Donkey Kong Jr: The Mirror of Mario -- Designing For Donkey Kong December

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  • Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
  • Donkey Kong Jr. is a title that's often overlooked in the grand scheme of Donkey Kong's history; it's a cute little curiosity, but not that much more. However, the arcade classic did SO much legwork in not just establishing the tone and character of the Donkey Kong series, but providing a contrast that would help springboard the Mario series into far greater prominence and popularity.
    Donkey Kong December Playlist: • Designing For: Donkey ...
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Patreon: / designingfor
    Twitter: / designing4games
    Discord: / discord
    Director/Writer/Voice Over/Footage: Tommy Eyler/Pyrrhickong ( / pyrrhickong )
    Video Editing/Additional Direction/Script Editing: AuthorMan ( / authorman )
    Intro Animation By: / @tarvouldsquest
    Intro Theme By: / tracks

КОМЕНТАРІ • 81

  • @Dmgladiator2642
    @Dmgladiator2642 Рік тому +110

    If I had a nickle for every UA-camr in my top 10 who made a popular series of punchout videos and has a slight obsession with Donkey Kong I would have 2 nickles bizzare that that happened twice

    • @robbiewalker2831
      @robbiewalker2831 Рік тому +4

      If I had a Dollar for everytime people say Cranky is DK Jr's son, and ignoring that DK '94 retconned that notion with Game Boy Donkey Kong (which is actually the Debut appearance of Modern DK, who wears a necktie), I'd be a millionare.

    • @SquidwardTentacles-jl6me
      @SquidwardTentacles-jl6me Рік тому +5

      if i had a nickle every time i did a poo i would have 11098 nickles

    • @Iamverylazy
      @Iamverylazy Рік тому +3

      @@robbiewalker2831 Donkey Kong '94 couldn't have retconned anything about Cranky Kong, it was released before Cranky's first appearance.

    • @jameslawrenson1208
      @jameslawrenson1208 8 місяців тому

      Doofensmirtz.

  • @gooeydude574
    @gooeydude574 Рік тому +31

    Maybe when Mario fell on his head, he got amnesia and became the Mario we know today

    • @DeltaBlazin
      @DeltaBlazin 3 місяці тому

      I still believe that the Mario of this game is different from the one we have now, especially considering the Donkey Kong in this game becomes Cranky Kong in the future, if the Mario in Donkey Kong WAS the same, he'd be WAY older by now.

    • @gooeydude574
      @gooeydude574 2 місяці тому

      @@DeltaBlazin consider the fact that apes age faster than humans

  • @joeygamer5387
    @joeygamer5387 Рік тому +25

    No wonder I love both series equally. Both continue to inspire each other in various ways.
    Donkey Kong brought forth DKJr.
    DKJr. brought both DKC and Super Mario Bros.
    Super Mario 64 inspired DKC3 to put in an N64 to further advertise the game as well as inspire DK64 later on (with the help of Banjo- Kazooie)
    Super Mario Kart brought back DKJr
    Mario Kart 64 inspired Diddy Kong Racing and further brought us Banjo- Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day.
    The list goes on to the point where Super Mario Bros the movie has already paved the way to lead to the early development of Donkey Kong the movie!
    I cant wait to watch both films and I'm eager to see what our heroic twins and stubborn apes have in store in the future of games.

    • @robbiewalker2831
      @robbiewalker2831 Рік тому +3

      Game Boy Donkey Kong also brought back DK Jr, while introducing Modern DK (the Kong with the Necktie), while Mario vs. Donkey Kong was the spiritual sequel that Game Boy game, even though the future MvsDK Games got rid of the original formula, despite also reintroducing Pauline, who appeared in the Game Boy DK game.

  • @joshuagiordano593
    @joshuagiordano593 Рік тому +16

    1:42 Hold up. That's music from the goddawful SNES port of Space Ace. You don't get to just drop that into a video unannounced, you magnificent son of a gun.

    • @DesigningFor
      @DesigningFor  Рік тому +12

      Sometimes I like dropping things in just to see if someone will recognize it.
      I am so, so pleased it paid off this time.

