RomanceDawn
Member
That last Direct had me tearing up ever so slightly. Nintendo has finally embraced Donkey Kong and given it the full AAA treatment. I'm sure many of us saw this coming due to a number of things like DK's role in the Mario movie, the product branding separating itself from Mario, the theme parks along with the in game nods and marketing throughout the Switch generation. It was clear Nintendo had been positioning DK and friends to be front and center for a major game or 7 for the foreseeable future.
Remember when my girl Dixie Kong got announced for Mario Kart Tour? That announcement trailer she got? Something to the effect of "This girl is no stranger to Nintendo!" Then proceeds to show her staring games DKC2 and DKC3. If my memory serves right no other character got that kind of introduction, at least not up to that point. It really struck me as out of the ordinary.
When was the last time Donkey Kong got this type of "full budget" treatment? Donkey Kong 64. Country 1 was something of a cultural phenomenon to live through and all 3 SNES Country titles were a success. Diddy Kong was getting 1st billing in multiple titles when Luigi was relegated to ending sequences and sports titles. Banjo Kazooie then showed up and told the world that Rare was not playing around, they meant business! You just knew at the time Nintendo was like do what you need for DK64, go nuts. And nuts they went.
Despite good sales and good critical reception at the time, I'd argue that DK64 did not do the series any favors going forward. Rare buyout or not, if DK64's formula were successful it would have been adopted or carried on within the DK series itself or other IPs.
Retro took on the mantle and did some amazing things with the proven 2D Country formula. As 2D titles it's hard to escape a certain perception that games like that are "easier" to make, less complex or maybe less ambitious. Maybe it's true or maybe it's all relative, I imagine a developer could speak up and school me on the subject. When I played Returns and Tropical Freeze I would frequently stop and analyze the world around me and was always amazed at the 3D world Retro created around the 2D stages. All that to say that during the Retro era Donkey Kong was no longer standing shoulder to shoulder with Mario, Zelda or Metroid when it came to reverence. Those series reliably got 2D and 3D outings and it has always been the 3D titles that carried so much figurative weight in the gaming world at large. It's funny because any Metroid would kill to have the sales of Returns or even Tropical Freeze.
Anyway here we are now! Donkey Kong being developed in house and it looks like they are going hard! The world looks huge with tons to see and do. The gameplay looks as rich and varied as any 3D Mario. Skill trees for a Nintendo platformer? It looks to be taking on real story beats, complete with voice acting(even if for just one character). Watch it be told through memories lol. I guess Miyamoto hasn't been around to put a halt on too many story segments. Or perhaps after working on these movies he sees more value in it.
Whatever the case, the heads at Nintendo have approved the development of a Donkey Kong game that looks and feels as ambitious as any 3D Mario or 3D Zelda. In some aspects more ambitious! This isn't a test or experiment like my beloved Jungle Beat. You know for DECADES there's been at least one Donkey Kong lunatic at Nintendo just waiting to get one of those Odyssey or Breath of the Wild budgets. If this releases with as much positive feedback as it appears to have now, Donkey Kong will once again be spoken in the same breath as Mario and Zelda.
If this is successful( and it will be), what other IP could be next for such a big Nintendo push?
Do you even like that Nintendo is pushing DK this hard? Or would you rather these resources go elsewhere?
I'd hope Yoshi or Star Fox get this kind of backing someday.
Remember when my girl Dixie Kong got announced for Mario Kart Tour? That announcement trailer she got? Something to the effect of "This girl is no stranger to Nintendo!" Then proceeds to show her staring games DKC2 and DKC3. If my memory serves right no other character got that kind of introduction, at least not up to that point. It really struck me as out of the ordinary.
When was the last time Donkey Kong got this type of "full budget" treatment? Donkey Kong 64. Country 1 was something of a cultural phenomenon to live through and all 3 SNES Country titles were a success. Diddy Kong was getting 1st billing in multiple titles when Luigi was relegated to ending sequences and sports titles. Banjo Kazooie then showed up and told the world that Rare was not playing around, they meant business! You just knew at the time Nintendo was like do what you need for DK64, go nuts. And nuts they went.
Despite good sales and good critical reception at the time, I'd argue that DK64 did not do the series any favors going forward. Rare buyout or not, if DK64's formula were successful it would have been adopted or carried on within the DK series itself or other IPs.
Retro took on the mantle and did some amazing things with the proven 2D Country formula. As 2D titles it's hard to escape a certain perception that games like that are "easier" to make, less complex or maybe less ambitious. Maybe it's true or maybe it's all relative, I imagine a developer could speak up and school me on the subject. When I played Returns and Tropical Freeze I would frequently stop and analyze the world around me and was always amazed at the 3D world Retro created around the 2D stages. All that to say that during the Retro era Donkey Kong was no longer standing shoulder to shoulder with Mario, Zelda or Metroid when it came to reverence. Those series reliably got 2D and 3D outings and it has always been the 3D titles that carried so much figurative weight in the gaming world at large. It's funny because any Metroid would kill to have the sales of Returns or even Tropical Freeze.
Anyway here we are now! Donkey Kong being developed in house and it looks like they are going hard! The world looks huge with tons to see and do. The gameplay looks as rich and varied as any 3D Mario. Skill trees for a Nintendo platformer? It looks to be taking on real story beats, complete with voice acting(even if for just one character). Watch it be told through memories lol. I guess Miyamoto hasn't been around to put a halt on too many story segments. Or perhaps after working on these movies he sees more value in it.
Whatever the case, the heads at Nintendo have approved the development of a Donkey Kong game that looks and feels as ambitious as any 3D Mario or 3D Zelda. In some aspects more ambitious! This isn't a test or experiment like my beloved Jungle Beat. You know for DECADES there's been at least one Donkey Kong lunatic at Nintendo just waiting to get one of those Odyssey or Breath of the Wild budgets. If this releases with as much positive feedback as it appears to have now, Donkey Kong will once again be spoken in the same breath as Mario and Zelda.
If this is successful( and it will be), what other IP could be next for such a big Nintendo push?
Do you even like that Nintendo is pushing DK this hard? Or would you rather these resources go elsewhere?
I'd hope Yoshi or Star Fox get this kind of backing someday.
![L*][*N*K](/data/avatars/m/842/842515.jpg?1750247637){kind=avatar}
