Character Sheet: Donkey Kong Jr. (Arcade)

DONKEY KONG JR.

Now that we have all of the Arcade Donkey Kong/Mario titles under our belt, I think it's time we go through and evaluate every character we have picked so far as being playable.

This time we have six:

1. Mario

1e. Luigi

2. Donkey Kong

3. Donkey Kong Jr.

4. Stanley

5. Pauline

Today we will cover Donkey Kong's son, Donkey Kong Jr. Now, as far as Junior is concerned, unlike his father, Mario, and Luigi, he does not go on to be a major player in the wider history of Nintendo and all but vanishes from existence following his appearance in the N64 Mario Tennis title. The main reason for this is his replacement by Diddy Kong in future installments in the Donkey Kong franchise. So, for the most part, Donkey Kong Junior and Donkey Kong Junior Math are all we have to work with.

Donkey Kong Junior will function as a semi-clone to his father, much like Luigi and Dr. Mario are to Mario now. He will be lighter and smaller, but hit almost as hard. Throughout both of his games here, most of what he does is climb vines so much of his moveset will be entirely lifted from Donkey Kong himself or will be a reference to Junior's games in a larger sense.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Giant Punch

This is an almost perfect copy of Donkey Kong's giant punch, needing to be charged up and launching a player when hit, though doling out less damage than Donkey Kong's version.

Side B: Animals

As Donkey Kong Jr.'s game does not feature barrels, his side B is traded out for Mario's side B, sending a crocodile or bird forward to do damage, although no whip is presented. The move functions exactly the same.

Up B: Vines

Twin vines will appear from nowhere allowing Junior to climb up them for a short period before losing his grip and falling. This is a replica of Donkey Kong's Up B, although the vines look more like those from the Donkey Kong Jr. arcade game rather than Donkey Kong 3. Junior can also cling to the vines longer than his father.

Down B: Equation

Donkey Kong Junior will throw out a finished equation, referencing Donkey Kong Jr. Math, automatically grounding anyone in the air when hit. This move is Junior's only original.

Final Smash: Breaking Daddy Loose

Donkey Kong Jr. will break open a cage containing his father, who will then burst into the open and the pair of gorillas will then start pummeling any fighter caught in the attack. Functions similar to Robin's attack featuring Chrom.

Entrance: Junior drops from a dangling vine.

Taunts: He will make his iconic disappointed face for one, and another will show him holding up a correct equation.

Next up: We will cover the star of Donkey Kong 3, Stanley the Bugman.