Perchance, do you remember how I teased an appearance of Diddy Kong in my last article? Well, that installment of my recurring column can now be found over yonder, and this article was born out of it. And my fellow Kong authorities NantenJex, TheAnvil, and PushDustIn were here to proof this piece and offer commentary.

Given the circumstances behind Diddy Kong’s genesis, there’s an intrinsic link between him and Donkey Kong Jr. Personally, I’m glad Rare stood by and kept their creation. While I like Jr., and while he’s unquestionably “a very important character,” Diddy’s presence is a boon for Nintendo and the Donkey Kong brand.

One of the finest bromances in this industry. (Image: Nintendo)

Of course, Jr. as we knew him consequently faded from the spotlight, an occasional nod in titles like Super Mario Maker notwithstanding. But, really, has Donkey Kong Jr. truly left the limelight?

A new Donkey Kong for Country?

Let’s take a look at Donkey Kong Country’s manual. Its Donkey Kong was billed as a “totally new character,” obviously indicating he’s a new lead to mark Country’s new era. However, his relation to Jr. isn’t straightforwardly addressed in the manual nor in-game. Therefore, could he then be “totally new” in a similar way to how Mega Mewtwo Y was initially promoted as “a newly discovered Pokémon in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y”?

Let’s recall Country’s plot synopsis and Diddy’s section, the latter of which discusses his respect for Donkey Kong. These two points convey a clear message: Donkey Kong, the one who’s playable in Country, has already garnered an impressive reputation for himself. He’s a well-established video game hero, the kind the impressionable Diddy aspired to become.

What act of valor earned him this stature? If Country’s Donkey Kong is indeed the third in his lineage, then it’d have to be an off-camera event, which technically works as an explanation, but certainly isn’t a satisfying one. Instead, one would assume he must’ve already headlined a video game. So, allow me to raise a suggestion: he rescued his imprisoned parental figure during the events of Donkey Kong Jr.

It was odd (but interesting) to see Mario cast as the villain. Incidentally, Jr. was arguably the most heroic character in the Donkey Kong arcade series. (Image: Nintendo)

Sure, you can write his coming of age off as some vague thing that only happened in the series’ lore, but wouldn’t it be more poignant if his triumph was detailed in the second core Donkey Kong game? The one where he bested Mario, no less?

Another factor to consider is the relative ages for Donkey Kong Jr. and Sr. In the arcade era, they were respectively presented as a child and an adult. In Country, Sr. adapted the Cranky identity as he had grown into retirement. Country’s Donkey Kong, on the other hand, is presented as an adult. If Country’s Donkey Kong is indeed the same Jr. from the arcade games, then both Donkeys concurrently aged in harmony. If Jr. instead sits in a generation between Cranky and Country’s hero, this synchronization in age progression is lost.

You’re Grand, Son!

So, how could Country’s Donkey Kong be the original Jr. if he’s explicitly stated to be Cranky’s grandson, you ask? Well, Rare’s initial proposal was for Country’s Donkey Kong to be Donkey Kong Sr. of the arcade titles, with Jr. in tow. Country’s original concept also included Grandpa Kong who, despite seeming to have a very different temperament than the Cranky we’re acquainted with, evolved into the embittered ape. 

In the #DKCrevealed Golden Bananas concept story there's early Cranky as Grandpa and a Diddy / DK Junior hybrid. pic.twitter.com/5tSnP28aPW

— Gregg Mayles (@Ghoulyboy) September 3, 2015

After the story was reworked to incorporate a generational shift, the Country cast we love was born. For years, I had wondered if there was confusion or trepidation within Rare over addressing Jr.’s place therein following Nintendo’s disapproval of his redesign. After this article’s original publication, we learned that they did downplay Cranky’s status as Donkey Kong Sr. in response to that. If Rare’s Donkey Kong really was Cranky’s grandson, that’d track with how the old guy glorifies his heyday and his comments suggesting the greenhorn wouldn’t have cut it back then (though Cranky’s not a reliable narrator; he did say he’d never get kidnapped, which is blatantly untrue). But it clashes with Donkey Kong’s preexisting reputation…

Regardless, Cranky remained a grandpa, always eager to flaunt his age. But Rare’s Leigh Loveday later confirmed “their” Donkey Kong’s correlation with Jr. through his Scribes column:

“As far as I know, ‘our’ DK is the son of Cranky, which does indeed make him the original DK Jr. all grown up: so if you see Cranky referred to as DK’s granddad anywhere, just cover your eyes and hum loudly until it goes away.”

Given how Loveday was a key writer behind Rare’s Donkey Kong titles, his commentary seemed conclusive: Jr. is the incumbent Donkey Kong, and Cranky is his dad. Cranky’s line referring to Donkey as his grandson was, as Destructoid put it, “a mistake.” Furthermore, Loveday’s statement was made prior to the publication of Donkey Kong 64, wherein the two were wholly embraced as father and son. I simultaneously played through Donkey Kong Jr. and 64 as a kid (the former via an arcade I frequented) and it was a cool insight how both titles shared their protagonist during different phases of his life.

When Cranky’s not mocking Jr. or giving him cane abuse, the two are actually quite close. (Image: Nintendo)

The dynamic between Donkey Kongs Sr. and Jr. was a tenet in the games where the two co-starred and I liked how Rare progressed their relationship. Moreover, there was a discernible division in how their personalities were portrayed in the arcade series, which translated into their Country revamps; Sr.’s improper social conduct translated into Cranky’s grouchy guise, whereas Jr. upheld his heroic virtues into adulthood (sporadic mood swings in Jungle Beat and the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series aside).

