Tag: Donkey Kong - Page 9
News Donkey Kong Country's Fate Was Determined By A Risky Rare Investment
"The rendering of each 3D model would take ages"
With Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze currently entertaining Wii U owners, it's only natural for those with long memories to cast their minds back to where the franchise began. Donkey Kong Country on the Super NES remains one of the 16-bit system's most iconic games, and sits at the forefront —...
Video Nintendo Minute Shows Off Two Favourite Levels From Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Tough but fun
With Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze now so close that we can smell the bananas, Nintendo's YouTube show 'Nintendo Minute' has naturally pitched in to show a little more of the game in action, with the co-hosts each picking a favourite level. First up is world 3-3 (Frantic Fields) which includes some heroic charging with Rambi...
Video These UK and US Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Adverts Are Islands Apart In Tone
Bongo-drumming up interest
By now you might have seen our coverage of the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze commercial currently airing to promote DK's latest outing, and it's a fun showcase of gameplay and character that definitely paints a charming picture to drum up some anticipation. Today, a UK version of the same trailer has just arrived to...
News Retro Studios Outlines "Symbiotic Relationship" With Nintendo Teams
"We spent a lot of time working on fur as requested by Iwata-san"
With Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze swinging into Western stores this week, eager fans are no doubt continuing their own personal countdowns. Ahead of the release Official Nintendo Magazine has published its interview with Retro Studios CEO Michael Kelbaugh and Nintendo SPD...
Review Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)
Ain't no business like monkey business
It says much for the level of expectation placed upon Nintendo and Retro Studios that some questioned the decision to revisit the world of Donkey Kong for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, yet that initial reaction should be pushed aside. Anyone that discounts this title due to the fact it’s not the exact...
News GameChops releases Club Kong: A Modern Jazz Remix of Donkey Kong Music
Sit back, relax and enjoy
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Donkey Kong Country, video game remix record label GameChops has released a six track remix of music from the game. The album, aptly named Club Kong, is best described as a Donkey Kong electronic jazz club infusion; it comes at a perfect time as Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze...
News Nintendo Canada Announces an Awesome Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Contest
Where's Rain Man when we need him?
Calling all Canadian Nintendo Lifers! Nintendo of Canada Ltd. is currently running a special contest for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. The contest, aptly named "Banana Mania," is open only to Canadian residents and offers one Grand Prize and five second place prizes, both including a copy of Retro Studios'...
Month Of Kong Meet Donkey Kong's Extended Family
The gang is all here
As you're probably aware by now, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze hits the Wii U on February 21st. To mark this momentous occasion, we're running a month of Kong-related content on Nintendo Life — the first of which is this intriguing look at the famous simian's extended family. Grab some bananas, set your phone to "do not...
Video A Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze TV Commercial Swings Into North America
"Donkey Kong and friends got your back"
Nintendo of America, for a good while now, has opted to mix real-life actors with CG characters in its commercials, sometimes to excellent effect. A stand-out example was the North American advert for Pikmin 3, but now it's the turn of Donkey Kong and his companions to help out photogenic humans in need. The...
Video Japanese Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Trailer Swings Into View
The Kongs go bananas when they get the cold shoulder
A new Japanese video showcasing footage from the upcoming Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has appeared, and it's chock-full of gameplay bits that may help tide fans over until the game's February launch. The video — which may contain spoilers for players who are trying to avoid seeing too...
Preview Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Dat HD fur
The E3 event can be a strange beast, as the unveiling of a sequel to one of the Wii's finest platformers was met with wails of despair in some corners. A number of fans, including this writer, wanted a fresh project from Retro that was either Metroid or something new, and instead we received Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. It's...
News Nintendo Confirms Rambi's Return in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Power play
With its release now a little over a month away, Nintendo is starting to gradually reveal more minor pieces of information for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. At the end of last year we were shown the return of Funky Kong, and now there's confirmation that a favourite from Donkey Kong Country Returns — and from the original Super...
Video YouTube Challenge Winner's Video Blasts Into View
FreddyW (RocketJump) and HAWP collaboration
Back in December Nintendo announced that the HAWPOfficial channel was the winner of its YouTube challenge, in which a number of popular content creators were given the goal of producing videos inspired by Super Mario 3D World or The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. The winner had the chance to work on a
News Kensuke Tanabe Highlights Potential Return of 3D Donkey Kong Games
Retro Studios used the Metroid Prime engine for Returns on Wii
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze arrives on 21st February, and combines the established skills of Retro Studios with many of the outstanding foundations laid down in Donkey Kong Country Returns on Wii. It may not be the game or franchise that some of the most vocal of Nintendo fans...
