Donkey Kong^[a] is a series of video games published by Nintendo since 1981 and created by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.

Donkey Kong and Mario have both had the roles of protagonist and antagonist in the series. Other characters have included other Kongs, the crocodilian villain King K. Rool, and supporting animal characters. This article lists the characters that have appeared in titles that revolve around Donkey Kong and/or the Kong family.

Kongs

Kongs^[1] are a group of various primates (particularly apes and monkeys) that live on Donkey Kong Island. In ancient times, the Kongs provoked a rebellion against the Tiki tyranny with the advantage of being immune to their hypnotic power and took over the island which was named Kong Island.^[2]

The Kong Family^[3][4] (also known as the Kong Klan^[5] and the DK Crew^[6]) is a group led by Donkey Kong comprising his family and friends. They have numerous non-Kong allies who appear throughout the series, and are commonly antagonized by the Kremling Krew, who steal their valuables (and sometimes kidnap members of the Kong family) to further their nefarious goals.^[7][8][9]

Donkey Kong's family

Original Donkey Kong/Cranky Kong

Game appearances

Donkey Kong, also known as DK, is a male gorilla. The first character named Donkey Kong is introduced in the original 1981 arcade game as the computer-controlled antagonist who abducts Pauline.^[10] The player must take the role of Mario and rescue her. Donkey Kong is held captive by Mario in Donkey Kong Jr. In Donkey Kong 3, he terrorises a greenhouse. In the Game & Watch game Donkey Kong Hockey, he served as a playable character for the first time.

In 1994's Donkey Kong Country, a new, different-looking Donkey Kong was introduced, said to be the son of the original arcade character, who is now the elderly Cranky Kong^[b] (also known as Donkey Kong Sr.)^[11] a grumpy elderly gorilla, known for his scathing fourth wall-breaking commentary. He has appeared as Cranky Kong in a number of Donkey Kong games, primarily as a boastful adviser to Donkey Kong and his various simian friends (in-game and in the instruction manuals), as well as running mini-games and tutorials. His main purpose in Donkey Kong Country is to distribute helpful hints about the game's many stages to the modern Donkey Kong and his sidekick Diddy Kong whenever they drop by his cabin. Donkey Kong Country 2 saw him play a similar role, although this time the player would have to provide enough banana coins to buy specific hints. In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, he is the player's opponent in a throwing mini game at Swanky's Sideshow; in the GBA versions of Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3, he hosts several mini-games, and is briefly playable in the Dojo mini-game of the latter. Donkey Kong 64 sees Cranky deal out potions that grant each of the five playable Kongs special abilities and can be purchased at Cranky's Lab. He also hosts the Jetpac game, and will grant the player access to it in exchange for 15 Banana Medals. Cranky has also made cameo appearances in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Jungle Japes stage, as well as appearing in Donkey Konga and its sequels. He made appearances dispensing tips in DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber. He is playable in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. In Donkey Kong Country Returns and its 3DS remake, he runs various shops that sell items and helps the player by giving hints and tips when they leave his shop. In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Cranky becomes playable in the main campaign of a Donkey Kong platformer for the first time. His moveset is based around his cane, which allows him to bounce on spikes.^[12]

Characteristics

The original Donkey Kong is a large, enraged gorilla, which Miyamoto said was "nothing too evil or repulsive", and Mario's pet.^[13] Miyamoto has also named "Beauty and the Beast" and the 1933 film King Kong as influences for the character.^[14] The name was derived by Miyamoto from "stubborn ape": Miyamoto used "donkey" to convey "stubborn" in English, while "Kong" was simply to imply him being a "large ape".^[15][16][17]

Donkey Kong Country portrays Cranky as the original Donkey Kong character featured in the 1981 arcade game.^[18] The character retains his stubborn nature and has become an aged, sharp-minded, and disparaging video game veteran who throughout the games distributes advice and useful items. 64 portrays him as an alchemist. He is currently voiced by Takashi Nagasako.^[19] As his name implies, Cranky is perpetually bitter about many things and complains about them to anyone who gives him even the slightest acknowledgment. He is mostly angry about the state of modern video games, once going so far as to complain about how many bits and bytes are used up to simply animate his swinging beard. Every time he sees any such thing he seems to fondly recall his heyday in which he was an 8-bit character.

In other media

The Saturday Supercade is the character's first role in a television series. In it, Donkey Kong (voiced by Soupy Sales) has escaped from the circus and Mario (voiced by Peter Cullen) and Pauline (voiced by Judy Strangis) are chasing the ape. As with the original game, Donkey Kong will often grab Pauline and Mario has to save her.

Cranky was a regular on the Donkey Kong Country animated series. He is still as bitter as in the games, but without his fourth wall-breaking comments. His cabin is where the Crystal Coconut, a mystical artifact that predicted DK would become the future ruler of Kongo Bongo Island (as DK Island was called on the series), is kept. Often, Cranky mixes potions, somewhat prefiguring his Donkey Kong 64 role. He was voiced by Aron Tager, and by Ryūsei Nakao in the Japanese dub of the TV series.^[20]

A 2007 documentary, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, chronicles the competitive following for the arcade version of Donkey Kong.^[21]

The original arcade version of Donkey Kong is the last villain of the 2015 film Pixels.^[22]

Cranky Kong appears in the animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, voiced by Fred Armisen. In the film, he is depicted as the ruler of the Jungle Kingdom and leader of the Kong Army. Like in Donkey Kong 64, he is depicted as Donkey Kong's father instead of his grandfather. He is also shown to be very disappointed with Donkey Kong as a person.

Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong Jr.,^[c] also known as DK Jr. or simply Junior, is the protagonist of the 1982 arcade game of the same name and the son of the original Donkey Kong. Junior wears a white singlet with a red letter "J" on it. His objective in the game is to save his father, who was locked by Mario in a cage. He returns in the 1994 Game Boy game Donkey Kong, where he teams up with his father, who has kidnapped Pauline, against Mario. Junior also appeared as a playable character in Super Mario Kart, but was absent in later installments until he returned in the "Super Mario Kart Tour" in Mario Kart Tour, he also appeared in the Virtual Boy game Mario's Tennis, and as a hidden character in the Nintendo 64 version of the similarly named Mario Tennis. He also has his own educational video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System: Donkey Kong Jr. Math. Other appearances by Junior include the Game & Watch games Donkey Kong Jr. (in wide-screen, tabletop and panorama versions) and Donkey Kong II, as well as the Game & Watch Gallery series compilations for Game Boy. He also appears as the physical appearance of the transformed king of World 4 in the Super NES and Game Boy Advance versions of Super Mario Bros. 3. Donkey Kong Junior had his own segment in the first season of Saturday Supercade and was voiced by Frank Welker.^[23] Like his father, he had his own cereal brand in the 1980s.

Donkey Kong Jr. Math features a character with pink fur named "Junior (II)".^[24] This character's nature as metafictional or otherwise is not stated.

Shortly before the release of Donkey Kong 64 in 1999, Leigh Loveday, the writer of Donkey Kong Country 2, stated that, as far as he knew, the modern Donkey Kong who appears in Donkey Kong Country onward is a grown-up version of Junior himself.^[25] Cranky Kong refers to Donkey Kong as his son in Donkey Kong 64^[26] and in the manual.^[27] However, the manual for Donkey Kong Country,^[28][29] the manual for Donkey Kong Land,^[30] and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest^[31] state that Cranky is the original Donkey Kong and grandfather of the game's titular character.^[32] More recently, Super Smash Bros. Brawl,^[33] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,^[34] Donkey Kong Country Returns,^[35] Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze^[36] and Gregg Mayles of Rare^[37] have stated that the current Donkey Kong is the original Donkey Kong's grandson. In the 2023 Super Mario Bros. film adaptation, Donkey Kong is stated as being Cranky's son.

The character Diddy Kong was going to be an updated version of Donkey Kong Junior, but Nintendo did not like this idea, suggesting either to give him his old look or make him a new character. Rare chose the latter and Diddy Kong was made.^[38]

Donkey Kong (modern)

The new, redesigned Donkey Kong introduced as the main player character in 1994's Donkey Kong Country was said to be the grandson of the original arcade character, who was now the elderly Cranky Kong, Cranky having relinquished his name to him.^[39][40] However, in Donkey Kong 64, Cranky repeatedly refers to the current Donkey Kong as his son (he was senile in that game).^[41] This was reverted to the original grandson relationship in subsequent games such as the Game Boy Advance versions of Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Donkey Kong Country Returns. In Yoshi's Island DS, Mario and DK are both babies and two of the Seven Star Children. While Candy Kong is his girlfriend, in the manual for Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, he is described as falling in love with Pauline at first sight.^[42]

The modern Donkey Kong is used for the antagonist role typical of the original Donkey Kong in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series and a playable character in many Mario spin-off games

Donkey Kong appears in the animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, voiced by Seth Rogen. In November 2021, there were reports that Illumination had begun development on a Donkey Kong spin-off film, with Rogen set to reprise his role.^[43]

Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong^[d] is the secondary main protagonist of the franchise, who also appears in games belonging to the Mario franchise. He debuted in Donkey Kong Country. Rare designer Kevin Bayliss commented Diddy was "penciled in" as a spider monkey, although he is not specifically referenced as belonging to a particular species.^[44] He lives with Donkey Kong on Donkey Kong Island in the Kongo Jungle, and is identified by his red hat with the Nintendo logo, and his red shirt with stars.

Diddy is Donkey Kong's sidekick and best friend. Rare first referred to him as DK's nephew in September 1999 on their website.^[45] This was followed in November 1999 where the manual for Donkey Kong 64 called him "Donkey's little nephew wannabe".^[46] The official cast for the game in 2002 listed him as "DK's nephew" as well.^[47] He was originally created by Rare as an updated version of Donkey Kong Jr., but he was renamed, due to Nintendo's response. In the second game, Dixie Kong was introduced and they were described as "inseparable friends", with Cranky referring to Dixie as "that girlfriend of his".^[48]

Diddy has appeared in all of the Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land games, notably as the lead character in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest with his inseparable friend Dixie Kong as his partner. He received a spin-off called Diddy Kong Racing, and more recently appeared as co-star to Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Through his relationship with Donkey Kong, Diddy has become a prominent character in the Mario franchise. He has also become a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series. Outside video games, Diddy appeared in the TV show Donkey Kong Country, where he is played by Andrew Sabiston.

