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Discussion What was the original source of the 2D Donkey Kong rumor?

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TheSpaceBetween said:
3DS and Wii combined DKCR sales are 9.44m to DKC's 9.3m :)
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I think you're forgetting something…

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PikminSnezkov said:
* Hidden text: cannot be quoted. *
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It sounds like it would have been a very ambitious game, and if true explains why the series is in the lull it is now. If this came out in say, 2020, it would be treated as a flagship DK entry despite being outsourced (kind of like the Capcom Zelda games) and probably a big hit, and nobody would be talking about DK being dormant. But ultimately you would still have the same problem of DK not having a proper home so hopefully the EPD team finally resolves that.
 
Oh wow, So it appears that some of the plants and trees from Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy were repurposed from the cancelled Donkey Kong game
 
Cross-Posting from DK Vine, since we're now officially in a crossover episode! But it's funny they mention the vegetation in N. Sane Trilogy being a recycled asset from the cancelled DK game.. because that was one of the things that was toned down for the final release, based on feedback of preview builds;

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There are lots of other examples, all across the 3 games that previewed.

Unless they mean the original prototype phase for N. Sane Trilogy back in 2015, which still used mostly untextured models and Skylanders placeholders

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CyberWolfJV said:
Cross-Posting from DK Vine, since we're now officially in a crossover episode! But it's funny they mention the vegetation in N. Sane Trilogy being a recycled asset from the cancelled DK game.. because that was one of the things that was toned down for the final release, based on feedback of preview builds;

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There are lots of other examples, all across the 3 games that previewed.

Unless they mean the original prototype phase for N. Sane Trilogy back in 2015, which still used mostly untextured models and Skylanders placeholders

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From what I've been hearing and reading, it also appears that this was the last Vicarious Visions game that studio founders the Bala Brothers did!
 
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Something neat to think about---

If the Activision Acquisition goes through, VV will be the second western studio to work on DK and then become part of Xbox.
 
Dante Kong said:
Something neat to think about---

If the Activision Acquisition goes through, VV will be the second western studio to work on DK and then become part of Xbox.
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That means Microsoft will buy Retro Studios in the future.

j/k, i’m curious how VV’s DK fits in original switch schedule, maybe a late 2018 title with Retro cancelled title and FE 3 Houses (that got moved to mid 2019)?
 
CyberWolfJV said:
Cross-Posting from DK Vine, since we're now officially in a crossover episode! But it's funny they mention the vegetation in N. Sane Trilogy being a recycled asset from the cancelled DK game.. because that was one of the things that was toned down for the final release, based on feedback of preview builds;

Crash-Bandicoot-N.-Sane-Trilogy-10.jpg


441205412.jpg


There are lots of other examples, all across the 3 games that previewed.

Unless they mean the original prototype phase for N. Sane Trilogy back in 2015, which still used mostly untextured models and Skylanders placeholders

image.png
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Yeah, none of that makes much sense and it probably didn't happen.
 
LoneRanger said:
That means Microsoft will buy Retro Studios in the future.

j/k, i’m curious how VV’s DK fits in original switch schedule, maybe a late 2018 title with Retro cancelled title and FE 3 Houses (that got moved to mid 2019)?
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It's anyone's guess, but I would peg it for anywhere from 2018-2020. TF on Switch released in early 2018, would we have even gotten it (at least at that time) if VVDK wasn't cancelled?
 
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LoneRanger said:
That means Microsoft will buy Retro Studios in the future.

j/k, i’m curious how VV’s DK fits in original switch schedule, maybe a late 2018 title with Retro cancelled title and FE 3 Houses (that got moved to mid 2019)?
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I would guess 2020. In a completely alternate timeline where covid didn’t happen and this game was made and released, I could see it as a holiday 2020 title, since Nintendo had no real flagship title for the holidays that year. But alas, we don’t live in that timeline.
 
Mekanos said:
I would guess 2020. In a completely alternate timeline where covid didn’t happen and this game was made and released, I could see it as a holiday 2020 title, since Nintendo had no real flagship title for the holidays that year. But alas, we don’t live in that timeline.
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Holiday 2020 title was going to be SM3D World DX + Bowser Fury.

And likely Bandai-Namco Prime 4

Unless Nintendo decided to quickport SM3D World after VV DK’s game got cancelled?

COVID, game cancellations and delays surely affected all internal mid/late switch life schedules
 
"For instance, Donkey Kong originally was intended to have Diddy trailing along with him like in the Donkey Kong Country games, but Nintendo axed the idea, saying the focus needed to be squarely on the original ape; after all, the developers weren’t going to be making a toy of Diddy. While incorporating Diddy, and even DK’s animal buddies such as Rambi, into SuperChargers seemed like the perfect way to represent the character, ultimately Nintendo wanted as clean and streamlined a take on him and Bowser as possible. Gameplay was also especially important to Nintendo, which wanted ease of play to come before anything else. Donkey Kong at one point was going to have actions tethered to bananas, but when Nintendo gave the feature a look, it deemed the mechanics too complex, and the team scrapped it".
All of those sound like stuff that's been thrown around for game mechanics of VV's DK. They definitely had plenty of passion for DK and his series, that much is certain.
 
