Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
I have a long history with Donkey Kong, both the franchise and the original arcade game. When I first went through the latter via Donkey Kong 64 as a kid, though, one question kept running through my brain: where is it set? Donkey Kong’s construction site didn’t quite mesh with the colorful wonderlands of the Super Mario platformers I had tried, nor the other Donkey Kong titles. This was 1999, mind, when the internet was still in its infancy. Information wasn’t compiled anywhere near as thoroughly as today, so for a few years I went without an answer.
Donkey Kong has four stages: 25m, 50m, 75m, and 100m, each a climb to save Pauline from the gorilla’s clutches. 25m’s the most famous one, while 75m inspired a Super Smash Bros. Brawl stage. (Image: Nintendo)
Plenty’s changed since then. Although I haven’t yet purchased Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I’ve experienced every other Mario and Donkey Kong game of import, a few of which address my old question. One of them is even relatively recent, having released in 2017. The answer isn’t straightforward, though, and I still see confusion on the matter—even amongst people familiar with these games. In other words, this is a perfect “Continuity Corner” subject! Together, we’ll evaluate each city that has a claim to the construction site, starting at the beginning…
New York
Although Donkey Kong never clarifies where it’s set, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto had a place in mind: New York. Given the similarities to King Kong, Donkey Kong inherently brings the Big Apple to mind, too. And since the game takes place along a construction site, Miyamoto decided to give protagonist Mario (née Jumpman) a matching job and made him a carpenter. When Mario and his greenhorn brother, Luigi, spun off into Mario Bros., this practice continued: they became plumbers who had to purge New York’s sewers of pests. Simple, right?
Select Game & Watch titles offer a few more glimpses of Donkey Kong’s city; the Donkey Kong approximation even flaunts skyscrapers. (Image: Nintendo)
Mario media embraced the Empire City during the Eighties and early Nineties. The DiC cartoons and live-action film frame the brothers as Brooklynites who stumble upon a fantasy realm (the first animated Super Mario film also transports them from the “real” world to the Mushroom Kingdom, though their home isn’t specified). Voice actor Charles Martinet was told Mario is “an Italian plumber from Brooklyn” when auditioning. A character guide, few guidebooks, Nintendo Power, side games, and Miyamoto himself echo the Manhattan element. And though it’s mostly fallen by the wayside, it remains a recognizable, relatable, and valid interpretation of the character, as The Super Mario Bros. Movie of last year proves.
Nevertheless, Mario and Donkey Kong ultimately left New York and established better homes for themselves elsewhere. Neither forgot their mutual roots, however. Nor have the people who make their games. The potential in exploring Donkey Kong’s setting is massive, certainly enough so to justify a quiet retcon or three. Thankfully, Nintendo’s careful when revisiting this chapter of their lives, and each time it’s a highlight.
Appropriately enough, the first title to return there was Donkey Kong’s 1994 Game Boy remake / sequel…
Big-City
I’ll henceforth address this classic as Donkey Kong ‘94 for clarity’s sake. It’s an interesting game for a litany of reasons, one of which was whisking Mario—who even by 1994 was tied to the Mushroom Kingdom—through a relatively realistic city. (Image: Nintendo)
An ambitious puzzle-platformer, Donkey Kong ‘94 starts as a recreation of its namesake’s four levels, albeit their layouts are simpler and Mario is far more physically capable. Then, the twist: when it seems Pauline’s safe, Donkey Kong springs back up and abducts her again. That was only World 0! So Mario pursues his rival across nine additional worlds, most of them brand new (the second world, Forest, is seemingly the one from Donkey Kong Jr.; 2-4 recreates its opening stage). Mario’s long chase ends at the brute’s tower, which is near the Mushroom Kingdom.
Anyway, Big-City is World 1 and its eight stages are an extension of the construction site: girders, ladders, and conveyor belts are commonplace. Still acting as a tutorial, it gently introduces several of the game’s new mechanics: grabbing and throwing items, unlocking doors, and swinging from poles (Mario also showcases his new moves in the intro, contextualized as him performing an acrobatic show). Notably, Big-City’s backgrounds also depict a bustling metropolis, our first decent look at it.
