Donkey Kong

We can’t forget the original arcade game that started it all, 1981’s Donkey Kong. Most who know anything about gaming can easily recognize the various beams and ladders of the construction site where the struggle between Mario and Donkey Kong took place.

The third section of the game, 75m, is already a stage in Smash, but no offense to Mr. Sakurai, I feel that was the single worst of the game’s four levels to adapt to Smash. 25m, 50m, and 100m are all constructed way better to accommodate a Smash fight, so . . . take your pick.

Potential theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKYUNtGrShc

Donkey Kong

Hey everybody! I'm back. Let's start up our Donkey Kong roster.

The Mario side of the series split covered, let’s now return to that original arcade game to cover Donkey Kong’s side of things. A replacement for Bluto in the original Popeye concept of the game, we first see the great ape ascending a construction site with a damsel-in-distress in tow.

This is Donkey Kong, an ape escaped from the zoo wreaking havoc on a construction site. Years later, the studio Rare would revamp the Donkey Kong series, aging up the original ape and bringing his grandson into the spotlight under the same name, now going on multiple adventures in his jungle home, often against the evil King K. Rool.

Donkey Kong will have much the same stats as he does already in the Smash games, being a strong combination of strength and speed. His moveset will pull primarily from the later revamp of the series and the mechanics appearing within.

Likelihood rating: Already in

Character Sheet: Pauline (Arcade)

PAULINE

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 probably the hardest character to work so far: Pauline, Mario's first girlfriend from the original Donkey Kong game. Thanks primarily to Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline has made a recent comeback in the Mario series, but aside from that, the original Donkey Kong is almost all we have to work with. That causes a problem because, well, she doesn't do anything in this game. She mostly stands beside Donkey Kong, acting mostly as a living goalpost. This doesn't give us much to work with.

So, for Pauline to work, we will likely have to follow the "Duck Hunt" method of creating a character built entirely on references to the game they come from. This method works well for Pauline, as Mario and Donkey Kong will go on to star in multiple later games, giving them much greater pools to draw from for their movesets, leaving Pauline as the only remaining character who can represent the game as a whole.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Hammer

As Mario will go on to utilize fireballs and other moves that can take up his standard B slot, this leaves Pauline open to inherit his hammer, his primary weapon in the game. It acts primarily as a strong, bludgeoning weapon.

Side B: Barrel

This move will come from her captor Donkey Kong. Pauline will throw a massive barrel, just like DK would, which will roll across the stage, crushing anything in its path.

Up B: Jack
Pauline will drop a jack, similar to those also thrown by Donkey Kong, which she will use to spring into the air. The move will function much like Sonic's spring move but will damage opponent touched by it.

Down B: Floor Drop

Pauline will drop a long stretch of floor on top of any characters nearby, hearkening to the method in which Donkey Kong is defeated via Mario removing the hinges from the floor and dropping them out beneath the big ape. This will bury most opponents.

Final Smash: The Great Ape

A sprite version of Donkey Kong exactly lifted from the game will drop onto the stage, accompanied by his theme music and will proceed to wreak havoc, pounding his chest and throwing barrels and jacks everywhere.

Entrance: Carried in by her sprite DK, on his shoulder.

Taunts: One could feature the heart that appears when Mario saves her.

Thanks for reading. Next up, we will head on forward to the major Mario games for the NES, including Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3. Take care!

Character Sheet: Donkey Kong (Arcade)

DONKEY KONG

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 the big ape himself: Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong, like Mario before him, goes on to headline his own successful video game franchise, which will yield up far more iconic moves for the character than we have now, but for now, we will again build a character from what we have.

Donkey Kong will be a heavyweight power-hitter, just as he is presented in the games. He does come across as quite speedy in these games, so he will be quite fast as well. He has used punches, kicks, barrels and jacks, and vines throughout most of his moves, so most of his moveset will be based up that.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Giant Punch

This one's just too iconic to ignore. Donkey Kong will hit his opponent with a giant punch, just like he does at the end of Donkey Kong Jr. This attack will send the opponent flying and can be charged up.

Side B: Barrel

For his side B, Donkey Kong will chuck a giant barrel at his opponents which will role across the stage and deal heavy damage to anyone in its wake. There is a small chance of his throwing out a jack which will dole out an instant K.O.

Up B: Vines

Twin vines will appear from nowhere allowing Donkey Kong to climb up them for a short period before losing his grip and falling. These are based on his appearance in Donkey Kong 3, and have decent recovery range.

Down B: Stomp

Donkey Kong will bound up and down on the ground, shaking everything, much as he does in the opening cutscene of the original Donkey Kong game. Characters will be launched if touching the ground.

