Posted December 20, 2009 Ah, Donkey Kong Country. Now them games be the pinnacle of monkey business:D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) Continuing on from my previous DKC love-in post... Have some DKC facts: (Randomly picked up through the years!) DK's tie was drawn on by Miyamoto to give the character more, well, character. DK's run is modelled on a horse rather than an Ape. RARE took the game to Nintendo HQ for a demo and while a lot of the staff complained that it looked too '3D', Miyamoto initially said it looked good only lacking some gameplay depth. He then told RARE to add in a slap move for DKC. This was added yet removed in DKC2 and returning in a different fashion in DKC3 - which was a much slower game. In DKC1, RARE were influenced by Endor for the treetop scenes and Indiana Jones for the Minecart scenes. DKC was based on SMB3 but the developers wanted a quicker pace thus the map screens were linear and within the levels the game ran much faster. Barrels shot you about and things such as ropes would always be swinging toward the player when they reached them. This proved to be a balance always chased by the developers - DCK2 added many more collectables to add depth to the title whereas DKC3 slowed the game right down again (similar to DKC2) relying on chase scenes (in many incarnations) to spice up the pace of the game. Diddy was originally going to be DK Junior but Nintendo didn't like the re-design for him. Diddy was then named Dinky Kong but after legal advice was changed to Diddy. Nintendo were very busy with the N64 so weren't too fussed about changing 'minor' details. The Backgrounds of the DKC series took up the most detail, thus they are chopped and re-used frequently. Some levels have extremely repetitive backgrounds yet the use of foreground was cleverly used to hide repetition. RARE wanted a 'second life' for the player (like Mario's 'super' incarnation) but had made a decision to have nothing on-screen (lives etc). Thus the sidekick was born. The sidekick also increased the element of having someone along for the journey. The 'tag' was then added and developed later into the series, culminating in the achievement of slowing gameplay down in a similar vein of the Super Mario games. There are supposedly NO metal barrels in DKC2! One of the lead designers of DKC1 wanted a giraffe as an animal (the animals were extensions of the Mario 'powerups' just with a Jungle vibe). The giraffe was voted out in favour of a frog (Winky). The Giraffe would enable players to climb the neck to reach high places but the Frog was voted in! DKC3 (on the GBA) had a completely new soundtrack. But Water World music was very similar to a certain DKC1 track: Audio DKC3 has Wrinkly playing an N64. The Music is a rip of Mario 64's 'inside the castle walls' Audio ORIGINAL N64 MUSIC: Audio Bayou Boogie from DKC2 intro is taken from 'In the Air Tonight' Phil Collins. Audio ORIGINAL: Audio Edited December 21, 2009 by tapedeck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 21, 2009 Any thoughts on why I found a DK barrel in DKC 3 when I shouldn't have, tapedeck? Saying that there are "supposedly" no steel kegs in DKC 2 sounds like a challenge to me! :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) DKC was based on SMB3 but the developers wanted a quicker pace thus the map screens were linear and within the levels the game ran much faster. Barrels shot you about and things such as ropes would always be swinging toward the player when they reached them. This proved to be a balance always chased by the developers - DCK2 added many more collectables to add depth to the title whereas DKC3 slowed the game right down again (similar to DKC2) relying on chase scenes (in many incarnations) to spice up the pace of the game. DKC3 GBA actually seemed to correct a lot of the flow issues in the SNES version, eg. moving lifts/barrels, Ellie's controls, basically having to stop and wait for patterns in general. All through DKC games, level layout was made so that a perfect speedrun could mean the player never needed to stop and wait (Barrel Blast in DKC2 being a prime example). DKC3 (on the GBA) had a completely new soundtrack. But Water World music was very similar to a certain DKC1 track: David Wise (composer on DKC1 & 2) did the music for DKC3 GBA; Eveline Fischer did the original SNES soundtrack (hence the sudden change from a "catchy" style to more ambient music in DKC3 SNES). The "new" music was not well received. David Wise apparently left Rare last month). Here's some other trivia to add to the list: On DKC1 GBA, there is an easter egg where if you go back to DK's house after defeating the Very Gnawty boss (can't remember if it's the first or second time...?), you'll find him inside the treehouse. At the start of DKC2's main boss fight, the cutscene of DK being beaten by K-Rool