Review Donkey Kong 3 (3DS eShop / NES)
Third time's the swarm
Nintendo has a bit of a tradition of mixing things up for game number three. Super Mario Bros. 3 added a world map and the famous Tanooki Suit, Super Mario Land 3 nonchalantly swapped Mario for his arch-rival Wario, and Starfy's third adventure saw him graciously sharing the spotlight with his little sister. It should come as...
Weirdness Donkey Kong And Other NES Classics Can Now Be Played On Your Wedding Cake
Perfect for a gorilla-suited groom
If you've ever dreamed of smothering the face of your brand new spouse with a giant slice of virtual dirt from the game Dig Dug, now is your chance. An entertainment company out of New Jersey, USA named POSH Entertainment has figured out how to make you lose even more of your hard earned coins by getting married,...
Rumour Cranky Kong to be Fourth Playable Character in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Joining the young whippersnappers
With much noise around the Wii U currently focused on Super Mario 3D World, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is coming in early 2014, given a release period of February for North America. Considering it's the follow up to the outstanding Donkey Kong Country Returns and...
News Fresh Details Swing Into View for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Gold hearts, 'Kong Pow' and new footage shown
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze may be delayed to early 2014 — February in North America — but with that new release window it looks set to be the first major Wii U title of the new year. Appearing on the latest episode of GT.TV, Nintendo of America's Bill Trinen introduced some new footage and...
News Jeff Willms Wins Donkey Kong World Championship for the Second Year Running
Sounds like it was a barrel load of fun
Jeff Willms proved that he still has the touch when it comes to the arcade classic Donkey Kong after he took home the grand prize for the second year in a row at the Kong Off 3 Donkey Kong world championship this past weekend. Competing in the tournament against Willms were 22 renowned Donkey Kong players,...
Review Donkey Kong 3 (Wii U eShop / NES)
Bugging you?
When the original Donkey Kong proved immensely popular, Nintendo decided to ride off its success and create a sequel changing the roles, making Mario the villain and Donkey Kong Jr. the hero. What is surprisingly not well known, however, is that there was a third game after that. While the next logical next might have been to allow you...
Video Dixie Kong Struts Her Stuff in This New Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Trailer
That ponytail has so many uses
During last week's Nintendo Direct, it was revealed that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has been pushed back slightly to a February 2014 release to ensure the developer Retro Studios can deliver the optimum gaming experience. However, to ease the pain a li
Review Donkey Kong (3DS eShop / NES)
It's on like Donkey Kong
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the initial Japanese launch of the Nintendo Family Computer, more popularly known around the world as the Famicom. Among the landmark console’s launch titles was Donkey Kong, a port of the arcade hit that began Nintendo’s launch into video game history. Now, in the year of the...
Weirdness This Donkey Kong Art Plays With Your Sense of Perception
The impossible level
While some fan culture based on Nintendo is relatively light-hearted, full of parody or off-the-cuff, there are examples where artistic skill is employed to be both serious and irreverent at once. We think this may be a rather good example of that. YouTube group AweMeChannel has produced a video inspired by the work of Maurits...
Review Donkey Kong (Wii U eShop / NES)
Klassic Kong
This month marks the 30th anniversary of the initial Japanese launch of the Nintendo Family Computer, more popularly known around the world as the Famicom. Among the landmark console’s launch titles was Donkey Kong, a port of the arcade hit that began Nintendo’s launch into video game history. Now, just in time for the anniversary...
First Impressions Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Frozen in time?
If there is a rule that Nintendo lives by, it’s that one good turn deserves another. Hence why the E3 2013 revelation that the game Austin, Texas’ Retro Studios has been slaving away on for the past three years is none other than a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns isn’t much of a revelation at all. Donkey Kong Country...
News Retro Chose Donkey Kong Over Metroid as Its First Wii U Title
Metroid wasn't the prime choice
Are you happy about Retro's return to the Donkey Kong franchise with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, or would you have preferred something different — a fresh IP or a new entry into the world of Metroid, perhaps? According to Retro Studios president and CEO Michael Kelbaugh, the developer chose to work on a...