Since appearing in Donkey Kong Country, Diddy has received mostly positive reception, one strong enough to create a fan following, resulting in Diddy getting his own spin-off.^[49] He has been featured in several pieces of merchandise, including stuffed toys, candies, and two Amiibo figures. Kotaku editor Mike Fahey described him as the "Scrappy Doo" of the Donkey Kong series.^[50] GamesRadar has listed Diddy Kong along with Donkey Kong as the best video game duos,^[51] and The Guardian and GameRevolution have both described Diddy Kong as one of the best video game sidekicks.^[52][53]

Concept and creation

During the development of Donkey Kong Country, Diddy was originally conceived as an updated version of Donkey Kong Jr. (Donkey Kong's son). Not liking the radical changes Rare had made to Donkey Kong Jr., Nintendo told them either create a design that was closer to Donkey Kong Jr.'s original appearance or make their design an entirely new character. Deciding to simply rename the character, who Rare felt was perfect for their updated version of Donkey Kong's world, Rare decided to name this Kong 'Diddy' because in some parts of the UK, the British English slang word 'diddy' means small.^[54]

Game appearances

His first appearance was in Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a boisterous monkey who had one main goal: to become a video game hero just like his friend, Donkey Kong. He accompanies Donkey Kong throughout Donkey Kong Island to battle King K. Rool and return their banana hoard.^[55] He became the main character in the sequel Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, teaming up with his inseparable friend Dixie Kong, who both set to rescue Donkey Kong from Kaptain K. Rool.^[56] He later appeared in Donkey Kong Land, issued a challenge by Cranky Kong that he and Donkey Kong could not retrieve the banana hoard on an 8-bit system.^[57] The third and final title in the Donkey Kong Country series is titled Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, which stars Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong who must find Diddy and Donkey Kong after they had disappeared, all the while battling a cyborg called KAOS.^[58] A follow-up was released in September 1996 for the Game Boy called Donkey Kong Land 2, featuring roughly the same plot as Donkey Kong Country 2.^[57] Diddy also makes an appearance in 1997's Donkey Kong Land III, but his only appearance is on the Extra Life Balloons. He is also a part of the storyline that appears in the manual.^[59]

He stars in the spin-off racing game Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64, which only features the eponymous character Diddy Kong as a returning character. It introduces Banjo and Conker the Squirrel, who went on to star in Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day, respectively. His title was a success, becoming the fastest-selling video game in US history at the time.^[60] In 2007, a remake of Diddy Kong Racing was released for the Nintendo DS. He later appeared as a playable character in Donkey Kong 64, a 3D sequel to the Donkey Kong Country titles, where he, Donkey Kong, and others go through DK Island to defeat King K. Rool yet again. He has a prominent role in DK King of Swing as well as its sequel, DK Jungle Climber.

2003 marked the release of the first post-Rare Donkey Kong game that features characters presented in Donkey Kong Country. Namco's Donkey Konga is a GameCube music title that was packaged with a DK Bongo controller. The controller is used to keep the rhythm with the beats of covers to famous songs (as well as Nintendo video game music). It was followed by two sequels, Donkey Konga 2 and Donkey Konga 3, the latter which was only released in Japan. Diddy Kong appears in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast as a playable character. He also appeared in Mario titles, including Mario Power Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Golf: World Tour, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Strikers Charged, Mario Super Sluggers, Mario Tennis Open, Mario Tennis Aces, Mario Kart Tour and Mario Sports Mix. Diddy Kong also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in which some of his attacks are based on moves from Donkey Kong 64, such as the Peanut Popguns and Rocketbarrel Boost.^[61] He appears as a playable DLC character in Mario Strikers: Battle League and in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.^[62]

Diddy appears in Donkey Kong Country Returns and its 3DS port, where he serves as the second player's character. He also appeared in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze alongside Dixie, Cranky, Funky and DK. He returns as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He also appeared in Skylanders: SuperChargers, riding in the side car of Donkey Kong's vehicle, called the Barrel Blaster. His most recent appearance was in Super Mario Party as a playable character for the second time in a Mario Party game, after Mario Party: Star Rush.

Other media

Diddy Kong was in the Donkey Kong Country animated series, where his role as Donkey Kong's sidekick remained relatively the same as in the games. He was voiced by Andrew Sabiston (who previously played Yoshi in Super Mario World produced by DiC Entertainment).^[63] Diddy Kong has also appeared in various comics featured in official Nintendo magazines. Some of the stories he appeared in include adaptations of Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong 64, as well as original stories. Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Odyssey features Diddy as a costume for Mario to wear, the former as a full costume, the latter as clothes. Along with several other members of the Kong family, Diddy has a cameo in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, voiced by Eric Bauza, where he is seen as a crowd member during Mario's fight with Donkey Kong.

Wrinkly Kong

Wrinkly Kong^[e] is an elderly gorilla and the wife of Cranky Kong. Wrinkly first appeared in the game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest for the SNES, where she ran Kong Kollege. She gave the player advice and allowed the player to save their game. She appeared again in Donkey Kong Land 2, and again in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. This time, she resided in 'Wrinkly's Save Cave', where the player could both save their game and deposit Banana Birds, which were found throughout the game. This concept remained sans birds in Donkey Kong Land III, where she resided in 'Wrinkly Refuge'. In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3, Wrinkly was portrayed as a spiritual follower of the Banana Birds.

Wrinkly next appeared in Donkey Kong 64. She has apparently died at some point after Donkey Kong Country 3 as she is now a ghost. Every world lobby in the game, with the exception of Hideout Helm, featured five doors with Wrinkly's face on them; each door presented a hint for the level that applied to the Kong that corresponded to the door color (yellow for Donkey Kong, red for Diddy Kong, blue for Lanky Kong, purple for Tiny Kong, and green for Chunky Kong). When the player begins meeting her in Donkey Kong 64, she says, "Don't be afraid of me, young ones! It's only me, Wrinkly Kong" and then she gives the player advice on how to win a Golden Banana on the corresponding level.

