Portal: Donkey Kong

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Donkey Kong
Developer	Nintendo
Games	List of all games
Debut	Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong is Nintendo's oldest franchise. Though the main Donkey Kong games are platformers, Donkey Kong has branched off into other types of games, such as kart racing and rhythm games.

History

The Donkey Kong franchise was started by Shigeru Miyamoto. Nintendo needed a game that could use unsold Radarscope cabinets and put Miyamoto in charge of the project. The game he came up with was Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong was Nintendo's first hit in America. It was followed by Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong 3.

The Nintendo Entertainment System ports and modifications of the arcade games. It wasn't until Nintendo let Rare make a Donkey Kong game that a true sequel was produced. Donkey Kong Country was an excellent platformer, but the prerendered 3D graphics were what really amazed people. There were two direct sequels. The Donkey Kong Country games introduced many new characters, including Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Cranky Kong, Rambo the Rhino, and Expresso the Ostrich. The last of the main Donkey Kong games developed by Rare was Donkey Kong 64, the spiritual successor to the Donkey Kong Country games.

In 2003, four years after Donkey Kong 64 came the next original Donkey Kong game. Donkey Konga was a rhythm game developed by Namco. It was successful enough to merit three direct sequels. The Bongo controller was also used for the platformer Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat.

In 2004, Donkey Kong returned to it's earlier platforming roots with Mario vs. Donkey Kong. The game played very much like the enhanced Gameboy port of Donkey Kong. It's sequel, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis was more puzzle oriented. It's often compared to Lemmings.

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See Also

• Characters in Donkey Kong series
• Games in Donkey Kong series