The History of Donkey Kong 64 | VideoGameDocs
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- Опубліковано 7 чер 2024
- By 1996, Donkey Kong had become a household name once again with the Donkey Kong Country series of games. Releasing 3 games over 3 years, the Donkey Kong Country games pushed the limits of graphics technology on the SNES, and platformers themselves at the time of release.
With the emergence of the 3D era and their experience with the Nintendo 64, Rare would release one more mainline Donkey Kong game before they were bought out by Microsoft in 2002, that game would be Donkey Kong 64.
Today on VideoGameDocs we'll be taking a look at the development, release, reception and legacy of Donkey Kong 64 (1999) for the Nintendo 64.
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0:00 - Intro
02:39 - Part 1: The Formation of Rareware
08:17 - Part 2: Furthering the 3D Revolution
27:27 - Part 3: Highly Anticipated Monkey Business
32:44 - Part 4: The King of Swing Hits Store Shelves
37:28 - Part 5: If You Know The Words You Can Join In Too!
39:55 - Part 6: Rare Did it Again
43:00 - Part 7: A True 3D Revolution?
46:54 - Conclusion: - Ігри
People only hate DK64 now because there's too much to play. Back then though? Having a game with this much content was absolutely amazing, even if it was repetitive. When you only got maybe 1 game a month if you were lucky, this was an excellent purchase.
I remember enjoying it as a kid. It was it good game. Granted it was never as good as games like Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Star Fox, Mario Kart, and a few other games, but it was still fun. Not nearly as bad as people say it was today.
I only ever got games on my birthday, and Christmas. I would replay the games over and over anyways making it last all year, I sure as hell wasn’t complaining about more to do. Complaining about too much content is a terrible argument in my eyes. It’s like complaining that you got too much candy for Halloween. Sure, there’s raisins in there, but candy is candy! You don’t have to eat it!
@@LimeAtions I think it's mostly because reviewers don't have the time to waste clearing all the extra stuff so more things that you need to do before seeing credits only makes them angry.
I dunno, games that cheap out by having you repeat what you've already done doesn't make a good game especially when prior works in the same series didn't do that.
But hey, Halo did the same thing and only had a small handful of enemies and people love that game so I guess the point doesn't stand. 😂
@@orangejjaythe difference with Halo is the repetitive game play loop is fun every time.
DK64 wasn't and I love collecathons.
DK64 had a lot of redundant backtracking that had no reasoning behind it but "wrong kong because we said so"
Donkey Kong 64 split screen multiplayer at my neighbor's house got hella intense.
That was my first gaming experience at my cousins house
Sure did man. We had friends over one time, and the sister got so mad at her brother every time he would go to the top level for health!
I don't know why nobody ever talks about the multi-player feature in this game. I remember playing it with my cousins as a kid, it was amazing.
Diddy all the way
Same
Miyamoto freaking out about the gun was hilarious
Yeah I can just imagine seeing his face change hella fast! lol 😂
Im happy my parents contributed to the profits this game made. I got this for Christmas 1999 and I loved it alot.
RIP Mom and Dad, thanks for spoiling me and your love. 💝
Very sweet memory
I'm sorry for your loss. My parents passed away too... My mom died when I was nine. My dad died in 2019.😭😭💔💔
I am glad you have such a beautiful memory to hold onto. May your parents rest well.
Nowadays they call it a collect-a-thon, back in my day this was open-world!
Wasn't open world in the 90's either, bud. Sorry to disappoint you but open world games like Daggerfall were out a good while before this game was even conceptualized.
It's easy to feel that way, though: don't get me wrong. If you were gaming on the N64 you were part of an extremely small part of the market. There's a reason why Nintendo ditched the N64 (and subsequently the gamecube) so fast: both were massive commercial failures despite the critical acclaim some of the games had.
@CaptainSkuzzy Thanks CaptainPretentious. You really schooled me. Daggerfall was a niche game for it's time and it's open world was experimental and pretty barren. Not to mention DK64 outsold it by...over 5 million copies? So which was the smaller market again?
Edit: Also the N64 being an extremely small part of the market? That's laughable. It was the 2nd highest selling console after the Playstation. It was by no means a failure. They were everywhere. Sure it didn't sell as much as the SNES but you're acting like the 64 was the Sega Saturn.
today people would probably find Ape Escape cramped, but back in the day, any game where you could go in more than two directions felt like a whole world to explore.
I mean it came out in 99. There were tons of huge RPGs and far more open world games by then, especially on PC. But even just on console outside Nintendo there were versions of connected or segmented open world etc
@@CaptainSkuzzydaggerfall was first to come to mind lol. People think sometimes Nintendo does everything first or something, when they basically have always iterated and refined other concepts done in the past. Even platformers ffs.