Her first playable appearance was in DK: King of Swing and would later return for DK: Jungle Climber, and as an unlockable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. She was voiced by Miho Yamada.^[64] She also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Dixie Kong's family

Dixie Kong

Dixie Kong^[f] is a young female chimpanzee^[65] or monkey^[66] with a prehensile ponytail. Her first appearance is Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest where she and Diddy Kong partner as "inseparable friends"^[3] to rescue DK. Cranky refers to her as "that girlfriend of his". She was also playable in Donkey Kong Land 2.

Dixie later was the protagonist of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III, with Kiddy Kong as her sidekick. While she did not return in Donkey Kong 64, her sister, Tiny Kong, served as her replacement.

Her next playable appearance was in Donkey Konga 2 on the GameCube, a bongo rhythm game. She appeared once again in the Japan-only Donkey Konga 3. She is also a playable character in DK: King of Swing for the Game Boy Advance, Diddy Kong Racing DS and DK: Jungle Climber for the Nintendo DS, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast for the Wii.

Dixie Kong is also available as a playable character in Mario Superstar Baseball, this was also Dixie Kong's debut in the Mario franchise. Her next appearance in a Mario game was in Mario Hoops 3-on-3. She later appeared in Mario Super Sluggers. Additionally, she made her debut appearance in the Mario Kart series in Mario Kart Tour for mobile phones.

After 6 years of not appearing in games since Mario Super Sluggers, she returned in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch.

Dixie appears in the Donkey Kong Country TV series, where she was voiced by actress Louise Vallance. She is currently voiced by Kahoru Sasajima.^[67]

Kiddy Kong

Kiddy Kong, known as Dinky Kong^[g] in Japan,^[68] is a large toddler primate that was introduced in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! as Dixie's cousin.^[69] Later online errata described him as age three and Dixie's "little cousin".^[70] as well as the younger brother of Chunky Kong. Their mission is to solve a series of mysteries in the Northern Kremisphere and find their missing friends Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. His abilities include water skipping, being able to roll farther to make longer than average jumps, and throwing Dixie high out of normal jump reach, with Dixie being able to throw him and guide his fall to break platforms and unveil hidden secrets.

Kiddy Kong is also playable in Donkey Kong Land III, where he joins Dixie in her quest to prove herself worthy by finding the fabled Lost World before DK, Diddy, and the Kremlings. He does not appear in Donkey Kong 64, but is mentioned in the manual as being the baby brother of Chunky Kong. He appeared as a racer in the trailer for the cancelled Donkey Kong Racing. He has not made any physical appearances in games not developed by Rare, the other two being Chunky Kong and Swanky Kong. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he appears as part of Dixie Kong's upgraded collectible "Spirit".^[71]

Tiny Kong

Tiny Kong^[h] is a young, female chimpanzee who first appeared in Donkey Kong 64. She has blonde hair with pigtails. She is Dixie Kong's younger sister and is a cousin to Chunky Kong and Kiddy Kong, as stated in the manual for Donkey Kong 64.

In Donkey Kong 64, her clothing is a beanie hat, blue overalls, a white T-shirt, and white shoes. She is freed by Diddy Kong in the 'Angry Aztec' level in the building near Candy's Music Shop. Her weapon is the Feather Crossbow and her instrument is the 'Saxophone Slam'. The Potion enables her to perform 'Mini-Monkey', 'Pony-Tail Twirl', and 'Monkey-Port'. She can shrink when she jumps into her special barrel, allowing her access to areas other Kongs cannot go. She can do a helicopter-spin, equivalent to Dixie's, to slow down her descent. Out of all the Golden Bananas collected, Tiny gets 6 in the main DK Isles.

Tiny was one of the confirmed characters in Donkey Kong Racing for the GameCube with Donkey Kong, Diddy, Kiddy, and Taj the Genie, but the game was canceled as Microsoft purchased Rare in September 2002.

She makes a cameo appearance in the Game Boy Advance ports of the Super NES games Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. In Donkey Kong Country 2, Diddy, Dixie, or both must rescue her from the Zingers in a mini-game called Kongnapped, in which the objective is to rescue six of her in order to win. In Donkey Kong Country 3, she appears in one of Funky's Motorboat challenges. These two games are the only games where she is not a playable character.

In her spin-off debut, Diddy Kong Racing DS, she seems to have grown more mature, being both taller and more physically developed than her sister, Dixie. Her clothing now consists of a beanie hat, sweat pants, a midriff-revealing spaghetti-strap top, sandals and fur wristbands, as well as earrings that she did not wear in the previous games. She is one of the first eight playable characters. Her acceleration and handling are slightly below average, and she has a medium top speed.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is the first game on the Wii that she appears in. She is unlocked by completing Sapphire Mode on a Rookie Setting as one of the Kongs. She was voiced by Kahoru Sasajima.^[72]

Tiny Kong is also available as a playable character in Mario Super Sluggers, her debut in the Mario franchise.^[73]

She later makes a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit using her artwork from Donkey Kong 64.

