Tag: Donkey Kong - Page 2
Video Super Nintendo World Donkey Kong Country Expansion Commercials Released
Opening in Spring 2024
Earlier this month, Universal Studios revealed the Super Nintendo World 'Donkey Kong Country Expansion' would be opening in Japan in Spring 2024. At the time, there was a brief look at what to expect in an official teaser trailer featuring Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Now, in an update, a few commercials have surfaced online...
Soapbox Donkey Konga Introduced Me To One Of My Favourite Songs Ever
A mighty impression
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Donkey Konga in Japan, Ollie recounts how the game introduced him to a song that remains one of his all-time favourites... I used to love...
News Super Nintendo World Donkey Kong Power-Up Bands Revealed
Part of the Donkey Kong Country expansion
Yesterday, Universal Studios announced the Super Nintendo World Donkey Kong Country expansion would be opening in Spring 2024. As part of this, it's also revealed two brand new Power-Up Bands, featuring amiibo functionality. There's one for Donkey Kong and the other is based on Diddy Kong. These special...
News Super Nintendo World Donkey Kong Country Expansion Opening Spring 2024
Check out the announcement video
Remember when Nintendo confirmed Super Nintendo World in Japan would be getting a Donkey Kong-themed expansion? In the latest development, it's now been announced 'Donkey Kong Country' will be opening at Universal Studios in Spring 2024. As highlighted by Universal Parks News Today, this announcement was made during...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Donkey Kong
The OG
Welcome back to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Before we get cracking with this week's epic battle, let's take a look at how Contact went on with its own duel. It was incredibly close; possibly one of the closest brawls we've seen to date, but ultimately the design favoured by North America and Japan won the round with 51% of the vote...
News Coleco's Failed Negotiations With Nintendo Apparently Resulted In The Birth Of The Famicom
"The rest is history"
Time Extension recently got the chance to speak to Coleco exec Bert Reiner about the history of the American toy and console maker. According to his account, there was a time when Nintendo almost ended up buying and marketing the 1982 video game system 'ColecoVision' for Japan but negotiations fell through. The former Coleco...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Donkey Konga
♫ That's the Impression That I Get ♫
Hi! Welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl - good to see you again. Before we get cracking with this week's bout, let's take a look at how last week went down. We took a look at WarioWare Gold for the 3DS, pitting North America and Europe against Japan. Unsurprisingly (and rather disappointingly in...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Go bananas
Hello and welcome back to your weekly round of Box Art Brawl! Before we leave the courtroom behind and move on somewhere a bit warmer, let's take a look at last week's results. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the original Ace Attorney game, stood in the BAB docks, but it was an easy win for North America, which took 53% of your votes...
Random OG Donkey Kong Country TV Series Cast Reunites For Animated Short
Return to Krocodile Isle
If you're a fan of the Donkey Kong Country TV Series from the late '90s, then get ready for a sweet dose of nostalgia, because multiple members of the original English voiceover cast have reunited for a brand new animated short called 'DKC: Return to Krocodile Isle' from Alex Henderson Animation and Bootleg Dub Productions...
News LEGO Reveals New Donkey Kong Adventure Playsets
Swinging into stores this August
After being teased earlier on this week, we have now got our first proper look at four new Donkey Kong LEGO adventure playsets which provide another expansion to the LEGO Super Mario collection. The sets each contain one or two famous members of the Kong family, and have various interactive components to be used...
News More Donkey Kong Figures Teased For LEGO Super Mario
Diddy, Dixie, and more!
On MAR10, Lego gave us a sneak peek at an upcoming Donkey Kong figure, and ahead of DK's brick debut this summer, it's now given us even more of a teaser as to who else we can expect to be joining the Lego Super Mario sets. Lego shared a brief clip on Twitter which shuffles through a handful of famous Kong figures. Donkey...
News Strong Museum Making The World's "Largest, Playable" Donkey Kong Cabinet
Nintendo of America is "providing input on the project"
The Strong National Museum of Play - best known for its "World Video Game Hall of Fame" - has announced it's creating the world's "largest playable" Donkey Arcade cabinet, standing "nearly 20-feet tall" and about "370% bigger" than the original. It will be part of The Strong's...
Random Donkey Kong Country Artist Reveals DK's Early Character Design Sketches
"He looks a lot more polished now"
The release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie has meant that Donkey Kong is somewhat the talk of the town at the moment. While Illumination's take on the character has managed to stick pretty close to the DK that we all know and love, a recent livestream from one of the original Donkey Kong Country artists, Kev...
