The Kong's weapons were originally real guns, as opposed to the comical fruit and nut based weaponry seen in the final game. This was changed in response to Shigeru Miyamoto being horrified by them upon paying a visit to the Rare headquarters to check on the game's development. He then sketched out and offered a replacement that would be more fitting to the world of Donkey Kong, which would ensure that the game would receive a child friendly rating.

According to composer Grant Kirkhope, the DK Rap was written as a joke song that ended up being interpreted by audiences as a serious attempt at writing hip-hop. Consequently, he expressed confusion at the tongue-in-cheek cult following the song picked up decades later, noting that "bizarrely, this became its own thing now."