Popeye instead of Mario?

Donkey Kong Was Originally A Popeye Game

Miyamoto says Nintendo's main monkey might not have existed

Donkey Kong is one of the most iconic games characters of all time but he may not have existed had Nintendo followed their original idea.

In the latest 'Iwata Asks' interview, Shigeru Miyamoto admits that Donkey Kong was originally meant to be a Popeye game. "I sketched out a few ideas for games using Popeye," said Miyamoto. "At that point, Yokoi-san was good enough to bring these ideas to the President's attention and in the end one of the ideas received official approval. Yokoi-san thought that designers would become necessary members of development teams in order to make games in the future. And that's how Donkey Kong came about."

"But originally it was going to be a Popeye game," Iwata continued.

"That's right," Miyamoto responded. "But while I can't recall exactly why it was, we were unable to use Popeye in that title. It really felt like the ladder had been pulled out from under us, so to speak."

"It was a really lucky break! So next we began to flesh out the idea for a game based on the concept we had come up with."

Imagine a world without Donkey Kong. No Donkey Kong would mean no Jumpman. And without Jumpman we wouldn't have Mario!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popeye_(video_game)

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/13484/news/donkey-kong-was-originally-a-popeye-game/

So how would this change pop culture?
 
Aside from the sprites for Donkey Kong, Pauline, Jumpman/Mario, and the Hammer being replaced by Brutus/Bluto, Olive Oyl, Popyee, and Spinach, respectively, Popeye II would probably have been the exact same game, except maybe for a second button to seperate punch and jump mechanics. The differences would have come later on.

Any Popeye III analogue would have been based on Donkey Kong III using either Alice the Goon or the Sea Hag, since I can't see a game from the point of view of the villain (like Brutus) working before the mid-Nineties, at least.

A Mario Bros. style Popeye IV featuring Poopdeck Pappy, Popeye Jr., or Castor Oyl is theoretically possible, but any analogue of Super Mario Brothers using OTL-style play mechanics, enemies, or goals is out. In its place, there would either be an 8-bit analogue to the Nineties Taito Popeye games, or else a version of Doki Doki Panic/Dream Factory with Popeye, Wimpy, Caster Oyl or Popeye Jr., and Olive Oyl as the playable charecters, but that's only if King Feature Syndicate is willing to let Nintendo use original villains, and Nintendo is willing to let King Feature Syndicate use Wart and company in original strips and books and CBS use them in original episodes.

However, I don't think it would abort the side scrolling platformer. We still have the likes of Pac Land, Ghosts n' Goblins, Gladiator, Shaolin Road, Kung Fu Master, and Konami Sports Challenge.
 
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