Donkey Kong (universe)

The Donkey Kong universe refers to the Super Smash Flash series' of characters, stages, and properties that hail from the sub-franchise of the famous  series that deals with the character Donkey Kong. It is generally agreed on that Donkey Kong and related items count as Mario properties, but Donkey Kong has appeared in enough of his own games alongside enough original characters, created by second-party developer Rareware instead of Nintendo itself, that many consider him as holding sway over a "sub-universe" of Mario. Donkey Kong is also considered part of his own universe because his smasher's icon consists of the letters DK rather than the iconic image of a Super Mushroom held by other Mario characters.

Franchise description
Nintendo had an arcade game called Radar Scope that was successful in Japan but not very much so in the United States. The Nintendo president of the time, Hiroshi Yamauchi, turned to the young game developer Shigeru Miyamoto and entrusted him with the development of a new game, which would be built from units of the Radar Scope game. Miyamoto came up with the game , the game that would be the debut for the characters Donkey Kong as the titular antagonist and Mario, then called "Jumpman", as the hero to rescue Donkey Kong's damsel-in-distress hostage Pauline. The game was a breakthrough hit for Nintendo and helped put the company on the map. Both Donkey Kong and Mario reappeared in , but this time the former was held captive by the latter and it falls to Donkey Kong's titular son Donkey Kong Jr. to save him. In , Donkey Kong breaks into a greenhouse to again assume the role of villain, and the player controls Stanley the Bugman to oust Donkey Kong and his insect minions. In addition, throughout the 1980s, eight Donkey Kong games were released for the  platform. Afterwards in 1994, Nintendo produced a Game Boy sequel simply titled , which was a restructuring and expansion to the first two games.

Donkey Kong was established as its own spin-off franchise when the British company Rare designed and released  for SNES; the new, main premise of Donkey Kong and the accompanying fictional world were introduced and made specific to the Donkey Kong name. The game itself was a 2D platformer and a major financial success because it demonstrated then-revolutionary CGI-graphics on the console. Notable introduced elements include Donkey Kong's homeland, Donkey Kong Island, of which his home is in the region known as Kongo Jungle; Donkey Kong's nephew and sidekick Diddy Kong and other Kong cohorts Cranky Kong, Candy Kong, and Funky Kong; and Barrel Cannons are found throughout levels and are used as modes of being transported through stages. The series' villains, the Kremlings, who are mostly reptilians, are introduced and led by the obese, arrogant King K. Rool.

Rareware expanded its Donkey Kong Country franchise with two SNES sequels. In , Donkey Kong is kidnapped by K. Rool and it is up to Diddy Kong and a new character, his girlfriend Dixie Kong, to rescue him; here, other introduced members of the Kong family tree are the grandmotherly Wrinkly Kong and the showbiz Swanky Kong. In , both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have been kidnapped, and it is up to Dixie and her newly introduced cousin, Kiddy Kong, to rescue them. Then, sometime after Donkey Kong's appearance in Super Smash Bros., Rare created the 3D adventure platformer , in which K. Rool attempts to annihilate Donkey Kong Island with his own mechanical island, but Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and three more introduced Kongs, including the clown-like Lanky Kong, Dixie's younger sister Tiny Kong, and Kiddie's older brother Chunky Kong, thwart the plan. Though Donkey Kong 64 generally received high marks, it has been criticized for being an example of an overt "collect-a-thon". All of these games, like other Rare titles, have a large degree of self-referential humor, contrary to Mario games.

In the meantime, Donkey Kong has appeared frequently as a character, main and otherwise, in many Mario game series such as Mario Kart, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, and Mario Party, and also was featured as a main character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. The Donkey Kong Country franchise by Rare seemed to be put on hold, however, when Rare was sold to Microsoft in 2002. Following various spin-off games made by other developers (such as ' for Nintendo GameCube, which was made by NAMCO) or by Nintendo itself (such as the ' game series), the mainline Donkey Kong Country series saw a revival in 2010 with , developed by Retro Studios for Wii. The game returned the series to its sidescrolling roots and was a critical success, before later being followed up with  on Wii U, which drew even more praise.

