The now iconic red necktie stuck with the character, a carry-over from the quasi-remake of the original Donkey Kong released on the Game Boy just a few months earlier, but DK’s overall stature was diminished from monstrous and intimidating to lean and athletic. Shigeru Miyamoto’s creation was given a somewhat subtle facelift, yet the changes in his appearance were distinct enough to last decades to come. The glowering gorilla’s days of harassing Pauline and battling Jumpman were over. Donkey Kong would see the light of day again with a fresh, slick appearance through this partnership between Nintendo and Rare, and thus the former antagonist was given the chance to play the hero. Nintendo was so enamored with what they saw that they moved to acquire 49% of the company and Rare became a second-party developer. Tim and Chris Stamper were hard at work developing 3D sprites when the Big N’s eye fell on their Leicestershire company, Rare. That solution came from overseas in the West. Nintendo needed a “rare” solution to this problem to resurrect the grimacing gorilla. Video games were moving irresistibly away from the arcades to home consoles and nearly 10 years between new Donkey Kong releases all but ensured that DK risked becoming nothing more than a relic.
A handful of games released in the early ’80s, beginning with the big breakthrough title Donkey Kong in 1981, made DK a popular, coin-eating, barrel-chucking baddie in the neon-lit arcades but the times were slowing changing. Zaius, Planet of the Apesīy time the ’90s came around, the iconic ape known as Donkey Kong had begun to show his age. “What will he find out there, doctor?” “His destiny.” -Zira to Dr.
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