I loved this game as a kid
DK Rap was the first song I completely memorized and I wouldn't have it any other way
"We all love to hate." I don't hate it...
Me neither
This is what they call an abusive relationship
Thank you for making a positive video about a great game. People never take into consideration when games were developed. I’ve never had a gripe with this game or Mario Sunshine, people just hate what they missed out on.
000::,-8
I love DK 64, I don’t mind back tracking and collecting things though.
Nostalgia hittin tonight
The intro with the pull out to your room and the screen change. Thats 100k+ sub tier.
Jak and Daxter 1 is surely a collectathon, as was Ty the tasmanian tiger in 2003. Other than that yep, DK64 was one of the last swan songs.
I loved this game, more than Banjo even. Nowadays it may show its age, but Its truly the ultimate collectathon.
I think it’s time for Nintendo to try and make a new 3D DK game. It’s been almost 25 years, it couldn’t hurt
I rather they didn't. I didn't even like Donkey Kong Country Returns because the Kremlings and King K. Rool were absent. I would however would like to see another sequel to the side scrolling ones on the SNES just on the new system with the Kremlings and King K Rool.
I can’t believe people had a problem with TOO many collectibles, I’ve beat this game 3-5 times over now and I always go for 100% completion and I have a ton of fun with it
It's quite popular to hate on collectables nowadays as it's seen as an added time waste with no purpose but I agree that I actually love a lot of collectables in older games. Why? Mostly because the gameplay back then was actually fun to jump/move around.
@@Murasame right, yeah it gave you extra to do and more time on the game it was so much fun
It is very Hypocritical of people to complain about to many collectables as if a game or collect-o-thon doesn't have enough stuff to do people will whine about it and what's even funnier is how games like Mario Odyssey are praised and they have so many collectables, a true example of herd behavior.
Compared to how games these days feel like actual work with all their chores, fetch quests and back tracking... DK64 is a good game.
I agree with all of you, glad there’s a fanbase I’ve 101%’d twice on the 64 and I’m on the 3rd round via Emulation. The game is a gem and it gave me so much to do as a kid. It has a special place in my Mount Rushmore of games
37:31 the fact one of the leads on this project made this rap himself gives such english teacher energy i fucking love it
I remember how excited I was for this game, after playing games like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, I was wondering why Donkey Kong didn't have a mainline game on the N64 after having some really good games on the Super Nintendo, so when this game came out, I instantly loved it and I still do
I don't care what anybody says, I love this game and the amount of collectibles. I feel the hate for this game negatively impacted Banjo-Tooie and there wasn't enough to collect in that game.
I didn't hate DK 64, it was great, it was the cream the la crop, the creme de la creme of N64 games and I loved the collectathon aspect cuz that was what made the game fun. It bothers me greatly that others complain about this aspect but then again, people have bad taste also complained about the Star Wars prequel trilogy or The Hobbit trilogy (both were equaliy good of the original trilogy). The only things that bothered me about the game was the two jet pack battel challenges due to the controls of the jet pack barrels, as well as the last two Beaver Bother games were frustratingly hard that you had to do them again and again before you could win those.
It’s time for another 3D DK game. Hopefully Nintendo can deliver something to the DK fans.
I still remember having this game on Christmas Day 1999. I admit that I have some criticisms of this game, mainly the beaver minigame, the rematch with the detestable beetle from Crystal Caves, and the whole Fungi Forest level. However, I still have fond memories of when I first bought it, especially around the same time that the VHS copy of Disney's Tarzan was released. Also, I didn't know DK Rap was so hateful back then. I think it was catchy.
FYI: The same people who composed the DK Rap composed the rap in Yooka-Laylee. Which sounds the same but with different lyrics.
Damn, such happy memories of my Nintendo 64. They were 'so' good on the 64 that any Rare game release became event.
I grew up with DK 64 and it is still one of my favorite platformers to this day. I honestly can't understand why people would hate the DK rap, I still love it to this day. It's so charming.
I was born in 1985 and I found the song catchy. I just didn't like DK64 though.
I still don’t understand why Nintendo hasn’t ported this !?
*My* main complaint isn't really the excessive collectables (although it's also a problem), but the controls, the camera, and the difficulty spikes. There is so much of this game that I feel went untested, like some of the mini-games
While the controls and camera were problems of the time (but still annoying, they really had to cram a lot of things because of the N64s layout), my issue is just...there's too many different types of collectables that more or less end up doing the same thing. Much rather just have it kept at solely Golden Bananas obtained in a variety of ways being used to gate world progression while bananas (that are only yellow and collected by anyone) being used as breadcrumbs to lead you to places of interest (as well as being a currency for the shops I guess).