Final Smash: Beehive

Donkey Kong knocks loose a hive of bees from Donkey Kong 3 which will swarm the stage angrily, dealing damage to every character they meet. Most will just rack up damage, except the queens which have a chance of K.O.ing a character.

Entrance: Donkey Kong breaks out of a cage.

Taunts: He will pound his chest for one.

Next up: We will cover his long-lost son, Donkey Kong Jr.

Character Sheet: Mario (Arcade Series)

MARIO

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

First up, we have Mario. Now, Mario will go on to have a very successful video game franchise of his own, which will yield up far more iconic moves for the character, but for now, let us simply build a character from what we have.

Like his counterpart in Smash, Mario will likely still be a jack of all trades with middling stats and an above-average jump (he is the Jumpman after all). Throughout the arcade games, Mario makes use of a hammer as his main weapon, a whip that he doesn't seem to use himself, but instead uses it to send dangerous animals after his enemies, a POW block, and possibly a Shellcreeper shell. He was also shown to have a helicopter at his disposal, which he used to escape Donkey Kong Jr.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Hammer

Mario swings around his hammer from Donkey Kong. It is a basic attack that does heavy damage.

Side B: Whip and Animals

Mario uses his whip from Donkey Kong Jr. to send an alligator forward to snap at opponents. Its a mid-to-long range attack that does damage but little knockback. Opponents can also be hit by the whip.

Up B: Helicopter

Mario clings to the rope ladder hanging from his helicopter. The helicopter has solid recovery distance, but does little damage.

Down B: POW Block

Mario throws down a POW Block from Mario Bros. on the ground, causing an earthquake and knocking all in the vicinity off of their feet.

Final Smash: Giant Hammer OR Power Plant

The first would come from Donkey Kong and function similar to the Hammer item in Smash but with greater KO potential, while the second would hearken to Donkey Kong Jr.'s third level as Mario pulls a switch and sends live balls of electricity all over the stage.

Entrance: Flies in on his helicopter.

Taunts: Uncertain. Very little personality demonstrated in these early arcade games.

Next up, we'll tackle Luigi, who (for now) is merely an echo fighter.

Donkey Kong (Arcade)

DONKEY KONG

First, we'll start off with Donkey Kong, the original arcade game from 1981, the game best known for the introduction of both Mario and Donkey Kong, two of video gaming's most prolific mascot. Fair enough to say, I think we'll be seeing both of them here.

The game features one more character, Pauline, the fair damsel in distress that Mario must rescue from the violent gorilla. Pauline does appear in later games though her appearances are sparse, and often as little more than a background supporting character (up until the release of Super Mario Odyssey). For now I will place her as a Tentative.

As far as movesets go, Mario does little more than jump and swing around a hammer for a short time, which we can set as his standard jump and his forward special until we know more. It is also worth noting that the hammer in question already exists as an item in the Super Smash Bros. games already, but for now it's all we've got.

For Donkey Kong, he spends most of the game up at the top of the level throwing either barrels or jacks at Mario to keep him from reaching him. Obviously these both can be attacks, probably a special or side special, but it is worth noting both exist as items as well.

Pauline, for the most part simply stands beside the great ape, doing nothing but waiting for Mario to rescue her. This is the main reason why I put her at tentative for now. While I know she will feature more in the future, there is simply nothing to build off of her at the moment. If anything, a moveset from her might simply be a series of references to this game itself (the barrels, jacks, and hammer listed above, alongside the moving fireballs that dot the stage) similar to Duck Hunt and Mr. Game & Watch before her.

As far as stages go, the game is made up of four levels, named 25M, 50M, 75M, and 100M respectively. 75M is already a stage, and likewise all four stages would all fit as stages, either recreations like 75M or updates like Wrecking Crew and Mushroomy Kingdom. The other three are much more basic than 75M and so would arguably work better than 75M does. Most could come with hazards such as the thrown barrels and jacks, and fireballs crawling around the stage, while 100M specifically would probably include the feature of the eight wedges that disappear when walked over, leading to the collapse of the center of the stage when all eight are removed, leading to a possibly interesting stage dynamic. All in all, I approve of all four.

So now, let's do a count:

Characters:
Mario, with jumps and a hammer

Donkey Kong, with barrels and jacks

<Tentative> Pauline, with nothing (though possibly built on references to the game)


Items:
Barrels

Jacks

Hammer


Stages:
25M

50M

75M

100M

Join me for my next post covering the games' sequel: Donkey Kong Jr.