In Super Smash Flash 2
The Donkey Kong universe finally debuts in Super Smash Flash 2 with characters and stages after being absent in Super Smash Flash, not counting properties from the Mario universe that debuted in it.

Characters

 * : Donkey Kong debuted in demo v0.8a. His moveset is similar to the one in . He has strong attacks which also have rather large reach, and this is meant to offset his general lack of swiftness and his easy-to-strike-as-a-target size.

Assist Trophy

 * Rambi: The first Animal Buddy to be presented in Donkey Kong Country. When summoned, Rambi will charge across the stage, knocking any opponents who get in his way. In addition, his back acts as a platform that any player or item can safely ride on until he eventually disappears.

Stages

 * Gangplank Galleon: Based off on the personal ship of Donkey Kong's archenemy, King K. Rool. It poses a somewhat simple design, being basically a large deck, that is sometimes bombarded by giant cannonball.


 * Jungle Hijinx: A custom stage based on the first level with the same name from the game Donkey Kong Country, a very simplistic stage with a slope in the middle and a plateaus with a wooded-thin platform. A Barrel Cannon soars above the stage, players can hop into it and depending on the direction the arrow is pointing, they will be shoot in said direction but they may be careful.

Media with elements appearing in the Super Smash Flash series
The following list consists of media from the Donkey Kong universe that appears in Super Smash Flash and Super Smash Flash 2.


 * Mario, who debuted in this game as its main protagonist, is a starter character in both SSF and SSF2.
 * Wario's third costume in SSF2 is based on Mario.
 * Donkey Kong, who debuted in this game as its main antagonist, is a starter character in SSF2.
 * Arcade, Donkey Kong's Final Smash in SSF2, originates from the gameplay of avoiding barrels this game and features the original startup and death sound effects.
 * Mario's down and up taunt in SSF2 is based on his death animation in this game.
 * Peach's second costume in SSF2 is based on Pauline, who debuted in this game.
 * Wario's tenth costume in SSF2 is based on the style of Mario's appearance in this game, in which the shirt and overall colors are reversed from his later design.


 * The current incarnation of Donkey Kong that appears in SSF2 debuted in this game.
 * Donkey Kong's on-screen appearance in SSF2 features a DK Barrel, which originates in this game.
 * Donkey Kong's dash attack in SSF2 originates as the Roll Attack from this game.
 * Hand Slap, Donkey Kong's down special move in SSF2, originates a move he uses in this game.
 * Rambi, who debuted as an Animal Friend in this game, appears as an Assist Trophy in SSF2, with his design being based on this game.
 * The stage Jungle Hijinx in SSF2 is based on the jungle levels of this game, featuring elements such as Donkey Kong's treehouse in the background and a Barrel Cannon as a hazard.
 * The stage Gangplank Galleon in SSF2 originates as a level in this game taking place on King K. Rool's vessel.
 * Gangplank Galleon 2021, a rock remix of the theme that plays during the final battle against King K. Rool in this game, plays as Gangplank Galleon's main music track in SSF2.
 * The victory theme of Donkey Kong in SSF2 is a remix of the theme that plays when Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong wins a bonus round or defeats a boss in this game.
 * The series symbol for Donkey Kong in SSF2 originates as the initials on Donkey Kong's tie in this game.


 * Bramble Blast, a soft remix of the theme that plays on bramble-based levels and with a portion of Mining Melancholy from this game, plays as Jungle Hijinx's alternate music track in SSF2.
 * Snakey Chantey, an upbeat remix of the theme that plays on the end of Glimmer's Galleon and on Rattle Battle in this game, plays as Gangplank Galleon's alternate music track in SSF2.


 * The Coconut Gun, an item in SSF2, originates as a weapon in this game.


 * Donkey Kong's artwork in SSF2 is based on his key artwork from this game.
 * DK Island Swing, a jazzy remix of the theme that plays on jungle levels in this game, plays as Jungle Hijinx's alternate music track in SSF2.