Time to start a new conversation. What is everyone's unpopular DK opinions? I'll start:
- DKJB is a top tier DK platformer AND the Wii version is better than the GCN version.
- Tawks is the only good worthy new character created by Retro. The Snomads are decent but only because they are basically artic Kremlings.
- Rambi's redesign in the Retro games is pretty bad. His face is extremely derpy/drowsy in Returns and TF.
- Returns is the worst DKC game. Still fun but lacks much of an identity of its own, the Tikis suck ass, and I have played through the game 3 times fully and cant remember half of the stages.
- Donkey Kong 94 is one of the most overrated yet underrated Nintendo games made. Its not talked about by a lot of people and I dont think it sold that well but the people who have played it act like its the greatest DK game ever created when its at best servicable. The original Mario vs. DK is better.
- Diddy Kong is the least interesting Kong in the bunch at least out of the core playable ones. Yet is somehow the most popular. Dixie, DK, Cranky, Funky, Lanky, Tiny, and Chunky are all better/more entertaining IMO. I still like Diddy but he is overrated.
I pretty much agree with all of your points lol. I love Diddy too, but I agree that he's the least interesting character in the Kong family. That's not as much a disservice to Diddy as it is a compliment to the Kong family though. DK is my favorite video game character and Cranky, Dixie, and Funky just have so much more personality than Diddy imo.
Your Donkey Kong 94 comment made me laugh. I agree 100%. Jungle Beat is a great game, but it's just hard for fans to accept because of its disregard for cannon, but I'd love a Switch port.
I do like Tawks and hope he becomes Funky's permanent pet from now on. Regarding it being the only good Retro character, I agree for the most part. But I think Professor Chops is better than a standard checkpoint barrel, he just needs to get a little more personality. Also, Squiddicus is a cool character that needs to have a proper boss battle. He's a mythical Kraken (what's not to love about that). Lastly, screaming pillars are pretty cool and I hope they stick around. The best part about Retro is the gameplay additions to the game though. The climbing mechanics, co-op mechanics, puzzle pieces, zip lines, etc. are all ideas that I hope stick around in DK games.
Lastly, yes Rambi's redesign sucks. I agree. Also, it's criminal that Enguarde didn't appear in Tropical Freeze given there is a water world.
Hey guys, it's been a long time since I posted and since we're all in quarantine limbo right now, I thought this would be a better time than ever to give my opinions and thoughts for the future for Donkey Kong and the potential that Dixie and/or other DK reps have in Smash.
First of all, Donkey Kong is in the best position it's been in since Rare was the developer for the series. That might sound like BS to many of you, but trust me. I don't know how many of you follow DKVine and their podcast the Kongversation, but Hyle Russell, a lifelong DK fan runs the show, and he's been tipped off that the Tropical Freeze port, Rabbids Donkey Kong Adventure DLC, and King K. Rool in Smash is 'Phase 1' of Nintendo's plan to make Donkey Kong one of their core franchises again, up there with the likes of Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Splatoon, and Animal Crossing.
Hyle claims that he has a source from Nintendo named 'Dave Throat' as a cover name, but this is what he's pretty much told him. No one really knows what 'Phase 2' entails for the Kongs, but since Nintendo is really trying to push the brand, Hyle deduces that this new game will be developed internally at Nintendo, and that it'll be released around 2021 in his opinion. Hyle also claims that making Donkey Kong a priority at Nintendo is also part of a push by Miyamoto, because Miyamoto is upset that Donkey Kong doesn't get the same attention as other Nintendo franchises and since DK is his baby, he wanted to make sure that Donkey Kong has a bright future and stability that the franchise hasn't had since Rare, via having a dedicated studio/dev team.
Now you can ignore this all you want, but think about this. Nintendo is launching a series of theme parks around the world. Super Nintendo World is confirmed for Universal's Epic Universe park in Orlando, launching in 2023. Nintendo's also launching their Super Nintendo World theme park in Osaka, Japan this year, but it may be delayed due to Covid-19. Regardless, since it's launching this year in Japan, the plan from Nintendo is to release most of the back catalogue of Super Mario games in HD for the Switch to not only celebrate the 35th anniversary of Mario, but also to hype up the opening of their first theme park. The Donkey Kong attraction isn't at the Osaka location, it's only the Mario attractions. But that's due to how much less real estate there is in Japan, and there could be a Donkey Kong expansion in that area in the future. Super Nintendo World is also coming to Universal parks in Hollywood and Singapore, but I'm not sure if the Donkey Kong attraction will or won't be a part of these parks initially, but they may come in Phase 2. There's also rumors that Islands of Adventure will get a Zelda themed land replacing the Lost Continent, and that a Pokemon area will replace the Kids Zone in Universal Orlando. Lastly, the Mario sections of all parks will have a low-intensity Yoshi ride.