Part of the idea behind Donkey Kong Jr. was that Donkey Kong Sr. had been abducted from his island by humans. While I don’t condone his chronic kidnappings or attempts on Mario’s life, I don’t blame him for grimacing so much throughout ‘94. (Image: Nintendo)
What’s most eye-catching about Big-City, however, is how generic its name is (a naming convention consistent across Donkey Kong ‘94). New York City is a big city; so are the other cities we’ll explore. Although likely unintentional, it’s always read to me as if Mario’s unfamiliar with the place—he calls it “Big-City” because that’s his straightforward observation as an outsider…
Big Ape City
Donkey Kong ‘94 hit the same year as, and was an appetizer for, Rare’s franchise-redefining Donkey Kong Country. Set long after the arcade titles, the original Donkey Kong has retired and is now known as Cranky Kong. A “new” Donkey Kong’s inherited the mantle, developed an impressive reputation as a “video game hero,” and took on a protégé, Diddy Kong. The setting is Donkey Kong Island, their scenic home. I still remember the shock and disgust I felt upon first reaching Country‘s penultimate world, the gross, glorious Kremkroc Industries, Inc. (The fact it’s followed by a comparatively bland cave world is quite a comedown; their positions should’ve been swapped, but I digress.) All of that entails what Country is about: growing Donkey Kong’s universe while honoring its legacy.
Donkey Kong shares his tropical home with a polluting factory and bustling city, surprisingly. It’s fun to ponder the island’s history. Perhaps humans tried colonizing it once? (Image: Nintendo)
1995’s Donkey Kong Land serves as a direct sequel. A bitter Cranky challenges Donkey and Diddy to replicate Country on the monochromatic Game Boy, they accept, and King K. Rool agrees to steal their banana hoard again. Although the tag team again begins in the Kongo Jungle, they soon switch gears and visit unexplored locations of the island.
And to stress the point, Land’s manual asserts that it’s set across Donkey Kong Island twice, during the story synopsis and again when describing the new areas. Its eShop description reiterates that it’s another island excursion, too. However, since Land lacks an island overview à la Country, mapping out its worlds in relation to each other and Country’s roster can’t be done with absolute certainty.
Anyway, Land’s last world is Big Ape City, a play on the Big Apple. But the naming similarity to Big-City is no coincidence:
Quoting the manual, “Travel by zeppelin to Donkey Kong’s favorite stomping ground, Big City. The sight of that familiar skyline might bring back fond memories, but don’t waste your time sightseeing when there are Kremlings around!” (Image: Nintendo)
In other words, Rare built off the previous Game Boy Donkey Kong. Since ‘94 never did clarify where Big-City is, they assimilated it into Donkey Kong Island, and it’s presumably called Big Ape City here because we’re approaching it from the Kongs’ perspective. And while Rare never outright states Big Ape is where Cranky and Mario fought, that’s clearly the intent. Nintendo Power and Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle, a loose adaptation of Land, picked up on that.
And Big Ape heavily recontextualized Donkey Kong: Mario was an interloper visiting the Kongs’ turf! Now, Miyamoto has explained that Mario wasn’t Cranky’s enemy, the gorilla was merely a “prankster,” and the two are shown to be cordial elsewhere (Cranky’s younger design remained active in arcade throwbacks up until 2002’s Game & Watch Gallery 4; afterwards, the Country Donkey Kong would solely carry the mantle).
Big Ape is fun… once you acclimate to the 8-bit platformer’s archaic aspects. Going through the city is nice, too. (Image: Nintendo)
Still, Mario wasn’t always a virtuous paragon. Before maturing into Super Mario, the blue-collar guy could be a jerk. The spry Cranky had become a circus attraction, Mario laughed at him whenever he burnt himself during the show, and the New Yorker somehow wound up his owner and kept him on a tight leash. In Donkey Kong Jr., Mario sics robotic alligators, dive bombing birds, and sentient electric spheres on Cranky’s kid! He even seemingly orders his mooks around by whipping them, a concept Game Freak considered incorporating into Pokémon but scrapped for being “too cruel!” Mario’s character during his nascent years was cruder, less defined; the carpenter potentially invading Donkey Kong Island isn’t inconsistent with that.
Plus, Big Ape gives Rare’s Donkey Kong a satisfying crescendo. Country and Land, his side scrollers under them, are a story of him finally proving himself to his clamorous senior. Closing this arc by letting him rescue the city Cranky once infamously terrorized brings things full circle while furthering Country’s values.
