A 1981 arcade platformer by Nintendo in which the player climbs construction beams to rescue a kidnapped woman from a giant ape.
Origin
Designer Shigeru Miyamoto created Donkey Kong to repurpose unsold Radar Scope arcade cabinets. The game introduced “Jumpman” — soon renamed Mario — as the protagonist, alongside the title’s gorilla antagonist.
Gameplay
Players ascend four girder-and-ladder stages while avoiding barrels and fireballs. The need to jump over obstacles helped popularize the platformer template that would dominate the 1980s.
Legacy
Donkey Kong became Nintendo’s first major hit in North America, launching the careers of Miyamoto and Mario. The Donkey Kong franchise has since produced dozens of sequels and spin-offs across Nintendo platforms.
Find more games by letter
Donkey Kong starts with D and ends with G. Browse other games along the same letter.
Games that contain a letter from "Donkey Kong":