Random Ex-Rare Dev Explains The Origin Of Donkey Kong Country's Name
Take me home, country roads
When you think of the titles of some of Nintendo's most iconic platform games, many of them just make sense as they are: Super Mario World, Kirby's Dream Land, and Donkey Kong Country. It all fits as a naming convention, right? Well, according to ex-Rare dev Kev Bayliss, the inclusion of the word 'Country' in Donkey Kong...
News Legendary DK Rap Composer Disappointed He's Missing From Mario Movie Credits
Credit where credit's due
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is finally out and we are preparing for the internet to soon become awash with hidden references and spoiler talk. One of the film's aspects immediately brought to our attention, however, is to do with the credits, in which it seems that Rareware composer Grant Kirkhope has not been included...
News Seth Rogen On Voicing Donkey Kong In The Mario Movie: "It's Gonna Sound Like Me And That's It"
"I don't do voices"
There's been a lot of discussion about how Chris Pratt will sound as Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie, but what will Donkey Kong's voice sound like? In an interview with Comicbook.com, DK's voice actor Seth Rogen admitted he doesn't do voices and just used his regular one for Donkey Kong. There was no real back and...
News This Donkey Kong 'LEGO Ideas' Project Is Halfway To An Expert Review
If it reaches 10k LEGO will take a look
Mario Lego has become quite popular, but what other Nintendo IP could be adapted to the world of brick building? A Lego Ideas user known as 'By If You Build It' has submitted a Donkey Kong-themed set. Although the big ape kind of looks terrifying up close, the project itself has already got close to 5,000...
Random Fan-Made Game Mixes Classic Sonic With Donkey Kong Country
It looks fantastic!
Sonic the Hedgehog is no stranger to change. The franchise has crossed paths with multiple genres across the decades, from its humble beginnings as a 2D platformer to the latest "open-zone" 3D title Sonic Frontiers, and everything in between. But what would happen if you took the concept of classic 2D Sonic and mixed it with the...
News Miyamoto: "Other IPs" Like Splatoon Were Considered For Super Nintendo World
But it was "easier" to focus on Mario
Before Super Nintendo World decided on its Mario theme, there was apparently some discussion within the Japanese video game giant and Universal Studios about "other" Nintendo-themed IP being incorporated into the park. Speaking to Polygon, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned how Splatoon was one of the series...
The DK drama continues
New evidence has been uncovered that suggests Billy Mitchell did indeed cheat to attain his record-breaking Donkey Kong scores — the ones which Twin Galaxies removed from its record boards because they were allegedly achieved via emulation rather than original arcade hardware, and for which Mitchell is suing the...
News New Mario Bros. Movie Footage Shows Off Seth Rogen As Donkey Kong
"You got the cat box!"
A new 30-second clip from the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie has just been released, and it focused on the character of Donkey Kong, voiced by Seth Rogen. In the clip, we see Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) drop into an arena filled with 'Question Mark' boxes. His first tussle with DK ends with him getting a savage beat-down,...
News Enguarde The Swordfish Almost Returned In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Just keep swimming
Donkey Kong has had some fantastic animal companions over the years, and when Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze breezed onto the Wii U, and later Switch, it brought back with it a very small selection of animal companions. But in an interview published in the latest issue of Retro Gamer (via Nintendo Everything) creative...
News Early Donkey Kong Design Document From Miyamoto Showcases 'Popeye' Origin
"I yam what I yam an' tha's all I yam"
If you've swotted up on your gaming history, then you'll perhaps already know that the original Donkey Kong from 1981 (lord almighty...) actually started life as a Popeye the Sailor Man project, featuring the main man himself alongside Olive Oyl and antagonist Bluto. As the tale goes, Nintendo had failed to...
Random More Kong Cameos Spotted In The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The DK Crew are here
If you're hoping to see more Kongs in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie, you're in luck. Eagle-eyed fans appear to have spotted Dixie Kong, Diddy Kong and Swanky Kong (Donkey Kong Country 3) in the new Donkey Kong promotional poster. Diddy made his first appearance in Donkey Kong Country (1994) and Dixie followed in Donkey...
Poll What Do You Think Of Donkey Kong's New Look In The Mario Movie?
Inspired by the "original character"
One character we weren't necessarily expecting to see in the latest Mario Movie trailer was the king of the jungle, Donkey Kong. During the short Nintendo Direct, Shigeru Miyamoto introduced Donkey Kong's voice actor Seth Rogen and also mentioned how the character had a new look: Shigeru Miyamoto: "It's been...
Random Billy Mitchell Claims Doctor Won't See Him Due To Donkey Kong Cheating Accusations
According to court documents
By this point, if you've heard of Donkey Kong, then you've also probably heard of Billy Mitchell. The former 'King of Kong' held multiple world records in arcade games such as Pac-Man and the aforementioned, but many have since been called into question, with some accusing him of playing via Multiple Arcade Machine...