Oh and the minigames. Bonus stages in the 2D trilogy were fun platforming challenges and the opening tutorial in DK64 had some to get you use to the controls. Would've preferred the minigames just been platforming challenges making use of your kong/animal buddy abilities.
Other than that, this game has a really fun/charming vibe. Its like a beta test for banjo tooie.
I would like to see a future Donkey Kong game that is akin to Crash or Spyro. Also, it would be awesome if we ever get a "Donkey Kong Mania", a game that looks like the old 16 bit platformers.
I'm stuck between wanting a sequel to DK64 and wanting a level based, Donkey Kong game. Tropical Freeze and Returns were fantastic games, but DK64 has such potential.
Remember that recently there was a rumor that switch 2 is gonna get a open world DK game.
They've been rumoring stuff like that for years now I don't buy it
that tiny zenith TV in the intro brought back crazy memories
I had a 25 inch Zenith.
I would trust the DK crew with my life (excellent video once again buddy!)
You and me both!
ive never had the chance to play this game when i was a kid, i remembered my dad rent it for me on blockbuster , he brought the game, pop it up and saw the message it needed the expansion pack, after that never saw it again until last friday, my friend gave me his n64 i bought the expansion pack and the game.
Its been such a amazing journey so far with the game, i discovered myself all the things i saw in this video “backtrack and collectibles” personally dont have any problems with it, its a great game 10/10
That's because you just have shit taste.
Good stuff! An in-depth and very professional documentary.
Thank you for the kind words! I strive to do both😊
Kirkhope is truly a legend I hope his pillows and bed is always cold, crisp, and welcoming
Good video! Glad I found the channel
Excellent narration and video! Awesome to learn more about DK64.
Ah, your preview from before is your videos intro. Well it certainly works for that result and it's nice that you shift rather smoothly to a brief history of Donkey Kong overall.
1:13 - Wait, it was over 10 years between Donkey Kong 3 and DK's next big game? I guess it was all the ports and guest appearances that kept him in the public eye, because in watching other retrospects, you wouldn't think DK had been gone that long.
2:28 - This 2.5D origin of Donkey Kong 64 is new news to me. Probably not the most surprising of starts but an interesting one to hear.
4:18 - Rare had a studio over in America? That I did not know. Given how early Nintendo and Rare had a business relationship, it's rather surprising how long it for Nintendo to set up a Nintendo of Europe (an that they chose to set it up in Germany over the UK).
9:12 - So it was mostly the same people who worked on DKC3 that started immediately working on DKC4. Sounds like they weren't getting much in the way of breaks from working on the series. I've heard of no complaints about their DKC dedication but I've heard stories of other developers being burnt out from working on the same series back-to-back (Tomb Raider comes to mind).
9:49 - That's a long time for active development and for nothing visually to have surfaced about this 2.5D version. The split path thing described... I think Yoshi's Story did that.
13:52 - Wouldn't a video on the history of an N64 game without a mention of the 64DD. Funny to think that this is a rare occurrence of game not being planned for the 64DD.
16:59 - Oh gosh; that certainly was a mistake to say. To think this one comment here is potentially why Donkey Kong 64 is so divisive to this day.
21:48 - Ah yes, so a lot of bedroom coders who grew up with the Spectrums and Commodore 64's. That makes sense given the British gaming scene and it's nice to hear a story where such developers continued into game development. A lot of the tales I hear from Retro Gamer paint a lot of such game makers as solo developers who struggled to adjust to developing games as a team and so left game making.
25:26 - Wonderful that we even have the visual footage of that here. The Coconut Gun Incident is hilarious to be told each and every time.
27:02 - What do you know; the thing I mentioned earlier about Yoshi's Story did get brought up. That's cool. I remember hearing at one point that Nintendo were interested in having some 2D games on the N64, as the N64 does have something dedicate to it (can't recall if this was in terms of the system's internals or as part of it's development kit), so I don't think they would reject Rare's initial idea of a 2.5D DK game.
29:25 - Happy to hear I'm not the only one who thought this depiction of DK was terrifying.
32:28 - Whoa; that's a lot of confidence in Donkey Kong 64 there. Delaying a Pokémon game in favour of Donkey Kong would be unheard of these days.
