Stuck In 2D: Donkey Kong

Stuck In 2D: Donkey Kong

Over the years many iconic video game franchises have tried and failed miserably to enter the 3rd Dimension. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re taking a look at the Donkey Kong Franchise’s attempts to break from its 8-bit past.

One of the first video game baddies, and arguably one of the most popular, Donkey Kong is an addictive revolutionary platformer that ruled the arcades when it was released. Not only that, but it put Nintendo and its plumber on the map.

First released in 1981, the game appeared on several consoles and told the tale of an Ape that kidnapped Paulina, the girlfriend of Jumpman, who was later renamed Mario. It was revolutionary for being the first game with a defined narrative, which provided the damsel-in distress template for countless games to come.

As a result of its popularity, there were several arcade follow-ups before Donkey Kong took on the role of protagonist and Nintendo Mascot in 1994. This was due to the development of “Donkey Kong Country” by developer Rare.

In addition to using revolutionary pre-rendered 3D graphics, the character became much more developed. He was now given a full-fledged quest to recover his stolen Banana hoard from the clutches of his nemesis the evil King K. Rool, with the help of his family.

After rocking out two more sequels in the Country for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Kong re-emerged in a full-fledged adventure in 1999 for the Nintendo 64 system.

Again helmed by Rare, this 3D title was met with praise, and similarly wowed gamers, all while treating them to a full-fledged opening rap song. While not perfect, this game was seen as a great first sep into the third dimension.

Sadly, it instead marked the beginning of a downward trend for the series. And in the following years Donkey Kong was forced to make an increasing number of cameos in Nintendo’s never-ending Mario Party series and fight for his life in several Super Smash Bros. titles.

At the same time the game was entrusted to Namco when Rare was purchased by Microsoft. This resulted in the emergence of the “Donkey Konga” series in 2003, which amounted to three rhythmic beat games that made exclusive use of the Bongo controller peripherals.

And in 2004 Nintendo themselves released “Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat”, a bongo controlled 3D-hybrid platformer. While the game was praised for its unique control experience, it had taken the series back to a side-scrolling layout, despite calls for another true 3D adventure.

Following this, Nintendo handed the franchise over to Paon in 2005 to create a series of mediocre portable titles (DK: King of Swing, DK: King of Swing) before they crafted an unpolished racing game on for the series on the Wii. Needless to say “Donkey Kong Barrel Blast” failed to impress and dragged the series to a low it had never seen before.

Once the king of the arcades and consoles, the Donkey Kong franchise has seen its crown tarnished over the years by half-hearted 3D video game attempts. This is despite a clear demand for another high quality and full 3D adventure game, which would be necessary to restore the Gorilla’s former reputation.