Update: To celebrate the 10th anniversary of DKC: Tropical Freeze and the return of DK (and his rivalry with Mario) to the Switch in Mario vs. Donkey Kongwe’re revamping our list of the best DK games, switching it to a reader-ranked format.
That’s right, the list below is now governed by the user rating of each game in our database and is subject to real-time change even after publication. Read on to find out more and see if Tropical Freeze, our original number one pick, is still the best banana…
While Mario is the undisputed man when it comes to all things Nintendo, don’t forget that it was Donkey Kong who gave the plumber a head start in the video game world. The original monkey game not only conquered the arcade and introduced the world to the character who would become Nintendo’s mascot, but also saved the company and set it on the path to becoming the major global concern and cultural icon it is today.
It’s easy to forget just how many matches Mario’s former nemesis has. From the original Donkey Kong in 1981 to the present day, the monkey and his clan have consistently appeared in Nintendo games for over four decades. But what is the best Donkey Kong game?
Below you will find every Donkey Kong game ranked from bad to great. The ranking is based on the user rating of each game and it is subject to change in real time — simply click on the star to rate any game on the list from 1-10 to have your say and influence the order.
We’ve only included games on Nintendo consoles, so you won’t find obscurities like Donkey Kong 3 Dai Gyakushuu. We’ve also limited it to full monkey-starring games — we’d be here all day if we included all the go-kart and tennis games featuring the DK clan. We’ve also dropped the Game & Watch titles (which can be found distributed digitally in the various Game & Watch Gallery or DSiWare collections) and consolidated the ports for brevity. DK and his team participated in a bunch of games!
Enough monkeying around. Let’s take a look at the best DK games ever. Here w—, here w—, let’s go!
Donkey Kong Jr. Math adds some arithmetic to the basic swinging and platforming of Donkey Kong Jr. in a title that takes all the fun out of both gameplay and math. It combines ‘education’ and ‘entertainment’ to make – you guessed it! — terrible game. Remember the poor kid who got the NES console launch and this. There must have been at least one.
Don’t regret it too much, though. Versions of Donkey Kong Jr. Math in a box these days are worth quite a kuna, silver linings and all that. The title makes the game sound dreary, and it is, but at least it delivers on what its name promises, and a unique, surprisingly fun two-player experience is the saving grace of this retro curiosity.
It was previously available via Virtual Console technically it can also be played on the GameCube, as it is one of the NES games included in the original Animal Crossing.
This DK racer is really rock bottom. Originally a DK Bongo joint planned for the GameCube, it was ported to its motion-controlled successor, with the bongo peripheral swapped out for the Wii Remote Waggle. ‘Bongo Blast’ became ‘Barrel Blast’ and you shook your Wiimote and Nunchuk to accelerate.
Unfortunately, the racing is slow, the controls are terrible, and the visuals looked bad even then. The fact that DK and Diddy appeared in the excellent Mario Kart Wii only emphasized what a mess Donkey Kong Barrel Blast was. Developer Paon DP would have done better with these characters in other games (King of Swing, Jungle Climber) but this was just bad. The cover gives the impression that the game could be fun. Trust us, it’s not.
In this sequel to the arcade original, things have turned around, and this time Mario has kidnapped Donkey Kong, so it’s up to Junior to rescue Kong Senior. We’ve had many ports over the years, but this Hamster version of Donkey Kong Jr. it lets you put the Switch into portrait mode for the most authentic experience you’ll get outside of an arcade. It’s hard to argue that the core gameplay hasn’t aged here, and you’ll probably need a healthy dose of nostalgia and/or academic interest to get maximum enjoyment out of it today. There’s definitely some retro fun, but we can think of dozens of 80’s classics we’d play before we start DKJ.
The first 3D entry in what up until this point had been purely side-scrolling, Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move does a good job of translating the series’ gameplay into the third dimension, even if it doesn’t really add anything to the core formula. As you might have noticed from the title, the plumber and the monkey have ironed out their differences this time around and are simply MCing together with Pauline here, reducing Donkey Kong’s presence somewhat. While the game can be infuriating at times and seem a bit unfair, MADMOTM (or ‘mad-motto’ as no one has ever called it except you should) is still a fun time if you have the patience for it.
With the pretty, pastel colors of its art, DK: King of Swing takes the essence of Clu Clu Land and makes a decent game out of it. Using the shoulder buttons to swing and grab pegs through the jungle, this twist on DK gameplay is quite a refresher after so many standard 2D platformers and mini-marching games. It’s nice to see him doing something outside of his usual wheelhouse that doesn’t involve driving go-karts, smashing tennis balls or swinging a golf club with one hand. It’s not an absolute classic, but DK: King of Swing is a fun little portable game and a breath of fresh air amongst all his 2D platforming monkey business.
If push comes to shove, we’d personally rather sit down with Donkey Kong 3 than Donkey Kong Jr. purely because of how it differs from its predecessors in intriguing ways. Taking control of that most famous Nintendo icon, this… Stanley Bugman, use bug spray to repel flower fanatic Donkey Kong’s advance through your greenhouse. DK has recruited an army of bugs and bees to keep you busy while he makes off with your prize petunias.
Despite the lack of iconic gameplay and sound effects that have passed down into video game lore, there’s something strangely compelling about Stanley’s fight against the main ape, and something a little sad about knowing that Stanley will fade into obscurity afterwards. Well, that’s not entirely true; Stanley has had a handful of cameos over the years in games like Smash Bros. and the WarioWare series, but you rarely hear Nintendo fans clamoring for its return. Poor Stanley.
Appearing on the Wii U and 3DS (the latter of which also received Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge which drew heavily on the series), Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars returned to 2D gameplay and gave us a taste of the enjoyable action puzzle series for the first time in glorious HD. It’s more of the same, though Miiverse integration has made it easier to share your workshops, and when the core gameplay is this fun, it’s easier to forgive how often Nintendo has reverted to its DK box and mechanical Mario-shaped Minis.
The final, Japan-only installment of the trilogy, Donkey Konga 3 delivered another batch of banana-smashing songs just eight months after its predecessor debuted on Japanese store shelves. It’s more Donkey Kong, which is never a bad thing. Trilogy remaster when?
Mario vs Donkey Kong offers a polished return to the 2004 GBA adventure that finds new fun in cooperative gameplay. Yes, the new co-op mode really is the star of the series this time around and, with two new worlds, ‘Plus’ versions of each level, Time Attack mode and a classy new look and sound, there’s plenty to dig into and enjoy alongside the core puzzle/platformer a lineup that has aged quite well. Just keep in mind that if you’re a more experienced gamer looking for a platforming challenge, this game finds its strengths as an experience for younger players or as a co-op title to enjoy with your kids. Taken as such, it absolutely deserves a recommendation.
After the rather poor Barrel Blast, developer Paon redeemed himself a bit by returning to the DK formula he started with on the Game Boy Advance in DK: King of Swing. DK: Jungle Climber for DS puts you in control of your favorite tie-wearing monkey as he climbs through the jungle using the shoulder buttons and runs pretty well on the original hardware. The soundtrack is a little disappointing by DK’s high standards, but this and its predecessor are uniquely controlled entries into the Kong canon that are worth checking out, even if they don’t reach the heights of his more famous adventures.