Chunky Kong

Chunky Kong^[i] is a large gorilla weighing 2,000 pounds and is one of the playable Kongs in the game Donkey Kong 64 where he is the largest of the playable Kongs. Chunky is the older brother of Kiddy Kong and cousin of Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong. He is freed by Lanky in the level Frantic Factory. Before he is freed, he indicates that he does not like heights. Despite his brawny build, he acts somewhat cowardly and childish and lacks some intelligence, indicated by his speaking in third-person broken English. During the attract mode to Donkey Kong 64, all the Kongs are shown in the manner of a hip hop video. Chunky Kong is dressed in a flare-legged disco outfit with an afro hairstyle, but immediately realizes this is out of style (or out of place for rap) and runs off, immediately returning wearing more appropriate clothes. When in the spotlight on the character select screen, he panics and asks the player to choose his cousin Tiny. His weapon is the 'Pineapple Launcher', and his instrument is the 'Triangle Trample'. The potion enables him to perform 'Hunky Chunky', turning gigantic, 'Primate Punch', unleashing a very powerful punch that can smash down some doors and walls, and 'Gorilla-Gone', temporarily turning him invisible. He can carry boulders and other heavy items that the other Kongs cannot. It is Chunky, with a combination of the 'Hunky Chunky' and 'Primate Punch' abilities, who ultimately defeats K. Rool in the last boxing match in Donkey Kong 64.

He makes a brief cameo appearance in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 3 in the third challenge of Funky's Rentals, where he is one of the Kongs that he has to be rescued from the Kremlings' kidnapping, along with other characters such as Candy, Tiny and Cranky Kong.

In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, his weapon called the 'Pineapple Launcher' is an item that can be obtained in an item balloon and follows the player ahead of him until it hits them.

He appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he appears as a Spirit using his artwork from Donkey Kong 64.

He has a cameo appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie in a scene taking place at the Jungle Kingdom arena.^[74]

Other gorillas

Candy Kong

Candy Kong^[j] is a female gorilla and Donkey Kong's girlfriend. Candy Kong first appeared in Donkey Kong Country providing save point stations throughout the game. Her second appearance was in Donkey Kong 64; Candy was redesigned, now wearing a bikini and some sneakers.

She also makes a brief appearance in DK: King of Swing, and is seen cheering on the player characters. She wears a pink bikini top and short shorts, and her torso was redesigned (this appearance has remained in subsequent games). In the GBC and GBA remakes of Donkey Kong Country Candy runs challenges and a dance studio respectively. She also makes brief cameo appearances in the GBA remakes of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!.

In the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 2 she appears as a model and assistant on Swanky Kong's quiz show, and she wore a purple dress.

She also made a brief appearance in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast in the mode Candy's Challenges and allowed the players to collect up to a total of 1,000 bananas and to win the tracks in first place. She and Swanky Kong are the only two protagonist Kongs who have yet to become playable. She was going to be one of the playable characters in Diddy Kong Pilot, replacing Redneck Kong, but that game was cancelled after Microsoft Game Studios bought Rare.

In a 1995 manga from Comic BomBom, Mario sees Candy wearing a swimsuit and a mask concealing her species, and is infatuated by her.^[75]

Candy was also a regular on the Donkey Kong Country animated series, voiced by Joy Tanner. Instead of being blonde as seen in the games, she has fiery red hair. She works at a barrel factory run by "Bluster Kong", her boss.^[76][77] This version of Candy also has a very quick temper.

She was voiced by Satsuki Tsuzumi in video games.^[78]

Funky Kong

Funky Kong^[k] is a cool surfer and mechanic gorilla. Initially, he allows the Kongs to go back to worlds they have previously completed. However, in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, he takes on a different role as a vehicle merchant, allowing Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong to reach new worlds in the game. In Donkey Kong 64, Funky has switched jobs yet again to become the ammunitions expert of the group, his business seeming to suggest an army surplus store. He supplies various weapons and upgrades to the Kongs, donning camouflage clothing, goggles and a large rocket on his back (which is revealed near the end of the game to contain a giant boot) in favor of his old board shorts and sunglasses. He takes back on his surfer appearance in later games. He is also a playable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, as well as in multiplayer modes of Donkey Konga 3, DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber. He is currently voiced by Toshihide Tsuchiya.^[79]

Funky is also a regular on the Donkey Kong Country animated series, where he was voiced by Damon D'Oliveira. One difference is that the cartoon version of Funky has tan fur as opposed to the brown fur his video game portrayal has. He was also given a Jamaican accent. Like in the games, Funky is keen on surfing and runs his own airline service. He often talks about karma and is the best dancer on the island. Funky is not fond of adventuring or fighting the Kremlings, nor is he keen on doing very much work; he often tries to take the easier way out of a situation, or just leave it up to DK and Diddy.

Funky resurfaces in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as the keeper of the Fly and Buy shops, thus taking over the role of shopkeeper from Cranky Kong, who instead becomes a playable character. In the Nintendo Switch enhanced port of Tropical Freeze, Funky also serves as a playable character, headlining the eponymous "Funky Mode" exclusive to that port. In Funky Mode, characters can play as Funky Kong, who has extra health and other perks such as double-jumping and standing on spikes without taking damage. Players can switch between Donkey Kong and Funky while playing in Funky Mode, but Donkey Kong and his partner will both have added health. A save file cannot be changed out of Funky Mode once it has been started.

Outside of the Donkey Kong games, Funky also appears as an unlockable heavyweight character in Mario Kart Wii. He is widely considered to be the best character in the game, due to his speed bonus statistic.^{[citation needed]} His next appearance in a Mario game was in Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii, where he was a playable character along with the other Donkey Kong characters. Funky uses his surfboard as a bat in the game. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he runs a shop in the game's story mode and can be unlocked as a spirit. Additionally, he appears as a playable character in Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a part of the game's Booster Course Pass.

