Talk:Donkey Kong (game)

InterWiki

Here's an idea...I dunno if pages like Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance would really work out well in the Mario Wiki. What if those links were InterWiki'd to the corresponding Video Games Wiki pages. Plausible? Possible? Smart or not? - AgentSeethroo

Just saying

Im gonna eventualy start to work on it but so far the DK info is horrible we should have articles for:

• the levels
• construction site
• Pauline's items
• spring board
• and moreΔ ΔΔ Δ

Merge?

Video game sequels and spin-offs deserve their own articles. They do not need to be merged. -- Son of Suns

Can i put this image on it for some humor
— The preceding unsigned comment was added by AndreZoio (talk).

Most certainly not. We are a serious wiki... but you can put that image on your user page or somewhere else in user space. YELLOWYOSHI398

Its already on my user page, if u have any suggestion on it just tell me
— The preceding unsigned comment was added by AndreZoio (talk).

Play it

if you want to play Donkey Kong here's a link http://www.crazymonkeys.com/play-4-donkey-kong.html the link is also on my user page Super Yoshi10Lookey This

I'm playing it now here:[1] -KT

Leave this for the forums. Only things related to the improvement of the article should be on this page. MrConcreteDonkey

Title

Why isn't this just Donkey Kong (game)? Is there a need to have it at arcade game? HyperToad@Donkey Kong (game)

True that. And fix your sig, HT. My Bloody Valentine

Fixed. Anyway, we'll be needing some input from others. HyperToad@Donkey Kong (game) On a side note, I feel that the DK 64 info should be moved out of trivia.

The same rule applies here. I don't see why it isn't just "(game)". — Stooben Rooben 13:16, 9 May 2008 (EDT)

If there is no other game called "Donkey Kong" ("Donkey Kong Jr."), then it should definitely be moved. Time Questions 16:29, 9 May 2008 (EDT)

Featured Status

This article looks like its ready be nominated for a featured article. Any suggestions to improve it first? Yoshario

Well, it should probably look more like this first: Donkey Kong. -- Son of Suns (talk)

Aftermath

I've been wondering recently about how many Mariowiki users know the fact that Nintendo got sued after creating Donkey Kong. Should the article say something about that? Commander Code-8

I've just discovered it was already there but I think it could be expanded. Commander Code-8

Huh?

Im just wondering,but where is the reference to other games section?--UM3000

Release Dates

The ports and remakes section should include release dates, at least the year they were released in Japan.Jdrawer 19:15, 3 February 2012 (EST)

RadarScope... And Popeye?

It is included in this article that the original RadarScope cartridges were used for the Donkey Kong games; however, it does not state that Nintendo were commisioned to make a Popeye game, and that the creator of this game used the idea of a love triangle in this one. Olive became Pauline, Popeye became Jumpman, and Bluto become DK. I think we should add this, but I wanted to see what you guys thought. Jdrawer 19:18, 3 February 2012 (EST)

Intelligent Systems

I'm not sure if this would be considered valid information, since it's unsourced, but this excerpt from Wikipedia's article on Intelligent Systems would explain why the company is not mentioned in-game:

"Intelligent Systems entered the video game industry as a one-man team, named Toru Narihiro, who was hired by Nintendo to port over Famicom Disk software into the standard ROM-cartridge format that was being used by the NES outside Japan. The team soon became an auxiliary program unit for Nintendo (like HAL Laboratory originally) that provided system tools and hired people to program, fix, or port Nintendo-developed software. Thus much of the team's original discography contains minuscule contributions to several big Nintendo R&D1 and Nintendo EAD titles." Mario4Ever (talk)

Am i the only one to notice this?

that donkey kong and Mario bros are completely different games? even the main character is different, THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT NAME also, all the elements of donkey kong are missing in Mario bros the Mario, AHUM, mpmanhas not looked anything like the Mario we know until the Mario VS donkey kong series that means that Nintendo has put no effort in tiieng these games togheter so why did we assume that they are the same again?

— The preceding unsigned comment was added by Koopinator (talk).

