I adore the video, but I think the word you might have been looking for (instead of 'realistic' or 'down-to-earth') was 'immersive.' The game world FEELS like a proper world.
I pray to the heavens every night that a 45 minute, monkey themed video would be delivered to me upon a trash boat. Today it seems my prayers have been answered...
It's way more obvious in the GBA version tbf, it's very strange how DKC1 just have a lot of hidden shortcuts, bonus levels and animal buddies in very inintuitive places
You have no idea how happy I am to see someone make a video like this. Half the people who even remember the animal buddies don't even remember them by name, so I thought a video like this would have to have been made by myself or the folks at DK Vine. Great stuff all around, my guy!
Yo thanks! I’ve been watching your own content for a long while now so I had a small case of whiplash seeing you leave a comment haha. Thanks for the kind words :D
One interesting pattern with the Animal Buddies in general is that they seemed to come in two varieties, "upgrade" and "side-grade". Rambi, Enguarde, Winky and Rattly are straight upgrades and typically treated as a fun power trip. Expresso, Squitter, and Ellie offered new powers but also included significant weaknesses that would force you to play more carefully, and Squawks was simply a total gameplay change. One thing you'll notice is that throughout the original DKC trilogy the "upgrade" buddies became less used compared to the "side-grade" ones, which goes hand in hand with the way the series transitioned from a basic platformer to the stages becoming more "gimmicky". The main purpose of the buddies was to mix up the gameplay experience by offering new ways to interact with the world to prevent it from getting stale. I think the reasons they are mostly missing from Returns is because this was achieved through the dynamic stage design itself, so they weren't necessary. The reason why Rambi was retained is because he has a unique function among the buddies as being a pure power trip, offering an experience that couldn't be easily achieved through stage design alone. But that meant he had to be rare to make sure the player would always be excited to see him.
I've got a good feeling the Animal Buddies will play a bigger role in a potential third game in the Returns line. Nintendo's sequels are all about evolution or gimmicks, and if Tropical Freeze's big evolution is the addition of more gameplay formulas with more Kongs, then it's pretty likely the big evolution for the next game will introduce more gameplay formulas with more animal buddies, which could be considered a gimmick depending on how you look at it. Also, worth noting is that Espresso is in DKC2's GBA port. There's a minigame all about racing Espresso against some other ostriches, and every level has a golden feather that can be used to boost one of Espresso's stats.
Hey, look at the bright side- at least these “buddies” made it into their respective games; in Donkey Kong Land, there is an unused buddy (known only from Nintendo Power concept art) called Rambunctious the long-horn sheep that never made it into the game.
Finished the video!! Again, a great one! I absolutely love Animal Buddies, especially Enguarde, Squitter & Squawks!!! They're a huge part of my childhood, and I feel like the only thing I really don't like about the Retro Studios formula is how they ditched the DK universe. No K. Rool, no Kong family and no Animal Buddies is a huge mistake... yet they still delivered two great games, one being a masterpiece very close to be the best game ever made (DKC2 is still number 1 tho)
Rambi's my favorite animal buddy...rhinos have been my favorite animal since childhood, and I felt the pain when he wasn't in 3. But Ellie gets a really bad, unfair rap as "Rambi's replacement." Her mechanics are among the most complex of any animal buddy throughout the whole series, and while you accurately point out the disappointing first impression, considering her entire body of work across the game, she offers a ton of variety. Even her swimming/sinking properties are actually essential to reaching two different bonuses!
Shame the Donkey Kong Lands weren't touched on at all. Especially considering Expresso is your favorite, it'd be interesting to note that he's actually upgraded in DKL (he can stomp on enemies). And his unique role in a mini-game of the GBA version of DKC2 is also pretty significant in a video that's all about animal buddies.
