Play Order
0 / 7 playedMain platformers in release order, Bananza last.
About Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong began in arcades in 1981 with Jumpman rescuing Pauline, then headlined Donkey Kong Country (1994), Diddy's Quest (1995) and Dixie's Double Trouble (1996) on SNES from Rare. The series continued with 64 (1999), Jungle Beat (2004), and Retro's Returns (2010) and Tropical Freeze (2014). Mario vs Donkey Kong remade the Game Boy puzzler in 2024.
Donkey Kong Bananza launched July 17, 2025 on Switch 2 as the first full 3D Donkey Kong platformer, with Pauline joining as a companion. Nintendo positions it as the start of a bigger Kong push, with the franchise active and more expected.
Good to know
Start with Tropical Freeze or Bananza, since both teach Kong movement from zero with modern controls. The Country trilogy plays best in release order for its escalating secrets, but each game resets the banana-hoard plot. The arcade originals, handheld spinoffs and the Mario vs series are history and puzzle extras with no bearing on the platformers.
