This Month in Nintendo History: November 1994
Hello and welcome to Novembers slice of This Month in Nintendo History! As 2011 draws to a close, for the month of fireworks and burnings we reminisce on a game that propelled a certain Nintendo second party into the limelight. Not only was it a dramatic reinvention of the iconic character that allowed Nintendo to prosper in the gaming market in the first place, but the game consisted of a visual level few thought they would see until the Super NES successor. It would directly spawn two direct sequels, a spiritual third on three dimensional hardware, and a proper third using motion sensing technology. Introducing Rarewares epic: Donkey Kong Country.
Hey, he’s still got it!
Pretty much everyone and their dog knows the back story of the tie-wearing simian. First seen in the classic 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, the big ape was the main antagonist, lobbing barrels at a small Italian carpenter in red and blue overalls. Mario wasnt given a proper identity until much later, so DK could quite easily be thought of as Nintendos first mascot – or, at the very least, their first breadwinner. Direct sequel Donkey Kong Jr. saw a half-grown gorilla set out to rescue his father from Jumpmans cage, in what is to date Marios only appearance as a bad guy. Third game Donkey Kong 3 returned the ape to the familiar foe position, with Stanley the Bugman attacking him and swarms of insects with bug spray to protect his shrubbery.
After those three games though, Mr Kong was put on the back burner and relegated to cameos and guest appearances, with Nintendo letting Marios appeal and rising star status captivate the youngsters of the emerging home console generations. The next and ultimately last starring role that Marios first nemesis would receive before the successor to the Nintendo Entertainment System would be on Game Boy, with Donkey Kong ’94, a game that started off like the original arcade game before changing into something similar to what we see now in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. This was where DK first acquired his signature red tie.
Sharper than the average ape.
Starting off under the trade name Ultimate Play The Game, the Stamper brothers Chris and Tim started developing games together with a group of friends for earlier consoles like the BBC Micro and Commodore 64. Around the time they were able to push this hardware to its limits, NES was quickly gaining ground outside of Japan, and not long after forming a sub-division called Rare Ltd., the group started making NES games in abundance. Due to the volume of games they created for the system, Rare were unprepared for the higher ability of the Super Nintendo and thus made investments in higher technological prowess with Silicon Graphics workstations. This action would make Rare one of the most highly advanced developers in the industry at that time.
After creating an impressive demo of a boxing game with the new tech at their disposal, Nintendo bought a stake in the company large enough for the studio to become an official second party. Nintendo offered one of their franchises to Rare in the hopes of a Silicon Graphics game that would showcase the power difference between the Super NES and its main competitor, the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis. Rares head honchos asked for Donkey Kong, and a star was reborn.
Not quite what youd get at a zoo enclosure, unless somebody lost their clothing luggage.
Donkey Kong Countrys biggest selling point was also its most striking and immediately obvious. Based on a foundation of pre-rendered 3D visuals (that Rare would utilize again in their fighting title Killer Instinct), Rares technical ability allowed for new compression techniques that gave the sprites and models more personality and animation, formally dubbing this practice Advanced Computer Modelling. The lush forests, claustrophobic caves and industrial factories of DKs island home were brought to life via this method, as were its inhabitants; the redesigned monkey star himself and his chimp sidekick Diddy Kong, old timer Cranky Kong (the original Donkey Kong), the eye candy of the island, erm, Candy Kong, and the cool surfer dude Funky Kong. This level of visual fidelity was easily a breakthrough achievement, and wouldnt truly be topped until the movement to three dimensional movement and design, together with CGI cutscenes, in the next generation.
Donkey Kong Countrys platforming and stage design took a slight backseat to the technical prowess the game offered, but were no slouches either if ultimately basic. Together with an immense marketing campaign from Nintendo, including promotional videos bundled with US and UK gaming magazines, the game hit Japanese, European and United States territories in November 1994 and won heaps of awards and commendations from publications the world over.
Remember how good the ’90s were? Caps were actually fashionable!
Rare went on to create other such gaming masterpieces as Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie, and Conkers Bad Fur Day, before being bought out by Microsoft and put to work on Kinect games. Donkey Kong Country remains one of their greatest achievements however, and due to its popularity and continuing series, DK fans have much more to look forward to with the lumbering loveable ape.
What did you think of Donkey Kong Country when you first played it? Did you try the game amidst the release hype or later on through the Game Boy Advance or Virtual Console re-releases?
