50 Fun Facts About Donkey Kong

In what year did the original Donkey Kong arcade game come out?

It launched in Japan in July 1981 and became the top-grossing arcade game in the US the following year.

Which famous Nintendo character made his very first video game appearance in the 1981 arcade Donkey Kong?

He was called Jumpman at the time and worked as a carpenter, not a plumber.

Who designed the original Donkey Kong arcade game as his first video game project?

Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi handed the job to the rookie designer, who went on to create Mario and Zelda.

The 1981 Donkey Kong was created to salvage unsold cabinets from which failed Nintendo arcade game?

Thousands of unsold Radar Scope machines were sitting in a US warehouse before they were converted.

What was the name later given to the woman Donkey Kong kidnaps in the 1981 arcade game?

She was simply 'Lady' in Japan and was named after Polly James, wife of a Nintendo of America warehouse manager.

Which film studio unsuccessfully sued Nintendo, claiming Donkey Kong infringed its King Kong trademark?

The court found the studio did not even own the King Kong rights it was suing over.

Mario was named after Mario Segale, who had what relationship to Nintendo of America?

Minoru Arakawa suggested the name change from Jumpman during the US launch.

The Donkey Kong arcade 'kill screen', caused by a programming error, stops every game where?

The bonus timer becomes so short that Mario cannot reach the top, ending every game there.

Which company licensed Donkey Kong from Nintendo for home consoles in 1982?

The deal helped double Coleco's sales to about $500 million.

According to Miyamoto, the word 'Donkey' was chosen because he thought it would convey what idea?

He reportedly searched a Japanese-English dictionary for a phrase meaning 'stubborn gorilla'.

How many meters does each single-screen stage of the arcade game represent Donkey Kong having climbed?

The four stages are labelled 25, 50, 75 and 100 meters.

In Donkey Kong Jr. (1982), who has imprisoned Donkey Kong in a cage?

It is one of the few Nintendo games in which Mario is cast as the villain.

What is the occupation of Stanley, the hero of Donkey Kong 3?

He sprays bug spray at Donkey Kong and a swarm of bees in a greenhouse.

Which British studio developed Donkey Kong Country for the SNES?

The studio was founded by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper, and Nintendo bought a 25% stake after the game's success.

What have the Kremlings stolen at the start of Donkey Kong Country?

The theft kicks off almost every game in the Country series in some form.

Which company's workstations did Rare buy to render Donkey Kong Country's 3D models?

The compressed pre-rendered sprites made the SNES look like it was doing things it technically could not.

Roughly how many copies did Donkey Kong Country sell, making it the third best-selling SNES game?

It shifted more than 500,000 copies in its first week and a million in the US within two weeks.

Who composed most of the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack, including 'Aquatic Ambience'?

The underwater theme alone took five weeks to write.

How much did Nintendo reportedly spend marketing Donkey Kong Country in America alone?

The blitz worked: it was the second-best-selling game of 1994 despite launching in November.

What is the subtitle of the second SNES Country game, released in 1995?

The pun on 'conquest' set the tone for the third game's 'Double Trouble' too.

In Donkey Kong Country 2, the Kremling king adopts which persona?

He goes pirate for the sequel, mad scientist for the third game and boxer for DK64.

What is the name of the Kremlings' home island where Donkey Kong Country 2 takes place?

A secret Lost World powered by a geyser sits at its heart.

What does Dixie Kong spin to glide through the air?

The ponytail helicopter made her many players' favourite Kong to control.

'Stickerbush Symphony' from Donkey Kong Country 2 plays in which kind of level?

The gentle track became a fan favourite despite scoring some of the game's most punishing stages.

Which animal buddy in Donkey Kong Country 2 is a spider that shoots webs?

Rattly is the snake, Enguarde the swordfish and Squawks the parrot.

Donkey Kong 64 was the first of only two games to require which Nintendo 64 accessory?

The extra memory powered the game's dynamic lighting system, and the accessory came bundled in the box.