I actually wrote down/did research about all the handheld games in terms of the animal buddies, but I think I’ll eventually do a video specifically about the handheld ports/Land in general one day, so I’ll include all that stuff then. Didn’t want to add any “fat” to the video haha
The only note I'd say for this video other than good job, is that the white lines on the side of the video make it kind of visually confusing to look at
I see I see. I wanted to try something new with separating the left and right blurred gameplay with a border, but I’ll experiment with the design in the future
Returns did not bring back the core essence back to life. The developers clearly did not play the originals. Being able to switch between Donkey and Diddy would have been “reviving the core essence”-one of the most unique gameplay mechanics that made DKC…
There’s a lot more to the general design and “essence” of DKC besides the stupid 2-character gimmick. Also, I say this as a fan of the OG DKC games since very young childhood: the new games are better, so it kinda doesn’t really matter.
@@BareBandSubscription On the contrary. The tag team concept of the DKC series is the defining feature of the original series. That and its pre-rendered graphics were what made DKC unique among a sea of side-scrollers. Clearly, you weren’t there when the originals came out. Those two aspects of the games were all the rage. It was such a significant part of the DKC series that the concept still DID make it into DKCR-just that it’s practically just for show (Diddy effectively just serves as a power-up). What is baffling is that they programmed Diddy as playable for 2-player mode… In any case, these new games are basically an entirely different style of platformer using the same franchise. The controls don’t even play the same. Yes, you can call it DKC, but much like how Yoshi’s Story did not really recapture the essence of Super Mario World, neither do the DKCR games of DKC. Even the collectibles are uninspiring. They’re just… kind of there on your way to the finish. Most don’t need much puzzle solving to get. Granted, DKC didn’t have much collectibles, but you rarely went straight to the finish when playing DKC2 and 3. Shortly after the first few stages, you’d have to explore, be clever, and think outside the box to find all the bonus coins and DK coins in each level. DKCR is definitely a regression in this as well.
@@Armoterra “Clearly you weren’t there when the originals came out”. Immediately invalidated and I’m not reading a word after that. I was there when they came out, sport. 1994 - 1996. If you think it all boils down to pre-rendered graphics and two playable characters, then you clearly have a very superficial grasp on the design of those games and what defines them. What you’re referring to were the *gimmicks* of DKC that sold the game on *marketing hype.* You think people enjoy those games today because of the dated faux-3D graphics? Or because there are two characters on screen? No, of course not. There’s a lot more to those games than that.
Depends on the bird something cute like an owl, make sure it doesn't get hit and never go near an animal sign(the fuck will I do with a DK coin or banana coins or barrel or etc screw the sign&its rewards the cute bird is far better). Something that wont shut up is annoying as all hell, idk head to Ukraine wearing Russian camo running around with a sign insulting drone operators. Watch it get turned to paste happily hope it was recorded take off the camo and run like hell outta the country, search online to see if someone uploaded the video of a crazy dude with a bird following him be blasted.
Donkey Kong 64 slander. Disliked, Unsubscribed, reported for hateful content, leaked your IP, called the cops, called the FBI, called the president, called Miyamoto, called Grant Kirkhope, called Donkey Kong, called God himself. Expect trouble for you, mister.
I adore the video, but I think the word you might have been looking for (instead of 'realistic' or 'down-to-earth') was 'immersive.' The game world FEELS like a proper world.
I pray to the heavens every night that a 45 minute, monkey themed video would be delivered to me upon a trash boat. Today it seems my prayers have been answered...
14:14 that still bogles my mind, I played this game like 4 imes and never founded Rambi in this level
It's way more obvious in the GBA version tbf, it's very strange how DKC1 just have a lot of hidden shortcuts, bonus levels and animal buddies in very inintuitive places
You have no idea how happy I am to see someone make a video like this. Half the people who even remember the animal buddies don't even remember them by name, so I thought a video like this would have to have been made by myself or the folks at DK Vine. Great stuff all around, my guy!
Yo thanks! I’ve been watching your own content for a long while now so I had a small case of whiplash seeing you leave a comment haha. Thanks for the kind words :D
@@MattTrashBoat Aw, I'm humbled! Keep up the good work, dude. :)
I'm so happy to hear some GBA kiddy kong dying sound effect!!!
I was actually going to use the SNES version but I legit couldn’t find a clean file of it anywhere haha
@@MattTrashBoat lmao it's okay, the GBA sound effect is even better
16:13 oh hey is that the internet's checkpoint?