  • @HDJ363
    @HDJ363 Рік тому +12

    1:38 made me flashback to the Blue Lobster meme
    Jokes aside, wonderful video essay analyzing DK Jr.! Can’t wait to see what’s next for DKD

  • @JacksonJinn
    @JacksonJinn Рік тому +34

    I know this is a continuity take that no one else has, but if Cranky is canonically the DK of classic Donkey Kong fame, I argue Jumpman should be Mario and Luigi's *dad* just the same. Yeah, it makes a few things strange, like the Pauline situation, but it salvages Mario Mario from being a whip-cracking animal abuser. ...And also a carpenter. Plus it better frames the 1983 Mario Bros. game as a sequel in the same way, featuring the brothers as opposed to their old man. Hell, it even works with Jumpman's color pallatte being a reverse of Mario's (red overalls/blue shirt vs blue overalls/red shirt)

    • @NiGHTSnoob
      @NiGHTSnoob Рік тому +1

      The bigger hiccup with that isn't even Pauline, it's the 94 Game Boy game, which still has the original DK, but very clearly has the modern Mario design. He's got blue overalls and a red shirt all over the artwork and everything.

    • @BlueLightning09
      @BlueLightning09 Рік тому +1

      @@NiGHTSnoob That game could be the "last hurra" of DK Sr. The story could be that Sr. in his later years could have wanted revenge from Jumpman, but age time works different when traveling through the pipes, so when he arrives he finds Jumpman and The Lady's son, Mario and his girlfriend Pauline. Thus Donkey Kong 94 begins.
      That game ends with Mario, Pauline and the Kong's in amicable terms. That's why Jr. (Modern DK) is invited to Super Mario Kart.
      You just have to think that DK Sr. is older (and Crankier) than he looks like and Jr. helps his Papa because he thinks he is right. And DK Sr. would have reasons even to kidnap The Lady in the original game if we take Donkey Kong Circus for the Game and Watch into account.
      Eventually Jr takes on the title of his father as the protector of DK Island.
      (And we can ignore Mario vs. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy Advance, because it ruins DK personality)

    • @malhaomalhoa7486
      @malhaomalhoa7486 Рік тому +5

      Cranky being the original DK is already enough of an illogical canon. No need to drag Mario and Pauline into this as well, specially when it's always been fully established that both Jumpman and Lady are Mario and Pauline, respectively. Besides Mario had the colors on his outfit reversed in the original Super Mario Bros, so no.

    • @seandwalsh3
      @seandwalsh3 Рік тому +5

      Jumpman is explicitly the Mario we still follow today. The idea that they’re father and son is, quite frankly, nonsense.
      Kongs just age faster than humans. Tiny Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. make that obvious.

    • @seandwalsh3
      @seandwalsh3 Рік тому +3

      @@BlueLightning09 Jumpman is Mario, Lady is Pauline.
      Mario vs. Donkey Kong can’t and shouldn’t be ignored - especially since it’s perfectly within Donkey Kong’s personality.

  • @swarth8632
    @swarth8632 Рік тому +11

    Awesome! I still have an original Atari Donkey Kong Jr. cartridge!

  • @cowboyluigi5275
    @cowboyluigi5275 Рік тому +4

    Something also to note is that this game _might_ be Luigi’s first appearance in its most basic form. During the intro, where Mario is seen taking DK off-screen in a cage, there’s… another Mario? It’s clearly not Luigi as we know him today since he’s not wearing any green, but to be fair, both brothers (Luigi especially) wore many overalls with different color combinations in the early 80s, so it’s not unlikely.
    Of course, that wasn’t Nintendo’s plan at the time; they just used Mario’s sprite to represent another human to save space. But perhaps it influenced them to give this nameless clone an identity of his own?

  • @raekwon4650
    @raekwon4650 Рік тому +19

    You should really do something for donkey Kong ‘94

  • @Drshnaps
    @Drshnaps Рік тому +6

    Something fascinating I realized about Donkey Kong Jr. only recently:
    For the longest time I was under the assumption that DKJr took place immediately after the events of the original Donkey Kong. Jumpman just managed to get his girlfriend back and the kidnapping ape was put behind bars both because he's a dangerous animal and a criminal. So Junior decides to take it upon himself to travel to wherever he's being held and set him loose again. Makes sense, right? Mario's not so much a villain in this situation as he is trying to stop the events of the previous game from repeating itself.
    HOWEVER if you actually pay attention to the level aesthetics in DKJr, the environments tell a different story. The game actually starts out in a jungle setting with the first two stages, and the progresses INTO the city. This means that after the events of the first game, DK must have been released back into the jungle, and Jumpman is actually going out of his way to travel into the jungle and capture the beast. He's not just a defender who happens to looks like an atagonist when seen from Junior's perspective; he is actually a villainous poacher dragging the daddy ape out of his own home for some nefarious sideshow.
    TLDR: Mario's not just misunderstood here, he's actively being a dick.

