Donkey Kong Jr. (character)

Donkey Kong Jr.
Series	Donkey Kong series
First Appearance	Donkey Kong Jr.
Year Created	1982
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto

Donkey Kong Jr. is the son of Donkey Kong that first appeared in the arcade game with the same name. He had come to rescue his father following the events of the first arcade game. Donkey Kong Jr. was a regular character in the Mario series for a while but seems to have been replaced with Diddy Kong lately. He never appeared in the Donkey Kong Country series, instead it is hinted that he is the father of the modern day Donkey Kong and that the original DK from the arcade games is Cranky Kong.

Appearances

Donkey Kong Series

Donkey Kong Jr. first appeared in the arcade game Donkey Kong Jr. In the game, Mario has caged Donkey Kong, presumably for the events in Donkey Kong and Jr. must grab the key and free his father. The game was also remade for the Game & Watch as well as the NES. There was even an alternative version for the Game & Watch known as Donkey Kong II with the same story. Also released was a game called Donkey Kong Jr. Math. It was released for the NES and involved the ape solving math problems. A pink female Jr. appeared in the multiplayer mode.

Donkey Kong Jr. next appeared in Donkey Kong '94, a remake of the original Donkey Kong. In several levels, usually boss battles with Donkey Kong, Jr. will be part of the level as an obstacle. In some levels he pulls levers to block Mario's progress, in others he throws poison mushrooms at Mario, shrinking him. In the final world, the Tower, Mario captures Jr. in a battle similar to how Jr. rescued his father in Donkey Kong Jr.

Mario Series

Jr. would make his way into the Mario series in Super Mario Kart, ten years after the release of his first game and two years before the release of Donkey Kong '94. He was a heavyweight racer with high top speed and his weapon of choice is the banana.

Next he would appear in Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy. Here he was the biggest character due to the exclusion of Bowser. He wouldn't make any more playable appearances until Mario Tennis which also became his last playable appearance.

Donkey Kong Jr. has also made several cameo appearances in the Mario Series. In the Super Mario All-Stars remake of Super Mario Bros. 3, the King of Big Island has been transformed into Donkey Kong Jr., as opposed to the dinosaur in the original. He can also be seen on a painting in Mario's Time Machine and in Mario Kart: Double Dash‼, multiple DK Jr.s can be seen in the audience in Waluigi Stadium. He has also made appearances in all four Game & Watch Gallery games.

Other appearances

• Punch-Out!!: Donkey Kong Jr. can be seen in the crowd.
• Super Punch-Out!!: Just like in the first game, Jr. can be seen in the crowd.
• Smash Ping Pong: Donkey Kong Jr. appears in the crowd.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee: A Donkey Kong Jr. trophy is unlocked by beating Classic Mode with everyone.
• WarioWare: Twisted!: There is a microgame based on Donkey Kong Jr.
• Tetris DS: Donkey Kong Jr. sometimes appears on the title screen during the Donkey Kong animation, where he climbs down the side of the screen.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Donkey Kong Jr. appears as two stickers: One, called Jr., shows art from Donkey Kong Jr. depicting him with a key. This sticker adds 21 points to the Launch Resistance stat. The other sticker shows his Mario Tennis art and is called Donkey Kong Jr. This adds 14 to the arm stat and can only be equipped to Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.

Trophy Information

“Donkey Kong Jr. came to the rescue when Mario imprisoned his father. DK Jr.'s challenge was to collect the keys to Donkey Kong's cage, all the while dropping fruit on his enemies from high above. He was able to climb faster by using two ivy vines at once. This ape is also quite skilled as kart racing, tennis, and mathematics.”

―Donkey Kong Jr.'s trophy description