May 152013
A thorough look at Donkey Kong Country, from its SNES beginnings to modern Wii revival.
This show is bananas, B A N A N A S
SHOW NOTES
0:00:00 – Title Screen (DKC)
0:14:31 – Jungle Groove (DKC)
0:17:18 – Aquatic Ambiance (DKC)
0:20:43 – Life in the Mines (DKC)
0:26:17 – Ruins (DKL)
0:28:14 – Clouds (DKL)
0:34:06 – Fear Factory (DKC)
0:36:08 – Forest Frenzy (DKC)
0:37:23 – Gangplank Galleon (DKC)
0:46:16 – In a Snowbound Land (DKC2)
0:48:24 – Stickerbrush Sympony (DKC2)
0:52:47 – Forest Interlude (DKC2)
1:04:07 – Water World (DKC3)
1:06:59 – Rockface Rumble (DKC3)
1:09:16 – Treetop Tumble (DKC3)
1:15:38 – Treetop Rock (DKCR)
1:18:41 – Sunset Shore (DKCR)
1:24:22 – Credits (DKC)
i never played the DK games as a kid so I missed that (shame) but you introduced the music of DK2 and mr. David Wise to me via TDAR.
Stickerbrush Symphony is so beautifully haunting, i instantly loved it. it’s one of those songs i can literally feel that pang in my heart, that emotional swell, that lets me know i’m alive and enjoying it.
(you know what i mean?)
only music does anything like that to me and it’s a good piece when it can do all that.
so cheers to you brett, for making so many of us aware of these awesome works.
X3
Stickerbrush Symphony is such a subtle, pan-emotional song.
Yeah the snow levels music was great! Keep making the show please! I’m a recent listener but I’ve already blown through most of the back catalog. Great for listening to while at work.
Hey also if you guys are going to do a Kirby’s Dreamland episode… (if) then could you throw in music from Little Nemo the Dream Master? That game is Capcom at their finest.
“Somehow a year before Toy Story, Henry.” LOL
I’m not making this up: yesterday I was listening to a bunch of DKC1&2 music and thought “Man, I’m gonna request a DKC episode in the comments section of the new VGMpire tomorrow.”
DKC1 hasn’t aged that well gameplay-wise but the music is timeless. Good picks, I also like “Minecart Madness.” I love how Gangplank Galleon turns into a triplet-infused Iron Maiden song. That fight was so memorable, even if King K. Rool’s pattern was kind of whack.
Donkey Kong Country 2 is my favorite of the trilogy both gameplay-wise and musically — the lack of Donkey Kong in the game (until the end) didn’t bother me one bit.
I thought the end-level Diddy Kong rap music was hilarious, but I prefer Dixie’s guitar solos. I would tell you guys to give DKC2 another go, but for whatever reason all three games were removed from the Virtual Console last year. A DKC Disc Collection in Nintendo’s future plans perhaps?
There are so many amazing tracks in DKC2 that I just feel the need to link to all of them here. “Stickerbrush Symphony” is obviously one of the best, it gets me all chilled and emotional every time I listen to it. It’s too bad that the levels it plays in are frustrating beyond belief!
Jib Jig http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGHQ5iBJkzA
Lockjaw’s Saga http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-3pL9A7Nk4
Mining Melancholy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70jMX8qK7dY
Hot Head Bop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P82DWBr3ZkY
Flight of the Zinger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLcWH1Z9VeQ
Run, Rambi, Run! (if this track and the King Zinger chase that commenced during it didn’t scare you when you were younger than you haven’t lived) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMAWnr5jMx0
Crocodile Cacophony http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ftJWsVCikg
DKC3 gets a lot of crap, but I still thought it was great. Good track picks for that game, I freaking love the percussion in “Rockface Rumble.” “Nuts and Bolts” and “Boss Boogie” are among my favorites.
Apparently in the GBA version of DKC3 Rare completely replaced all of the SNES tracks with new music by David Wise. I have to be honest here though: I prefer the SNES originals, even though a lot of people online prefer the newer GBA ones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa93Qv4PRXg
Grant Kirkhope talked about the DK Rap in an hour-long special on Game Grumps (he offers some excellent and hilarious insight into Banjo Kazooie & Goldeneye as well): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t70l-9n1rCQ
Those DKCR remixes are excellent, I’ll have to get the 3DS version since I skipped out on the Wii one.
