JCnator
Senior Member
Welcome to my eight amiibo Review! I will expose the context behind the character, then I'll review its amiibo based on 3 factors: its presentation, its usefulness and its accessibility as of now. And Donkey Kong, the banana-munching ape with a tie is the amiibo of the day.
It's on like Donkey Kong!
A little bit of history...
Donkey Kong actually originated on the 1985 arcade machine of the same name, where Mario was a carpenter trying to save Pauline by scaling to the top of a construction site while jumping over barrels and hammering them. His initial design created by Miyamoto looked like pretty much your stereotypical ape, without his famous tie and his unique hair. The «*Donkey*» on the name portrayed his stubbornness, while «*Kong*» was considered as a generic term for large scary apes in Japan. Does King Kong sounds familiar to you? Well, Donkey Kong is actually inspired from this character.
Then comes Donkey Kong Country, the first Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) game featuring CGI graphics as sprites, where the current Donkey Kong character model is based from. You can thanks Rare, the developers behind the critically acclaimed Banjo-Kazooie for that. But, what about his old design? Turns out that Cranky Kong was canonically revealed to be that guy, as he outright referenced his younger days when he met Mario.
Presentation
First of all, let's get to the elephant in the room*: the ginormous translucent white stand that Donkey Kong is apparently sitting on. It's quite possibly the most appalling stand I've ever seen on any amiibo to date. The ape is fully held by this contraption, which begs me to question why didn't they lower that stand so they could pin his feet in his base to improve stability without that huge plastic block. Why didn't they went to improvise that ugly stand into something like a rock, a plant and such? Why didn't they went for an alternate pose? I know it's trying to imitate the pose from his promotional artwork of Super Smash Bros. For Wii U/3DS, but I swear his amiibo could be done much better than that. At least, you don't see much of it by looking at the front, but still...
Does this remind you of anything?
Ignoring the stand, his actual pose proves that Donkey Kong is still the king of jungle even after all of those years. He comes across as flying from one vine to another, giving him a more kinetic feeling. Or hilariously enough, he could be sitting on a toilet and dancing at the same time. Also, the amiibo's quality is still pretty good for the most part, especially when it comes to the fur. The fur alone makes him among the most detailed amiibo from the very first wave ever released worldwide. His tie was also well-crafted accordingly to his movement. The only few niggles I've found is that the color of his face and belly is slightly off from his hands and feet, and that there's a noticeable seam jointing the top and bottom of his open mouth.
Usefulness
The Donkey Kong franchise is fairly popular, given that the titular character has appeared in quite a lot of notable Mario titles, even dating as far back as the original Donkey Kong arcade game. He also even have a fair share of his own games, including the commercially successful Donkey Kong Country and its sequel. That means that there should be a lot of games compatible with his amiibo, and you're absolutely right. There's actually at least 8 games that supports him, so that sounds very promising if you intent on making the most out of him. There's even two variations of Turbo Charge Donkey Kong that not only double as Donkey Kong amiibo, but also figures that are ready to play for the upcoming Skylanders*: SuperChargers games.
List of compatible games that Read-Write this amiibo's memory:
- Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U : Use him as a CPU-controlled Smash Fighter and level up to 50.
- Mario Party 10 : Get to play as Donkey Kong in amiibo Party mode and let you save items and custom base.
List of compatible games that Read this amiibo:
- Mario Kart 8 : Unlock Donkey Kong suit for Mii characters to wear.
- Hyrule Warriors & Hyrule Warriors Legend : Use him to unlock a weapon from level 3 or below, materials for crafting or even up to 50,000 rupees.
- Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy + : Use him to unlock the aircraft F/A-18E "Donkey Kong" that is themed after the character.
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker : Use him to gain a 1-UP mushroom once per day.
- Yoshi's Wooly World : Scan his amiibo and receive a motif based on the character.
- One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X (Japan-only) : Use him to unlock his outfit that give a special ability for Franky.
- amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits : Use him to let you play a few "scenes" from NES and SNES titles.
- Super Mario Maker : Scan his amiibo and you'll turn into a 8-bit version of Donkey Kong if you grab a certain powerup.
Accessibility
In a similar situation to the previously reviewed Samus amiibo, Donkey Kong was pretty easy to get ahold of during 2-3 months after the launch of Wave 1, and then became increasingly difficult to obtain for $12.99 MSRP. He's still a bit easier to acquire than Samus, due of his higher popularity attributed to the fact he starred in quite a lot of games, therefore guaranteeing him either an inevitable restock or announcing a Super Mario version of Donkey Kong amiibo, as seen in Mario Party 10. If you absolutely need him right now, you'd better off start to search in every store in your proximity and see if you can spot him. Should that fail, you could also resort to import or buy from a reseller if you dare to push your luck. Or you could just wait to get one of the two Turbo Charge Donkey Kong variations of Skylander*: SuperChargers from any Wii U Starter Pack that'll be released in late September, since they can also double as Donkey Kong amiibo.
Final verdict
Donkey Kong amiibo has a good presentation despite his large hideous stand, and its very high cross-compatibility with games is what drives home to pretty much everyone. He might be not easy for anyone to be obtain, but he's certainly not too hard either. If all else fails, you can try again in the eventual restock or just get any of the two Turbo Charge Donkey Kong variations.