>implying Nintendo hasn't long established Jumpman and Mario as more or less the same for years to this point

Also, chances are you're the "only one" who noticed because I'd imagine it's presumed common knowledge. Lord G. matters. 19:44, 7 July 2015 (EDT)

GBA/Virtual Console vs. NES/Arcade

So I was wondering about a certain detail: Are the GBA and Virtual Console versions modeled DIRECTLY after the NES version, which lacked the 50m stage only due to technical limitations, or do they restore it since they're on more advanced gaming systems than the Nintendo Entertainment System? I mean, Donkey Kong 64 featured a playable version of the game with all four of the original stages, so it would be silly only putting three stages on the one game for later consoles. 65.29.237.60 15:17, 7 July 2015 (EDT)

The VC and GBA releases are based on the NES version. --Glowsquid (talk) 19:54, 7 July 2015 (EDT)

"Jumpman"

This talk page or section has a conflict or question that needs to be answered. Please try to help and resolve the issue by leaving a comment.

While this name is oft-referenced, from what I've gathered, this was never the name that was told to the public. The name was, in regards to this game, only used in an American cabinet installation manual for arcade owners, and as such, only said owners and their employees would ever see the name. By the time actual flyers meant for the public came out, he was already Mario. Meaning he was always Mario to the players. Repeatedly saying "Jumpman" like this article does is horribly misleading, as it's led to erroneous things like the Mario Bros. page once saying that it was the first game to have that be his name. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 16:42, 19 October 2018 (EDT)

I thought Donkey Kong Jr. was the first game to call Mario "Mario". 16:45, 19 October 2018 (EDT)

Nope, it's this game here. The instruction flyers handed out to patrons of arcades called him Mario. Not to mention the ports (including the G&W game...) Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 16:49, 19 October 2018 (EDT)

This is where it's from. Please note the name is used a grand total of three times in it (always in reference to extra lives, having the grammatically nonsensical phrasing of "number of jumpman," while the rest is schematics, which would be of no interest or business to most of the patrons. The public first got background information in English hereMedia:DK English Flyer.jpg, where he is consistently called "little Mario." And of course, "jumpman" was never used in Japanese at all. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 20:29, 19 October 2018 (EDT)

OK, Glowsquid showed me that it was additionally found on the marquee card that came with some cabinets, so that's definitely something relevant. However, we still need to take out all claims on the wiki that he was renamed for later games. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 13:34, 22 October 2018 (EDT)

By the way, Mario is also referred to as "Jumpman" in the manual of Arcade Archives Donkey Kong.
--PhGuy12 (talk) 15:27, 22 October 2018 (EDT)

Yeah, but Nintendo has commonly acted as though that was his only name at the time, despite that not being the case. They've probably gone down the whole "look online for own company history" rabbit hole. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 15:30, 22 October 2018 (EDT)

The article prioritizes the original arcade version, mentioning that Jumpman was first rebranded as Mario in that specific promotional flyer by Nintendo of America (and its translation). In addition to the operation manual and marquee card, you can see Jumpman is still present in most other arcade materials such as an instruction page and banner, which I imagine most players would have been more immediately aware of when physically playing the game. The idea that Jumpman was never used in Japanese is also false - while we don't currently have pictures of the Japanese version explicitly showing ジャンプマン (although I'm fairly certain I've casually come across scans online somewhere), Don James confirmed it. You may be thinking of when the names Ossan and then Mr. Video were tossed around when Shigeru Miyamoto was initially designing the character, but they never ended up in any released materials. Basically, the reason why Arcade Archives version uses Jumpman is to be as authentic to the 1981 experience as possible since Mario only overtook Jumpman in home ports the following years. So I disagree with calling this an urban legend because I don't believe the article was misleading (if the Mario Bros. game page claimed that it was the first in-game reference of the name Mario, it should've been corrected a long time ago since that honor belongs to Donkey Kong Junior). In anything, the real story should be the name of Lady / the lady, which the PAL version of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U claimed was originally her name in Japan when the name Pauline didn't actually appear in game material until the western NES port and then for Game Boy Donkey Kong in Japan (oddly enough, it seems it was first used in Saturday Supercade). LinkTheLefty (talk) 13:50, 19 November 2018 (EST)

