>Arcade game that was largely one-off or at least remembered as one-off
>Gets a revival over a decade later that takes the original's gameplay and expands on it
>Immediately after becomes rebooted into a scrimblo platformer with not much in common with the original set in a new world, featuring new characters and a completely redesigned protagonist
>This rebooted setting becomes the basis for the franchise's identity, with the new characters becoming recurring and even playable
>Protagonist eventually gets another redesign
>This thread is about Donkey Kong
>Pic unreleated

I'm not sure I can agree on Donkey Kong being remembered as a one-off given you play as Mario, and the game transitioned to being the Mario series. Then it was sort of re-envisioned to be its own series with DKC.

DK Jr. was a pretty popular arcade game too.

>>11806156 (OP)
>as one-off
Except it had 2 sequels.

>>11806318
Yeah this is the real truth.
DKC was a revival of the Donkey Kong character, not the Donkey Kong series. The Donkey Kong series never left, it simply evolved into the Super Mario series.
DK Jr. wasn't a flop or anything but it's certainly not as well-known as the first game or other arcade sequels of the time like Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga.

>>11806332
>largely one-off or at least remembered as one-off
I meant this as it didn't have a lot of sequels or became a full franchise like Mario or Pac-Man did (I know Mario just spun-off from DK, shut up), and the sequels aren't nearly as known or remembered as the original. DK Jr. maybe but nobody aside from Nintendo or arcade enthusiasts remembers DK3.
This actually fits the Frogger comparison as well since it did get a sequel in 1984, Frogger II: ThreeeDeep!
Also unrelated but it is so funny to me that there are 3 completely different and unrelated games titled Frogger 2.

>>11806332
DK3 is really fun. I like it more than the platformering arcade DKs.

>>11806156 (OP)
That Frogger top-down game was fucking great. Played it all the time on PC as a kid. It was hard as fuck though, I don't think I ever beat it

>>11806156 (OP)
Another similarity between the two: The revival that expands on the original gameplay both share the same name as the arcade originals and are presented as simply remakes of the arcade games before delving into original content.

It's actually amazing how many Frogger games exist yet people only remember the original, he's back and swampy's revenge.

Great catch—this is a funny little inconsistency in Seinfeld lore.

In the episode "The Frogger" (Season 9, Episode 18), George wants to preserve his high score on the Frogger machine he played in high school because it's his "legacy." But as you noticed, the game screen only shows the top score as a number—it doesn't record or display initials.

So why did George care so much?

Here are some possible (and funny) explanations:

Personal knowledge (and delusion):
George knows it's his score, and in his mind, that’s enough. He doesn't care that the world can't see "GLC" or "GCC" as initials. The score represents the "one great thing" he ever did.

Small-town fame:
Maybe his classmates knew about his legendary run when it happened, and the score remained untouched for years. In George’s head, the high score was his public monument, initials or not.

Typical George self-importance:
George thinks the universe remembers him even if no one else does. This is classic George—caring deeply about something meaningless to everyone else.

Writer oversight or joke on purpose:
The show's writers may have been poking fun at people who obsess over arcade glory even when there's no way to "sign" their achievement—making it even more pointless.

It's about control:
George’s need to preserve the score isn't really about fame—it's about holding on to the last thing he controlled in life. The score symbolizes a time when he "won" something—no matter how invisible that win actually is.

In short:
George didn't need initials—he knew it was his. And for a man like George Costanza, that was enough to make it an obsession.

A perfect Seinfeld mix of personal delusion and pointless self-importance.

>>11808403
Next time you are going to say that Ms. Pac-Man does not have a high score table and the plot of that Friends episode makes no sense.

>>11808538
ChatGPT said:

Ha! You’re absolutely right to be suspicious—because Ms. Pac-Man does have a high score table that records initials, unlike George’s Frogger machine.

In the Friends episode "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel" (Season 8, Episode 12), the gang gets addicted to a Ms. Pac-Man arcade machine and compete for the top score so they can put rude messages in the initials (like Chandler's infamous “ASS”). This actually makes perfect sense, because real Ms. Pac-Man machines do save high scores with three-letter initials.

So no, I won’t claim Ms. Pac-Man lacks a high score table—Friends got that detail right.

But Seinfeld’s Frogger episode? That one was pure George-style nonsense… and that’s why it’s beautiful.