34:40 - An interesting thing about the whole tag-barrel thing is that the earlier releasing Mystical Ninja Goemon managed character swapping on the fly. It's surprising that the talented developers of Rare didn't quite manage the same, or perhaps the abundance of character specific collectables that would have to be loaded each time prevented such a mechanic.
38:37 - This is astounding to hear because I loved the DK Rap from day one. I'm not a fan of raps but the DK rap was memorable and funny, with the entertaining on-screen visuals enhancing it.
43:33 - If DK had an identity during this time, then it was drums. Those Kongo-Bongos even carried through into his Wii outings like Donkey Kong Barrel Blast and his final smash in Brawl.
47:14 - I think it being a 2.5D game could have helped it stave off some of the anti-2D thinking that was going about at the time and would also help it stand out amongst the open 3D platformers on the N64. I don't recall Kirby and the Crystal Shards having much criticism for being 2.5D. In any case, the bigger fix to DK64's reception is a retrospective one, as it did well at the time. The "too many collectable" issues is more of a problem that people hold against the game looking back on it, though it's a very understandable issue to have. Fantastic video by the way! An informative documentary on the game and nicely summarised in under an hour.
That was a really nice video. Thanks for making it.
Great video man! Respect subscribed and liked! Conclusion was amazing! Perfect music for the end! Love this game and the memories. Childhood. When you turned thw tv off and the picture at the end made me emotional! Thank you! 🙏🏽
Finally got around to watching this, nice work man!
I’ve never played DK64 personally since I never owned an N64 when I was younger, but it’s crazy how divisive this game’s legacy and reception has become years later. It’s a really fascinating story and really portrays just how bumpy and chaotic game development projects were back then.
Keep up the good work my friend!
I really enjoyed this video and when I went to subscribe I was shocked to see it didn’t have at least 100k. You definitely deserve more attention for all the work you put in.
Thorough and informative! Thanks for another great video : )
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Great job this was very extensive!
Still my fav game of all time. Incredible video, you’ve gained a subscriber for life 🖤
The intro to this video with the slow zoom out was wonderful.
Subscribed because your PS2 video showed up in my recommended, currently binging all of your content.
Keep up the great work, your videos are beautifully shot, well presented and highly enjoyable!
the coconut gun incident is hilarious hahaha
This was really good. Glad i found your channel
I started working at Best Buy in November 2001, and I remember they were phasing out N64 and we had dozens of copies of this game on the racks 😂 I’ve never played it to this day.
Love this doc on this, one of the absolute favorites for the system. I hope we get a potential remaster someday.
It’s amazing how many reviewers and UA-camrs hated this game but I LOVED it including the DK Rap. This was also the time I stopped subscribing to Nintendo Power and strictly stuck with EGM, so I didn’t really hear about Banjo Kazooie and I also never got it! Had I bought that too… it may have been a completely different story 😂Great video!! 💪👍🤘
I remember trying to play this over the summer as a kid. Back when there was no internet and I didn't have any manuals or know anybody else that played it. The game was a confusing fever dream with a total lack of direction or focus but it just kept on giving and giving and was probably the formative open-world experience of my early gaming childhood
I was 14 when this came out and I loved it. I didn't mind the collectibles, N64 games were the same price then as games are now so I'd only get one every few months, collecting bananas definitely got my money's worth. Great doc
No matter what,
I really like this game. I play it once per year!
I love its charm, atmosphere and levels
Fantastic video! I love DK64. You can throw myriads of collectibles at me and I'll happily get them all. :3
This is so well done. Subbed.
WOW this was such a great video!
Amazing vid. Thank you!
Great video.
Ditto 💯
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Great vid. Thanks for making it.
This game is amazing and as an adult I was shocked to hear so many criticisms. Such an amazing layout. So fun and so innovative for the time, and so much freedom using fun and satisfying features. A simple and easy to follow storyline that was still super engaging with tons of personality. I 100% this game as an adult and am doing it a second time now several years later and am surprised that people find it tedious in a casual playthrough
45:36 Yess that is what i want being able to collect any banana with any kong it would really help
Still love the game though.
Would be a massive time save haha. And there are so many other collectibles you need the specific Kongs for so I think it would've been a fine change.
I loved this game as a kid. To me it was extremely impressive and endlessly playable. Now? I don’t have the patience for it. That wont ever change my nostalgia for it, but I dont ever see myself playing through it ever again.
I still remember renting this game at my local video store, this game was tough haha
Really really well researched and nicely put together doc. Nice pacinging and wrap up of themes and the idea. Very cool.
Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the comment!
