Current Events > Has the Mario franchise ever referenced Donkey Kong Jr again?

(+) Yeah! (+)

That time Mario became the villain and stole a father from his child? Or does Nintendo just pretend that never happened? I feel like DK Jr is something that modern Nintendo would never do. But that was before Mario was the huge mascot he is today.

Mario Kart?

there's a Mario vs Donkey Kong game that was recently remake for the Switch, if that counts.

but besides stuff like the sports or racing games, I'm not sure.

I mean the game Donkey Kong Jr. Not the character. I'm asking if a later game ever remembered that Marjo was one time a bad guy and traumatized a baby ape

Zikten posted...

I mean the game Donkey Kong Jr. Not the character. I'm asking if a later game ever remembered that Marjo was one time a bad guy and traumatized a baby ape

With math puzzles, no less

I mean the Donkey Kong that is the lead in the Country games IS suppose to be Jr and the one from the first game was suppose to be Cranky Kong I guess.

Foppe posted...

Mario Kart?

16 bit DK Jr is in Mario Kart Tour anyway

He was a trophy in SSBM, complete with the backstory.

Foppe posted...

He was a trophy in SSBM, complete with the backstory.

And Mario's trophy in that game mentions that he's played the role of villain.

Necronmon posted...

I mean the Donkey Kong that is the lead in the Country games IS suppose to be Jr and the one from the first game was suppose to be Cranky Kong I guess.

Rareware initially created Cranky Kong for a game featuring the original Donkey Kong from the earlier Donkey Kong games, then-named "Grandpa Kong", being the grandfather of the original Donkey Kong. As Rare's game got reworked into Donkey Kong Country, featuring a more distinctly different Donkey Kong, Grandpa Kong was then established as the original Donkey Kong at an elderly age. Due to this, his exact relation to the current Donkey Kong has been inconsistent. Before the release of Donkey Kong Country, footage from a promotional video titled Donkey Kong Country: Exposed called Cranky Kong his "dad or grandfather", and Cranky Kong refers to Donkey Kong as "Junior" in the review of Donkey Kong Country by the Nintendo Magazine System. Upon release, Cranky Kong being Donkey Kong's grandfather was the consistent backstory throughout the SNES series. While their relation was not explicitly stated in the television series, Cranky acted as a father figure to Donkey Kong and once said that he considered him like a son. Rare seemingly started to retcon their relationship in Donkey Kong 64, in which Cranky Kong consistently addresses Donkey Kong as "son", implying a more direct parental role. Leigh Loveday stated in a 1999 online Q&A that the current Donkey Kong was intended to be Cranky Kong's son and thus an adult Donkey Kong Jr. as far as he was aware, and requested fans to completely ignore instances claiming Cranky to be his grandfather. Whether or not this statement was intended to be taken seriously, the Nintendo of Europe website for the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country supported this notion. According to Gregg Mayles in 2017, Cranky Kong is Donkey Kong's grandfather and called him "son" during the events of Donkey Kong 64 because he was so senile by then that he could not remember their actual relationship. The Italian Club Nintendo magazine also states that Cranky is the father of Donkey Kong, despite the Italian instruction booklet stating that he is the grandfather.

After Rare left Nintendo, the issue was left open for some time. Official bios for both Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee imply that the Donkey Kong from the arcade games is the same as the current Donkey Kong, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong describes Donkey Kong as Mario's "original foe". However, this is contradicted by Mario Superstar Baseball, which distinguishes "his ancestor, the original Donkey Kong". Subsequently, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis implies that Donkey Kong had never seen Pauline beforehand, suggesting him to be distinct from the original Donkey Kong. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (and, consequently, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) sticks with the story that the original Donkey Kong is the current Donkey Kong's grandfather. Donkey Kong Country Returns reaffirms the portrayal of Cranky Kong as the grandfather of the modern Donkey Kong. This would be contradicted again in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, in which Donkey Kong is referred to as Cranky Kong's son and, according to the Japanese website, successor.

The 2017 book Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics by Prima Games contains two contradictory notes. In one section, it is explained that Donkey Kong Jr. is a separate character from both Cranky Kong and Donkey Kong and is actually the father of the current Donkey Kong and the son of Cranky Kong (who is further explained to be the original Donkey Kong, "Donkey Kong Sr."). Another section, however, notes that the current Donkey Kong is in fact a grown-up Donkey Kong Jr. The Prima Games Twitter account clarified and elaborated upon the apparent contradiction, stating that the latter is meant to be taken as a metaphor for the original design process, whereas the former is the official interpretation of the characters' familial ties. This is the only published piece of media that has directly stated that Donkey Kong Jr. is the father of the current Donkey Kong.

marjo can't keep getting away with it

I don't think I ever saw anyone in a later Mario game refer to it. The Game & Watch Donkey Kong Jr. did get modernized in the Game Boy Advance era:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek8IqocgEA8

Zikten posted...

That time Mario became the villain and stole a father from his child? Or does Nintendo just pretend that never happened? I feel like DK Jr is something that modern Nintendo would never do. But that was before Mario was the huge mascot he is today.

Absolute most recent reference is the Super Mario Kart DK Jr. Racer in Mario Kart World Tour from a few years back. I think it was like 4 or 5 years ago.

It sounds like Mario's motive was revenge for Donkey Kong's kidnapping of Pauline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNTpXX43QxY

The REAL question is: whatever happened to Stanley the Bugman?

Die from too much exposure to DDT?

Hyena_Of_Ice posted...

It sounds like Mario's motive was revenge for Donkey Kong's kidnapping of Pauline.

Think there was a cartoon that made out like donky Kong was like a circus attraction and Mario was his handler so like in og dk he had escaped and took Pauline. In Jr Mario has recaptured him.

Sufferedphoenix posted...

Think there was a cartoon that made out like donky Kong was like a circus attraction and Mario was his handler so like in og dk he had escaped and took Pauline. In Jr Mario has recaptured him.

It used to be canon that Mario mistreated DK so DK kidnapped his girlfriend as revenge.
Donkey Kong Circus even shows Mario as an asshole against DK.

HylianFox posted...

The REAL question is: whatever happened to Stanley the Bugman?

Die from too much exposure to DDT?

Perhaps Mario became a doctor because his cousin died?

Foppe posted...

used to be canon that Mario mistreated DK so DK kidnapped his girlfriend as revenge.
Donkey Kong Circus even shows Mario as an asshole against

Yeah that's what I was talking about

Donkey Kong Circus is a 1st party game.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/0f83a1ac.jpg
The cartoon is pretty much what you said, DK messing up, Mario tries to capture him, Pauline gets kidnapped.

Foppe posted...

Donkey Kong Circus is a 1st party game.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/0f83a1ac.jpg
The cartoon is pretty much what you said, DK messing up, Mario tries to capture him, Pauline gets kidnapped.

Oh ok. Didn't know the name of the cartoon I only even vaguely remember one scene where I think dk is on the run and Mario is wielding a whip like he's a Belmont or something

I think it was just named Donkey Kong.
They also made a Donkey Kong Jr cartoon. Its intro starts just after the Donkey Kong cartoon intro, Jr sees Mario running after DK and he tries to catch up.