Donkey Kong, also known as DK, is a powerful hero Kong from Donkey Kong Island. In fact, there have been two separate Donkey Kongs. The original Donkey Kong from the Donkey Kong arcade game eventually became Cranky Kong, while his son (Donkey Kong Jr.) or grandson became the current Donkey Kong. (Nintendo frequently back-pedals on this issue, however. Since the end of the Donkey Kong Country series, most of Nintendo's official materials [strategy guides, Smash Bros. trophies, etc.] describe the hero of "Donkey Kong Country" as being the same character who clashed with Mario in the 1981 game). The current Donkey Kong, designed by Rare, is a carefree simian who spends his days collecting Bananas and spending time with his friends, particularly his buddy Diddy Kong. However, when trouble arises, Donkey Kong jumps headfirst into the action to help his friends and protect his island. Donkey Kong's character design was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the Donkey Kong arcade game. He is voiced by Takashi Nagasako in most of the games as of 2004.