I thought this was a channel with like 20K subs, you'll get there soon enough tho. Banger video.
2:22 I'll take that corndog for Perry the Parallel Bird, Alex
One interesting pattern with the Animal Buddies in general is that they seemed to come in two varieties, "upgrade" and "side-grade". Rambi, Enguarde, Winky and Rattly are straight upgrades and typically treated as a fun power trip. Expresso, Squitter, and Ellie offered new powers but also included significant weaknesses that would force you to play more carefully, and Squawks was simply a total gameplay change. One thing you'll notice is that throughout the original DKC trilogy the "upgrade" buddies became less used compared to the "side-grade" ones, which goes hand in hand with the way the series transitioned from a basic platformer to the stages becoming more "gimmicky".
The main purpose of the buddies was to mix up the gameplay experience by offering new ways to interact with the world to prevent it from getting stale. I think the reasons they are mostly missing from Returns is because this was achieved through the dynamic stage design itself, so they weren't necessary. The reason why Rambi was retained is because he has a unique function among the buddies as being a pure power trip, offering an experience that couldn't be easily achieved through stage design alone. But that meant he had to be rare to make sure the player would always be excited to see him.
Great analysis tbh
Ngl, Rambi would be a great choice for Mario kart, we got Poochy in Mario Kart tour so why not.
Your videos are amazing, Animal Budies are super underrated
2:25 Parry the Parallel Bird.
And now I have arrived to 28:15... I am now disappointed 🤣
Great video!
(I love the pig from Returns.)
Mfw when Jungle Beat alone had more Animal Buddies than Returns and Tropical Freeze combined...
I loved the new DKC series, but there is something about the atmosphere of the originals that can never be recreated
I've got a good feeling the Animal Buddies will play a bigger role in a potential third game in the Returns line. Nintendo's sequels are all about evolution or gimmicks, and if Tropical Freeze's big evolution is the addition of more gameplay formulas with more Kongs, then it's pretty likely the big evolution for the next game will introduce more gameplay formulas with more animal buddies, which could be considered a gimmick depending on how you look at it.
Also, worth noting is that Espresso is in DKC2's GBA port. There's a minigame all about racing Espresso against some other ostriches, and every level has a golden feather that can be used to boost one of Espresso's stats.
Hey, look at the bright side- at least these “buddies” made it into their respective games; in Donkey Kong Land, there is an unused buddy (known only from Nintendo Power concept art) called Rambunctious the long-horn sheep that never made it into the game.
Parry the Parallel Bird. Where's my corndog?
Finished the video!! Again, a great one! I absolutely love Animal Buddies, especially Enguarde, Squitter & Squawks!!! They're a huge part of my childhood, and I feel like the only thing I really don't like about the Retro Studios formula is how they ditched the DK universe. No K. Rool, no Kong family and no Animal Buddies is a huge mistake... yet they still delivered two great games, one being a masterpiece very close to be the best game ever made (DKC2 is still number 1 tho)
UA-cam reccomendations cooked this time
Rambi's my favorite animal buddy...rhinos have been my favorite animal since childhood, and I felt the pain when he wasn't in 3. But Ellie gets a really bad, unfair rap as "Rambi's replacement." Her mechanics are among the most complex of any animal buddy throughout the whole series, and while you accurately point out the disappointing first impression, considering her entire body of work across the game, she offers a ton of variety. Even her swimming/sinking properties are actually essential to reaching two different bonuses!
Yeah she def gets an unfair shake! Not my fav buddy by far, but I’d like to see her return one day (lol)
Shame the Donkey Kong Lands weren't touched on at all. Especially considering Expresso is your favorite, it'd be interesting to note that he's actually upgraded in DKL (he can stomp on enemies).
And his unique role in a mini-game of the GBA version of DKC2 is also pretty significant in a video that's all about animal buddies.