Except as I said before, players would not be familiar with the operation manual, as it was a collection of schematics intended for employers and employees only, with the name, once again, only being used in reference to the life counter. The marquee is the only area that "Jumpman" was shown to the public at the time, and it wasn't even on all machines. And you're also forgetting the fact that the G&W game's manual additionally calls him Mario, and that seems to have come before DKJr, if my ordering of the Donkey Kong gallery based on release date is any indication. As for the "why would it not have gone corrected," it was ages until Luigi's article finally acknowledged that the G&W Mario Bros. was released before the arcade game of the same name. Now that Japanese thing sounds interesting; have a source that isn't a video, so I can look at it easier? Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 16:51, 19 November 2018 (EST)

So here's something interesting: the Japanese release of Arcade Archives: Donkey Kong doesn't refer to Mario as Jumpman, but rather プレイヤー (Player). I could swear I've seen a Japanese flyer with ジャンプマン (Jumpman) on it, though I'm not having any luck finding it right now. I also checked Japanese Wikipedia and they state with references that Mario's name is "Player" in the Japanese version and "Jumpman" in western releases. So it looks like I was mistaken and Mario was unnamed in Japanese release materials, but Nintendo of America received the development name Jumpman before being asked to make it more marketable later (which would explain why the Japanese version of the Game & Watch game called him "Kyūjo Man"). So unless we can prove otherwise, I'd be okay with flipping Mario and Jumpman around. Still, I think we're underselling how the Jumpman name became known since it seems to be the localized flyer calling him Mario and everything else arcade calling him Jumpman. LinkTheLefty (talk) 19:00, 19 November 2018 (EST)

There's a reason I rewrote the section on the Urban Legend page once I learned of the marquee card. The purpose of the section now is to explain how the name "Mario" was used and seemingly-preferred before the release of DKJr. or MB. People not taking into account the obscene amount of ports presumably caused a lot of confusion regarding the order of how things were named. I still need to resort the sprites in Mario, Luigi, Pauline, and Junior's galleries, but all but the first of those should be much easier. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 19:15, 19 November 2018 (EST)

The spelling "Jump Man" was used in Nintendo of America's lawsuit against Elcon Industries in 1982.--Platform (talk) 01:49, 3 December 2018 (EST)

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario has this helpful little nugget as one of his tips:

Mario's Name
When Mario first appeared in the arcade version of Donkey Kong,
he was known as Jumpman. The kidnapped woman was called
"Lady," but she was later given the name Pauline.

If you select the language as Japanese, the text becomes...

マリオの名前は......
アーケード版『ドンキーコング』で初登場のマリオは、「ジャンプマン」と呼ばれていた。
当初、さらわれた女性の名前は「レディ」だったか、後に「ポリーン」と名付けられた。

...which means the same thing. Nintendo of America may have indeed been adding more references to "Jumpman" in localizations, but this at least proves that Nintendo of Japan also considers Jumpman to be the main character's name in the arcade version of Donkey Kong, meaning that it is not an open-and-shut case. LinkTheLefty (talk) 18:24, 18 February 2019 (EST)

That's still nearly 38 years retroactive, from the same people who assembled a list of Pakkun Flowers by slightly editing a list from the Japanese Wikipedia. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 19:13, 18 February 2019 (EST)

Is it? We don't have access to all of the Japanese arcade materials, so it wouldn't be surprising if 「ジャンプマン」 was found somewhere (my hunch is it's in the operation manual). Not to mention, as previously pointed out, the lawsuit made reference to Jump Man and not Mario. Japanese Wikipedia disagrees with the usage of Jumpman anyway. LinkTheLefty (talk) 19:22, 18 February 2019 (EST)

If it comes to pass that that's true, I still think that "Mario" should be the predominantly-used name on this page, as it was used in the majority of materials it would seem, even at the time it was at its strongest. And once again, the only time it was used in a customer-intended place was the not-always-present marquee card. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 19:32, 18 February 2019 (EST)

Problem is that it's not just the operation manual and marquee card, but also the instruction page and instruction banner. Mario is still overwhelmingly used in all of the home ports, though if the article splits the different versions of the game, then I suggest the arcade article use Jumpman. LinkTheLefty (talk) 19:48, 18 February 2019 (EST)

That appears to be the same blurb as the marquee card on different parts of the cabinet .I wouldn't count those as separate sources. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 21:06, 18 February 2019 (EST)