    • @MagillanicaLouM
      @MagillanicaLouM Рік тому

      More like Super Rude Bros amirite

    • @seandwalsh3
      @seandwalsh3 Рік тому +2

      Nah. It’s a sequel. Mario is just trying to stop the events of the previous game from happening again.
      From the manual:
      “A continuation of the famous Donkey Kong story. Mario saved the beautiful girl from Donkey Kong. And now Mario has chained Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong Junior braves snapjaws, sparks and birds, throwing the key which will open Donkey Kong's locks, up to where his papa is held prisoner. Junior opens the four locks holding Donkey Kong one at a time. Operate Junior's movements to save Donkey Kong.”

    • @wourydiallo1445
      @wourydiallo1445 Рік тому +2

      Based mario

    • @Drshnaps
      @Drshnaps Рік тому +3

      @@seandwalsh3 I think you misunderstand what I was saying. I wasn't saying that this is not a sequel. It definitely occurs after the events of the first game. But the fact that it starts out in the jungle implies that DK was returned to his jungle home in between the two games, and that Mario is actively kidnapping him out of his own home. As opposed to DK simply having been entirely in captivity since the end of the first game.

    • @seandwalsh3
      @seandwalsh3 Рік тому

      @@Drshnaps The Jungle is just outside of New Donk City, as seen in Donkey Kong (Game Boy). Mario wasn’t kidnapping him from his home, he was taking him from the outskirts of the Metro Kingdom directly after what happened in the first game, which is morally just after what Donkey Kong had done.

  • @malhaomalhoa7486
    @malhaomalhoa7486 Рік тому +8

    This is why I always wished Donkey Kong Jr. was the second player character in Donkey Kong Country instead of having a new character shoehorned into the series out of nowhere.
    Jr was one of the first Nintendo and video game icons and the fist playable Kong, as well as a major part in the early days of both Mario and DK. His game definitely helped pave the way for the Donkey Kong series to grow and even Nintendo as a video game company. Shame how the little guy fell so much into obscurity since then and is barely given any credit, even from the big N itself.

    • @Saetta06
      @Saetta06 6 місяців тому

      that was the original plan, but Rare redesigned Jr. too much and nintendo didn't like it, so that design was renamed into diddy

    • @malhaomalhoa7486
      @malhaomalhoa7486 6 місяців тому

      @@Saetta06 I always laugh whenever people assume I don’t know that already.

  • @benjamingesinski9170
    @benjamingesinski9170 Рік тому +2

    Imagine an alternate universe where Donkey Kong Jr (or Donkey Kong) became the mascot of Nintendo instead of Mario.

  • @tedgonzalez985
    @tedgonzalez985 5 місяців тому

    This is really nice video. 👍 I really haven't noticed just how much DK Jr. has inspired the DK series as a whole. Now I see its significance much more now. Also, I subscribe to the headcanon that DK Jr. is young current DK, and that's why you don't see the Jr. iteration anymore. Still though, I do wish they reference it more besides a couple of cameos here and there.
    For starters, I would LOVE to have Donkey Kong Jr. in Smash Bros. as a dual representative of the DK series and retro games in general like Game & Watch, R.O.B. and Duck Hunt. And not just as an echo fighter of DK, with his own moveset using several moves inspired by his first game, and maybe from other games he's in too, like Super Mario Kart and Mario Tennis. Or just give him some brand new moves too. It is Smash Bros., after all.

  • @DeltaBlazin
    @DeltaBlazin 3 місяці тому

    I still believe that the Mario of this game is different from the one we have now, especially considering the Donkey Kong in this game becomes Cranky Kong in the future, if the Mario in Donkey Kong WAS the same, he'd be WAY older by now.

  • @olympusgolemoflight7198
    @olympusgolemoflight7198 Рік тому +8

    I always did like DK Junior better than Donkey Kong.