All of my babbling is reminding me of that one time I held a VGM-listening drinking party in my dorm my Senior year of college. I want to do that again someday.
Glad to know there’s yet another soul that can appreciate the game without complaining about the cast. Like you said, the soundtrack is fucking boss – I personally love Hot Head Bop above all (plus the stage(s) are neat),
Oh man. This is just the thing to keep me from the jaws of boredom at work tonight. Thanks Brett, for making night shift that much more tolerable.
Love the DKC. There is a reason all the OC Remixes are so good.
Great episode, was definitely a fan of the original tracks and remixes alike.
Some great stuff here. Some of the softer, ambient stuff – particularly Stickerbrush Symphony – really reminds me of certain pieces from Final Fantasy 10. I can’t think of what song exactly, but I something about it really brought me back to some sad FF10 moments.
Great episode! The soundtrack from the original DKC will forever be burnt into my head.
Sadly, I never really gave the others past that much of a try :/
Oh man, the memories came rushing back in!
DKC and DKC2 are definitely two of the games I love and remember the most from my childhood. Lost countless of hours on them, and I remember being mad at my brother for not buying DKC3, although in hindsight he probably did the right thing….
Anyway, awesome episode MR. Elston! and also a perfect one to get me pumped up for DKR in the 3DS, as someone who never owned a wii, I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on it! :3
Love the episode!
Probably the most cringe worthy moment was when I got DK64 when I was around 7 or 8 thought that stuiped fucking rap was the coolest thing. So one day my grandma calls and wants to talk to me and I showed her it, but she wanted me to sing it. And I did. All of it. This moment still haunts me.
I’ve been waiting for recognition of the DKC soundtracks (outside of AA and SS) forever now, and what do I get? Everyone shitting on the games because of character choices. My gaming background is severely lacking – my first contact with DK was the DKC trilogy, and for that, I wasn’t blinded by some misguided desire to be a single monkey that has no history or story outside the one created within the mind of a child. Granted, when someone mentioned the similarity between the DK cast and the Sonic cast, my heart did droop a bit in realization of the truth. However, that takes nothing away from the actual gameplay of the games.
Gameplay-wise, they were excellently crafted. Rare-patented hidden rooms aside, level design was top-notch, and controls felt great.
Soundtrack-wise, holy shit – you can sense the evolution across the three OST’s. Personally, I like DKC2’s soundtrack the best, in a Goldilocks-and-the-Three-Bears kind of way – the first soundtrack is a bit sparse, David Wise playing within the universe Rare was expanding and creating at the same time. The third just sounds oversaturated – there are great tracks (associated with great levels) but it’s overly bassy in my opinion – all the channels are filled to the brim with no room for subtlety. Some article mentioned that DKC2 was Wise in a ‘night in Paris’ mode, and that romanticism comes through – there are great nods to the first soundtrack while the newer songs hold their own just as well.
I guess it’s impossible to ask someone to go back and to ‘really’ play something, but it’s kind of obvious that no one on this podcast ‘got’ DKC2 and 3. All I heard was bitching about the characters who, while they can draw ire, brought individual and unique gameplay elements, a pretty brave thing to do on Rare’s part instead of bringing back DK and Diddy every time.
Just know that you’re wrong, Brett/Chris/Henry.
PS As for Brett, the reason you thought Bayou Boogie sounded like In The Air Tonight is because it does:
The guy also brings in Lockjaw’s Saga and Minecraft Melancholy, yet another two underappreciated gems in a soundtrack remembered only for Stickerbrush Symphony. I may have skipped a whole shitload of games and their music in my time, but I’m definitely glad I was a proud owner of the entire DKC trilogy (and that I actually played them without sticking up my nose at Diddy and Baby).
Apparently embedding doesn’t work – shame, that.
In the Air Tonight (Donkey Kong Country 2 Mix) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEjoz9egJDs
Yeah, I didn’t want it to turn into “hurrrr kiddy kong is dumb” but that’s kinda what happened. I’ll blame it on being 16 when DKC3 came out, and wanting to not play as a baby. Simple and shallow as that.