Still, the "Jumpman" sources can be thought of as the equivalent of a booklet, while the "Mario" source can be thought of as the equivalent of a guide or other media. LinkTheLefty (talk) 21:10, 18 February 2019 (EST)

And the home ports and G&W take on the game? Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 21:35, 18 February 2019 (EST)

Hence what I mean by if the article splits into port subpages. LinkTheLefty (talk) 21:42, 18 February 2019 (EST)

Aside from those that already have, I'd say the only one that deserves it here is the Coleco Tabletop version, which is almost a different game entirely. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 21:51, 18 February 2019 (EST)

I've narrowed down the renaming of Jumpman to Mario to sometime between August 10 and September 10, 1981. The former date is when Don James started his first day at Nintendo. The latter is the date when the first machines were sold, assuming the Cabarga posters that had his new name were released at the same time.--Platform (talk) 19:06, September 4, 2024 (EDT)

Requesting sprite of a rivet

A sprite of a rivet, preferably from the arcade version should be uploaded and added to the items section.--Platform (talk) 07:13, 19 November 2018 (EST)

Donkey Kong NES NA Release Date

This talk page or section has a conflict or question that needs to be answered. Please try to help and resolve the issue by leaving a comment.

Hi, I am seeing a lot of disagreeing info on the internet about this game's release date. The release date for the North American release on the NES on this page says it is June 15, 1986. I haven't had any luck proving that by searching online. The most specific source I could find confirms the month but not down to the day.

• Source 1: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0By3fjn1rWdp3RXVMcVBfZTdjeUk (says the arcade series are coming that year, but no specific dates)
• Source 2: chrome-extension://cbnaodkpfinfiipjblikofhlhlcickei/src/pdfviewer/web/viewer.html?file=https://retrocdn.net/images/6/60/ComputerEntertainer_US_Vol.5_04.pdf (at the bottom, lists several upcoming games for the year including details of months)

Does anyone have any info that may help push me in the right direction? Thanks! --173.167.188.51 21:04, 21 February 2019 (EST)

For the record, the NA Chronicle in Super Smash Bros. Brawl doesn't show the exact date either, and Masterpieces in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U shows an entirely different date of 9/9/1988 (compare JP - though I'm not sure if that is supposed to be the NA date as the Masterpiece dates apparently don't change in EU text, unless I'm mistaken). English Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia also claims that the US release date is 6.15.1986, but the release dates are currently an under-scrutinized part of the book and Dark Horse's "encyclopedias" have been known to mess that up too. LinkTheLefty (talk) 11:20, September 3, 2022 (EDT)

Arcade release dates

I figured I'd put this here since it mostly concerns Donkey Kong arcade games. According to page 57 of アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005), Japanese arcade release dates are as follows: 81/08 for Donkey Kong, 82/08 for Donkey Kong Jr., 83/10 for Donkey Kong 3, and 83/06 for Mario Bros. According to page 128 of the same source, the American arcade release dates are as follows: 81/10 for Donkey Kong, 82/08 for Donkey Kong Jr., 83/10 for Donkey Kong 3, and 83/03 for Mario Bros. However, we have currently have unsourced July dates for Donkey Kong, unsourced JP October 21 / NA November dates for Donkey Kong 3, and unsourced JP June 21 / NA July 20 dates for Mario Bros. (The Donkey Kong Jr. dates seem to be correct as they have 1982-relevant sources, though the NA date could be late August.) Does anyone know where the current dates come from? LinkTheLefty (talk) 11:20, September 3, 2022 (EDT)

Mario Bros. JP already has a source. It's in the first sentence of that page. I'll dig up the sources for the rest now. The main ones are Game Machine for Japanese releases; Cash Box, Play Meter, Arcade Express, and The Video Game Update for US releases. I've long given up on Masumi Akagi's book. Lots of stuff seem off by a month and you can't find out what is the source for each entry.--Platform (talk) 13:46, September 3, 2022 (EDT)

Arcade Archives

What version does the Arcade Archives version use? And no, don't say "It's the arcade version, silly", I know that. I mean Japanese or International? SONIC123CDMANIA+&K(B&ATSA) (talk) 13:29, March 09, 2023 (CST)

Never mind. It says so in the re-releases section. SONIC123CDMANIA+&K(B&ATSA) (talk) 13:40, March 28, 2023 (CST)