

Despite the monkey taking the headline name, the porky plumber Mario became the star, however! Being able to control the hero in such a dynamic and compelling way was a delight in the ‘80s. As one of the earliest examples of 2D plaformers, arcade-goers were in awe. In a similar archetype to the Popeye series, Jumpman (Mario) fended off the rampant Donkey Kong to save poor old Pauline!ĭonkey Kong became Nintendo’s crucial hit – before the Super Mario Bros and Legend of Zelda that came after it. Instead, Miyamoto came up with the story of Donkey, Jumpman and Pauline. Fortunately for Nintendo, they never quite grabbed that lucrative Popeye licence! More of this in our Princess Peach facts blog! A story of love triangles and fierce competition. Shigeru Miyamoto, the father of Mario, originally wanted to create a game based off Popeye, Bluto, and Olive Oyl. With Pac-Man cobbling up more coins than pixel ghosts, Nintendo craved a slice of that arcade pie. Gaming was still bound to the buzz, the thrill of the coin-op arcade. To get a taste of where our Donkey Kong arcade history begins, we need to travel back to the early ‘80s. One of the most loved classics Donkey Kong ’94 brought back the frantic platforming fun, with new puzzle challenges! We’ve seen both monkey and plumber in many adventures since, but where did it all begin? Here’s a little Donkey Kong arcade history! Popeye the Hero It’s been 25 years since the iconic remake of the classic Donkey Kong arcade game.