LoneRanger said:
That means Microsoft will buy Retro Studios in the future.

j/k, i’m curious how VV’s DK fits in original switch schedule, maybe a late 2018 title with Retro cancelled title and FE 3 Houses (that got moved to mid 2019)?
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From what we know, I think the game was still in the conceptual stage, with the team creating various prototypes to test their ideas. Nothing was finalized, so I don't think they had a release date set in stone.
 
Funny to see people still reupping my old transcription of Hyle’s podcast comments on K. Rool in Smash, five years after Ultimate’s initial reveal. Time really does fly, heh!

At the risk of seeming to perpetuate “fanfiction,” the pieces I can reiterate with confidence based on conversations with knowledgeable people I trust are: 1) Retro wanted to include K. Rool as a bonus boss in Tropical Freeze Switch, and 2) Nintendo did not allow Retro to do so. It’s anyone’s guess as to why, and odds are, no one will ever know for certain.

There’s the dubious “Sakurai called dibs” conjecture that won’t seem to go away. Which, based on Smash’s development cycle, K. Rool likely had been chosen as a fighter at the point Retro was toying with the bonus boss idea. But the latter getting turned down is not definitive proof that the former was the cause, for all the reasons people already have stated. A more straightforward theory I’ve seen is that Nintendo simply did not want Retro bringing back legacy characters who weren’t already in the original Tropical Freeze in the port.

My hope is that, down the road, someone at Retro comes out and confirms the K. Rool bonus boss idea in one of these periodic interviews they’ve done. Hopefully it’d mean less naysaying toward DK Vine and myself! I don’t purport to be any sort of direct insider; I’m just your run-of-the-mill passionate DK fan who’s been fortunate to connect with a lot of people over time thanks to a fun K. Rool support thread I made over a decade ago. For what it’s worth, some of the same people told me years ago about Enguarde the Swordfish getting considered for Tropical Freeze proper, before Vince Joly made headlines for saying so a few months back (“easy for BKupa to say now!”).

DK’s had an interesting trajectory since Tropical Freeze, some details of which have been circulated in this thread. It’s been a long wait for the series’ next installment, but I have faith that the payoff will be worth it whenever the time comes. Until then, here’s to getting hyped for the Super Mario Bros. Movie!
 
When it's all said and done.. despite on your personal instance on the Vicarious Visions pitch that went nowhere, K. Rool's cut appearence on Tropical Freeze on Switch and all that... We are all (or mostly) in agreement that something had to be happening with the franchise behind the scenes, between the original Wii U release of Tropical Freeze and the now so open secret of EPD game in the works (I say this as this one report has long burst the bubble and circulated around by major outlets and reassured by trusted journalists and insiders like Nate);

Nintendo did made decisions that went publicly that are apparent on the invesment for the IP; ever since trademarking K. Rool's name, to greenlit a whole theme park solely for Donkey Kong.. and that should be enough (at I hope) to put any doubts at ease. It is undoubtedly weird that we see all that moves without a game on the horizon, but seeing the Metroid Prime 4 situation.. I think I prefer to have the announcement happen when they are close to launch the game, rather having just a logo for a couple of years now...
 
CyberWolfJV said:
When it's all said and done.. despite on your personal instance on the Vicarious Visions pitch that went nowhere, K. Rool's cut appearence on Tropical Freeze on Switch and all that... We are all (or mostly) in agreement that something had to be happening with the franchise behind the scenes, between the original Wii U release of Tropical Freeze and the now so open secret of EPD game in the works (I say this as this one report has long burst the bubble and circulated around by major outlets and reassured by trusted journalists and insiders like Nate);

Nintendo did made decisions that went publicly that are apparent on the invesment for the IP; ever since trademarking K. Rool's name, to greenlit a whole theme park solely for Donkey Kong.. and that should be enough (at I hope) to put any doubts at ease. It is undoubtedly weird that we see all that moves without a game on the horizon, but seeing the Metroid Prime 4 situation.. I think I prefer to have the announcement happen when they are close to launch the game, rather having just a logo for a couple of years now...
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The original Metroid Prime 4 by Bandai Namco Singapore was a mess of a project. Too many chefs in the kitchen.
 
And other thing.. Emily mentioned once that Nintendo is always toying with prototypes and ideas for stuff like Wave Race, Pilotwings and Star Fox.. even if they don't materialize in actual games;

They working on something Donkey Kong related all these years to finally come to the conclusion on what they wanted to do, isn't far fetched at all. It's one of their biggest brands.
 