Which Kong in Donkey Kong 64 can shrink in size?

Lanky floats, Chunky lifts rocks and Diddy flies with a jet pack.

How many golden banana objectives are there in total in Donkey Kong 64?

Five per Kong per world across eight worlds, which is why the game became shorthand for collect-a-thon bloat.

Who composed the Donkey Kong 64 soundtrack, including the DK Rap?

The composer has said the DK Rap was intended as a joke and was surprised by how seriously people took it.

Which company acquired Rare in 2002, ending its run of Donkey Kong games?

Donkey Kong 64 turned out to be Rare's final DK title.

In the final battle of Donkey Kong 64, K. Rool is fought in what setting?

He takes the name King Krusha K. Rool for the bout.

Which studio developed Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010) and Tropical Freeze (2014)?

The Texas team was best known for the Metroid Prime trilogy before taking on DK.

In Donkey Kong Country Returns, which group replaces the Kremlings as the villains?

The floating masks hypnotize the island's animals into stealing the bananas.

The Viking-like invaders of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze are led by whom?

The Snowmads freeze Donkey Kong Island after blowing the Kongs away.

Which Kong became playable for the first time in Tropical Freeze, bouncing on his walking stick?

The pogo-cane move is a nod to Scrooge McDuck in Capcom's DuckTales.

The arcade-original Donkey Kong appears in Rare's games as which elderly Kong?

Nintendo has never settled on whether he is DK's father or grandfather.

Which drum-shaped GameCube peripheral controlled Donkey Konga and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat?

Jungle Beat used the drums for a platformer, with claps picked up by a built-in microphone.

Which fighter joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2018 after years of fan-ballot requests?

Fans sent thank-you letters to director Masahiro Sakurai after the reveal.

Who voices Donkey Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)?

The film's design of DK later carried into 2025's Donkey Kong Bananza.

Donkey Kong Bananza (2025) launched on which console?

It was the first 3D Donkey Kong game since DK64 and was built by the Super Mario Odyssey team.

How old is DK's human companion in Donkey Kong Bananza?

It is a big change for a character who had always been an adult, and she sings the powers that transform DK.

Twin Galaxies stripped Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong records in 2018 after concluding his game ran on what?

Mitchell's rivalry with Steve Wiebe was the subject of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong, and Guinness restored his records in 2020.

What did Diddy Kong Racing serve as for Nintendo in 1997?

The kart racer introduced Banjo and Conker before either got their own games.

Who voices Cranky Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)?

The film redesigned Donkey Kong for the first time since Donkey Kong Country and played the 'DK Rap' over his introduction.

Donkey Kong Jr. broke the franchise's long hiatus as a playable character in which 1992 game?

Nintendo had wanted a revival for the 1991 tenth anniversary but could not start a new game, so the cameo had to do until the 1994 Game Boy title.

What is the roller coaster that opened in Donkey Kong Country at Universal Studios Japan in December 2024?

The expansion grew Super Nintendo World by 70 per cent, and the queue had reached three hours by the time the gates opened on day one.

In the 1997–2000 motion-capture TV series, what magical artifact does Donkey Kong guard from King K. Rool?

Made by French-Canadian company Medialab, the sitcom-style show was popular in France and Japan but GameSpot later called its animation 'nightmare fuel'.

Which Nintendo of America executive opposed releasing Donkey Konga, fearing it would harm the brand?

The bongo-controlled rhythm game sold well anyway and spawned two sequels, one of them exclusive to Japan.

Who voiced Donkey Kong in the 1983 Saturday Supercade cartoon?

Future Transformers voices Peter Cullen and Frank Welker played Mario and Donkey Kong Jr. in the show, which had DK escaping from a circus.

Which company sued Nintendo over Donkey Kong Jr., winning in the Tokyo High Court in 1990?

Nintendo had reverse-engineered the firm's code for the original arcade game, making Donkey Kong Jr. the first game it developed without outside help.