong's musical attack from Donkey Kong 64 (Bongo Blast). Diddy Kong and King K. Rool appear as stickers, depicting their artwork for this game. Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong and Chunky Kong appear as stickers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Lanky Kong also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Tiny Kong appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. In Super Smash Bros. 4, Donkey Kong's crowd cheer is "DK! Donkey Kong!", referencing lyrics in the DK Rap.

Donkey Konga

The drums, or bongos, that first appeared in this game as the controllers are used in Donkey Kong's Final Smash, and the strength differs depending on whether the player hits the drums at the right time or not, similar to the scoring system in Donkey Konga. The opening theme for Super Smash Bros. Melee is a playable song in the PAL version of the game.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

The Rumble Falls stage in Brawl is based on the area of the same name from the Pineapple Kingdom. The technique to perform Donkey Kong's Final Smash, Konga Beat, is based on the gameplay from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Also, the "Battle for Storm Hill" theme appears. Helibird, Turret Tusk, Gale Hawg, Hoofer, Party Monkey, and Karate Kong all appear as trophies in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Donkey Kong appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, depicting his artwork for this game.

Donkey Konga 2

Dixie Kong appears a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, depicting her artwork for this game.

DK: King of Swing

Kritter, Wrinkly Kong and Zinger appears as stickers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, depicting their artwork for this game.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

Kass, Kip, Kalypso, and Kludge all appear as trophies in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Kalypso also appears as a sticker in the game. In addition, the Banana Bunch item appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, depicting its artwork for this game.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis

Mini Mario and Donkey Kong with a Barrel appear as stickers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, depicting their artwork for this game.

DK: Jungle Climber

Xananab appears as a trophy and a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Donkey Kong Country Returns

An enemy known as the Tiki Buzz appears as a trophy and an enemy in Smash Run. Kalimba appears as trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Mugly and Cap'n Greenbeard appear as trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, and Stu, Mole Miner Max, Thugly, Colonel Pluck, and Tiki Tong appear as trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. A remix of the Rocket Barrel theme that plays in the level Gear Getaway also appears, along with the title screen music of Donkey Kong Country Returns and its remixed version, "Donkey Kong Country (Vocals)", along with the "Mole Patrol theme. A stage based off of Donkey Kong Country Returns called Jungle Hijinxs appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Tutorial Pig and Kalimba appear as trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Mugly and Cap'n Greenbeard appear as trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. Many enemies from this game also appear as trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

The Swinger Flinger theme, along with the Mangrove Cove theme appear in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The Snomads Pointy Tuck, Fish Poker Pops, Pompy, the Presumptuous, and the Snomad Ship appear as trophies in the game.

Trivia

• The Donkey Kong series is the only Mario sub-series to have multiple playable characters in Super Smash Bros.
• The Donkey Kong and Yoshi series lack Assist Trophies, despite having playable characters from their respective series in every Super Smash Bros. game.

External links

• Donkey Kong Wiki