Swanky Kong

Swanky Kong^[l] is a gorilla and an entrepreneur. He first appears as the game show hosts a TV show called "Swanky's Bonus Bonanza" in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest in which Diddy and Dixie must answer questions about the game correctly to win extra lives. The questions range from easy ones such as enemies and worlds featured in the game to more difficult ones such as objects in the background of levels.

After Crocodile Isle is destroyed in Donkey Kong Country 2, Swanky runs "Swanky's Sideshow" in the Northern Kremisphere of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. Swanky gives Bear Coins and Banana Bunches as rewards for winning. In Donkey Kong Country 2, he wears a blue oversized jacket and has an afro hair style. In Donkey Kong Country 3, he wears a white long-sleeved shirt, a gold vest, a bowler hat, black pants, black and white shoes, and has a diamond-topped cane.

In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2, Swanky's role remains the same except that he now has Candy as his assistant. Upon completing all of his quizzes, Swanky will reward the player with a photo of himself to add to the scrapbook. In the GBA version of Donkey Kong Country 3 (his last appearance), Swanky sports his Donkey Kong Country 2 look and now runs "Swanky's Dash", a virtual reality game where stars are collected as Dixie (as Kiddy is too young to play). If enough stars are collected, Swanky will give the player Bear Coins, Banana Bunches, and Extra Life Balloons. Swanky Kong, like Candy Kong, has never been a playable character. Also, he has not made any physical appearances in games not developed by Rare, the other two being Kiddy Kong and Chunky Kong. His relationship to the Kong Family is unknown.

He also makes a brief cameo appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where he is caught in a go-kart crash caused by a banana peel.

Orangutans

Manky Kong

In Donkey Kong Country, enemy orangutans known as Manky Kong appear. They attack the protagonists by throwing barrels. The game's manual describes the Manky Kongs as "Kong reject orangutans".^[80]

Lanky Kongedit

Lanky Kong^[m] is a buffoonish orangutan who is a distant cousin to the Kong family. Lanky's first appearance was in Donkey Kong 64 as one of the game's five playable Kongs. He is freed by Donkey Kong in the 'Angry Aztec' level in the Llama's Temple. His weapon is the 'Grape Shooter', his instrument is the 'Trombone Tremor', and the potion enables him to perform 'OrangStand', where he walks on his hands to climb steep slopes, 'Baboon Balloon', which allows him to inflate himself to reach higher areas, and 'OrangSprint', which allows him to run fast on his hands. In the level 'Gloomy Galleon', he can transform into Enguarde the Swordfish when he enters the Enguarde Crate. Lanky Kong is known for his lack of style and grace, as well as his funny face.^[81]

Lanky appears in his spin-off debut Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (2007) as one of the unlockable characters, which marks his last physical appearance. He was voiced by Kentaro Tone.^[82]

The likeness of Lanky Kong appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, as well as a collectible Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Fruit Kingdom Kingsedit

The Fruit Kingdom Kings are a group of Kongs from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat who rule their respective territories in the Fruit Kingdoms and have invaded Donkey Kong's home turf.^[83] DK must battle these Kongs by using conventional fighting methods, like punching and kicking.

Ghastly Kingedit

Ghastly King, the head of the group, is a giant, shadowy Kong-like figure who serves as the ruler of the Fruit Kingdoms. It is implied that he put a spell on the other Evil Kings in order to defeat DK. After Ghastly King is defeated, DK becomes the new ruler of the Fruit Kingdoms and Dread Kong, Karate Kong, Ninja Kong, and Sumo Kong accept his leadership and congratulate him.

Dread Kongedit

Dread Kong is the ruler of the Banana Kingdom who sports dreadlocks and uses punch attacks. He is the weakest of the four Kongs controlled by Ghastly King.

After appearing in Jungle Beat, Dread Kong reappears in Donkey Kong Jungle Fever and Donkey Kong Banana Kingdom, the two medal games based on Jungle Beat.

Karate Kongedit

Karate Kong is the ruler of the Pineapple Kingdom who is an expert at karate.

After appearing in Jungle Beat, Karate Kong reappears in Jungle Fever and Banana Kingdom. He also appears as a Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His Spirit is represented by Ryu from the Street Fighter series.^[84]

Ninja Kongedit

Ninja Kong is the ruler of the Durian Kingdom who is a practitioner of ninjitsu.

After appearing in Jungle Beat, Ninja Kong reappears in Jungle Fever and Banana Kingdom. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ninja Kong appears as a Spirit that is embodied by Donkey Kong.^[85]

Sumo Kongedit

Sumo Kong is the ruler of the Star Fruit Kingdom who is an expert sumo wrestler. He is the largest and strongest of the four Kongs controlled by Ghastly King.

After appearing in Jungle Beat, Sumo Kong reappears in Jungle Fever and Banana Kingdom.

Humansedit

Marioedit

Mario,^[n] originally known as Jumpman,^[o] appeared as the player character in Donkey Kong. He was the antagonist in Donkey Kong Jr., and further appeared as playable in Donkey Kong Hockey.

He returns as a platforming protagonist in Mario vs. Donkey Kong and is ostensibly the one controlling the Mini-Mario toys in its sequels.