This has to be one of the most underrated channels in all of UA-cam
Thank you! I agree haha
One of my most formulative games(and honestly life experiences). This game instilled a love of exploration and adventure that permiates my life to this day. There's always some quirky thing or neat location to find irl and dk64 really made me appreciate it to this day. I adore this game, even in if I never beat it. It was one of the first times I felt like I had a true sandbox to explore and play with. Love this game.
Go back and beat it! :)
Where did you get stuck?
BRUUU - how the heckles do you only have 8.7k followers! Your channel is FANTASTIC!
Keep up the great work 👏👏👏👏
Fantastic! another quality video! :)
Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers!
Great history lesson on one of my favorite games as a kid 👏
There was a short while where I imagined an alternate DK64 that was a simple 2.5D platformer with DK and Diddy, but I had no idea that was the actual original pitch for the game. Nonetheless, I like to think of DK64 as the middle child in a trilogy of N64 Rare platformers sandwiched between the Banjo games. It's rushed and messy development had lead the game into becoming memorable for all the wrong reasons and is endlessly fascinating as a result.
Favorite game of all time
We would play the beaver-butting mini-game for hours - quick quick get the golden beaver!
I KNEW the DK Rap sounded like a Run DMC song! Glad to finally have some confirmation on that.
I strongly defend the multi-colored bananas as integral to the multi-character game and as a key differentiator of the game v.s. other 3D adventure games. It doesn't work without them. When I look back on the Rare games, I am continually impressed and grateful for their depth. When you're a kid stuck in the endless grind of school... these games are your world. The deeper they are, the more you feel like you actually experienced/ accomplished something.
Great video thank you
I love DK64. Maybe that’s pure nostalgia.
Just found your channel! Will subscribe 🎉
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THIS BRO
*WOW A ZENITH TV! WE HAD ONE OF THOSE. BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I SEEN THAT LOGO*
I love this game. It was the 1st game that got me to imagine designing a video game. It was the 1st game that I grinded to 100% and now my 8 year old son has done the same. I had to re-buy it for my parents house and beat it as well as again for my own home. (My brother's girlfriend got DK64 during a breakup)
Quality content!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :)
I’m thinking those who complained about the collectibles are the ones who were born in the 2000s and played it a 2 decades after it was released. I was 14 when I bought it back in November 1999 and enjoyed the hell out of it.
I got all 3820 collectables in 2000. It was a massive task for 16 year old me :D The only game I have 100% since is Twilight Princess, twice, for some reason.
This game didn’t fair well at the time because it came in closer to the end of the N64’s life in my opinion. But at the time, for the price; it was nice to have a game offer so much. Compared to most games now, it has a ton of replay value. Solving puzzles and collecting all the collectibles. It was nice. I remember getting it in 2000-2001 after begging my dad to get me a N64 after he just got me a ps2. He didn’t understand why I wanted to go backwards, but it was for this game alone. And then that sprouted into a major love for n64 games.
1 minute in....
HEY!! I was watching that
The DK Rap was so good. I was a little kid back then though.
That intro was beautiful
You are telling me that Donkey Kong originally had a double barrel shot gun and they didn't approve of that?
Another banger
One of the best games I've played on the N64. Alongside Majora's Mask, good times.
It's unfortunate Rare was purchased by Microsoft. I've always wanted a port of DK64 to the Switch.
DK64 was my first game ever I got the green N64 for Christmas and me and my dad worked away at all the collectibles. We ended up getting all of them but we could never beat the last boss 😅
I hope DK64 gets added to the NSO.
I loved this game as a kid, I must've spent hours trying to collect everything. Its a shame nintendo has never used tiny, lanky or chunky in any other games since DK64. I think with a few adjustments to the game play, a sequel to Donkey Kong 64 on a new console would do really well!
Wasn't Iwata president of HAL Laboratory at the time? Why would he be checking up on DK64?
He was busy programming the Kanto region into Pokémon Gold and Silver around DK64's development time no less.
I wish they would make another true 3D donkey Kong like this.
I sure had fun with the game back in the days, sure got stuck on donkey kong arcade game. sometimes I just enjoyed the world ambiance and the music before continueing progress.
Screw all those haters. I love these collect a thon monstrosities. More banjo! More dk64! I mean banjo nuts and bolts was alright but it just swayed so far from that original gameplay that was so fun.
If you were to create a playlist with as many songs as this game has collectables, what albums/soundtracks would it have?
what's the crt model from the intro?
Sadly Lanky Kong got bitter and became the villain in the new Godzilla x Kong movie :P
I think it's fair to say that back then most of us only got one big game a year, if that! Dk64 being the size it is was a joy, it meant you'd spend all your afternoons with that game for a long while.
I can only see complainers being spoiled brats.