  • @quixotes4478
    @quixotes4478 Рік тому +2

    SAY I WONT DO IT
    SAY I WONT DO IT
    SAY I WONT DO IT IMMA DO IT EVERYDAY

  • @MagillanicaLouM
    @MagillanicaLouM Рік тому +1

    The game that shows foul Mario's true villainous roots

  • @EggBastion
    @EggBastion Рік тому +1

    Nice

  • @Pokerror404
    @Pokerror404 10 місяців тому

    It’s my favorite arcade game

  • @16bitgamers17
    @16bitgamers17 Рік тому +3

    I saw donkey kong December and I clicked

  • @sidthesquid4206
    @sidthesquid4206 Рік тому +2

    Donkey Kong December, Donkey Kong December

  • @BabusGameRoom
    @BabusGameRoom Рік тому

    Have we seen DK and DK Jr. in the same place before? (and I'm not talking about Cranky Kong...)
    ...wait.
    Donkey Kong Jr...that means he has the same name as his father.
    Donkey Kong became Cranky Kong. So, going my Miles "Tails" Prower naming conventions, we can call the original DK Donkey "Cranky" Kong.
    And Donkey Kong Jr. is aka. "Donkey Kong", since we can just leave off the Jr.
    DK Jr. = "Donkey Kong" (the one with the SSB character) confirmed!!
    (and we see Mario and Baby Mario in the same game anyways, so...theory confirmed!)

  • @StoryTeller796
    @StoryTeller796 Рік тому

    So, Designing For, what do you think of Game Theory's relationship with this game? Do you think they slander this game, or are you okay with just laughing at MatPat's fanfiction? Or, do you have a different opinion from the majority of people who critique Game Theory?

  • @geothepoly
    @geothepoly Рік тому +1

    Bro went Ted Kaczinsky mode 4:51

  • @R_wir3
    @R_wir3 Рік тому +1

    My SMK/Tour main

  • @retro3188
    @retro3188 Рік тому

    I love this!

  • @Choco____1
    @Choco____1 Рік тому +1

    My guy, how hard are you working right now? You've been releasing so many videos in such a small amount of time! First off, good job, but secondly, go take a break. We can't have Designing For burning out!

    • @AuthorMx
      @AuthorMx Рік тому +2

      Every video for DK December, sans a few here and there, have been finished well in advance. Pyrrs been taking a well deserved break after getting everything cracked out for us to finish up. Please enjoy the work we've put out and will put out!

    • @Choco____1
      @Choco____1 Рік тому +1

      @@AuthorMx Yeah, I know, but the fact that he worked on *all* of these _while_ putting out consistent content is incredible.

  • @threethousandbees7260
    @threethousandbees7260 Рік тому

    "Stomping turts" makes me uncomfortable and i can't explain why.

  • @tsp1999
    @tsp1999 Рік тому

    I have a friend who covers the lore of the Marioverse (Spoiler Goblin), and since he goes with remakes over originals, he determined DKJr takes place directly BEFORE DK94

  • @BluShiGuy
    @BluShiGuy Рік тому +1

    Yahoo

  • @UserYoutubeSome
    @UserYoutubeSome Рік тому +1

    The forgotten one.

  • @VICTORZITOSS
    @VICTORZITOSS Рік тому

    Yeaaaah
    Let's get this video to a lot of views in the first hour so that it gets love from youtube
    Algorithm bless this video which i liked even before watching it because it's that good
    Seriously, sometimes i end up pissed off because i can't like it again after watching it, fix that youtube
    Lots of words lots of engagement, yadda yadda

  • @Juni12
    @Juni12 Рік тому

    The Mirror Or Mario, huh?

  • @Hchris101
    @Hchris101 Рік тому

    Konga donka

  • @Umbreon_Eevee
    @Umbreon_Eevee Рік тому

    Im really surprised to hear game and watch gallery 3 music

  • @ararebeast
    @ararebeast Рік тому

    We really just let Mario keep doing things to animals after this huh

  • @morriganrenfield8240
    @morriganrenfield8240 Рік тому

    Donkey kong december! Weeww

  • @rundyftw
    @rundyftw Рік тому

    Donkey Kong junior math

  • @budderk1305
    @budderk1305 Рік тому +1

    algorithm comment

  • @MannifyYT2024
    @MannifyYT2024 Рік тому

    7th

  • @katefeider
    @katefeider Рік тому

    deaaaad

  • @kimferguson7815
    @kimferguson7815 Рік тому +1

    Keep making a great video, I enjoy watching. You should research *promo sm*!!!