Paulineedit

Pauline,^[p] originally known as Lady^[q] was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and other developers for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong.^[86] She also appeared in the 1994 Game Boy game of the same name^[87] as well as Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis and its sequels. Pauline is the earliest example of a female with a speaking role in a video game, and is cited as a famous example of a damsel in distress in fiction.^[88][89][90] In 2017, Super Mario Odyssey marked her debut in the Super Mario series, serving as the mayor of New Donk City. Since then, she has appeared in several other Mario titles.

Stanleyedit

Stanley,^[r] sometimes called Stanley the Bugman, is an exterminator and the protagonist of Donkey Kong 3. Stanley has only made one other prominent appearance as the protagonist of the Game & Watch game Greenhouse, in which he sprays worms attacking his plants. Greenhouse was re-released in Game & Watch Gallery 3, but the modern version stars Yoshi instead. Stanley also appears in Donkey Kong 3 microgames in both WarioWare: Twisted! and WarioWare: Touched! and a trophy of him can be obtained in the game Super Smash Bros. Melee. He also appeared in the Saturday Supercade cartoon.

Kremlingsedit

Kremlings^[s] are an advanced crocodilian species native to Crocodile Isle. Examples of Kremlings include Kritter, which demonstrate a variety of behaviours and ability to use tools,^[91] Klaptrap, which is small and quadrupedal,^[92] and Krockhead, which is more primitive and always submerged in swamps or lava.^[93] They come in many sizes, varieties, and colors. The Kremlings live on Crocodile Isle, and as typical of crocodiles, favour swamps.^[94][95] All of their names begin with the letter K, with the exception of Skidda and Bazuka from Donkey Kong Country 3.

Historically, the Kremling population lived in the Lost World.^[96] The relationship with piracy is traditional since of the Kremling Kuthroats time.^{[97][98][99][100]} Long ago, the Kremlings fought on Kremean War against Brigadier Bazooka and his squadron.^[101][102] The Kremling Krew ascension turned the Kremlings into tough soldiers where they became technologically adept.^{[103][104][105]}

The Kremling Krew is a powerful organization of evil Kremlings, led by King K. Rool, that antagonize the Kongs. This group is composed of commanders (Klump, Kasplat and Kalypso), strong bodyguards (Krusha, Kudgel and Klubba) and troops (Kritters and Klaptraps).^{[106][107][108][109][110][111][112]} Many different animal species (birds, mammals, insects, fish, other reptiles, etc.) reinforce K. Rool and his army.^[113] When Crocodile Isle is destroyed, the organization comes into crisis, with Kremling remnants building several bases in the Northern Kremisphere until they are regrouped by KAOS (which is K. Rool acting in the shadows).^{[114][115][116][117]}

All the Kremlings are part of the Kremling Krew that antagonizes the Kongs with exception of K. Lumsy, who opens up levels for the Kongs in Donkey Kong 64.

The Kremlings were originally conceived for a game called Jonny Blastoff and the Kremling Armada, an unreleased point & click adventure game that predated Donkey Kong Country.^[118]

King K. Rooledit

King K. Rool^[t] is a fictional anthropomorphic crocodile who is the main antagonist of the franchise, the archnemesis of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, and the leader of the Kremlings. First appearing in Donkey Kong Country, he has been described as being "to Donkey Kong what Bowser is to Mario".^[119] He is depicted as unstable, adopting different personae and titles and utilizing a variety of weapons to his advantage. K. Rool resembles an overweight crocodile with an infected, bulging eye. The name "K. Rool" is a play on the word "cruel", a reference to his malevolent nature.

In the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, its Game Boy Advance ports and Donkey Kong 64, K. Rool's voice was provided by former Rare developer Chris Sutherland.^{[120][121][122]} In later games, K. Rool was voiced by Japanese voice actor Toshihide Tsuchiya, who also provides the voice of Funky Kong.^[123] The character was ranked number 85 on New York Magazine's list of "100 Hardest Video Game Bosses" for his appearance in Donkey Kong 64.^[124] Entertainment news website Comic Book Resources (CBR) ranked him number 19 on its list of "The 25 Most Powerful Nintendo Villains", calling him "one of the few villains that does something new every game we see him in".^[125]

Characteristicsedit

In his debut appearance, King K. Rool is depicted as a large obese crocodile with a red cape, golden wristbands, a golden belly plate, large crown and a large bloodshot eye. He was designed by Steve Mayles, an artist who worked at Rare and brother of Donkey Kong Country designer Gregg Mayles. In later appearances, K. Rool's attire changes depending on which persona he is masquerading as. His aliases include Kaptain K. Rool, Baron K. Roolenstein and King "Krusha" K. Rool. K. Rool has also been seen piloting a variety of vessels, including Gangplank Galleon, a large pirate ship in Donkey Kong Country, the Flying Krock, a steampunk inspired flying machine while in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and the Knautilus, a fish-shaped submarine that appeared in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!.

From DK: King of Swing onward, K. Rool was redesigned with a more cartoony appearance with brighter green skin, a smaller and less bloodshot eye, no tail, a tan-colored underbelly and a smaller crown. This incarnation of K. Rool also makes an appearance in Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii, wearing Maya king attire and wielding a green sceptre.^[126] His overall design in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is based on this appearance, but with elements taken from his previous design, such as his tail, golden belly plate and dark green skin.

