STACK #243 January 2025

GAMING FEATURE

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We hear a lot about Mario, yet the superstar tradie didn’t even have a name when the magnificent Donkey Kong burst onto the video game scene.With Donkey Kong Country Returns HD hitting the Switch this month, let’s take a quick look back at the history of Nintendo’s great ape. Words Amy Flower ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY KONG!

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS RETURNS! In 2010, Nintendo revisited the seminal Donkey Kong Country for their Wii console with a whole new game set on Donkey Kong Island. Now it’s back again, lovingly updated for the Switch. The story sees D.K. and Diddy Kong out to recover their precious banana horde from the marauding Tiki Tak Tribe. As well as looking even more of a treat, the bonus levels from Our great ape has also featured in many Mario spinoff games, from appearing in all but the first Mario Kart (which featured D.K. Jr.), through to sports games, the Mario Party series, and the Super Smash Bros. brawlers that kicked off on the Nintendo 64 in 1999. So, we salute you, Donkey Kong! May your star never again dim. D.K. is back, baby! It took until 1994 for the return of our favourite ape, when a Game Boy release of Donkey Kong saw the titular character’s long-overdue return, and he’d gone corporate! Yes, he sported that now familiar monogrammed red tie. The biggest new D.K. news in ’94, however, was Rare. The British game developer oversaw the return of our hero/villain to the limelight, and in style! 18 months in development, and featuring utterly incredible at the time prerendered graphics, Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo was a massive hit. It filled out D.K.s family tree, and spawned two superb sequels in 1995’s Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and 1996’s Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! . Shine on you crazy D.K. Since that ‘90s return, D.K.’s star has remained bright, from the Donkey Konga rhythm games - complete with plastic bongoes - to various other more traditional types of games. There’s also been a rekindling of hostilities via several Mario vs. Donkey Kong games over the years, which introduced puzzling to the platforming action.

A barrel of fun! Back in 1981, Nintendo were

versions of Donkey Kong soon made it to the consoles of the day, as well as Nintendo’s handheld Game & Watch series, in a very popular orange two-screen variant. As well as being great fun, this desirable little device was notable for introducing the now omnipresent cross shaped D-pad

DYK?

Miyamoto-san claims that D.K.’s name was comprised of “ Donkey ” to represent stubbornness, and ‘ Kong ” as he’s a large ape.

stuck with a whole lot of arcade cabinets for their failed 1980 release, Radar Scope .

A young, first-time Nintendo designer named

controller to the world.

Shigeru Miyamoto was tasked with coming up with a game that could be retrofitted into those cabinets, and that would resonate with players worldwide – while also saving Nintendo financially. That game was Donkey Kong , featuring four different stages of action, and the world suddenly had not one, but two new video game stars. D.K. is king! The character of Donkey Kong technically came

More Kong! A hit usually spawns a sequel, and Donkey Kong was no exception. However, for 1982’s new four-level arcade romp Donkey Kong Jr. , tables were turned, with Mario becoming the villain! He imprisoned D.K., and it was up to the titular young ape to rescue dad from the clutches of the moustachioed one. Employing the junior D.K. was actually a practical decision – from a technical standpoint, Donkey Kong himself was at the time too big to be used a playable character. Even more! Showing no sign of his popularity waning, D.K. starred in 1983’s more shooter-based arcade outing Donkey Kong 3 , which cast the player as a bug exterminator named Stanley, hitting our beloved big ape with pesticide! While generally well received, it wasn’t a huge hit, and other than a failed edutainment game, Donkey Kong Jr. Math , that was about it for Donkey Kong in the 1980s, while Mario’s star went well and truly on the ascendant.

before Mario, as the now world-famous plumber was initially known as Jumpman, until workers at Nintendo’s US branch nicknamed him

• Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is out Jan 16

Mario, as he reminded them of their landlord of the same name. Miyamoto-san liked the name, and it stuck. The smash hit that Nintendo needed it to be,

the 3DS incarnation are also included, as is wild two-player local play.

JANUARY 2025

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