Video Check Out Donkey Kong at this Nintendo World Launch Event
Credit to the guy in the outfit
The Nintendo World store in New York recently hosted a launch event for Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, where attendees had the chance to enjoy other games featuring the mascot, pick up some goodie bags and meet the ape himself. Events such as these, as well as expos and similar occasions, give gamers a chance to...
Review Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (3DS)
No more monkeying around
It's easy to forget, as Nintendo has seemingly decided that it's no longer a definitive unique selling point, but the 3DS has a fantastic stereoscopic 3D screen. It's tempting to be blase about it, but it's still the only mainstream piece of hardware — certainly in gaming terms — that uses it so effectively. The...
News Nintendo Outsourcing Development Of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
Monster Games responsible for porting the Wii title to 3DS
A while back, there was a rumour that Monster Games was working on a new game for Nintendo. Speculation suggested it might be another Donkey Kong title, but a lack of solid evidence made many — Nintendo Life included — dismiss the chatter as unfounded gossip. Turns out the rumour had a...
Feature Nintendo Battle - Donkey Kong: Tabletop vs. Game & Watch
Are you ready?
During the arcade boom of the early 1980s, Donkey Kong was doing great business for Nintendo. To capitalise on this popularity, miniature versions of the arcade game were released. First, there was Coleco’s Donkey Kong tabletop, followed by Nintendo’s Game & Watch Multi Screen version. We decided to pit these ‘portable’...
News Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D Swinging Onto 3DS
It's a 3D Wii-make
Today's Nintendo Direct broadcasts in both Europe and North America saved a big surprise for last, with confirmation that Wii title Donkey Kong Country Returns is on its way to 3DS, not surprisingly titled Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. It's a remake, so we don't anticipate much if any new content — though there's always a...
Hardware Classics Game & Watch JR-55 - Donkey Kong II
A multi-screen masterpiece
Before the Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance and even the Game Boy, portable gaming was all about Nintendo's Game & Watch series. The brainchild of Nintendo engineer Gunpei Yokoi - who apparently came up with the idea after seeing a Japanese businessman playing around with his pocket calculator during his journey to work -...
News Warcraft-Loving Canadian Almost Becomes The King Of Kong
Vincent Lemay just 2,700 points shy of Hank Chien's record
There are plenty of vintage video games out there which tempt modern-day players to accomplish a record-breaking score, but Nintendo's Donkey Kong seems to get more attention than most - thanks largely to the amazing 2008 documentary film King of Kong, which charted the titanic battle...
News Dr Hank Chien Breaks His Own Donkey Kong World Record
Just to rub it in
Dr Hank Chien is the current master and world record holder on the original Donkey Kong arcade. Ahead of a Kong Off II event in November, it seems that Dr Kong isn't merely content to enjoy his record and wait to face his rivals, but is actively trying to assert his place at the top of the tree. After extending his world record to...
News The King of Kong Remake Could End Up as a Mockumentary
Seth Gordon talks directorial influences
Seth Gordon's The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters documentary about Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe ― two gamers on a quest for a world record-breaking high score on Donkey Kong ― is still on course for a remake, but the style in which the film will be presented might in some ways end up being a...
News The Brothers Mario 2 Trailer Introduces Us to the New Don
One pastiche you don't want to mess with
When the trailer for the fictitious film The Brothers Mario was released, it gave us a good chuckle at how many video game and cultural references were crammed so beautifully into the space of 5 minutes. How might a sequel turn out? The Country Club shows us how. Another exclusive from The Game Station, The...
Interviews Richie Knucklez - The Kong Off
"the most important person in video gaming right now"
In the documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Steve Wiebe travels to FunSpot Arcade to put a stop to all the naysayers disputing his record-setting Donkey Kong skills. To the amazement of everyone watching, he achieves the first ever kill screen on the Funspot Donkey Kong machine...
The doctor, the teacher and the saucier go head-to-head
1,090,400 points. That's the record to beat, set by the cheerful Dr. Hank Chien just last week. Now the New York plastic surgeon joins the double-decade champion and hot sauce tycoon Billy Mitchell and the mild-mannered schoolteacher who toppled his throne, Steve Wiebe, to duke it out for...