Noting that the Kongs ride a zeppelin to Big Ape adds flavor, context (two stages are set aboard the blimp), and suggests it’s tucked away in some secluded sector of DK Island. (Image: The Spriters Resource)
Donkey Kong has since implied the Kongs’ home is also the construction site’s home. In Donkey Konga 2, the Donkey-Diddy-Dixie Kong trifecta go on tour and, at Cranky’s suggestion, head across the shore towards… a large city. Big Ape has to be a fair distance from their jungle abodes; isolating it on some offshore landmass tracks. The town features flourishes honoring Rambi and Rattly. And Donkey Konga 3’s menus also depict the city and even what appears to be 25m. Now, the notion that Bandai Namco deliberately built off Land is ludicrous, but their burg is reasonably consistent with what Rare established. Fans have theorized that Konga 2’s city is Big Ape City, placing it on an offshore islet that’s still geopolitically Kong territory. Technically, this even preserves Donkey Kong Jr.’s backstory: Cranky was taken from his home island to this neighboring one.
A markedly better, mainline follow-up, Retro Studios’ Donkey Kong Country Returns frequently homages Miyamoto’s brainchild. However, its worlds are geographically consistent with—and, going off designer Kynan Pearson’s blessing, are—areas from previous Donkey Kong titles. And the opening stage in Returns’ penultimate world, Factory, contains a sly 25m cameo. This cute callback may not have been made with Big Ape in mind (though it could’ve; Retro was familiar with the Land trilogy), but it nevertheless connects the island’s two industrial zones by planting the construction site next to Kremkroc. Cranky strengthens the link when visiting his nearby shop, saying, “I love this place. Brings back the memories, it does.”
Retro’s Metroid Prime pedigree is palpable: their Country levels convey a strong sense of place. Ridges can be seen to the left of 25m, meaning Big Ape’s also near Returns’ perilous preceding world, Cliff (which, presumably, is Monkey Mountains of Land). (Image: Nintendo)
Either way, Donkey Kong Land held the final say on the matter for twenty-two years: Donkey Kong Island is where Miyamoto’s classic took place. Although Donkey Kong won his wager—Land was another rousing success upon release—Rare’s humble handheld outings have sadly since faded from public consciousness. Everyone rightfully remembers the 1981 Donkey Kong, though. Mario hadn’t yet offered a throwback to it, and with the luxury of modern technology finally took a crack at one…
New Donk City
Super Mario Odyssey is a beautiful marriage of old and new, pushing the mascot forward while celebrating his past. No clearer is that shown than through New Donk City, the stage at its center. When developing Odyssey, Nintendo EPD had an idea for a city level and linking it to Donkey Kong, Pauline, and Big-City, whose architecture is noted to be similar, happened organically.
Nintendo understandably put New Donk at the forefront of Odyssey’s marketing, often alluding to its link to Donkey Kong. Many wondered if the city’s namesake would appear in some capacity prior to Odyssey’s release. (Image: Nintendo)
In name and design, New Donk City bluntly borrows from New York. Even its dezines, the realistically-proportioned New Donkers, would look at home in the Big Apple. Part of the appeal of the original Super Mario Bros., its early adaptations, and last year’s movie is that the plumber’s a fish out of water who rescues a fantasy land. Mario‘s mock Manhattan sorta flips that—the veteran explorer looks wildly out of place—and it’s charming. Miyamoto’s aesthetic fears were, thankfully, unfounded.
After traveling halfway across the globe, Mario and his new companion, Cappy, arrive at the Metro Kingdom capital: New Donk City. It’s dark, rainy, and Bowser’s vandalized the town, so you beat his underling atop Town Hall. Things start looking up as you help mayor Pauline prepare for the city’s annual tradition, the New Donk City Festival, while sightseeing. And, gameplay-wise, this is the best stage yet, boasting skyscrapers that are a joy to scale.
In a rare move for mainline Mario, Odyssey recognizes the Donkey Kong Country series: New Donk’s streets are named after its cast and the merry mascot can cosplay as Diddy (amongst other options). Odyssey doesn’t just celebrate Mario! (Image: Nintendo)
New Donk City reveres Donkey Kong. Pauline remembers Mario, city imagery features their old designs, Pauline’s accessories return (a New Donker even mentions that she’s lost them before), and there’s a new construction site. Of course, the New Donk City Festival is a loving, theatrical tribute: an 8-bit Mario runs along girders and duels an 8-bit Donkey Kong while Pauline sings Odyssey‘s de facto theme song, “Jump Up, Super Star!” Audio from Donkey Kong complements the affair.
