History:
There have been a few Donkey Kongs over the years. The Original Donkey Kong lived peacfully on his eponymous Island until a young Adventurer, Mario found him, kidnapped him and then kept him as a pet. After years of abuse the Ape broke free, kidnapped Mario's then-beau Pauline and held her for ransom atop Mushroom City, only for Mario to knock him out. As they grew older the Original Donkey Kong eventually retired and soon became more widely known by his nickname, Cranky Kong due to his ornery temperament. His sour attitude likely came from being defeated by Mario all those years ago, tho what the Ape was planning to do with Pauline is questionable. His son, known as DK, Jr. has become an unsteady ally of the Plumber. He was bashful yet powerful, and entered into an early Mario Kart Cup. Since that time though, he has grown up and successfully taken the mantle of Donkey Kong for himself, forgoing the Junior Suffix.
Super:
Considering DK Jr. and Donkey Kong to be the same character is dangerous - they have never been fully disclosed as such. Either way, they're close enough. SMK ranked all eight of its drivers in four categories, as such DK Jr. was paired with Bowser in "The Showdown" as statistical equals. Each racer had four categories they ranked in, which would all average to equal stats. The Showdown Heavyweights were the only characters whose stats were all extreme - DK Jr. had low acceleration and terrible handling, but very high speed and weight, allowing him to knock other characters around. As a computer he also threw Bananas around. If he was in first according to the SMK Rival System, the other drivers would finish in order of Toad, Bowser, Koopa, Luigi, Peach, Mario and Yoshi. I don't know why his biggest rival is Toad, maybe it's just a Big vs. Small thing. He had no signature course in SMK but would have plenty more in the future.
64:
64 introduced the Re-Designed Kong pioneered by Rareware in Donkey Kong Country. Heavyweights in 64 had low speed, steering and acceleration. This doesn't sound great, but they tended not to slip around like the other Drivers, which was handy on some tight dangerous courses with the use of power sliding. Kong's weight also prevented him from being jostled around by other drivers in Grand Prix Mode. His Kart is yellow.
Super Circuit:
Double Dash:
Kong's Ride in Double Dash is the DK Jumbo, a truly, truly terrible Kart. Double Dash emphasized Karts over drivers, the characters determined only Weight Class and whatever Special Item you could get. Each of the 10 Duos had only one special item between them, and since most were of the same Weight Class it wouldn't make much of a difference say, to pick between Toad and Toadette. Kong, a Heavyweight, however, partnered with the Lightweight Diddy, making Diddy basically a version of Donkey Kong that could actually be put into a speedy Kart. That discussion is for the Diddy Page, though, let's talk about the Jumbo:
The Jumbo's acceleration at 3.363 seconds to get from 0 to 40 mph is the worst of any Kart in the Game. That means you'll hardly ever see it get up to 58 mph, which is one of the fastest Top Speeds of the Game. It also loses the most speed on turns, speed that it cannot recover because it's acceleration is terrible. It's also lighter for a Heavy Kart and has absolutely terrible Offroad stats, which is bizarre because its wheels are made out of wood. It belongs in the Jungle!
Kong himself is actually useful, if you plan on being and staying in 1st or 2nd Place for most of the Grand Prix the Giant Banana has a defensive Item is hard to beat. No other Item stays stationary on the track behind you for that long. It's also rare that you'll mess up and hit it yourself. It takes a good shot but it can also be used offensively if you throw it forward and nail someone directly, but more often Kong is made to get into 1st Place and then destroy the competition behind him. Getting into 1st with the Jumbo, though? Not happening.
Kong also has a few Secret Ghosts in this game. He leads with Diddy in the backseat on his own DK Mountain with a time of 2:12:639. Continuing the Jungle Theme for the Primates here, he follows Diddy on Dino Dino Jungle at 2:00:908. Both utilise the DK Jumbo.
DS:
Kong is a decent driver in DS. His speed and drifting abilities are pretty good, meaning he'll never lose all that much once he gets going. The acceleration isn't as poor as in some other games, he's one of the best accelerating Heavyweights, although this still leaves all the Middle and Lightweights ahead of him. In general Kong is always that lighter Heavyweight, he's the compromise between wanting a bigger driver but not all the terrible stats they usually bring. In that regard he can be pretty good. Here are his DS Stats for the three Karts specific to him, the model for all DS Racers:
His best ride at the sacrifice of a good Item stat is the Wildlife. The Rambi Rider is a nice touch though, it took Mario Kart so long to start incorporating greater elements from the Donkey Kong Country Series. His handling is pretty poor with all of these, you need to be a good Drift Artist to master the Kong. He adds about 2.8 to the weight of all his Karts, putting him somewhere between the Middleweights and the Heavier Wario, Bowser, and R.O.B. He has three Staff Ghosts in this game, the first is on Cheep Cheep Beach for some reason, perhaps a nod to Kong's Tropical Nature as well as the Oceanline and Beaches that have been present in plenty of his games. He clocks in at 1:43:654 using the Standard DK. He also comes back in DK Pass at 2:14:607 in the Wildlife and the Retro Moo Moo Farm with a 1:17:751 in the same vehicle. As for the Moo Moo Farm association, the connection between Cows and Apes should be obvious...