apparently had to be toned down from being too violent and gory, and cut from 8-10 seconds, to around 3 in the final game. Edited December 21, 2009 by mr_bogus Spelling correction Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 21, 2009 Not sure if I noticed any improvements to the gameplay in DKC 3 on GBA, mr_bogus. I might have to play a level or two for comparison. I think DKC 3 on GBA is a completely mangled port- the only good thing they did in it, imo, was giving the Brothers Bear individual cabins rather than the identikit ones in the Snes original. Despite David Wise doing the soundtrack for it, it was a stinker. The underwater tune being the only one worth listening to due to its familiar DKC theme. I'd not heard about the gory cutscene removal in DKC 2. I'd love to see it in all its glory! ----------------------------- EDIT: Cleared DKC 3 this evening and got the full 105%. I feel I could have done it in a better time but the classic controller sold me out a few times (we all know the jump button doesn't feel quite the same as on the Snes!) and I took more than enough retries on some of the latter stages. As per usual, Swoopy Salvo was a stressful affair but I got there in the end. Playing with no DK and midpoint barrels wasn't as nail biting an affair as it was back in the day. Looks like I still got the skills then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 21, 2009 Here's another little DKC nugget of info (not sure if it's been mentioned so far): Apparently, when RARE developed their ACM technique they wanted to make a Mario game with it but Nintendo refused on the grounds it looked too realistic and gave them DK instead to work with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 21, 2009 yes and they would allow square to make super mario rpg. They sort of have a similiar art style despite the perspective but thankfully dkc came out of it. I would put donkey kong country 2 and super mario world as similiar quality games. oh and I think all the dck games are better than yoshi's island. Some reason I never took to that game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 22, 2009 Man, all this trivia is just fascinating. I love it! Probably also because Miyamoto even provided us with a badass quote on it as well. "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good." I love that quote. So angry. :P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 22, 2009 Regarding Diddy Kong, this could be an urban myth as I've never seen it mentioned since '96, but wasn't he named through a competition...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 22, 2009 EDIT: Cleared DKC 3 this evening and got the full 105%. I feel I could have done it in a better time but the classic controller sold me out a few times (we all know the jump button doesn't feel quite the same as on the Snes!) and I took more than enough retries on some of the latter stages. As per usual, Swoopy Salvo was a stressful affair but I got there in the end. Playing with no DK and midpoint barrels wasn't as nail biting an affair as it was back in the day. Looks like I still got the skills then. Wow, that's a ridiculously impressive time dark! Think i only managed less than 5 hours on DKC2. You should keep an eye out for one of these: I have one and it's ace. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 22, 2009 Whoa! That's awesome. I love it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 22, 2009 Man, all this trivia is just fascinating. I love it! Probably also because Miyamoto even provided us with a badass quote on it as well. "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good." I love that quote. So angry. :P Wow, did he really say that. Looks like someone didn't like the direction in which HIS ape had gone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 22, 2009 Pretty much, it was alleged that Nintendo wanted him to create the next Mario game using similar graphics technology as Donkey Kong Country, whereas Miyamoto felt that Mario games shouldn't be realistic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 22, 2009 Wow, that's a ridiculously impressive time dark! Think i only managed less than 5 hours on DKC2. You should keep an eye out for one of these: [hori.jpg] I have one and it's ace. Hehe, thanks. DKC 2 is the one that takes me the longest to complete. I think the first time I did it on the Snes I spent over 8 hours hunting down the full 102%... and maybe well over 8 hours. I don't think any subsequent attempts saw me get significantly below the 6 hour mark with it. I wouldn't mind getting a Hori pad sometime, or even one of those ones that perfectly mimic the Snes pad layout if they feel better than the classic controller. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 23, 2009 Pretty much, it was alleged that Nintendo wanted him to create the next Mario game using similar graphics technology as Donkey Kong Country, whereas Miyamoto felt that Mario games shouldn't be realistic. Yep, Nintendo demanded that Miyamoto use the same pre-rendered art style for Yoshi's Island, but like the bad-ass rebel he is Shigsy intentionally made YI's art style look like it had been hand-drawn with crayons! He did still let them use a mock CGI intro as a compromise though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 23, 2009 Yep, Nintendo demanded that Miyamoto use the same pre-rendered art style for Yoshi's Island, but like the bad-ass rebel he is Shigsy intentionally made YI's art style look like it had been hand-drawn with crayons! He did still let them use a mock CGI intro as a compromise though. they kinda DID end up using that style for yoshi's story in the end though and well........ I guess miyamoto was right Man, all this trivia is just fascinating. I love it! Probably also because Miyamoto even provided us with a badass quote on it as well. "Donkey Kong Country proves that players will put up with mediocre gameplay as long as the art is good." I love that quote. So angry. :P he later apoligised for it but fuck what a little bitch... it's also exactly how I feel about yoshi's island Think he got a little jealous here over how DKC rivalled super mario world and was better in a lot of ways. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 24, 2009 Yoshi's Island is ridiculously badass considering what Nintendo wanted him to do. I'm sure Shigsy was just like "Hey, Fu*k you guys for telling me what to do." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 24, 2009 God I love Yoshi's Island. Think I loved it more than SMW as it was so fresh. I remember hearing that they made baby Mario's cry REALLY annoying to ensure players made sure they got him back on to Yoshi - otherwise they were just letting the timer run down as much as possible. (Another random fact.) And yes, the hand-drawn effect was Miyamoto going against ACM and the new 32 bit graphic powerhouses. Nice pay off. Still, I continued to have a preference for DKC over Yoshi's Island but it was still incredible (LOVED Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy and nearly died when the GBA port cut the 'stoned' effect due to hardware limitations). Has some of the best ending music ever too. Audio Audio 49 seconds of Heavenly ending music. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted December 24, 2009 I loved Yoshi's Island too. Back in the day, me and my mate made the decision that he would get DKC 2 and I would get Yoshi's Island cos as young lads we couldn't afford to get both ourselves. I take it both games came out around the same time over here then? I got DKC 2 for Christmas along with DKC 3 (and a wee telly for my bedroom!) so maybe that's why I have a slight lack of affection for Diddy's Kong Quest... I still obviously love it though! Yoshi's Island was and is immense. The art, the music, the atmosphere and the controls all made for an outstanding platformer. I had a great time with it and remember getting up early during the school holidays to play it because at that point I didn't have a TV of my own and did my gaming in the living room. I love the credits music that tapedeck posted above- I have that tune on my phone. There was some great snow levels in Yoshi's Island too, with Goonie Rides being one of my favourite levels in the entire game. I remember the day I got Yoshi's Island. I had it pre-ordered in Woolworths (I used a promotion thing from Doctor Mario that I got on the Gameboy to get a fiver off) and there was a slight delay with Woolies delivery. I was dying to get my hands on YI and I remember noticing that the lorry was pulled up outside the store when I was up the town with my parents. I wanted for us to call in but the oldies didn't understand my anticipation and we went on home. It wasn't long into the afternoon before the phone rang and Woolies said that my game was in and we could collect it any time. Naturally, I got me mum straight back into the car and we went up to hand over hard saved cash and get Yoshi's Island. Those were the days! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 26, 2010 God I love the DKC K ROOL music. 16 Bit timpani used sublimely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 4, 2010 Sonic 4. I am officially jealous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 5, 2010 God I love the DKC K ROOL music. 16 Bit timpani used sublimely. So many great tunes in the series but the K. Rool ship music is right up there. Sonic 4. I am officially jealous. Sega do what Nintendon't. :( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 6, 2010 If Rare had made DKC4 on DS (while they were still doing DS development), think if it would've been decent? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