News World's Finest to Compete This Weekend at the Kong Off
Join us for live coverage
You've seen the movies. You've read the interviews. You've designed the shirts. You've cheered for the former champion. And to top it off, the bar just got raised by 20,000 points. This weekend is what it's all been building up to: The Ko
News Hank Chien Breaks Previous DK Record, Climbs Further Up the Ladder
The high score just got higher
To be the best you have to beat the best, even if that means beating yourself. On 27th February, current Donkey Kong champion Hank Chien did just that. Nearly a year after he originally broke the record for the highest score on a Donkey Kong arcade machine, the New York surgeon has surpassed his best score, making...
Competition Winner Design the Official T-Shirt for Team Chien!
A smashing shirt
Around a month ago, Nintendo Life and Donkey Kong world champion Dr. Hank Chien teamed up to challenge you, the readers, to design the official Team Chien t-shirt. The response was overwhelming, but Dr. Chien was able to cut through the entries with surgical precision and pick a favourite. The winning design was submitted by user...
Interviews Doctor Kong Director Alexis Neophytides
We catch up with Alexis and Hank at the film's Brooklyn premiere
The saga over high scores in Donkey Kong is no longer a tale of two dudes. While most of us came to know the world of modern day Donkey Kongers through the epic rivalry between Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchelll, it wasn't long before a third player emerged out of left field. Hank Chien,...
News Doctor Kong Trailer Reveals Hank Chien's True Motivation
Hint: it's not a hatred of gorillas
Plenty has been written about the ongoing action at the top of the global Donkey Kong leaderboards, but what inspired plastic surgeon Dr Hank Chien to take up the challenge? Chien, whose score of 1,068,000 is just 3,500 points above nearest rival Steve Wiebe, is the subject of a new independent documentary called...
Interviews Catching Up with Steve Wiebe
The former champ ain't no chump
Not since a certain famous gorilla and plumber-to-be squared off for the coveted Pauline has there been a rivalry like that of the Kings of Kong. The film The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters brought to public attention the fight for dominance between family man Steve Wiebe and Goliath-like hot saucier Billy...
News Donkey Kong Country Returns Sells Over 4 Million in a Month
Worldwide sales as strong as DK's ground pounding
It hasn't been out for long when compared to the other big sellers of last year, but that hasn't stopped Donkey Kong Country Returns from flying off the shelves. The return of the Donkey Kong franchise by way of Retro Studios has been selling like hot cakes ripe bananas since its North American...
Interviews Dr. Hank Chien, the Current King of Kong
Doctor Kong tells all
We recently live blogged former King of Kong Steve Wiebe's attempt to take back the Donkey Kong record, but before last March, we weren't even aware that a new champ was out there. We recently sat down with the New York plastic surgeon to get his thoughts on his rise to fame, competitive playing and more as well as get some...
Live Text Steve Wiebe Attempts to Re-Claim Donkey Kong World Record
It's on!
Today at 3:30 PM CST, we'll be bringing you live text updates below of Steve Wiebe's Donkey conquest to take back the title from Dr. Hank Chien. We'll be live at Chicago, IL's Logan Hardware bringing you to-the-second updates on the schoolteacher's climbing score. Will he reach a kill screen? Will he top Dr. Chien's 1,068,000 points? Will...
News Steve Wiebe Attempting to Reclaim Toppled Donkey Kong Record This Saturday
Join us as we bring you live coverage
Round and round the high score wheel goes, and yesterday it stopped once more on New York plastic surgeon Dr. Hank Chien with a barrel-blasting 1,068,000 points, besting Wiebe's September record by a cool 4,000. However, this Saturday Wiebe will attempt to take it back again, and you can tune in to Nintendo Life...
News Drool Over This Donkey Kong Country Returns Concept Art
Then throw a barrel maybe
The art style in Donkey Kong Country Returns is pitch-perfect, showing respect to the gorilla's history and containing countless tiny references to his previous outings as well as other Retro Studios titles. The concept art that went into producing this unique art style is every bit as impressive as you'd expect,...
News No Love for Super Mario All-Stars in UK Top 20 Chart
Donkey Kong in at 13 though
Plumbing collection Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition just launched in the UK and had an underwhelming first weekend of sales, missing the top 20 altogether and landing at number 22. Simian platformer Donkey Kong Country Returns had a stronger showing, a new entry at number 13 behind strong climber Mario Kart...
