History VideoGame / DonkeyKong

** Being the very first game in the franchise, it's a given. It didn't take place in the Mushroom Kingdom, there were no coins to collect or powerups besides Hammers, Mario was a carpenter instead of a plumber, the damsel was Pauline instead of Peach, and the antagonist was Donkey Kong instead of Bowser.
** Outside of characterization, Mario's moveset can come off as very unusual to anyone who started with the later games. Despite being named "Jumpman", Mario can manage to jump his own (very short) height, his jump itself has no air control and exists primarily as "jump straight up" or "jump in a fixed arc" (similar to the NES ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games), he's overall pretty slow on the ground, and he dies if he falls a relatively short distance. This is in opposition to most post-''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' games, where Mario's incredible mobility and acrobatics define his gameplay. He also lacks the GoombaStomp, though he does gain points for jumping ''over'' barrels.

* DropTheHammer: The only way to break hazards or beat enemies; otherwise you must avoid them.

The storyline involves the plumber (originally a carpenter) named Mario (originally Jumpman[[note]]which was first used in an arcade flyer by Nintendo of America; the character was previously nameless in Japanese materials, which is why the development name showed up in earlier references, but "Mario" had mostly overtaken "Jumpman" by the first home conversions[[/note]]) saving his girlfriend Pauline (originally "[[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Lady]]"[[note]]The name Pauline was first used in the [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]], [[UsefulNotes/AppleII Apple II]], [[UsefulNotes/ColecoVision Coleco Adam]], and western [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] conversions; also, due to initial confusion with the name, it was sometimes translated as the/a "lady" or thought to be nameless until later English references, and was even occasionally believed for a time in Japanese circles to be a DecompositeCharacter.[[/note]]) from Donkey Kong, in an obvious reference to ''Film/KingKong''. Donkey Kong's mode of attack is a seemingly-endless supply of barrels, fireballs, and springs that Mario must either dodge, jump over or smash with a hammer.

The same year Mario was spun off into his own game with ''VideoGame/MarioBros'', the lesser-known ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong3'' was released. In Mario’s place was an exterminator named Stanley trying to chase Donkey Kong away from his greenhouse with insect repellant. The arcade games were ported to various home consoles, including personal computers and Nintendo's own [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]].

1994's ''Donkey Kong'' (often referred to by the production title ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong94'') for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy expanded on the formula and inspired the later ''VideoGame/MarioVsDonkeyKong'' series: You start the game by saving Pauline from a construction site as usual, but unlike in the original, Donkey Kong reawakens after falling from his perch and takes off with her again. What follows is an exhaustive chase through 101 levels in various locales, including the surrounding city, a jungle and [[LevelsTakeFlight an airplane in mid-flight]]. The majority of levels are [[PuzzlePlatformer puzzle-focused]], with Mario having to navigate a single room filled with obstacles and [[LockedDoor carry a key to a door]], and occasionally being harried by Donkey Kong Jr. The final level in each 'world' is a standard duel against Donkey Kong, with Donkey Kong lobbing assorted crap at you, and it gets more complicated each time. It all culminates with Donkey Kong over-dosing on [[PowerUp Super Mushrooms]] and turning into a King Kong-sized menace, but Mario prevails and seemingly befriends the Kongs at the end.

In another ironic twist, Nintendo itself was [[ScrewedByTheLawyers found guilty of violating the copyright]] for the arcade game, and therefore could not sell the original version of ''Donkey Kong'' for its consoles. To summarize, the original arcade game was written by a company named Ikegami Tsushinki[[note]]a maker of professional broadcasting equipment, including video cameras[[/note]] on assignment. Either that, or Nintendo made the game themselves using hardware made by Ikegami, [[OrSoIheard depending on who's telling the story]]. Either way, the contract did not include ownership rights to the code. When ''Donkey Kong'' became a hit, Nintendo either tried to make more boards themselves or simply used the code (illegally, according to Ikegami) to create ''Donkey Kong Junior'', ''Donkey Kong 3'', ''Mario Bros.'', ''VideoGame/{{Popeye}}'', and possibly other games. In any case, they got sued for copyright violation as a result, and for many years the only rerelease of the arcade version was as an EmbeddedPrecursor in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64''. A detailed report is [[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134790/the_secret_history_of_donkey_kong.php?print=1 available here.]] However, this finally changed with the release of the arcade version on UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, as part of Hamster's ''Arcade Archives'' series.

* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: The [[http://www.platypuscomix.net/interactive/fiercekong.jpg boxart]] for the UsefulNotes/{{Intellivision}} port of the game turned the cartoonish Donkey Kong into a downright scary looking monster with glowing eyes and a macho buzzcut. Mario looks like a circus strongman holding a golden [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Mjolnir.]]

* CoversAlwaysLie: As bizarre as the UsefulNotes/{{Intellivision}} boxart was, it was at least ''somewhat'' faithful to the game. The Atari 2600 covers are utterly shameful: the English version is a literal copy-paste of ''Film/KingKong'' artwork while the Spanish version [[http://platypuscomix.com/interactive/clownmario.jpg uses art for]] ''[[Videogame/MrDo Mr. Do's Castle]]''.

* ArcadePerfectPort: Averted in most cases. Most of the ports are faithful to the arcade version, but leave out [=50m=] due to memory limitations. Some versions play it straight, such as ''Donkey Kong: Original Edition'' and the Game Boy ''VideoGame/{{Donkey Kong|94}}'', but even then there are graphical and audio differences. This is because Nintendo does not own the rights to ''Donkey Kong'''s source code, as explained above. For the longest time, the only truly arcade-perfect port was the one included in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64''.[[note]]Which is basically an emulated version of the arcade original.[[/note]] The 2018 release of the original arcade versions of DK and DK Jr. on the Switch under the Arcade Archives series has their full version. Though they are technically not ports, as they are emulated versions of the original arcade games.

* ADogNamedDog: Averted. The titular antagonist is a monkey named "Donkey."

* {{Retcon}}: The manual for ''Donkey Kong Land'' suggested Big Ape City as the setting of these early games. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' instead posits New Donk City as the location of Mario and DK's feud.[[note]]If they're not different names for the same place, that is, considering the girders were present at Big City and New Donk is said to be "always under construction".[[/note]]

* OneHitPointWonder: Mario himself. Also Junior and Stanley.

* AntagonistTitle: The first and third games.

** Being the very first game in the franchise, it's a given. It didn't take place in the Mushroom Kingdom, there were no coins to collect or powerups besides Hammers, Mario was a carpenter instead of a plumber, the damsel was Pauline instead of Peach, and the antagonist was Donkey Kong instead of Bowser. The third game has the honor of being one of the few ''Mario'' games to not feature or mention Mario at all; instead, the protagonist was a bug exterminator called Stanley.

* BeeAfraid: Buzzbees, Beespies, and queen bees are the minor enemies of ''Donkey Kong 3'' and they try to steal Stanley's flowers and fly away with them.
* BigBad: The title character in ''Donkey Kong'' and ''Donkey Kong 3''.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Stanley's CruelAndUnusualDeath when he loses a life was stripped down in the NES port of ''Donkey Kong 3'', instead having the life loss music play right after he hits the ground.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: When Stanley dies in the arcade version of ''Donkey Kong 3'', he falls to the ground and [[DevouredByTheHorde all the enemy bugs on-screen immediately swarm his body]], leaving behind [[NoBodyLeftBehind nothing but his Spray Bottle]] as a [[https://youtu.be/p_KAPpH0boI?t=60 sinister tune]] bellows out. Notably, it had to be toned down a lot in the home ports, by way of removing the bugs and having Stanley stay where he is when he falls over, before cutting to the death music.

* DiscOneNuke: The super spray in ''Donkey Kong 3'' can move Donkey Kong up the screen a lot faster if collected.

* HappyDance: In ''Donkey Kong 3'', Stanley does a victory dance when Donkey Kong falls.

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: ''Donkey Kong 3'' is a shooter game rather than a platformer, and stars an exterminator named Stanley rather than Mario.

* DistressedDude: Donkey Kong in the second game, who was captured by Mario (making this the only game where he is the BigBad so far).

* AntagonistTitle: The first and third games. The second game had Mario as the villain, with the [[ProtagonistTitle titular Donkey Kong Junior]] as the protagonist.