I actually wrote down/did research about all the handheld games in terms of the animal buddies, but I think I’ll eventually do a video specifically about the handheld ports/Land in general one day, so I’ll include all that stuff then. Didn’t want to add any “fat” to the video haha
The only note I'd say for this video other than good job, is that the white lines on the side of the video make it kind of visually confusing to look at
I see I see. I wanted to try something new with separating the left and right blurred gameplay with a border, but I’ll experiment with the design in the future
Returns did not bring back the core essence back to life. The developers clearly did not play the originals. Being able to switch between Donkey and Diddy would have been “reviving the core essence”-one of the most unique gameplay mechanics that made DKC…
Wah wah wah. The games play differently. They're still DKC games at their heart. Grow up and move on.
@@OilFreak Yeah, the games play differently, hence they did not bring back the core essence of the originals. You still implicitly agree with me.
There’s a lot more to the general design and “essence” of DKC besides the stupid 2-character gimmick. Also, I say this as a fan of the OG DKC games since very young childhood: the new games are better, so it kinda doesn’t really matter.
@@BareBandSubscription On the contrary. The tag team concept of the DKC series is the defining feature of the original series. That and its pre-rendered graphics were what made DKC unique among a sea of side-scrollers. Clearly, you weren’t there when the originals came out. Those two aspects of the games were all the rage. It was such a significant part of the DKC series that the concept still DID make it into DKCR-just that it’s practically just for show (Diddy effectively just serves as a power-up). What is baffling is that they programmed Diddy as playable for 2-player mode…
In any case, these new games are basically an entirely different style of platformer using the same franchise. The controls don’t even play the same. Yes, you can call it DKC, but much like how Yoshi’s Story did not really recapture the essence of Super Mario World, neither do the DKCR games of DKC.
Even the collectibles are uninspiring. They’re just… kind of there on your way to the finish. Most don’t need much puzzle solving to get. Granted, DKC didn’t have much collectibles, but you rarely went straight to the finish when playing DKC2 and 3. Shortly after the first few stages, you’d have to explore, be clever, and think outside the box to find all the bonus coins and DK coins in each level. DKCR is definitely a regression in this as well.
@@Armoterra
“Clearly you weren’t there when the originals came out”.
Immediately invalidated and I’m not reading a word after that. I was there when they came out, sport. 1994 - 1996. If you think it all boils down to pre-rendered graphics and two playable characters, then you clearly have a very superficial grasp on the design of those games and what defines them. What you’re referring to were the *gimmicks* of DKC that sold the game on *marketing hype.* You think people enjoy those games today because of the dated faux-3D graphics? Or because there are two characters on screen? No, of course not. There’s a lot more to those games than that.
What would you do if a parallel bird followed every one of your movement 2m above your head in real life?
Depends on the bird something cute like an owl, make sure it doesn't get hit and never go near an animal sign(the fuck will I do with a DK coin or banana coins or barrel or etc screw the sign&its rewards the cute bird is far better). Something that wont shut up is annoying as all hell, idk head to Ukraine wearing Russian camo running around with a sign insulting drone operators. Watch it get turned to paste happily hope it was recorded take off the camo and run like hell outta the country, search online to see if someone uploaded the video of a crazy dude with a bird following him be blasted.
Nice Video ! Sub & Big Like ! And Love Retro Donkey Game !
Donkey Kong 64 slander.
Disliked, Unsubscribed, reported for hateful content, leaked your IP, called the cops, called the FBI, called the president, called Miyamoto, called Grant Kirkhope, called Donkey Kong, called God himself. Expect trouble for you, mister.
What da barnacles 😭
Is this that Matt Patt guy? Sounds like the same voice. Just not as hyped up.
Yea I’m Matt Pat’s cousin (once removed)
Dk returns and tropical freeze got rid of dkc core essance, and gameplay, their good games, but their not dkc games
They’re DKC games.
Nah, I think the core essence is maintained.
DK64 is basically Banjo Kazooie but worse but we aren't ready to have that conversation...
I think most people would already agree with that though 😭
43:41 PROFESSOR CHOPS SLANDER??? smh
Nah its crazy because pigs are my favorite animal irl, but Chops has such nerd emoji energy bro I can't
Erm, first?
ERM... YES BUT NEXT TIME... *does goofy's laugh* ITS GUNNA BEE MII!!! (Bro thinks he's the main villian 😭🙏)
LOL