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50 free Donkey Kong trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
43 free Donkey Kong trivia questions with answers. Donkey Kong has been throwing barrels since 1981, and this quiz covers the whole family tree. Forty-two questions run from the arcade game that saved Nintendo's unsold cabinets and gave the world Mario, through Rare's Donkey Kong Country trilogy on the SNES with its pre-rendered graphics and David Wise soundtracks, to Donkey Kong 64, Retro Studios' Returns and Tropical Freeze, and 2025's Donkey Kong Bananza on Switch 2. The Kremlings, King K. Rool's many aliases, Diddy and Dixie, Cranky's identity crisis, and the Billy Mitchell high-score saga all get their turn. The easy questions ask who Donkey Kong kidnaps and what he steals; the hard ones want the name of the studio behind Returns, the reason DK64 needed an Expansion Pak, and how many golden bananas that game hides. It suits anyone from casual Smash players to people who can hum Stickerbush Symphony. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the games and characters, and each question carries the sentence that backs it up.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In what year did the original Donkey Kong arcade game come out?
1981
It launched in Japan in July 1981 and became the top-grossing arcade game in the US the following year.
Q 02Which famous Nintendo character made his very first video game appearance in the 1981 arcade Donkey Kong?
Mario
He was called Jumpman at the time and worked as a carpenter, not a plumber.
Q 03Who designed the original Donkey Kong arcade game as his first video game project?
Shigeru Miyamoto
Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi handed the job to the rookie designer, who went on to create Mario and Zelda.
Q 04The 1981 Donkey Kong was created to salvage unsold cabinets from which failed Nintendo arcade game?
Radar Scope
Thousands of unsold Radar Scope machines were sitting in a US warehouse before they were converted.
Q 05What was the name later given to the woman Donkey Kong kidnaps in the 1981 arcade game?
Pauline
She was simply 'Lady' in Japan and was named after Polly James, wife of a Nintendo of America warehouse manager.
Q 06Which film studio unsuccessfully sued Nintendo, claiming Donkey Kong infringed its King Kong trademark?
Universal
The court found the studio did not even own the King Kong rights it was suing over.
Q 07Mario was named after Mario Segale, who had what relationship to Nintendo of America?
Landlord of its office
Minoru Arakawa suggested the name change from Jumpman during the US launch.
Q 08The Donkey Kong arcade 'kill screen', caused by a programming error, stops every game where?
Level 22
The bonus timer becomes so short that Mario cannot reach the top, ending every game there.
Q 09Which company licensed Donkey Kong from Nintendo for home consoles in 1982?
Coleco
The deal helped double Coleco's sales to about $500 million.
Q 10According to Miyamoto, the word 'Donkey' was chosen because he thought it would convey what idea?
Stubborn
He reportedly searched a Japanese-English dictionary for a phrase meaning 'stubborn gorilla'.
Q 11How many meters does each single-screen stage of the arcade game represent Donkey Kong having climbed?
25
The four stages are labelled 25, 50, 75 and 100 meters.
Q 12In Donkey Kong Jr. (1982), who has imprisoned Donkey Kong in a cage?
Mario
It is one of the few Nintendo games in which Mario is cast as the villain.
Q 13What is the occupation of Stanley, the hero of Donkey Kong 3?
Exterminator
He sprays bug spray at Donkey Kong and a swarm of bees in a greenhouse.
Q 14Which British studio developed Donkey Kong Country for the SNES?
Q 21In Donkey Kong Country 2, the Kremling king adopts which persona?
Kaptain K. Rool
He goes pirate for the sequel, mad scientist for the third game and boxer for DK64.
Q 22What is the name of the Kremlings' home island where Donkey Kong Country 2 takes place?
Crocodile Isle
A secret Lost World powered by a geyser sits at its heart.
Q 23What does Dixie Kong spin to glide through the air?
Her hair
The ponytail helicopter made her many players' favourite Kong to control.
'Stickerbush Symphony' from Donkey Kong Country 2 plays in which kind of level?
Rare
The studio was founded by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper, and Nintendo bought a 25% stake after the game's success.
Q 15What have the Kremlings stolen at the start of Donkey Kong Country?
The banana hoard
The theft kicks off almost every game in the Country series in some form.
Q 16Which company's workstations did Rare buy to render Donkey Kong Country's 3D models?
Silicon Graphics
The compressed pre-rendered sprites made the SNES look like it was doing things it technically could not.
Q 17Roughly how many copies did Donkey Kong Country sell, making it the third best-selling SNES game?
9.3 million
It shifted more than 500,000 copies in its first week and a million in the US within two weeks.
Q 18Who composed most of the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack, including 'Aquatic Ambience'?
David Wise
The underwater theme alone took five weeks to write.
Q 19How much did Nintendo reportedly spend marketing Donkey Kong Country in America alone?
$16 million
The blitz worked: it was the second-best-selling game of 1994 despite launching in November.
Q 20What is the subtitle of the second SNES Country game, released in 1995?
Diddy's Kong Quest
The pun on 'conquest' set the tone for the third game's 'Double Trouble' too.
Bramble
The gentle track became a fan favourite despite scoring some of the game's most punishing stages.
Q 25Which animal buddy in Donkey Kong Country 2 is a spider that shoots webs?
Squitter
Rattly is the snake, Enguarde the swordfish and Squawks the parrot.
Q 26Donkey Kong 64 was the first of only two games to require which Nintendo 64 accessory?
Expansion Pak
The extra memory powered the game's dynamic lighting system, and the accessory came bundled in the box.
Q 27Which Kong in Donkey Kong 64 can shrink in size?
Tiny
Lanky floats, Chunky lifts rocks and Diddy flies with a jet pack.
Q 28How many golden banana objectives are there in total in Donkey Kong 64?
200
Five per Kong per world across eight worlds, which is why the game became shorthand for collect-a-thon bloat.
Q 29Who composed the Donkey Kong 64 soundtrack, including the DK Rap?
Grant Kirkhope
The composer has said the DK Rap was intended as a joke and was surprised by how seriously people took it.
Q 30Which company acquired Rare in 2002, ending its run of Donkey Kong games?
Microsoft
Donkey Kong 64 turned out to be Rare's final DK title.