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Storyline: Donkey Kong has stolen Mario's girlfriend and taken her to the top of a steel structure. You move Mario over girders and up ladders, leap over tumbling barrels, dodge lethal fireballs and jump onto fast-moving elevators, trying to rescue Mario's girlfriend from Donkey Kong.

History: The original Donkey Kong made his first appearance as the titular character of the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong alongside protagonist Mario and heroine Pauline. As Mario, the player must reach Donkey Kong at the top of each stage, where he is holding Pauline captive. Donkey Kong attempts to hinder the player's progress by throwing barrels and other obstacles towards Mario. The ape would reappear the following year in the sequel Donkey Kong Junior, where Donkey Kong is taken captive and locked in a cage by Mario, while Donkey Kong Junior sets out to rescue him.

Trivia: Donkey Kong was the product of a Nintendo artist named Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto did the entire game himself (even the music), the only help he got was with the name. He and a manager decided they'd call it "Donkey Kong" because "kong" would imply a gorilla was involved, and "donkey" was used because their Japanese-to-English dictionary said it meant "stubborn, wily, and goofy."

NERD NOTE: After Donkey Kong 3, Mario would go on to become Nintendo's primary mascot, while Donkey Kong and his son were relegated to supporting roles and cameos such as in the arcade version of Punch-Out!!, the NES version of Tetris, Super Mario Kart, and the Virtual Boy game Mario's Tennis.