It was exactly 9 July 1981 when Donkey Kong, one of the most iconic arcade video games of all times, made its debut in Japan. The ape dressed only in a tie made his first appearance, together with the one who shortly after would become known all over the world with the name of Super Mario.
After having mainly played the role of antagonist in the series that bears his name, as well as various extras in other Nintendo products, in 1994 the character originally created by Shigeru Miyamoto is completely revolutionized by Rare with the launch of Donkey Kong Country on Super Nintendo, one of the most famous and loved titles on Nintendo’s 16-Bit console. To celebrate the anniversary Steve Mayles, designer of the SNES title today in force at Playtonic Games, shared on Twitter an artwork depicting DK and his faithful shoulder Diddy Kong, often protagonists of many other adventures released over the years on various consoles of the Grande N.
The latest production dedicated to the most beloved videogame gorilla is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, released in 2014 on Wii U and converted a few years later on Nintendo Switch (in this regard, here is our review of Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze on Switch). The series hasn’t continued since then, but insider Zippo is confident that a new Donkey Kong is in development on the Switch. The rumors have not materialized at the moment, but an announcement to that effect would be a great way to celebrate 40 years of a timeless character.