• The arcade version was developed by Nintendo.
• Shigeru Miyamoto created it to replace the failed arcade game Radar Scope and to keep Nintendo afloat as a company.^[1]
• Donkey Kong was a huge success and sold thousands of cabinets.^[1]
• The game introduced both Jumpman (now known as Mario) and Donkey Kong, two of Nintendo's most successful characters.^[1]
• It was re-released in a number of home console versions, most of which were not developed by Nintendo, but instead by other third party developers.^[1]
• Most of the home console versions cut at least one of the four levels originally seen in the arcade version.^[1]
• Coleco manufactured the tabletop miniarcade version.^[6]

• The arcade version was developed by Nintendo.
• Donkey Kong Junior is the sequel to the first Donkey Kong arcade game.^[1]
• Jumpman's name was changed to Mario in this title.^[31]
• Mario also became the antagonist in Junior rather than retain his role as the protagonist from the first game.^[1]
• The game was re-released in a number of home console versions similar to the extent of the original Donkey Kong by third-party developers.^[1]
• Coleco and Nintendo manufactured the tabletop miniarcade version.^[6]

• The arcade version was developed by Nintendo.
• Instead of Mario, the player controls Stanley, who has to shoot Donkey Kong from below with pesticide in order to drive him away from his garden.^[1]
• The game is a shooting game instead of a platform game like the previous Donkey Kong games.^[1]

• Capcom developed the game.

• Capcom developed the game.
• Sequel to Donkey Kong: Jungle Fever.

• Nintendo developed the title.
• The game has two modes: one is a two-player mode in which the objective is to add numbers up to what Donkey Kong is holding, and the other is a single-player mode in which the player must solve algebraic equations.^[1]

• The game is the first in the series developed by Rare.^[1]
• It sold over eight million cartridges.^[1]

• Rare developed the game.^[1]
• It features Diddy Kong and his girlfriend Dixie Kong instead of Donkey Kong.^[1]

• The game was developed by Rare.^[46]
• It features Dixie Kong and her cousin Kiddy Kong instead of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.^[1]
• Sales were lower due to the release of the Nintendo 64 system two months before the game's release.^[46]

• Rare developed the title.^[47]
• Rare inserted two playable characters from their other games that were still in development: Banjo and Conker.^[48]
• It was later re-released for the Nintendo DS as Diddy Kong Racing DS with extra content.^[48]

• The game was developed by Rare.^[49]
• Donkey Kong 64 is an adventure game in the vein of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie.^[50]

• The title was developed jointly by Namco and Nintendo.^[52]
• Copies of the game came packaged with the DK Bongos peripheral.^[51]
• It is a rhythm game in the vein of the Dance Dance Revolution series.

• Namco developed the title.^[54]
• Copies of the game came packaged with the DK Bongos peripheral.^[53]
• It plays similar to its predecessor, but features a different track list.^[54]

• The game was developed by Nintendo EAD.^[57]
• Players can control the game with a GameCube controller or the DK Bongos peripheral.^[57]
• Some copies of the game came packaged with the conga peripheral.^[55]
• It was later re-released for the Wii with New Play Control! and widescreen support.

• Namco developed the game.^[59]
• Played with the DK Bongos peripheral.
• It was released exclusively in Japan.^[58]

• The title was developed by Paon.^[60]
• It is a kart-style racing game.
• The game was originally developed for GameCube and then moved to Wii.^[61]

• The title was developed by Retro Studios.^[62]
• It was re-released on Nintendo 3DS as Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.
• Based on the Donkey Kong Country games that were released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.^[63]

• The title was developed by Retro Studios.
• Sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns.

• The handheld was developed by Nintendo.
• Like the arcade Donkey Kong, Mario must climb a building while avoiding barrels; however, beating the game is different from the arcade version. The player must trigger a lever on the upper screen, activating a hook, which Mario must then jump and catch. If the player succeeds, a peg will be removed and Mario will return to the starting point, but if the player does not, Mario will fall to the ground and lose a life. Removing all available pegs in this manner will cause Donkey Kong's platform to collapse, and he will fall to the ground.
• Donkey Kong was released in a dual-screen format.^[65]
• This Game & Watch version was later re-released in Game & Watch compilation games for the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance.^[64][66]
• It was included as one of the games in Game & Watch Collection, a Club Nintendo exclusive release for Nintendo DS.

• The handheld was developed by Nintendo.
• Donkey Kong Junior was released in a widescreen format.^[65]
• This Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong Junior was later re-released in Game & Watch compilation games for the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance^[64][66] and as DSiWare download in 2010.^[67]

• The handheld was developed by Nintendo.
• Donkey Kong II, a Game & Watch sequel to Donkey Kong Junior, was released in a wide-screen format in 1983.^[65]

• The handheld was developed by Nintendo.
• Donkey Kong Circus was an original title developed for the Game and Watch series.^[69]

• The handheld was developed by Nintendo.
• A version of this game was included in Game & Watch Gallery 4 for the Game Boy Advance.

