#13. Donkey Kong | Released: 1981
Donkey Kong was once a villain! The barbaric beast kidnaped Mario’s terribly-dressed lady friend Pauline. Then, Mario was known as Jumpman and Pauline was the lady. Innovative, right? In 1994, Donkey Kong was given new life in his game Donkey Kong Country, the first game in which DK was not produced or directed by the character’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto. Donkey Kong Country went on to become the second-best selling SNES game ever behind Super Mario World.