That was a lot of information, but why did I tell you this? Think about it. Donkey Kong is getting a theme park section/ride. Only Mario and Donkey Kong have confirmed rides and theme park sections, while Zelda and Pokemon are highly rumored, but still not confirmed. This means that by 2023, the greater public, not the internet fanboys, will view the Donkey Kong franchise as highly as Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. How many other video game franchises have theme park sections/rides? You don't think Nintendo's going to capitalize on this with the DK brand? I know we're experiencing our biggest drought ever for new Donkey Kong content, but the future is very bright. Hyle has also claimed that King K. Rool is completely indispensable now, and will be a part of every future Donkey Kong game due to his success on the ballot. He also claimed that Donkey Kong was officially separated as its own brand from the Mario franchise back in 2017. Here are the first two merchandising efforts from the new DK brand:
https://www.facebook.com/boxlunchgi...ollection-boxlunch-exclsuive/807843119583877/
https://www.amazon.com/Donkey-Kong-2021-Wall-Calendar/dp/1419744518
Expect a lot more merchandise for DK once we finally get that new game. I'm with you guys. It's killing me that it's taking this long for a new DK game, but I actually expect one by 2021, and 2022 at the absolute latest. I expect it to be a huge 3D adventure and it'll probably have a huge emphasis on Mine Carts to cross-promote the theme park. K. Rool is 100% coming back and so are his Kremling minions, and I expect the Tropical Freeze cast to be the playable Kong cast for the future of the series. I expect it to pay tribute to DK64 by having 5 playable Kongs, being the Tropical Freeze cast. I'm also of the belief that the New Donk City references, aren't just easter eggs, but are hinting at what characters to expect in the next mainline game. Spoiler: consider the possible return of King K. Rool, Candy, Tiny, Rattly, Expresso and so on. Lastly, I expect New Donk City to be a core area of the next game. I don't think the naming of New 'Donk' City is just a throwaway title, and also Donkey Kong's classic mode ladder is called 'Journey to New Donk City'. Kinda strange considering Donkey Kong has never visited New Donk City, unless it's a hint... But that's just a theory.
Lastly, how does this relate to Dixie? Well, with the addition of an Arms character and Byleth, Nintendo is using the Smash cast to market their current games. When you think about it, Donkey Kong's latest stage in Ultimate is 75M, while many other Nintendo franchises have stages representing their current games: Zelda: Great Plateau Tower, Mario: New Donk City, Splatoon: Moray Towers, Fire Emblem: Garegg Mach Monestary, Arms: ?). I think that this round of DLC is going to be more focused on 1st party characters. I still think we'll get a couple third party characters like Crash Bandicoot or Doom Slayer, but since Nintendo picked this batch of DLC, I'm just guessing that this is being used to promote current Switch games. Therefore, don't be surprised if this DLC wave has a new generation Pokemon to promote Sword & Shield, Tom Nook to represent Animal Crossing; New Horizons, and a Donkey Kong character to represent the newest Donkey Kong game. If this DLC strategy is true, I don't think Metroid is going to get a DLC character this round because of the delay of MP4. Sorry Metroid fans lol.
Now here's my opinion and you might not like it. If Donkey Kong is going to get a new character, Dixie Kong isn't a lock. Sakurai's design philosophy is to add characters that have unique gameplay mechanics and Dixie Kong's best chance at being a newcomer is to be a semi-clone of Diddy. Think Piranha Plant and Wii Fit Trainer. Therefore, knowing Nintendo and Sakurai's tendency to select unpredictable characters, I think Cranky Kong has a great shot at being a DK rep. He'd be a hilarious character that no one expected, and he'd also have that unique pogo bounce, so it'd be a way to add a Shovel Knight move since Shovel Knight was highly requested, but is an AT. I think Funky Kong has a chance due to the same logic. However, Dixie could very well be the character. This is just my opinion if this were the case. I'd give it a 50/50 chance if there is a new DK rep to have either Dixie or Cranky/Funky be the rep.
Hyle said that he puts a Donkey Kong character getting in as DLC as a 40-60% chance, which may sound way more optimistic than it should be, but it'd make sense as a part of the 'Phase 2' plans. Anyways, if I were a developer, what I'd do is I'd make Cranky a unique fighter and pad the rest of the DK roster with Funky being a DK echo and Dixie being a Diddy echo (but a Chrom like echo where she has DK's recovery). It's the most likely scenario for us to get all 6 core DK characters. We wouldn't need another DK character after that. I know that you guys might hate the idea of Dixie being an echo, but I'd personally much rather have a Dixie echo than no Dixie. You may never again get the opportunity for Dixie to fight Cloud if we have to wait for Smash 6.
Anyways, that's my long-winded post. After the buyout of Rare, Donkey Kong fans have suffered for a very long time. But, we're pretty much experiencing a renaissance of Rare. Sea of Thieves has a great following, even if it's not my cup of tea. Playtonic is one of the best indie studios out there, and if you're a classic Rare fan like me, they certainly scratch that Banjo-Kazooie and classic DKC itch. We got King K. Rool and Banjo-Kazooie in Smash! Also, Donkey Kong is going to make a big comeback.
If you want to check out Kongversation episodes that go over this information, here are some links to the most informative episodes regarding these topics. Granted, the Kongversation can get kind of long-winded and there's a lot of vulgarity, so the presentation style might not be for everyone:
The Future of Donkey Kong:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwNd04OcqUk
Donkey Kong Island at Universal Orlando:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKX8Hv0qvvc
New Year's Forecast for 2020:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkmX4-kBxC0