Recommendation: GET IT!
It's on like Donkey Kong!
A little bit of history...
Donkey Kong actually originated on the 1985 arcade machine of the same name, where Mario was a carpenter trying to save Pauline by scaling to the top of a construction site while jumping over barrels and hammering them. His initial design created by Miyamoto looked like pretty much your stereotypical ape, without his famous tie and his unique hair. The «*Donkey*» on the name portrayed his stubbornness, while «*Kong*» was considered as a generic term for large scary apes in Japan. Does King Kong sounds familiar to you? Well, Donkey Kong is actually inspired from this character.
Then comes Donkey Kong Country, the first Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) game featuring CGI graphics as sprites, where the current Donkey Kong character model is based from. You can thanks Rare, the developers behind the critically acclaimed Banjo-Kazooie for that. But, what about his old design? Turns out that Cranky Kong was canonically revealed to be that guy, as he outright referenced his younger days when he met Mario.
Presentation
First of all, let's get to the elephant in the room*: the ginormous translucent white stand that Donkey Kong is apparently sitting on. It's quite possibly the most appalling stand I've ever seen on any amiibo to date. The ape is fully held by this contraption, which begs me to question why didn't they lower that stand so they could pin his feet in his base to improve stability without that huge plastic block. Why didn't they went to improvise that ugly stand into something like a rock, a plant and such? Why didn't they went for an alternate pose? I know it's trying to imitate the pose from his promotional artwork of Super Smash Bros. For Wii U/3DS, but I swear his amiibo could be done much better than that. At least, you don't see much of it by looking at the front, but still...
Does this remind you of anything?
Ignoring the stand, his actual pose proves that Donkey Kong is still the king of jungle even after all of those years. He comes across as flying from one vine to another, giving him a more kinetic feeling. Or hilariously enough, he could be sitting on a toilet and dancing at the same time. Also, the amiibo's quality is still pretty good for the most part, especially when it comes to the fur. The fur alone makes him among the most detailed amiibo from the very first wave ever released worldwide. His tie was also well-crafted accordingly to his movement. The only few niggles I've found is that the color of his face and belly is slightly off from his hands and feet, and that there's a noticeable seam jointing the top and bottom of his open mouth.
4/5
Usefulness
The Donkey Kong franchise is fairly popular, given that the titular character has appeared in quite a lot of notable Mario titles, even dating as far back as the original Donkey Kong arcade game. He also even have a fair share of his own games, including the commercially successful Donkey Kong Country and its sequel. That means that there should be a lot of games compatible with his amiibo, and you're absolutely right. There's actually at least 8 games that supports him, so that sounds very promising if you intent on making the most out of him. There's even two variations of Turbo Charge Donkey Kong that not only double as Donkey Kong amiibo, but also figures that are ready to play for the upcoming Skylanders*: SuperChargers games.
List of compatible games that Read-Write this amiibo's memory:
- Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U : Use him as a CPU-controlled Smash Fighter and level up to 50.
- Mario Party 10 : Get to play as Donkey Kong in amiibo Party mode and let you save items and custom base.
List of compatible games that Read this amiibo:
- Mario Kart 8 : Unlock Donkey Kong suit for Mii characters to wear.
- Hyrule Warriors & Hyrule Warriors Legend : Use him to unlock a weapon from level 3 or below, materials for crafting or even up to 50,000 rupees.
- Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy + : Use him to unlock the aircraft F/A-18E "Donkey Kong" that is themed after the character.
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker : Use him to gain a 1-UP mushroom once per day.
- Yoshi's Wooly World : Scan his amiibo and receive a motif based on the character.
- One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X (Japan-only) : Use him to unlock his outfit that give a special ability for Franky.
- amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits : Use him to let you play a few "scenes" from NES and SNES titles.
- Super Mario Maker : Scan his amiibo and you'll turn into a 8-bit version of Donkey Kong if you grab a certain powerup.
5/5
Accessibility
In a similar situation to the previously reviewed Samus amiibo, Donkey Kong was pretty easy to get ahold of during 2-3 months after the launch of Wave 1, and then became increasingly difficult to obtain for $12.99 MSRP. He's still a bit easier to acquire than Samus, due of his higher popularity attributed to the fact he starred in quite a lot of games, therefore guaranteeing him either an inevitable restock or announcing a Super Mario version of Donkey Kong amiibo, as seen in Mario Party 10. If you absolutely need him right now, you'd better off start to search in every store in your proximity and see if you can spot him. Should that fail, you could also resort to import or buy from a reseller if you dare to push your luck. Or you could just wait to get one of the two Turbo Charge Donkey Kong variations of Skylander*: SuperChargers from any Wii U Starter Pack that'll be released in late September, since they can also double as Donkey Kong amiibo.
4/5
Final verdict
Donkey Kong amiibo has a good presentation despite his large hideous stand, and its very high cross-compatibility with games is what drives home to pretty much everyone. He might be not easy for anyone to be obtain, but he's certainly not too hard either. If all else fails, you can try again in the eventual restock or just get any of the two Turbo Charge Donkey Kong variations.
Recommendation: GET IT!
