More than 30 years ago, a young, upcoming designer by the name of Shigeru Miyamoto was employed by Nintendo to ‘Americanize’ a space shooter that had received poor feedback from test audiences. Rather than redesign the game, he used the hardware to create what has become one of the most iconic and beloved video game characters (and game series) in the industry. You can forget your Master Chief or Felix whateverhisnameis (and countless others for that matter) and go bananas for a true legend.
Donkey Kong
In 1980, an arcade game was released which involved a giant ape, a princess and a portly Italian plumber with a ‘stache. The idea was to avoid barrels being lobbed by said ape to rescue said princess. It was as simple as that. The game, both in the arcades and as various Game and Watch incarnations became massively successful, but when it came to the home console market, Mario was flying the flag with another adversary to save his ever kidnap prone princess from. When the ape and the plumber went their separate ways between 1984 and 1994 (although regularly meeting up again, but I will get to that) the ape needed a bit of a reinvention to cater for the advancement in technology and consumers desire for more than arcade goodness.
1990-1994. Sega’s Mega Drive (or Genesis if you are in North America) had a head start on the Super Nintendo but interest was slow until a game was released involving a speedy blue hedgehog and suddenly, the Mega Drive went from struggling in unchartered territory, to counter anticipation for the SNES, to genuine parent botherer.
1994: Return of the Kong
The Super Nintendo has had some of the greatest games ever made (sorry Sony and Microsoft fan boys). The system was launched with one of the most beloved games of the era (if not of all time) Super Mario World. But 2 years on once the Mega Drive had gained a bit of momentum and a more ‘mature’ image. But after the potential of Pilotwings and Star Fox, it was time to see what Nintendo’s 16-bit beast could really do.
A small British based company called Rare produced the perfect mixture, developing a series of loveable characters from a much loved game of yesteryear, with (at the time) revolutionary pre-rendered and detailed character models, parallax-scrolling backgrounds, lighting and weather effects together with a great (though not quite perfect) platform engine. The result was Donkey Kong Country. Not only was DKC a system seller, it put the character right back in the frame to make subsequent sequels and spin-offs. 2 more games were made for the SNES before 1996 and the N64 came to take over.
1997-2004: Round Two
With the release of the N64 (and Super Mario 64), Kong had a sense of deja-vu on his mind. As with the SNES, DKC had been technically a superior game to Super Mario World, but never quite matched the perfect balance, and it was the same when Donkey Kong 64 was released. An absolute behemoth of a platform game, it REQUIRED the 4MBexpansion pack to show off the beautiful, expansive 3D worlds and no less than 5 playable characters. Add weapons and musical instruments to the mix and it was no weekend rental job. Not only was Mario 64 a landmark game, but Rare had almost made the task impossible for themselves by making Banjo-Kazooie a year earlier. As great a game as DK64 is, it felt like more of the same.
2003: Konga Time
I spent a lot of time at University playing a rhythm action game that went by the name of Donkey Konga. It involved a set of plastic bongos, catchy party songs to try and beat in time to, and usually a lot of beer and sore hands in the morning! I will leave it there, because if you haven’t played this (or decent rhythm games – Guitar Hero and Rock Band do NOT count) then you probably won’t understand. It was great fun though!
There was also a (largely overlooked) platform game ‘Donkey Kong’s Jungle Beat’, which used the bongos to control Kong through a small number of levels, but that really isn’t the main aim. It’s all about smashing the hell out of the bongos to get ‘beats’ or pummel the great looking bosses to progress.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong series were great little platform/puzzle games, similar to Lemmings, and involving getting all the little Marios to a goal, avoiding various enemies and traps. The level designer in the second game also was a very successful time killer.
Towards the end of its life, the Wii was granted an old school, proper 2D Donkey Kong game. Together with Metroid Other M, Retro Studios made Nintendo fans very happy indeed by making a (sometimes mentally) difficult, amazing looking nod to the good old days. With New Super Mario Bros. Wii already released, fears were ‘Here we go- round three’… But I think DK might have had this one.
The Wii U was a similarly predictable story. While Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze carried on from where DKC returns left off, Super Mario 3D World took the framework of the immensely popular (and some might say the consoles savior) 3D Land and added a more refined version of the co-op/competitive multiplayer introduced in NSMB.
If I have one criticism of Super Mario 64 (and Donkey Kong 64), it’s that they were arguably too ahead of their time. I’ve always thought that the logical progression from super Mario World on the SNES was the 3D Land/World type formula, and it hurt DK64, turning into a visually gorgeous and technically impressive but a grinding collect-a-thon of a game.
The Galaxy games were absolute masterclasses in variation and imagination, from level size, themes and characters to visuals and mechanics. As stunning as DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze were, it seems like Kong needs an energy boost.
The Future
Mario Kart 8 has proved that Nintendo games can look absolutely stunning in HD, with comparatively less power than the competition – using lush forests, glistening ice worlds and sun drenched beaches in a racing game that would be a perfect fit for these play forming icons.
With the recent reveal of the Switch (and frenzy-creating snippets of footage), Nintendo will once again be turning to its heritage and mascots to direct and steady the ship while third parties consider their options. The hybrid nature and controllers of the console shows some exciting potential – both in terms of social functionality as well as level design. The tiny fragment of Mario footage implies the plumber is entering a blend of 3D World and the GameCube hit Super Mario Sunshine, which will surely be embraced fully by older fans. After experimenting with the ‘minis’ and ‘Konga/Jungle Beat’ games, what Retro and Nintendo feel is best for Donkey Kong, as well as a number of Nintendo mascots, remains to be seen. Nintendo fans will buy the Switch regardless, but whether they (myself included) will ever get the true sequels to games like F Zero, Metroid, or even another 3D DKC game is only, yet dubiously, a matter of time.