But DKC2 certainly has the OST to beat. Nostalgia dictates DKC1 is my favorite, but I definitely tip my hat to 2.
Kiddy Kong is pretty dumb though (kidding).
I honestly think the star of the DKC trilogy is Dixie. Her twirling hair mechanic brought a lot to 2 and 3. I loved using her.
Mind blown about “In the Air Tonight,” that’s awesome! And that remix you posted ch3burashka: holy crap! I think I know what I’m doing today: grabbing my brother and co-oping some DKC2.
Aside: The new Guilty Gear game announcement reminded me of how amazing Guilty Gear’s music is, particularly Guilty Gear XX. Consider that a request 😛
I always used the character or power up that would let me glide in platformers. Princess Peach in SM2, The raccoon tail, the cape, Dixie… Whatever. Gliding was the best power up when falling to your death was easily the most omnipresent danger.
Though I remember having my mind blown when I found out years after I played DKC3, that you could have Kiddy Kong skip across the surface of water by rolling at it and hitting the jump button with the right timing. Only way to get certain hidden bonus barrels and whatnot.
Hey, the games might all be technically wondrous but it’s not without merit to have disdain for character designs. Character designs are there to begin with to draw a player into the game, and if the designs are terrible, it negatively affects the experience. They were ridiculous. But you’re also right; that shouldn’t obliviate the pluses of what would otherwise be a great game.
After all, look at PLOK!!!!
Wow, this episode blew my mind. I had forgotten just how much I had played Donkey kong 2. The show brought up a flood of memories the second the water music was played. I don’t think i’ve heard that song since I was a kid and it was my favorite song in the sound check back in 1995. Thanks for that, it really made my drive home awesome.
I guess i always heard DKC water level music, always felt like something was missing. Hearing that made my mind absolutely implode with memories of long play sessions and quitting at 99%
them feels
Finally got around to listening to this. Shout out to Brett, Chris and Mike for the DKC love.
Keep it up guys!
So many good tracks from DKC!
Loved this episode as it brought back many a memory of hours in front of the TV with the original and 2. I was kinda sad Mine Cart Carnage didn’t make the cut as it causes feelings of sudden panic to this day. You can practically feel your itchy B button finger act up due to the driving tempo and “surprise” fanfares. Ugh, stupid last Kritter at the end that completely throws you off your game.
This might be waaaaay in the future, but any chance that this October will see an all Resident Evil month?
Brelston, hilarious episode. I never went beyond DKC1 due to my peculiar but unabashed infatuation with the Sega Saturn(that fickle bitch!), but it was a fabulous game and I loved hearing what else I missed in the series. Hey, there WAS more to DKC64 than just a crappy Run DMC ripoff…….right? Wasn’t there?
And I say, hey! Props for the Zamfir reference! That takes balls. Reminds me of Pixar in Toy Story 2, going for the “Don’t touch my moustache” joke. I was the only one in the theater that got it!
And since you guys brought up the mighty panflute, I reward you with the best.comic.ever. BEST! Well, I mean it’s pretty good.
http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/020605/panflute-flowchart.gif
David Wise is a genius. He’s amazing. I used to just sit and listen to the DKC 1, 2, and 3 soundtests. Fantastic soundtracks, all of them.
What more can I say that hasn’t already been said? Stickerbrush Symphony is beautiful; Jungle Japes is right up there with the SMB and Zelda themes in my book; Aquatic Ambiance is a masterpiece…
One that I would have highlighted from DKC2 is Kanon’s Klaim. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QycKXVOtVjs I absolutely love that Wise captured the sound of mining in the music for the mine level. I always picture Kremlings doing on-beat pick-axing when I listen to this song. Great stuff.
Oh, and I know it’s unusual for you to do an episode that is just one-game specific, but “Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze” deserves it. HOLY COW that music is phenomenally good. I love it, and I really think it deserves to be specially highlighted.
[…] FWIW we covered the SNES games back in episode 47. It’s a great way to catch up in case you haven’t listened to any of […]
Catching up … only ever previously heard that DKC2 track on OCR Forest Birdcussion I think it was, so great to finally hear the original.