* BigBad: The title character in ''Donkey Kong'' and ''Donkey Kong 3'', and Mario in ''Donkey Kong Junior''.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
** Mario from ''Videogame/SuperMarioBros3'' onward would certainly never be as spitefully vengeful as in ''Donkey Kong Junior''. Compare how he forgives DK for even bigger slights in the Game Boy ''VideoGame/{{Donkey Kong|94}}'' and ''VideoGame/MarioVSDonkeyKong''.
** Conversely, the early DK is more animalistic and violent, harassing carpenters/plumbers and gardeners for no explained reason.

** Being the very first game in the franchise, it's a given. It didn't take place in the Mushroom Kingdom, there were no coins to collect or powerups besides Hammers, Mario was a carpenter instead of a plumber, the damsel was Pauline instead of Peach, the antagonist was Donkey Kong instead of Bowser, and, in ''Donkey Kong Junior'', ''Mario'' was the BigBad. The third game has the honor of being one of the few ''Mario'' games to not feature or mention Mario at all; instead, the protagonist was a bug exterminator called Stanley.

* EternalEngine: The later two stages of ''Donkey Kong Junior'' take place in Mario's factory.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: The early Mario and DK games treat the duo as something of a ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry''-esque slapstick rivalry duo, which is more pronounced in the cartoon. To give proper context, DK was Mario's pet who escaped and kidnapped his girlfriend, prompting Mario to rescue her. In ''DK Junior'', however, Mario keeps DK locked up and tries to kill Junior when he tries to free his father. Keeping DK locked up after his rampage rather than returning him to the wild to live with his son is at least morally questionable, but trying to kill Junior when he tries to save his father pushes him into straight up villainy. Pauline and Junior are unambiguously good, while DK and Mario are grey.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Mario becomes the antagonist with DK as a hapless hostage in ''Donkey Kong Junior''. Mario would reclaim the role of hero in ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' while DK is once again the villain in ''Donkey Kong 3''.
* HourglassPlot: In the first game, DK has captured Pauline and Mario has to save her. In the sequel, Mario has captured DK and Junior has to save him.

* JumpPhysics: Mario's jumping ability is rather weak compared to later games, and you can die if you fall above your jumping height. This also applies to ''Donkey Kong Junior'' in the sequel.
* JungleJapes: The first two stages of ''Donky Kong Junior'' take place in the jungle.

* ProtagonistTitle: ''Donkey Kong Junior''.
* PublicDomainSoundtrack:
** A variation of Johann Sebastian Bach's ''Toccata and Fugue in D Minor'' plays in the beginning of ''Donkey Kong Junior''.
** A midgame cutscene in ''Donkey Kong Junior'' is set to Music/TheCanCanSong.

* SuperDrowningSkills: Junior dies if he touches water. Justified as apes can't swim and he's likely too young to have learned anyway.

* SpringJump: A spring is present for this in the second level of ''Donkey Kong Junior''.
* SuddenSequelHeelSyndrome: Mario in ''Donkey Kong Junior''.
* SuperStrength: Junior surprisingly has this. After beating the game, Donkey Kong falls to the floor, but Junior catches him and holds him up, despite his father being roughly three times his size.

* FaceHeelTurn: Mario holding Donkey Kong hostage in ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' can be interpreted as this.

* FallingDamage: [[OlderThanTheNES A very early example.]] If Mario falls through a hole in the floor, goes over the edge of a platform, or falls too far before hitting a surface while jumping onto or off of an elevator in Screen 3, he dies upon impact. In ''Donkey Kong Jr.'', Junior dies if he drops down from too far up.

* WouldHurtAChild: In ''Donkey Kong Jr.'', Mario has no qualms with trying to murder Junior when he tries to rescue his father.

The same year Mario was spun off into his own game with ''VideoGame/MarioBros'', the lesser-known ''Donkey Kong 3'' was released. In Mario’s place was an exterminator named Stanley trying to chase Donkey Kong away from his greenhouse with insect repellant. The arcade games were ported to various home consoles, including personal computers and Nintendo's own [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]].

* YouDontLookLikeYou: Mario wears a red shirt and cap and blue overalls in every other game. Jumpman in this game wears the exact opposite, a blue shirt and cap and red overalls.