We’re over a barrel now… Beat your suspiciously smooth chest and descend from the canopy, because it’s time to talk about one of gaming’s oldest icons. David and Sam zoom in on two time periods that distinctly represent the “mid-point” of DK’s life from today: the Country-seasoned heyday of a life in the Rare barnyard, and Nintendo’s subsequent attempts to re-bottle that lightning in a post-buyout vacuum. No need for an Expansion Pak, because there’s plenty of developer deep-dives, Kiddy Kong cross-sections, and more tangents than you can shake an ostrich at. Bananaaa slamma!
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Special thanks to Jammin’ Sam Miller for their Donkey Kong Country soundtrack restorations as used throughout the ep!
Topics discussed: Ultimate Play the Game, Rare, Ltd., Donkey Kong Country 1-3, Donkey Kong Land 1-3, Donkey Kong 64; Nintendo vs. Namco, the DK Bongos, Donkey Konga 1-3, Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, DK: King of Swing / Jungle Climber, the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series
Also mentioned: House Flipper, “Groverhaus”, Control, the Nintendo Switch 2, Balatro, The Zachtronics Solitaire Collection, Mindwave; E3 2010, the ZX Spectrum, Slalom, Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Popeye no Eigo Asobi, Donkey Kong ‘94, Donkey Kong Country (GBC/GBA), Yooka-Laylee; It’s Mr. Pants, Donkey Kong Racing, Banjo-Pilot, Taiko no Tatsujin, Ele-Conga, Odama, Plesschen Twist & Paint; the New Play Control! Series, “Bull Beat” (UE5 tech demo), Beat Nebula, Squat Bot; Paon, Clu-Clu Land, Heave-Ho, Turnip Mountain, Nintendo Software Technology
Music used:
- Fanfare, Title Theme, Simian Segue [from “Donkey Kong Country”] – David Wise, Eveline Novakovic
- DK’s Island Theme [from “Donkey Kong 64”] – Grant Kirkhope
- Chuckie Egg Theme – Nigel Alderton
- Forest Interlude [from “Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest”] – David Wise
- Treetop Tumble [from “Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble”] – Eveline Novakovic
- DK Rap [from “Donkey Kong 64”] – George Andreas, Grant Kirkhope
- Song Select [from “Donkey Konga”] – Junko Ozawa, Jesaan
- Hint Movie [from “Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat”] – Mahito Yokota
- Pirate’s Scorn [from “Donkey Kong Country” (TV series)] – Ron Rubin, Pure West Music (2023 remaster by Josi Molina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nctDyAuf_cA)
Further reading:
- “Nintendo’s Project H.A.M.M.E.R: The Untold Story” – Unseen64 (Liam Robertson, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lMLRIwiB_c
- “Developer Lookback: A Rare Breed” – Retro Gamer #20, pg. 26-33 (Darran Jones et. al, 2006)
- “The Evolution of Donkey Kong Country” – Retro Gamer #237, pg. 18-27 (Rory Milne, 2022)
- “A Rare Celebration” – Retro Gamer #250, pg. 18-43 (Paul Drury et. al, 2023)
- “Activision Initially Almost Bought Rare” – 1up.com (Kris Pigna, 2010) [available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20160305002558/http://www.1up.com/news/activision-initially-almost-bought-rare]
- “Return of a Legend: Rare co-founder Tim Stamper on the past, present and future” – MCVUK (James Batchelor, 2015) [available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20230925222428/https://mcvuk.com/development-news/return-of-a-legend-rare-co-founder-tim-stamper-on-the-past-present-and-future/]