The Best of Kong

Here is a short list of Donkey Kong's most famous games.

1. DONKEY KONG (ARCADE GAME)

Release Date: July 9th, 1981

The game that started Donkey Kong's legacy! Although this game might be better known for being the first game to star Mario, this arcade hit is also where D.K. got his start. In this game, he served as the game's antagonist, kidnapping Mario's girlfriend Pauline, and prompting Mario to save her.

2. DONKEY KONG COUNTRY

Release Date: Novmeber 18th, 1994

Although Donkey Kong would have a few sequels to the arcade original, he would not return as a truly popular character until Donkey Kong Country, released on the SNES. In this game, Donkey Kong, along with his friend Diddy Kong, go on a quest to defeat the evil tyrant King K. Rool, who has stolen their banana stash.

3. DONKEY KONG 64

Release Date: November 22nd, 1999

Donkey Kong's next major hit would happen five years later, when Donkey Kong 64 was released on the Nintendo 64. This game was notable for being the very first three-dimensional Donkey Kong game, and well as having five playable characters. It was also infamous for requiring the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak, an addon that gave the system access to more memory, due to the exceedingly large filesize of the game.

4. DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS

Release Date: November 21st, 2010

The Donkey Kong series would remain largely dormant until 2010, when Donkey Kong Country Returns came to the Wii. This game, although not developed by Rare, the studio who had previously made Donkey Kong games until this point, returned to the two-dimensional style of gameplay reminiscent of the older Donkey Kong Country games. This game went on to become one the best selling games on the Wii, selling over 6.53 million copies worldwide.