I've seen some suggestions online that DK can differ itself further from Mario by implementing some brawler/combat aspects to its games, and I'd be all for that. DK obviously is a strong character, and you could get really creative with other characters like Diddy/Dixie/Funky/Lanky especially in a 3D environment. The fast paced and fluid platforming needs to stay as well but that may just be the next "big step" for the series. Pair that with some amazing 3D environments and it could also justify such a long development time
 
I’ve said it before, and while I know the rumor is for a 2D DK game but, especially if 3D Mario is going to go down an expanded Odyssey/open world route, I think a 3D Donkey Kong in the style of 3D world would be really cool. I think they’d fit together well, DK and that style of platformer, but more DK-ified. And if it’s coming from EPD Tokyo that could make sense
 
Dante Kong said:
I've seen some suggestions online that DK can differ itself further from Mario by implementing some brawler/combat aspects to its games, and I'd be all for that. DK obviously is a strong character, and you could get really creative with other characters like Diddy/Dixie/Funky/Lanky especially in a 3D environment. The fast paced and fluid platforming needs to stay as well but that may just be the next "big step" for the series. Pair that with some amazing 3D environments and it could also justify such a long development time
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And with a "Style Gauge", too, eh~? ;)
 
Beelzemontheworld said:
I’ve said it before, and while I know the rumor is for a 2D DK game but, especially if 3D Mario is going to go down an expanded Odyssey/open world route, I think a 3D Donkey Kong in the style of 3D world would be really cool. I think they’d fit together well, DK and that style of platformer, but more DK-ified. And if it’s coming from EPD Tokyo that could make sense
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The truth is no one knows what type of game it is. The only person claiming its definitely 2D is Zippo and his track record is shaky. Nate the Hate knows the game exists and is developed by EPD, but can't deduce anything beyond that. We know is that a 3D game was being developed by VV and was scrapped, then EPD picked up the project. All we know is that EPD is working on the game. Anyone that tells you they know what type of game it is is being disingenuous bc EPD is airtight in terms of its leaks.
 
I think at the very best case they can design a new 3D DK game with a semi-linear mission based design like Mario Galaxy games where instead of collecting starts you collect bananas. It can have lots of 2D sections like Galaxy 2

Instead of travelling through stars launchers, DK moves from place to place through vines lol

Then have next 3D Mario as massive open world game.

I think both games can coexist as 3D titles, hopefully the answer will be revealed soon.
 
Don't think I've ever played a character action brawler game where the platforming was actually good. Same with platformers with brawler beat em up mechanics. A DK game that has the best of both worlds would be interesting.

I guess Kirby kind of fits that description, but it's more on the simple side of things.
 
LoneRanger said:
I think at the very best case they can design a new 3D DK game with a semi-linear mission based design like Mario Galaxy games where instead of collecting starts you collect bananas. It can have lots of 2D sections like Galaxy 2

Instead of travelling through stars launchers, DK moves from place to place through vines lol

Then have next 3D Mario as massive open world game.

I think both games can coexist as 3D titles, hopefully the answer will be revealed soon.
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That’s always been my want for 3D DK, especially if 3D Mario’s gonna stay open for a while with Odyssey and Bowser’s Fury.

Linear levels with extremely tight platforming and that go the extra mile above 3D World by implementing setpieces that make the levels feel more dynamic.

so like… literally Tropical Freeze 3D lmao. That’s really what I’d want
 
Dante Kong said:
I've seen some suggestions online that DK can differ itself further from Mario by implementing some brawler/combat aspects to its games, and I'd be all for that. DK obviously is a strong character, and you could get really creative with other characters like Diddy/Dixie/Funky/Lanky especially in a 3D environment. The fast paced and fluid platforming needs to stay as well but that may just be the next "big step" for the series. Pair that with some amazing 3D environments and it could also justify such a long development time
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That would make sense, considering EPD did make Jungle Beat. They aren't strangers to mixing combat with fluid platforming.

Jumping on enemies in a 3D environment, for example, is rather difficult, to the point only Mario and Crash actually do it. DK with his huge frame would be impractical, so he needs another more varied forms of attack.
 
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Nathan Little said:
Don't think I've ever played a character action brawler game where the platforming was actually good. Same with platformers with brawler beat em up mechanics. A DK game that has the best of both worlds would be interesting.

I guess Kirby kind of fits that description, but it's more on the simple side of things.
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I think that's the reason I'd like to see such a thing done with more actual depth, because I think there's a lot of potential for this idea.

Like, I'll admit it: there's quite a bit I dug about Jungle Beat. DK was ruthles, beating up everything in his way. The "score attack" angle is ideal for a brawler-platformer. I even dug the new Kong designs aka "the Evil Kings". In another time, another place, maybe it might've been good to condense the best elements of them into one character and give DK a "Vergil" of his own.

I just...loathed practically everything else haha. And of course, it being the first game that really jettisoned the Rare elements was a turnoff, too, but that should go without saying~!
 
Tbh, I feel like having a combat focus might take away from the platforming a bit, but who knows maybe they could find a way to include combat while also having lots of platforming.
 
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I think the big part of doing DK again in 3D has to be getting the roll and roll jump right. As much as I love DK 64 the roll move in that game is atrocious and slow. Thinking of all the country games, rolling and roll jumping through the level is quick, fluid and satisfying. I do think you can blend that with both platforming and combat, but time will tell
 
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