K. Rool is described as being "demented" and "unbalanced" in his Super Smash Bros. Melee trophy description, citing his desire to blow up DK Isles in Donkey Kong 64.^[127] In a former Rareware.com scribes column, Leigh Loveday stated that K. Rool's motivation for stealing the banana hoard is that he wants Donkey Kong to starve to death so that he can occupy his "cosy treehouse pad" or perhaps that he simply likes bananas.^[128] The latter explanation is supported by the manual of the first game^[129] and a picture of K. Rool reading a Banana Cookbook book by Steven Mayles,^[130] but contradicted in DK: Jungle Climber, as K. Rool states that he hates bananas.^[131] When asked what the K in "K. Rool" stands for, Mayles said: "It was just a way of making him seem more important, that he'd added it to inflate his ego", joking that "it could have been something tonal like 'Kremling' or something deliberately out of character, like Keith".^[132]

Main appearancesedit

K. Rool appears in Donkey Kong Country as the final boss. Here he steals the Kongs' banana hoard to eat and must be fought on his pirate ship, Gangplank Galleon.^[133][134] This ship later appears as the introduction stage of Donkey Kong Country 2, and again as a sunken ship in Donkey Kong 64. During this battle, K. Rool attempts to punish the Kongs by running into them, jumping on them from above, tossing his crown, and summoning a downpour of cannonballs, presumably from the ship's mast. Halfway through the battle, K. Rool feigns defeat, causing the game's "Kredits" to roll. This is an attempt to deceive the player, as he gets back up soon after and must be jumped on a few more times before the battle truly ends.^[135]

In Donkey Kong Country 2, K. Rool is given the "Kaptain" moniker and kidnaps Donkey Kong.^[136] He wears a pirate costume resembling that of real pirates during the Elizabethan era, complete with a large, black bicorne hat, frock coat, and a blunderbuss as his weapon of choice. This disguise complements the pirate motif of Donkey Kong Country 2. The Kongs confront Kaptain K. Rool aboard the Flying Krock, a crocodile-shaped aircraft that hovers above Crocodile Isle. During this battle, they must avoid an onslaught of cannonballs and toxic gases that can either reverse the player's controls, slow them down, or briefly stun them, whilst a tied up Donkey Kong struggles in the background. To damage K. Rool, the player must jam his blunderbuss with cannonballs while he uses the firearm's vacuum function. Eventually K. Rool collapses, DK finally wriggles free from his bonds and sends K. Rool flying with a punch.^[137]

Kaptain K. Rool is fought a second time in Krocodile Kore, a volcano located in the Lost World of Crocodile Isle.^[138] To gain access to this level, players must collect every bonus token and present them to Klubba, a muscular Kremling who guards the Lost World, which is heavily implied to be the Kremlings' place of origin.^[139] After K. Rool is defeated once more, a cutscene takes place showing Crocodile Isle exploding against a sunset, with the Kong family observing K. Rool escape on a sailboat from a nearby cliff.^[140]

Following the events of Donkey Kong Country 2, K. Rool goes into hiding due to the destruction of Crocodile Isle. This time he kidnaps both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, imprisons the Queen Banana Bird, and heads to the Northern Kremisphere. Here he resides in Kastle Kaos, and takes on the role of a helipack-wearing mad scientist, aptly named Baron K. Roolenstein. He tricks the heroes Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong into believing that he has been defeated and KAOS—a Frankenstein-esque robot—is responsible for kidnapping the other Kongs.^[141] Once they reach the castle, they are shocked to learn that K. Rool has been the true mastermind behind the plot. He states that, "I'd have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids", a reference to Scooby-Doo.^[142]

Baron K. Roolenstein is battled twice; first in Kastle Kaos, and again in the Knautilus, a submarine that is located in this game's hidden world, Krematoa.^[143] The name Krematoa is likely derived from the volcanic island Krakatoa. During both boss fights, K. Rool utilizes electricity and technology to torment the Kongs. After being defeated for a second time, K. Rool is chased around the North Kremisphere by the vengeful Queen Banana Bird.^[144]

Rather than just kidnap the other Kongs and steal bananas, King K. Rool decides to take a more barbaric approach by planning to blow up Kong Isle with his "Blast-o-matic" laser.^[145] K. Rool wears his traditional King attire for the majority of the game, but in the final battle against the Kongs, he wears a boxing outfit under the ring name of King "Krusha" K. Rool and does battle with them in front of his Kremling subordinates. This final boss fight has five rounds due to there being five playable characters. Much like in his original appearance, K. Rool would get back up after being knocked out. After being a long battle and a brief cutscene, Funky Kong delivers the final blow to the Kremling King with a mechanical boot.^[146]

Other appearancesedit

In addition to his primary roles in Rare's Donkey Kong Country games, King K. Rool appears in Donkey Kong Land games. He also appears in several Donkey Kong games following Microsoft's acquisition of Rare in 2002,^[147] including Donkey Konga, DK: King of Swing, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, and DK: Jungle Climber. K. Rool's first playable appearance outside of the Donkey Kong series was in Mario Super Sluggers. He is the strongest right-handed batter in the game, but has poor stamina and fielding. He shares good chemistry with Kritter and King Boo, and bad chemistry with the Kongs and Bowser.^[148]

K. Rool was planned to appear in Diddy Kong Pilot for the Game Boy Advance, which was later reworked into Banjo-Pilot due to Rare no longer having the authorization to use the Donkey Kong license. Leaked beta footage shows K. Rool wearing an aviator outfit.^[149]

In the Super Mario Odyssey level New Donk City, there are several street name signs that reference Donkey Kong characters, including K. Rool.^[150] Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Diddy_Kong
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