Wii:
It's weird that Kong doesn't really have any vehicles in Wii associated with him, although his pal Funky Kong does. Wii featured six Bikes and six Karts of varying stats for each Driver in three separate Size Classes. In addition to this each individual driver adds his or her own personal stats to each Vehicle. The most in any category is 80. Kong, like Mario added +2 in Acceleration and Handling (for once DK has good handling! And Acceleration!) as well as +3 for weight and +3 for Mini-Turbo. He requires an advanced Driver to use him properly, with lots of boosts, these are probably the best Stats he's ever seen. All the Kongs are fantastic in this game, actually, there must be some Rare Fan on Staff. Here are the Kong-Specific Stats for Wii:
There have been a few Donkey Kongs over the years. The Original Donkey Kong lived peacfully on his eponymous Island until a young Adventurer, Mario found him, kidnapped him and then kept him as a pet. After years of abuse the Ape broke free, kidnapped Mario's then-beau Pauline and held her for ransom atop Mushroom City, only for Mario to knock him out. As they grew older the Original Donkey Kong eventually retired and soon became more widely known by his nickname, Cranky Kong due to his ornery temperament. His sour attitude likely came from being defeated by Mario all those years ago, tho what the Ape was planning to do with Pauline is questionable. His son, known as DK, Jr. has become an unsteady ally of the Plumber. He was bashful yet powerful, and entered into an early Mario Kart Cup. Since that time though, he has grown up and successfully taken the mantle of Donkey Kong for himself, forgoing the Junior Suffix.
Kong hails from Donkey Kong Island, which is likely located somewhere on Mushroom World, likely very distant as his path has not crossed with the other Mushroom Folk outside of Great Sports Competitions. When Kong grew up he opened some of his land to Racing, seeing not an opportunity for profit but rather and opportunity to showcase his luscious jungles and give everyone a cool place to party. It's just the Kong way. This greatly displeased the reactionary Cranky Kong.
Super:
64:
64 introduced the Re-Designed Kong pioneered by Rareware in Donkey Kong Country. Heavyweights in 64 had low speed, steering and acceleration. This doesn't sound great, but they tended not to slip around like the other Drivers, which was handy on some tight dangerous courses with the use of power sliding. Kong's weight also prevented him from being jostled around by other drivers in Grand Prix Mode. His Kart is yellow.
Kong was equal to Wario in Super Circuit. They were both Heavy Drivers, but not as much as Bowser. They also didn't have the lowest speed in the game, merely a few mph behind Mario and Luigi. Still, his acceleration is terrible. They key to using him is to get ahead early and avoid being destroyed by tons of items. Abandon hope in Time Trials however.
Double Dash:
Kong's Ride in Double Dash is the DK Jumbo, a truly, truly terrible Kart. Double Dash emphasized Karts over drivers, the characters determined only Weight Class and whatever Special Item you could get. Each of the 10 Duos had only one special item between them, and since most were of the same Weight Class it wouldn't make much of a difference say, to pick between Toad and Toadette. Kong, a Heavyweight, however, partnered with the Lightweight Diddy, making Diddy basically a version of Donkey Kong that could actually be put into a speedy Kart. That discussion is for the Diddy Page, though, let's talk about the Jumbo:
Kong himself is actually useful, if you plan on being and staying in 1st or 2nd Place for most of the Grand Prix the Giant Banana has a defensive Item is hard to beat. No other Item stays stationary on the track behind you for that long. It's also rare that you'll mess up and hit it yourself. It takes a good shot but it can also be used offensively if you throw it forward and nail someone directly, but more often Kong is made to get into 1st Place and then destroy the competition behind him. Getting into 1st with the Jumbo, though? Not happening.
Kong also has a few Secret Ghosts in this game. He leads with Diddy in the backseat on his own DK Mountain with a time of 2:12:639. Continuing the Jungle Theme for the Primates here, he follows Diddy on Dino Dino Jungle at 2:00:908. Both utilise the DK Jumbo.
DS:
Kong is a decent driver in DS. His speed and drifting abilities are pretty good, meaning he'll never lose all that much once he gets going. The acceleration isn't as poor as in some other games, he's one of the best accelerating Heavyweights, although this still leaves all the Middle and Lightweights ahead of him. In general Kong is always that lighter Heavyweight, he's the compromise between wanting a bigger driver but not all the terrible stats they usually bring. In that regard he can be pretty good. Here are his DS Stats for the three Karts specific to him, the model for all DS Racers:
His best ride at the sacrifice of a good Item stat is the Wildlife. The Rambi Rider is a nice touch though, it took Mario Kart so long to start incorporating greater elements from the Donkey Kong Country Series. His handling is pretty poor with all of these, you need to be a good Drift Artist to master the Kong. He adds about 2.8 to the weight of all his Karts, putting him somewhere between the Middleweights and the Heavier Wario, Bowser, and R.O.B. He has three Staff Ghosts in this game, the first is on Cheep Cheep Beach for some reason, perhaps a nod to Kong's Tropical Nature as well as the Oceanline and Beaches that have been present in plenty of his games. He clocks in at 1:43:654 using the Standard DK. He also comes back in DK Pass at 2:14:607 in the Wildlife and the Retro Moo Moo Farm with a 1:17:751 in the same vehicle. As for the Moo Moo Farm association, the connection between Cows and Apes should be obvious...
Wii:
His best Bike may be the Phantom, and as far as Karts go the Offroader is decent for Grand Prix Play. Kong has a couple Staff Ghosts as well on his two eponymous Tracks in the game. It's actually interesting that his Normal Staff Ghosts use Bikes and his Experts use Karts. On the DK Summit he pulls a 02:34.693 in the Standard Bike L. On the Retro D.K.'s Jungle Parkway (we can talk about the varying punctuation later) he goes 02:58.264. His Experts are 02:17.546 and 02:37.782 respectively, both with the Flame Flyer.
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