The Nintendo Direct’s announcement of the Expansion Pack, consisting of 9 Nintendo 64 games and select Sega Genesis titles, was likely the standout for many. Indeed, it largely felt like a callback to a bygone era, as not only was a Mario movie announced and the Expansion Pack revealed, but instant classics like Bayonetta return with the reveal of its threequel.

However, despite this, it’s hard not to notice one oddity among appearances and discussions about the Nintendo 64, Mario, Zelda, Bayonetta, and so on. Nintendo has had a history, really, of snubbing Donkey Kong, and while Seth Rogen was confirmed to be Donkey Kong in the Mario movie, it’s clear that there’s no love for DK.

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Donkey Kong’s Fading Relevancy as a Mascot

Donkey Kong 64 Stop n Swap

It’s not fair, nor fun to write that Donkey Kong is fading, but it’s clear that it’s just that. While Nintendo has celebrated several big anniversaries lately, such as The Legend of Zelda and Mario, Donkey Kong's anniversary effectively went unmentioned. There was no love for the titular ape on his big 40th anniversary. Couple this with his unceremonious release schedule, and Donkey Kong games typically release further apart than Zelda games.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was ported to the Switch in 2018, but that game was originally released in 2014. It still serves as the most recent entry in the Donkey Kong franchise. Now, DK has also had a bunch of releases followed by extended periods of silence. From 1981 through 1984, 7 games were released, but then he wouldn’t be heard from again until 1994. A total of 9 games would release between then and 1999, including the much-beloved Donkey Kong 64. Donkey Kong would see another surge of 5 games from 2003 and 2005, but after that, his entries would slow to the point that there have been a total of 4 games since 2007.

Donkey Kong used to be a major mascot for Nintendo, alongside Mario and Link. His role in the gaming community would have been comparable, at one point, to Sony’s Spider-Man, Kratos, and Aloy and Microsoft’s Master Chief. But recent years have shown no love to the ape, and neither did the most recent Direct.

September’s Nintendo Direct Went Back to the N64 Days but Ignored DK

nintendo 64 console

Again, Donkey Kong 64 is perhaps one of the most iconic games of his franchise but also of the Nintendo 64. It was, to be blunt, quite revolutionary for the time. Nintendo acknowledged that the N64 may have been many gamer’s entry points into the world of 3D gaming, and while the classics it should like Star Fox 64 were certainly part of that, Donkey Kong 64 was just as relevant, if not more so, then.

Looking at NSO’s N64 game list, though, there are four Mario games and one Zelda game (Ocarina of Time) confirmed for launch, and one more Zelda game (Majora’s Mask) among others confirmed to come at some point after. Nowhere is any mention of Donkey Kong 64, which is the big missing title, or even Diddy Kong Racing, but there’s plenty of Mario to go around.

Hopefully, with Donkey Kong set to appear in the Mario movie, The Big N will once again see another rush of Donkey Kong games. On the other hand, it’s worrying that he may fade into the background and become a secondary character, if that. Donkey Kong certainly deserves better.

No known Donkey Kong game is in development.

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