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This is the first game in the Donkey Kong series. For other games in the series see the Donkey Kong category.

Box artwork for Donkey Kong.
Box artwork for Donkey Kong.
Donkey Kong
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D1, Coleco
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Year released1981
System(s)Arcade, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, ColecoVision, Commodore 64/128, Commodore VIC-20, e-Reader, Game Boy Advance, Intellivision, MSX, NES, Family Computer Disk System, TI-99/4A, Amstrad CPC, DOS, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Nintendo Switch
Followed byDonkey Kong Jr.
SeriesDonkey Kong,
Arcade Archives
Japanese titleドンキーコング
Genre(s)Action
Players1-2
ModesSingle player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)CERO All agesESRB EveryonePEGI Ages 3+OFLC General
Arcade Archives Donkey Kong
Developer(s)Nintendo
Publisher(s)Hamster Corporation
Year released2018
System(s)Nintendo Switch
LinksDonkey Kong at Switcher.gg
Donkey Kong at PCGamingWikiDonkey Kong ChannelSearchSearch
For the 1994 remake for the Game Boy, see Donkey Kong (Game Boy).
Donkey Kong marquee

Donkey Kong first arrived in the arcades in 1981 as the game that Shigeru Miyamoto designed to replace the ill-fated arcade game Radar Scope. It featured a mustachioed man in brightly colored overalls who would go on to achieve monumental fame and bring Nintendo a lot of fortune. Originally he was simply called Jumpman and was labeled a carpenter, he was eventually named Mario and identified as a plumber.

When Donkey Kong became popular, Atari sought to buy the home rights to the game. But at that time, Coleco bid for the rights as well when trying to snag a killer launch title for their soon to be released ColecoVision. Coleco got the home cartridge rights while Atari ended up with the computer diskette rights. This arrangement worked out well until it backfired at the 1983 CES show, where Coleco presented their enhanced version of Donkey Kong for the Coleco ADAM computer. Atari, upset over the apparent breach of contract, ordered Nintendo to make Coleco shut down the display.

When the Famicom launched in 1983, Nintendo provided their three biggest arcade hits as launch titles. Donkey Kong was an obvious choice. The Famicom conversion is a very close port of the original game with only minimally altered graphics, but sadly featuring the omission of the conveyor belt stage. Despite the missing stage, the remaining three stages make it in tact, and provide all of the same challenges found the arcade version.

Story[edit]

Donkey Kong lays eyes on Mario's girlfriend Pauline and is instantly smitten, driving Donkey Kong to capture Pauline in his clutches and climb to the top of the construction site where Mario works. Mario is determined to get Pauline back, but Donkey Kong hurls barrels and employs fire to hinder the carpenter's efforts. Guide Mario through the gauntlet and up to the top before time and Pauline's patience runs out!

Table of Contents

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