Random This New PC Platformer Is Designed To Be Played With DK Bongos
And it's free!
Nintendo has long been a pioneer of creative controllers. There was, of course, the Wii remote which revolutionised mainstream motion-based gaming, the N64 controller which finally let you play a game with three hands, and, the crème de la crème, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat's DK Bongos. Many of us still have a pair or two of these...
News Nintendo Has Filed A New Trademark For The Donkey Kong Series
Could DK be returning?
Try not to go bananas over this, but Nintendo has filed a "new" trademark for the Donkey Kong series. This one is seemingly a little different from the usual ones. Instead of another stock-standard renewal, it actually seems to have been updated to mention "downloadable programs for portable and electronic consoles". It's...
Random Retro Enthusiasts Accomplish World's First Donkey Kong 2P Kill Screen
"There's a kill screen comin' up!"
If you're familiar with the classic Donkey Kong arcade game, then you'll have undoubtedly heard of the kill screen. For those not in the know, the game essentially features a level known as the 'kill screen', whereby the in-game timer will be so low that's it's impossible to complete the stage as a result of a...
Random Donkey Kong's Birthplace Indicates He May Enjoy A Spot Of Tea
According to Burger King, at least
Donkey Kong has been a mainstay in the Mario series for an extremely long time. The name was first given to the ape who wreaked havoc in the original Donkey Kong arcade game (who we now know to be Cranky Kong), but the Donkey Kong we now know and love is the son of Donkey Kong Jr. This dapper tie-wearing ape has...
News Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Artist Talks About "Frustrating" Zelda Rumours
Not-so Funky mode
Back when Retro Studios was riding high on the success of the Metroid Prime trilogy, not many expected them to jump off of the space bounty hunter's ship and into the jungle in Donkey Kong Country Returns. This fantastic platformer rebooted the Donkey Kong Country series from the SNES with beautiful visuals, tight platforming, and...
News Get Your Funky Kong On With This Donkey Kong Country Ska Album
In a ska-bound land
David Wise's work on the Donkey Kong Country series soundtracks is arguably some of the most iconic of the SNES era. The original set the tone, from the 'Main Theme' to 'Aquatic Ambience' to 'Gan-Plank Galleon'. And because of Wise's excellent work, we've all heard of 'Stickerbush Symphony' from Donkey Kong Country 2 and the...
News Reggie "Hated" Donkey Konga And Was Worried It Would Hurt The DK Brand
"I pushed back hard"
Update [Sat 7th May, 2022 12:30 BST]: G4 has now uploaded the full interview with Reggie - adding some much-needed context to that line about how much he "hated Donkey Konga". It turns out, he was just protective and was worried about the music rhythm series ruining the Donkey Kong brand. In the end, though, he admits it sold...
Guide Best Nintendo Franchises
Nintendo's biggest franchises, ranked
Nintendo has a large collection of franchises under its sizeable IP belt — a portfolio of beloved video game series that many a rival company gazes upon with envy. Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Animal Crossing, Metroid — just some of the marquee Nintendo franchises that gamers love to bits —...
News Nintendo Renews Zelda, Metroid, And Donkey Kong Trademarks
Remember to keep your expectations low
Nintendo has swept in with another round of trademark renewals, including some big-hitting franchises. And Mach Rider. While this is probably business as usual for the big N, these freshly-filed games have a couple of things in common. So, like any sensible humans, let's have fun and speculate! Spotted by one...
Feature The Many Faces Of Donkey Kong, Nintendo's 40-Year-Old Gorilla
Four decades of DK
Nintendo’s monkey of manifold mantles – one Donkey Kong, Esq. – recently turned 40. Forty years young and still so vital, but it could be reasonably argued that the ol’ Kongmeister has been undergoing a bit of an identity crisis for most of his lifespan. The man-ape has turned from heel to face to heel more times than The...
Retro Remember When Acclaimed Novelist Martin Amis Rubbished Donkey Kong?
"Donkey, your days are numbered. The knackers’ yard awaits you"
One of the most influential and acclaimed novelists of his generation, award-winning writer Martin Amis – famous for books such as Money, London Fields and The Information – isn't the kind of name you'd perhaps expect to see on a site about video games, but in the early '80s, Amis...
Rumour Seth Rogen Will Apparently Star In A Solo Donkey Kong Movie
Well, it'll sure be interesting
It's fair to say that when the cast for the upcoming Super Mario Movie was revealed it led to a lot of chatter online. For one thing, it'll be strange that a series of characters from a fantastical Nintendo world will have the voices of some of Hollywood's biggest stars; it's sure going to be intriguing when the film...
News Check Out This Forgotten Donkey Kong Country Comic From The UK
Warning: Lots of images contained within!
