The Donkey Konga series is a series in the Donkey Kong franchise developed by Namco. It comprises three rhythm games released exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. The games are heavily based on Namco's long-running Taiko no Tatsujin series of arcade rhythm games, featuring identical gameplay and graphical elements but different tracklists and Donkey Kong-themed visuals. The main distinguishing feature of the series is support for the novelty DK Bongos controller (sold separately or bundled with some releases of the games) to drum the selected song.
This series eventually inspired the creation of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, which also supports the use of the DK Bongos.
Installments[edit]
Main games[edit]
Title
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Cover, original release and system
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Synopsis
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Donkey Konga
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December 12, 2003[?] Nintendo GameCube
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Donkey Konga is the first installment in the Donkey Konga series. It was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003 in Japan and in 2004 overseas. The game has four gameplay modes to choose from: "Street Performance," "Challenge," "Battle," and "Jam Session"; all (except Challenge) have three levels of difficulty modes. Many songs are available to play, including the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64. Donkey Kong is playable in all modes, whereas Diddy Kong is the second player in multiplayer. As the first game in its series, it is also the first to support use of the bongos.
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Donkey Konga 2
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July 1, 2004[?] Nintendo GameCube
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Donkey Konga 2, marketed in Japan as "Donkey Konga 2: Hit Song Parade!", is the second installment in the series. It was released for the GameCube in 2004 in Japan and in 2005 overseas. While the game has similar gameplay to that of the first Donkey Konga, a few new modes appear in this game, including "Concert," "Freestyle Zone," and "Music Lab." Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong appear once again as playable characters, with the addition of Dixie Kong. Unlike the previous entry, the game has an ESRB rating of T instead of E (for mild lyrics).
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Donkey Konga 3 JP
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March 17, 2005[?] Nintendo GameCube
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Donkey Konga 3 JP is the third and last installment in the Donkey Konga series. It was released only in Japan on 2005 for the GameCube. The three playable characters from the previous installment are available, as well as Funky Kong. As the game once again supports bongo use, clapping is also used during the songs.
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Flash games[edit]
Title
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Cover, original release and system
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Synopsis
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Donkey Konga Beat
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August 2004 Adobe Flash
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Donkey Konga Beat was an Adobe Flash game inspired by Donkey Konga. It was released in August 2004 through Camp Hyrule. The game is a Simon-type game, where the "Computer" will play either the left drum, clap or the right drum. The player must mimic the computer's sequence of movements, as it adds on one action per round. Players would compete for high scores for how many rounds they could last. The left drum would be pressed with the "D" key, the right drum with the "K" key and clapping was performed with the space bar.
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Donkey Konga 2
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2005 Adobe Flash
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Donkey Konga 2 is a Macromedia Flash advergame themed after the Nintendo GameCube game of the same name. It was developed by Nintendo and published in 2005.
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Donkey Kong games
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Platformers
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Donkey Kong series
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Donkey Kong (1981, arcade) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1982, arcade) • Donkey Kong 3 (1983, arcade) • Donkey Kong Jr. Math (1983, NES) • Donkey Kong 3: Dai Gyakushū (1984, computer) • Donkey Kong (1994, GB)
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Donkey Kong Country series
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Donkey Kong Country (1994, SNES) • Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995, SNES) • Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996, SNES) • Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010, Wii) • Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014, Wii U)
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Donkey Kong Land series
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Donkey Kong Land (1995, GB) • Donkey Kong Land 2 (1996, GB) • Donkey Kong Land III (1997, GB)
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Mario vs. Donkey Kong series
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Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2004, GBA) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (2006, DS) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! (2009, DSiWare) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! (2010, DS) • Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move (2013, 3DS) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars (2015, 3DS/Wii U) • Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (2016, 3DS/Wii U)
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DK series
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DK: King of Swing (2005, GBA) • DK: Jungle Climber (2007, DS) (Banana Bonanza [Unknown, Adobe Flash] • Rolling Panic [Unknown, Adobe Flash] • Banana Grab [Unknown, Adobe Flash])
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Miscellaneous
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Donkey Kong 64 (1999, N64) • Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (2004, GCN)
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Racing games
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Diddy Kong Racing (1997, N64) • Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (2007, Wii)
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Donkey Konga series
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Donkey Konga (2003, GC) • Donkey Konga 2 (2004, GC) • Donkey Konga 3 JP (2005, GC)
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Other
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Donkey Kong Circus (1984, G&W) • Donkey Kong Hockey (1984, G&W) • Donkey Kong (1996, arcade) • Donkey Konk (1999, Adobe Shockwave) • Donkey Kong 64 Lore Quiz (1999, Adobe Shockwave) • Memory Kong (1999, Windows/Mac OS) • Couic d'or ! (1999, Windows/Mac OS) • Picross NP Vol. 8 (2000, SFC) • Kremling Krushin (2000, Adobe Flash) • Donkey Kong Country Barrel Maze (2003, Adobe Shockwave) • Mini-Mario Factory Game! (2004, Adobe Flash) • Hurling for Distance (2005, Adobe Flash) • Barrel-Blastapalooza (2005, Adobe Flash) • Donkey Kong: Jungle Fever (2005, arcade) • Mario vs. DK 2: Cannon Kaos (2006, Adobe Flash) • Donkey Kong: Banana Kingdom (2006, arcade) • Timber's Balloon Pop (2007, Adobe Flash) • Play Nintendo activities (2014–present)
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Reissues
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Crazy Kong (1981, arcade) • Donkey Kong (1982, G&W) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1982, G&W) • Donkey Kong II (1983, G&W) • Donkey Kong Jr. + Jr. Sansū Lesson (1983, NES) • Donkey Kong 3 (1984, G&W) • Donkey Kong Classics (1988, NES) • Donkey Kong (1994, NGW) • Donkey Kong Country Competition Cartridge (1994, SNES) • Donkey Kong Country (2000, GBC) • Donkey Kong Country (2003, GBA) • Classic NES Series: Donkey Kong (2004, GBA) • Donkey Kong Country 2 (2004, GBA) • Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Junior/Mario Bros. (2004, arcade) • Donkey Kong Country 3 (2005, GBA) • Diddy Kong Racing DS (2007, DS) • New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Wii, 2008) • Donkey Kong Original Edition (2010, VC) • Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (2013, 3DS) • Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2018, Switch) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2024, Switch) • Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (2025, Switch)
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Tech demos
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Unnamed Donkey Kong Country proof-of-concept (Unknown, VB) • puzzle (Unknown, N64) • spritemonkeyEX (Unknown, N64) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong Wii U demo (2014, Wii U)
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Pitches / canceled games
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Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi (FC) • Donkey Kong IV (arcade) • Return of Donkey Kong (NES) • Super Donkey (SNES) • CD-i Donkey Kong game (CD-i) • Donkey Kong vs. Super Wario (SNES) • Donkey Kong and the Golden Bananas (SNES) • D.K.R. DMG (GB) • Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers (GBA) • Diddy Kong Pilot (2001/2003) (GBA) • Donkey Kong Racing (GCN) • Donkey Kong Plus (GCN/GBA) • Diddy Kong Racing Adventure (GCN) • Donkey Kong Country 4 (DS) • DK Bongo Blast (GCN) • Freedom (Switch)
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Crossovers
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Super Smash Bros. series
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Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64) • Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GCN) • Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Wii) • Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (2014, 3DS) • Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014, Wii U) • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, Switch)
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NES Remix series
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Main
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NES Remix (2013, Wii U)
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Reissues
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NES Remix Pack (2014, Wii U) • Ultimate NES Remix (2014, 3DS)
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