This page explains in detail the interactions between the Donkey Kong series and the Mother series.
Mother 2[]
Ness looking at one of the Donkey Kong-like games.
July 27, 1994
Donkey Kong
Mother
In an arcade in Onett there are some games resembling the game Donkey Kong.
Even if Nintendo owns Donkey Kong's rights, we can't say those games are the actual Donkey Kong because the cabined is different.
License[]
Copyrights for both series are held by Nintendo.