Here's a bit of Donkey Kong trivia for you, and no mistake. The Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special was an officially licensed British comic based on Donkey Kong Country for the SNES and published in 1995 by Fleetway Editions. Richard Burton (no, not that one) is listed as the Managing Editor – comic fans...
News The Donkey Kong Series Has Surpassed 65 Million Sales Worldwide
As of March 2021
Nintendo has revealed that, as of March 2021, the Donkey Kong series of games have sold a whopping 65 million units worldwide. You probably know the story by now, but Donkey Kong was first brought to life by none other than Shigeru Miyamoto back in 1981, when the very first game in the series hit arcades. The game saw Jumpman, who...
News It's Official, Super Nintendo World Is Getting A Donkey Kong Expansion
"Set to open in 2024"
It seems the worst kept secret has finally been confirmed - Super Nintendo World is getting a Donkey Kong-themed "expansion" and it's set to open in 2024. According to an official Nintendo press release, this new area will allow park guests to walk through "lush" jungles where Donkey Kong and his friends live. There'll also be...
Random Donkey Kong Blows? Of Course, And It's All Down To Shigeru Miyamoto
"We were like "What did we do wrong? What is he finding?'"
In a recent episode of Reece Reilly's Kiwi Talkz podcast, former Retro Studios developer and senior designer on Metroid Prime Mike Wikan revealed some interesting tidbits about his time working on Nintendo properties at the Austin-based studio. This included a fun anecdote involving Nintendo...
News This "Super Rare" Anniversary Edition Game & Watch Unit Just Sold For A Very Low Price
Requested by Gunpei Yokoi and bought for about $9k
We've seen a lot of retro Nintendo products selling for some insane prices in recent times, but this one is a bit different. Despite being a "never before seen for sale" Game & Watch, it's just sold for the "very low" price of ¥1,001,000 (around US$9100 / €8000). Quite reasonable, really...
News DKC Artist Steve Mayles Shares Gorgeous New Piece To Celebrate Donkey Kong's 40th
"Nostalgic for Kongs"
Today marks Donkey Kong's 40th anniversary, with the original game hitting Japanese arcades back on 9th July 1981. To celebrate the occasion, ex-Rare staffer Steve Mayles – now of Playtonic Games – has shared a lovely piece of new artwork featuring our favourite ape duo. You can see the full piece for yourself in Steve's...
Rumour There's Supposedly A New Donkey Kong Animation In Development
"DK is being taken seriously at the big N again"
Donkey Kong has been missing in action since the port of Tropical Freeze arrived on the Nintendo Switch in 2018. More recently though, there have been rumours about Nintendo EPD (the team behind Super Mario Odyssey) working on a new video game entry in the DK series. Leaker Zippo
Random This Penny Has Diddy Kong Engraved On Abe Lincoln's Shoulder
Diddy Kong 'graving
Well, here's a story to fill your random Nintendo ephemera quota for the day: someone has micro-engraved Diddy Kong onto a 1 cent coin. You know, as you do. As shown off by @VolksDK on Twitter, a friend (later identified in the Twitter thread) used a process known as 'ion milling' which apparently strips layers of atoms and...
News "Donkey Kong Country" Concept Art For Super Nintendo World Surfaces Online
"one of Nintendo's worst kept secrets"
There have been rumours for ages now about Super Nintendo World receiving a Donkey Kong expansion of sorts. Dataminers previously uncovered evidence of DK stickers within the Universal Studios' Super NIntendo World mobile app, and now, a Donkey Kong fan account on Twitter has shared some concept art of the...
Rumour The Next Donkey Kong Is Being Developed By The Super Mario Odyssey Team
Update: Another source chimes in
Update: Highly-respected Donkey Kong fansite DK Vine has chimed in on our report, and adds the following information: Development of the new Donkey Kong game purportedly began around 2017 or 2018, when Nintendo decided to bring Donkey Kong back internally for the first time since Nintendo EAD's Donkey Kong Jungle...
Random Updated Diddy Kong Render (With Fur) Spotted On Nintendo's Japanese Website
Looking good, Diddy
We've heard pretty much nothing from the Donkey Kong crew since the re-release of Tropical Freeze on the Switch in 2018, but today we've potentially got some exciting news for all of you Kong fans around the globe. Well, maybe... According to eagle-eyed DK enthusiast and Twitter user BlueCatBanjo73, Nintendo has updated the
News Aerial Photos Provide Further Hope That Super Nintendo World's Donkey Kong Land Is Real
New evidence supports our suspicions
Earlier this week, a report from VGC revealed that Japan's Super Nintendo World theme park contains a mysterious locked door that appears to be a tease for a new, upcoming area. Thanks to newly-spotted aerial photographs shared online, we can now see that there's more than enough reason to believe a new area...
