Donkey Kong
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Donkey-Kong is a series of video games that features the adventures of a large ape called Donkey Kong, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. It mainly comprises two different game series, plus spinoff titles of various genres.
The games of the first series are mostly single-screen platform/action puzzle types, featuring Donkey Kong as the antagonist against Mario in an industrial construction setting. The original Donkey Kong game was the first appearance of Mario, Nintendo's flagship character, pre-dating the well-known Super Mario Bros. by four years.
The second, the Donkey Kong Country / Land series, feature Donkey Kong and his clan as protagonists in their native jungle setting versus a variety of anthropomorphic enemies. These are side-scrolling platform games. (The Donkey Kong character of this series is the grandchild of the title character from the original Donkey Kong game.)
Titles outside these two series have included rhythm games (Donkey Konga), racing games (Diddy Kong Racing), and edutainment (Donkey Kong Jr. Math).
A hallmark of the Donkey Kong series is barrels, which the Kongs use as weapons, vehicles, furniture and lodging. Characters from the Donkey Kong series have appeared in Nintendo's crossover titles such as the Smash Bros. and Mario Kart series. The Donkey Kong character is highly recognizable and very popular; the franchise has sold over 40 million units worldwide.
Awards
The success of the Donkey Kong series has resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series with 7 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. The records include: "First Use of Visual Storytelling in a Video Game" for the rudimentary cut scenes featured in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, "Most Collectible Items in a Platform Game" for Donkey Kong 64, and "Most Successful Video Game Documentary" for the 2007 film, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.
See also