Likewise, while the current Donkey Kong being Jr. isn’t as openly core to his persona as Cranky’s identity as the original Donkey Kong is to his, it’s still imperative to how Rare presented him within his world. If Country was truly his grand debut, then how was he already celebrated as a video game hero? If he’s not Jr., then how did he age so rapidly into adulthood? Plus, if he is the modern Donkey Kong, then Diddy’s Kong Quest provides a satisfying parallel: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong’s first starring roles saw them rescue their imprisoned mentors and best Mario (albeit indirectly in Diddy’s case).

Donkey Kong Jr.’s always been right by his family and friends, ready to defend them and their island from wayward crocodiles, instruments, and vikings. And did you ever wonder why Mario stopped inviting Jr. to his gatherings after Super Mario Kart and Mario Tennis? The answer: he didn’t.

Donkey Kong Island’s most capable heroes, led by the big ape himself. (Image: Nintendo)

Even an old manga publication positions the current Donkey Kong as an adult Jr. Of course, you can counter those materials and Loveday’s word by linking me to statements endorsing the grandfather-grandson bit, including a tweet from Rare’s Gregg Mayles. For reference, TheMushroomKingdom compiled a list of unambiguous citations chronicling both sides of the debate. 

Donkey Kong Jr.’s Dual Generational Citizenship

Now, to clarify, I’m not arguing the grandson-grandfather relation isn’t canon. Regardless of circumstances, it’s been used more than the father-son affiliation. Plus, while I believe 64 was intended to cement the latter bond, the more recent Donkey Kong Country Returns, well, returned to the grandfather-grandson bit.

It’d be reasonable if Retro Studios wasn’t aware of 64’s conversations or wrote them off as the outlier; the Country and Land trilogies, backstory aside, overtly referred to Cranky as Donkey’s grandad, and supplementary materials like Super Smash Bros. Brawl (which also appeared to influence Returns) regurgitated that claim. 

But I am arguing that Country’s Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.’s Jr. are the same individual. It was demonstrably the intention of at least part of Rare’s staff, and it’s a cleaner, more elegant solution than having an absentee Jr. inexplicably bumming around somewhere.

A younger Donkey Kong Jr., one who’s rarely far from his dad’s side. (Image: Nintendo)

And, critically, nothing in any Donkey Kong or Mario game explicitly contradicts the notion that Jr. is the new Donkey Kong. If you follow Loveday’s advice or, at worst, can forgive a retcon where Sr. and Jr. were biologically grandfather and grandson, nothing prevents the kid from having developed a sharper fashion sense.

Nevertheless, if you prefer the alternative take, where our current Donkey Kong is the third figure to inherit the mantle (which, thus, could free up the original Jr. to reemerge someday), that’s your prerogative. Our good friend and fellow Kong documentarian TheAnvil subscribes to that theory, and that’s okay! 

Given the nature of the subject and Nintendo’s characteristic disinterest in prioritizing continuity, this snare may never be directly confronted. Heck, Nintendo themselves still contribute to the confusion; following this article’s original publication, they collaborated with Prima Games on Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics, which simultaneously addresses the current Donkey Kong as an adult Jr. and as Jr.’s son. So, unless the status quo changes, feel free to pick whichever familial interpretation you prefer – whether there’s been two Donkey Kongs or three. 

Donkey Kong Jr.’s final appearance in his home franchise before inheriting his (grand)father’s title. By the way, in an interview conducted after this article’s publication, Mayles suggested that you can interpret the Kongs’ familial dynamics however you want. (Image: Nintendo)

Jr.: Donkey Kong’s First Doubles Partner

Since the Nintendo 64’s Mario Tennis was Jr.’s last original playable appearance under that moniker, let’s close by discussing it.

Donkey Kong Jr. grew in size by the time he participated in Super Mario Kart and the Virtual Boy’s Mario’s Tennis. So, while they were almost certainly not intended to help bridge the gap between his roles in the Donkey Kong arcade series and his reintroduction in Country, they actually can anyway. Donkey Kong was older, but he didn’t outgrow his unitard just yet.

Conversely, given his smaller physique and higher-pitched voice clips in the Nintendo 64’s Mario Tennis, it can be inferred this Jr. was notably younger than his tie-wearing counterpart. Donkey Kong also seemed to act paternal to Jr. when the kid won a tournament (although Mario and Luigi later treated their toddler selves analogously throughout Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time).

This gorilla spent his teenage years casually playing sports with the Italian gentleman who abducted his legal guardian and tried to kill him. (Image: Nintendo)

So, what’s going on? How did Donkey Kong Jr. and Rare’s Donkey Kong co-exist on the courts?

Well, I’m curious about that too, but Mario spin-offs have a historically tenuous relationship with time and continuity. As we know, Baby Mario is a regular in adult Mario’s shindigs, including the one we’re currently discussing. The plumber doesn’t let trivial barriers like the fourth dimension prevent him from inviting his guests and we’re not meant to think too hard about it.

Plus, this was before Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (which, ironically, was Camelot’s next console title) began integrating Diddy Kong and other post-Country aspects into the Mario spin-offs. Thus, Jr. was plucked to play tennis with Donkey Kong since Diddy was deemed unavailable. And that’s fine, since Mario Tennis is a harmless spin-off. It has no real weight in terms of canon, hence the inclusion of Jr. and Baby Mario.

Trivia: Donkey Kong Jr. was my main in Mario Tennis. (Image: Nintendo)

P.S. By the way, this was not an invitation to ask me to explain Baby Donkey Kong’s place in this.

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Cart Boy

Cart Boy wants to be the very best, like no one ever was. When the stars align properly, he also writes articles, edits his peers' work, and helps run Source Gaming's social media.

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