Well, Donkey Kong was, as you most likely know, an homage to/parody of King Kong. Besides, I never objected to that plot. I guess what I would consider a truw change is an actual female role model in a game. Most game developers throw in a token "tough" female character and say "Oh, she's, like, a mechanic. I mean, she still gets kidnapped and there's still numerous opprtunities to see her in lingerie, but she's still a role model."
It's just like how they might make a GTA ripoff and add bullet time to make it "unique". It's really the same thing.