But Donkey Kong Jr hit a legal snag, and while Nintendo fought their courtroom battle, Mario jumped ahead. The sequel innovated, found its own level of success, and seemingly turned the tables on Mario, thrusting him into a villainous role. Kong Jr also changed some of the original game’s mechanics, focusing on how Kong Jr’s unique movements compared to Mario.
It switched the protagonist/antagonist roles around, and suddenly the Kong family were the heroes.
In Donkey Kong Jr, you no longer play as Mario, but rather Kong’s young son, who is trying to rescue his father from Mario’s cage. Nintendo wasn’t one to rest on success, so they began working on a sequel: Donkey Kong Jr. In 1982, Donkey Kong was brought out of arcades and ported onto any computer or console that could play it. So why did the practically no name protagonist move up, while Donkey Kong was sent crashing down? Turns out it’s all about sequels, court cases, and innovation.īy the time Mario got his own standalone video game, Donkey Kong had two. Despite starring in and having his name in the damn title, the character Donkey Kong would fall behind and become Nintendo’s perpetual second banana. Donkey Kong’s impact on the industry cannot be understated. It starred three characters: the captured Pauline, the would-be Mario named Jumpman, and the titular big ape, Donkey Kong. The 1981 arcade classic which practically invented the platforming genre stood out from its competition, and would be the catalyst to Nintendo’s dominance in the market. When Nintendo was still struggling to cement their new electronic gaming legacy in North America, they came up with Donkey Kong.
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