Whereas Donkey Kong’s physical power made it easier for him to defeat bulkier foes, Diddy’s lithe acrobatics made him faster and more mobile than his (honorary?) uncle. The next morning, Donkey Kong boldly dashed into action and followed the trail of bananas, stopping to bust Diddy out of his wooden prison and bring him along for an adventure across their island. Rool and his villainous Kremlings before they sealed him in a barrel and absconded with the tasty, potassium-saturated fruits. However, he only managed to mildly inconvenience King K. Diddy desired to emulate his mentor, so he decided to undergo “hero training.” Diddy’s first major task was guarding the Kongs’ banana hoard one dark and stormy night. Country ’s manual helped flesh out the monkey, referencing his idolization of Donkey Kong. And of the new characters it birthed, Diddy Kong was the breakout star.

We settled on Dinky Kong, but after legal advice decided to change it to Diddy.”ĭonkey Kong Country proved to be a critical and financial success, earning the Super Nintendo a boost in the marketplace. Some were hilariously bad: Diet DK, DK Lite and Titchy Kong. “We had a sheet of paper that we passed around where potential names were scribbled down. Diddy’s design can be accredited to former Rare artist Kev Bayliss, and Rare’s Gregg Mayles later explained the process behind naming their now-iconic monkey: Rare, believing their creation fit seamlessly within Country ’s aesthetics, chose the latter option and repurposed it into a new fixture within the Donkey Kong canon: a new kid sidekick for Country ’s “new” Donkey Kong (think Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ). Nintendo, however, denied Rare’s revamp of Jr., giving them an ultimatum to either retain Jr.’s orthodox look or rework their version into a separate character. But Rare’s original idea for the game was remarkably different than the end result, with the arcade Donkey Kong remaining the focal character (rather than becoming Cranky Kong) and a redesigned Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong Country was a momentous release, reinventing Donkey Kong ’s world and fleshing it out beyond the scope of being a King Kong homage.

Download donkey kong racing gamecube