Every DK Crew Member Ranked By How Many Games They’ve Been In

The colorful Mario series has many characters, from the sharp-shelled Bowser to the bubbly, ready-for-action Princess Daisy; every one of them is iconic. One of the series’ most memorable is the lovable ape Donkey Kong and his barrel-throwing antics.Donkey Kong’s own series also has just as many eccentric characters, and even his own family in the DK crew.

This group of Kongs are DK’s closest friends, and they always lend him a hand to help take down whoever stole his beloved bananas. Not all Kongs are treated equally, though, and while Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong are iconic, some of the crew haven’t appeared in decades.

Donkey Kong

He’s The Leader Of The Bunch

You know him well, and, of course, the main Kong himself has appeared the largest number of times despite his lack of games. With the entire series of him being a core rival to Mario and a video game icon, the sheer number of games Donkey Kong appears in is quite a shock, with a total of over 120 physical appearances.

Donkey Kong has appeared in every Mario spin-off series in almost every entry, barring a few of the older ones, such as Super Mario Kart, and he is Nintendo’s go-to pick for a friendly rival character. Hopefully, with Donkey Kong Bananza showing how much potential he has, DK can continue to separate himself from Mario once again, rather than just being a guest in Mario’s games.

Diddy Kong

Replaced By A Brooklyn Singer

We hope that when reading this next entry, you take it with the utmost seriousness, as that’s what our boy Diddy Kong deserves. While Donkey Kong is out adventuring with Pauline, we haven’t forgotten about his true best buddy, Diddy Kong, who deserves better friends. Diddy Kong is DK’s closest friend, and he has been inseparable from DK until Bananza.

While back in the Rare days, Diddy was right next to Donkey Kong in nearly every title he appeared in, the modern titles treat him almost like a ghost. Many Mario spin-offs that include DK often just don’t include Diddy, even if he has appeared in previous entries, such as with Super Mario Party Jambooree. It gets sadder, though, as even in DK’s big 3D return, Diddy (and all the Kongs) have been relegated from playable status to small NPCs.

Dixie Kong

Deserves More

Whether she is flying through the air with her hair or helping her boyfriend Diddy on a grand adventure, Dixie is one of the DK crew’s most reliable members. First appearing in Donkey Kong Country 2, she would get to star as the main character in DKC 3, showing her worth and cementing her as one of the series’ staple characters, or so you would think…

Being the protagonist of one of the most beloved games in the series must mean she’s appeared a bunch, just like Diddy Kong, right? Unfortunately, not, as Dixie Kong often gets left out of many spin-offs outside the DK series, having only ever appeared in smaller titles such as Mario Kart Tour. She deserves so much, and we hope Nintendo realizes her importance soon.

Cranky Kong

The Original DK

This nimble and cane-smacking old Kong has been around for the longest time, but despite that, he hasn’t appeared all too often. Cranky Kong may be flexible enough to accompany his grandson on his adventures, but not to play sports or go karting around the world, so his rigid bones will always be waiting to give DK a hint or tutorial instead.

One thing to note about Cranky is that he is canonically the original Donkey Kong, who appears in the arcade games. Then Donkey Kong Jr., who appears in the Mario Kart series before even the main DK does, is his son, who is the father to the modern DK we all know and love. While his body may be old, Cranky is the wisest Kong who still adventures around to help his grandson wherever he can.

Funky Kong

The Slickest Kong Around

Everyone loves this smooth-as-butter Kong, and he’s one of DK’s best bros who would do anything for his hominoidea homie. Funky Kong, as the name suggests, is a rad dude who takes things gnarly whenever he can. From running a shop to flying a plane, no matter what he does, he does it with the style and grace of the 80s.

After being one of Mario Kart Wii’s best characters, many fans began to see Funky Kong as a core member of the DK crew. Later, in the port of DKC: Tropical Freeze, Nintendo agreed, and he was promoted to playable status for the first time in a mainline DK title. Funky Kong has become a modern staple of the series and, despite not appearing in Bananza at launch, we are sure we will see him again soon.

Candy Kong

DK’s Forgotten Girlfriend

Donkey Kong is not known to be much of a lover, but he does have an attachment to one Kong. Candy Kong is DK’s girlfriend and, unlike Princess Peach, she was never a damsel in distress, but instead is just as helpful as any other Kong. While she rarely appears now, she is mentioned all the time by other Kongs.

Candy Kong’s design is a tad bit outdated, and Nintendo likely does not want to keep using it, hence why she has been seemingly absent since the Wii days, but it does have a cute reference. Pauline in the Donkey Kong arcade games is theorized to be modern Pauline’s grandmother after Bananza, and, since she had blond hair and a pink dress in some depictions, Candy was likely inspired by her.

Tiny Kong

Pauline Could Never Be Her

The older sister of Dixie Kong, Tiny Kong has a fitting name with the power to shrink in size to suit her mood. This cool Kong had a redesign shortly after her introduction, going from a toddler to a more fitting teenage design that screams that older sister vibe, and she would make for the perfect companion to DK if they ever gave her the chance to shine.

While Dixie gets a few more appearances, Tiny Kong was likely deemed too similar to Dixie and was left in the series’ past, only being used when Nintendo needs to stretch the DK series for playable characters. Considering how few female Kongs there are, this is a shame and since she is the only teenage Kong, she also has a unique silhouette among the DK cast that makes her stand out.

Lanky Kong

He Has No Style Or Grace But A Funny Face

This long-armed orangutan Kong is the goofiest of the bunch, who is said to have a funny face. Debuting as a core part of the DK crew in Donkey Kong 64, Lanky Kong is iconic for his funny personality and unique design, and stretchy arm abilities that make him stand out from his Kong crewmates as well as make him the perfect crossover character if ARMS ever gets a sequel.

Lanky Kong is one of the more popular DK 64 original Kongs, with his more silly design being very distinctive and the fact that he is designed to be inspired by an orangutan. When the DK series bases its Kong characters on different ape species, we always get some of the most distinct and recognizable Kongs. Lanky is no exception, and he deserves a chance to appear again in the same way that Funky and Diddy do.

Chunky Kong

He Really Is Dead…!

This size-changing Kong has powerful arms that can pick up boulders with relative ease and is known as the strongest of the bunch. Chunky Kong debuted in Donkey Kong 64 as one of the five playable characters and was the crew’s comic relief character. He may not be very smart and can’t move fast, but Chunky packs a punch and makes any Kremling foe seem like such a breeze.

Unlike other Kongs who also debuted in Donkey Kong 64, Chunky Kong wasn’t even invited to race in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, and to this day, his only major appearance is his debut game. This has led him into Kong’s obscurity as fans even theorize and joke that he is dead, since he doesn’t even make cameos at all, and none of the fellow Kongs mention him.

Kiddy Kong

The Most Forgotten Kong

Considering even Nintendo itself forgets that this Kong exists, we doubt that you even remember the small misadventures of Kiddy Kong. The original Donkey Kong Country games had a pattern of introducing a new buddy character who would then, in the next game, be the main star. In DKC3, when it was Dixie’s turn to shine, she got paired up with a literal baby.

Kiddy Kong is as straight to the point as you can get; he is a baby, and that’s it. After his very first appearance, Kiddy appeared alongside Dixie in Donkey Kong Land III for his final appearance before seemingly vanishing. Perhaps Kiddy Kong grew up and chose a new name, so for all we know, he could be a Kong like Bluster Kong from the cursed DKC cartoon without anyone ever knowing.