• The handheld was developed by Nintendo.
• Donkey Kong Hockey was an original title developed for the Game and Watch series.^[71] It was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released in 1984 as part of the Game & Watch Micro Vs. series. The game features one LCD display screen and two attached control pads. The hockey features Donkey Kong as one of the players and Mario as the other.

• It was developed by Nintendo.
• The game is based on the original Donkey Kong; it features the first four arcade levels, but from there, features ninety-six more levels and becomes a hybrid between Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Super Mario Bros. 2.^[1]
• The game was later re-released for Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console download.

• Like the arcade Donkey Kong, Mario must climb a building while avoiding barrels.

• Rare developed the game.^[1]
• Donkey Kong Land is a platform game in the vein of Donkey Kong Country.^[1]
• The graphics are enhanced if played via the Super Game Boy.^[1]

• The title was developed by Rare.^[76]
• It is extensively based on Donkey Kong Country 2, but due to the limitations of the Game Boy system, it was missing several features and held radically different level designs.^[76]
• The graphics are enhanced if the player plays via the Super Game Boy.^[1]

• Rare developed the game.^[77]
• The game is extensively based on Donkey Kong Country 3, but lacked the exploration aspects seen in the home console game.^[1]
• The graphics are enhanced if the player plays via the Super Game Boy.^[1]
• An enhanced version for the Game Boy Color, titled Donkey Kong GB - Dinky Kong and Dixie Kong was released exclusively for Japan on January 28, 2000, over two years after the US and EU releases.

• Paon developed the title.^[78]
• The character uses pegs to swing to the end of levels instead of using traditional platforming methods.^[79]

• The game was developed by Paon.^[80]
• It is the sequel to DK King of Swing.^[81]

• The game was developed by Nintendo Software Technology.^[83]
• It is a spiritual successor to the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong, which was a hybrid of the arcade game Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Super Mario Bros. 2.^[83]

• Nintendo Software Technology developed the title.^[84]
• The game is a sequel to Mario vs. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy Advance.^[85]
• It expanded on the previous game by using touch screen controls.^[85]

• Nintendo Software Technology developed the title.^[86]
• The game was released exclusively through DSiWare download.^[87]
• The gameplay is similar to that of Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis.^[87]

• Nintendo Software Technology developed the title.

• Nintendo Software Technology developed the title.
• The game was released exclusively through Nintendo eShop download.

• Nintendo Software Technology developed the title.
• The game was released exclusively through Nintendo eShop download.

• Nintendo Software Technology developed the title.
• The game was released exclusively through Nintendo eShop download.

Sega obtained the license to develop a Donkey Kong game, but it was canceled after Sega's David Rosen and Hayao Nakayama arranged a management buyout from Gulf and Western Industries in 1984.^[91][92] The game featured a playable Donkey Kong as a parking attendant who had to avoid and guide parking cars.^[91]

Return of Donkey Kong was advertised in the 1987 Official Nintendo Player's Guide, but was never released,^[93] and the advertisement remains the only evidence of its existence.^[94] It mentioned that Donkey Kong would have been the playable character.^[93]

A CD-i Donkey Kong game was developed by Riedel Software Productions between 1992 and 1993.^[94] It was part of a deal that granted Philips the license to use Nintendo characters in CD-i games, which resulted in Hotel Mario (1993) and three The Legend of Zelda games (1993–1994). The Donkey Kong game was canceled.^[94]

Diddy Kong Pilot was a Rare-developed kart racing game that was intended as a handheld sequel to Diddy Kong Racing.^[95] It was scheduled to be released on March 4, 2002,^[96] but remained unreleased when Microsoft acquired Rare in September 2002.^[97] Diddy Kong Pilot was reworked to remove Donkey Kong elements after the acquisition and released as Banjo-Pilot in 2005.^[95]

Donkey Kong Racing was developed by Rare as a console sequel to Diddy Kong Racing.^[98] It was a racing game in which players rode on animals rather than vehicles.^[100] Following the Microsoft acquisition, Rare attempted to rework Donkey Kong Racing as a Sabreman game for the Xbox and Xbox 360 before canceling it entirely.^[100][101]

Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers was a Rare-developed puzzle video game that featured the ability to switch between top-down 2D graphics and a 3D isometric layout.^[102] It was scheduled to be released on December 7, 2001,^[103] but after the Microsoft acquisition, Rare reworked Coconut Crackers to remove Donkey Kong elements and released it as It's Mr. Pants in 2004.^[102]

A Donkey Kong game, codenamed Freedom, was co-developed by Nintendo and Vicarious Visions for six months. It was a 3D platformer that emphasized traversal, with grinding on vines as a core mechanic. The game was canceled in 2016 after Activision Blizzard, Vicarious Visions' parent company, redirected its developers' focus to the Call of Duty franchise.^[104]