Donkey Kong

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First appeared in: Donkey Kong (1981)King Kong, Mighty Joe Young, Donkey Kong in the world of fictional gorillas,Donkey has some tough competition, but he trounces his rivals in the gorillas-in-gaming world (yes, we're looking at you, Andross from Star Fox), smashing barrels into all comers with manic aplomb.Arguably the worst named character in the history of gaming (a fiercely fought category, a... read more

Donkey Kong, also shortened to DK, is a fictional gorilla in the Donkey Kong and Mario video game series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. The original Donkey Kong first appeared as the title character and antagonist of the eponymous 1981 game, a platformer by Nintendo, which would lead to the Donkey Kong series. The Donkey Kong Country series was launched in 1994 with a new Donkey Kong as the protagonist (although several installments focus on his friends Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong instead). This version of the character persists as the main one up to today. While the 1980s games' Donkey Kong and the modern Donkey Kong share the same name, the manual for Donkey Kong Country and subsequent games portray the former as Cranky Kong, the latter's grandfather, with the exception of Donkey Kong 64, in which Cranky is depicted as his father. Donkey Kong is considered one of the most popular and iconic characters in video game history.

Mario, the protagonist of the original 1981 game, went on to become the central character of the Mario franchise; the modern Donkey Kong is often featured as a regular guest character in the Mario games. He has also been playable in every entry of the Super Smash Bros. crossover fighting series, and serves as the main antagonist of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series from 2004 to 2015.