Plenty’s still vague, however. No mention’s made of Mario or Luigi having ever lived in New Donk. Like Big Ape, nobody explicitly says it’s where Mario clashed with Cranky. We never see the original construction site, though part of the festival’s modeled after 25m. Even the Donkey Kong who challenges Mario goes without explanation: is he the current Donkey Kong, a Cranky who’s temporarily regained his youthful vigor, or some kind of prop (the art book calls it a “retro rematch,” arguably implying the middle)? Donkey Kong’s events are important to New Donk’s “beginnings,” but what exactly that entails is left open to interpretation.
Donkey Kong’s Darker Side encore only raises further questions! Assuming it is Cranky, though, he probably relished in the opportunity to relive his glory days. (Image: Nintendo)
As the latest say on Donkey Kong’s setting and the one championed by Mario’s definitive Switch entry, I suspect this is the one many default to. From Nintendo EPD’s perspective, this continent-based city is probably where Donkey Kong took place. Maybe Mario’s other early, weird city-bound outings, too; the underground sewer does evoke Mario Bros. And that’s really appealing—revisiting Mario’s roots for his then-latest adventure shows how dramatically he’s grown. It’s inconsistent with Rare’s narrative, but I won’t bad-mouth EPD for being unaware of or ignoring it. New Donk’s fantastic, and potentially limiting their creativity to adhere to a now-obscure Game Boy game, one Mario otherwise has no relation to, would be silly.
New Donk City’s slowly becoming a franchise fixture. Alongside a new ending to tie into Odyssey, the Nintendo 3DS and Switch ports of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker include a bonus level set in the Big Banana (each version also has a level inspired by 25m). Stages in Mario Golf: Super Rush and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are set there, too. And I’m sure it’ll crop up again, perhaps strengthening its claim to the construction site.
Kong-clusion
Historically, Miyamoto makes a distinction between Super Mario and Donkey Kong: he vetoed a gorilla cameo in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and treated his inclusion in the film as a special event. I’m glad Odyssey’s pixelated compromise made it through, though. (Image: Nintendo)
Where is Donkey Kong set? The answer’s varied. Taking their implications at face value, cleanly reconciling Donkey Kong Land with Super Mario Odyssey is impossible. Big-City can be Big Ape or New Donk, not both, and respecting Miyamoto’s initial vision still has merit, too. It is what laid the groundwork for all of this wonderful nonsense, y’know?
Nevertheless, none of these cities’ claims to the construction site are authoritative enough to demand you adhere to them. Small schisms will arise in franchises as long-running as these, considering different people have worked on them across multiple decades. Nintendo also deliberately avoids fleshing out Mario too much for fear of limiting their freedom in the future, a worthwhile practice that can be felt here. And when I play these games, I roll with and enjoy what they’re going for without fussing over how tightly they interconnect. If you want to address this snare, however, then feel free to connect these dots however you want. Coming up with and sharing theories is part of the fun!
We all have unique perspectives shaped by our histories and sensibilities. Mine heavily hews towards the guy whose face this island depicts… (Image: Nintendo)
Personally, I stick with Donkey Kong Land’s interpretation. Donkey Kong’s my favorite platforming series, and I value Land for enriching its go-to setting. I’m partial to its novel, fourth wall-wreaking story, too. Besides, I’d also argue that the Donkey Kong franchise oughta get the final say regarding where Donkey Kong’s set, not Super Mario. Donkey Kong Island has also made a solid case for being the place… even if Big Ape’s exact location therein is debatable (I vote by Kremkroc; fans have also theorized that Konga 2’s city is retroactively New Donk, which is another fair read, but Returns firmly situates the construction site on Kong turf). New Donk would then roughly be the New York to Big Ape’s Old York, a city that was established or renamed in honor of someone who left a profound impact on its mayor. It’s certainly a triumphant tribute, too—the former damsel in distress has come a long way, much like her ex and the Kongs.
But there are other ways to untangle this inane web. Fudging the details on Donkey Kong Land isn’t a crime; that opens the possibility that Donkey Kong Island’s city isn’t the city. Or maybe the Kongs flew to the mainland, to the Metro Kingdom (I can imagine K. Rool breaching the terms of Cranky’s bet and fleeing DK Island). Upholding Mario and Luigi’s New York upbringing is also appealing… unless you’d rather assume they spent their younger years roaming New Donk. Heck, if you’re a wildcard partial to Gamesville or even Kongleton, I won’t say you’re wrong.
For its importance and mystique, the construction site was and is one of my favorite settings in this medium. It’s been eclipsed in complexity a thousand times over, but few areas have earned veneration like the one that undergirds Mario and Donkey Kong. (Image: Nintendo)
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