2021 is poised to be a big year for Nintendo as the venerable video game company celebrates numerous anniversaries for several of its iconic franchises. And while Nintendo has currently kept mum about any plans to commemorate landmark anniversaries for its video game series or fan-favorite consoles, one video franchise above all of the other anniversaries in 2021 deserves special recognition: Donkey Kong.
Given the necktie-wearing gorilla's importance on Nintendo's overall history, the company should pull out all the stops to give the mighty Kong his due as the true king of the video game jungle.
In July 1981, Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong in Japan and North America after Nintendo's earlier unsuccessful attempts to break into the North American video game market. Young game designer Shigeru Miyamoto was approached by producer Gunpei Yokoi to reprogram Nintendo's unsuccessful Radar Scope arcade cabinets into a new title, with Miyamoto also becoming the planned game's director and lead artist.
Initially conceived as a licensed video game based on the classic Popeye comic strip, Popeye was changed into Mario (originally named Jumpman), the brutish Bluto turned into a large gorilla and Olive Oyl became the damsel-in-distress Pauline. After a successful trial run at two locations in Seattle, where Nintendo of America is located, Nintendo was convinced about the arcade game's viability and embarked on an enormously successful rollout having finally established a foothold in the North American video game market.
Donkey Kong's success wouldn't be limited to the arcades, however, with a trilogy of acclaimed titles released for the Super Nintendo over a decade later. Crafted by the second-party developer Rare, 1994's Donkey Kong Country provided the ape with his iconic redesign that he still bears decades later while introducing the rest of the Kong family.
The original Donkey Kong Country went on to become the third-bestselling title for the Super Nintendo, while its two sequels similarly received critical and commercial success. Since then, new Donkey Kong games have only been released sporadically, from 1999's Donkey Kong 64 to the franchise's most recent title, 2014's Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U and Nintendo Switch.
At the very least, the Donkey Kong franchise deserves some sort of anniversary collection like last year's Super Mario 3D All-Stars that compiles remastered high-definition ports of classic titles. A Donkey Kong anniversary collection presumably could include the original Donkey Kong arcade game, it's enhanced remake on the original Game Boy (which added over 90 additional levels), the Donkey Kong Country trilogy (though they are already available through Nintendo Switch Online) and Donkey Kong 64. Plus, with no new Donkey Kong game for seven years, a brand-new title just in time for the franchise's 40th anniversary would mark the occasion in style.
Donkey Kong not only was Nintendo's first major video game success in North America, it also introduced the world to Mario. More importantly, it helped pave the way for the company to launch the NES and resuscitate the ailing North American video game industry when it was on life support following the video game crash of 1983. Because it is such an important franchise in the company's history, Nintendo absolutely needs to commemorate Donkey Kong's 40th anniversary. With Nintendo celebrating everything from the Mario to Fire Emblem last year, the company's original arcade icon certainly deserves no less as he reaches his own milestone.