Smash Universe: January 2020

Friday, January 31, 2020

Character Sheet: Kalypso (DK Miscellaneous)

KALYPSO

Let's kick off this final round of DK revisions. We have a few old ones to go over, mostly for thoroughness's sake, alongside four new additions to the roster. Let's see what we've got!

1. Donkey Kong (Revision)
2. Diddy Kong (Revision)
3. Dixie Kong (Revision)
4. King K. Rool (Revision)
5. Cranky Kong (Revision)
6. Funky Kong (Revision)
7. Wrinkly Kong (Revision)
8. Tiny Kong (Revision)
9. Lanky Kong (Revision)
10. Kritter (Revision)
11. Krusha (Revision)
12. Klump (Revision)
13. Timber
14. Kalypso
15. Wizpig
16. The Evil Kings

Today, we are basically covering Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast the character, much like our last character for Diddy Kong Racing. The difference here is that while Diddy Kong Racing had a plethora of unique characters, with only one pre-existing character and two that would go on to do other things, this game is made up of mostly pre-existing Donkey Kong characters with a handful of unique characters. The three truly unique characters are Kalypso, a tall female Kremling with an afro, and Kip and Kass, a pair of younger Kremlings with smaller body types. (You can also could Kludge here too, but he's basically Kudgel or Krusha with a new name, so . . . ). I chose Kalypso to represent the game primarily because she is easily the most unique and iconic new character of the bunch. Her body type is quite a bit different than, say, Kip or Kass, and they don't ride around in karts, so you do have to factor in the whole body, but if you'd like to think that her color swaps are the other characters, be my guest. If you'd prefer it to be just Kalypso, also be my guest. It's the same basic character model either way.

In the game, you fly around with a pair of rockets attached to your waist. This means the character will likely be very floaty, hovering an inch or two off the ground at all times like Dark Samus or Mewtwo. The games mechanics also included boosts, and wild moves which let you ricochet forward wildly for a time. You also had use of items obtained along the track, including a prop monkey that throws bananas, Squawks and Quawks who bother the other players, banana fairies who gather bananas, a fiery banana, a melon that makes you invincible, a mini-Necky that rams into players, a miniature tornado, a barrel you can throw behind you, Zingers that swarm part of the track, Chunky Kong's pineapple launcher, and an elixir that gives you wild moves. Alright, now that that's all squared away, let's see what we've got.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Mini-Necky
Kalypso will produce a mini-Necky that will rush out and ram into another opponent, knocking them over. This also gives some representation to the Necky enemy, so that's a bonus.

Side B: Wild Move
Kalypso will blast forward wildly, knocking aside opponents willy-nilly. This may be a little difficult to control, so watch out.

Up B: Whirlwind
Kalypso will create a whirlwind around her feet that will spin her around and launch her skyward. Other characters may get caught in this as well.

Down B: Mini-Zingers
Kalypso will produce a swarm of mini-Zingers that will hover in one area of the stage, attacking any that pass through it. This will function similarly to Piranha Plant's poison cloud. Also gives some representation to Zingers, so also bonus.

Final Smash: Ultra Barrel
This represents Ultra Barrel DK, the game's secret character, where DK glows and gets all of his stats maxed out. Imagine pretty much that, but on Kalypso. Kalypso will start to glow and she will proceed to race back and forth across the track like Super Sonic.

Entrance: Hovering into place

Taunts: any number of spins or flashy moves pulled from the game. Since she has a disco vibe, she could also pull off a few disco moves.

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, we'll tackle Timber's nemesis Wizpig!

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Character Sheet: Timber (DK Miscellaneous)

TIMBER

Let's kick off this final round of DK revisions. We have a few old ones to go over, mostly for thoroughness's sake, alongside four new additions to the roster. Let's see what we've got!

1. Donkey Kong (Revision)
2. Diddy Kong (Revision)
3. Dixie Kong (Revision)
4. King K. Rool (Revision)
5. Cranky Kong (Revision)
6. Funky Kong (Revision)
7. Wrinkly Kong (Revision)
8. Tiny Kong (Revision)
9. Lanky Kong (Revision)
10. Kritter (Revision)
11. Krusha (Revision)
12. Klump (Revision)
13. Timber
14. Kalypso
15. Wizpig
16. The Evil Kings

Alright, let's get on with our new characters! Today, we'll be covering Timber, or more accurately, the Diddy Kong Racers. I went with Timber as the base form as he seems to be the main character of the game after Diddy, and it is his island after all. However, every color swap will be a different fighter. I'm not exactly sure how the order will go. Here's a couple options:

The Starter Eight: Timber, Pipsy, Tiptup, Bumper, Diddy, Banjo, Conker, and Krunch
Leaving out all characters with other Game Franchises: Timber, Pipsy, Tiptup, Bumper, Krunch, Drumstick, T.T., and maybe Diddy/Taj.
Or we could simply break the eight-color-swap-thing now, and open it up to any number necessary. I have a feeling we'll need to do that anyway, considering certain RPG series later on down the road.

Either way, the Diddy Kong racers all have a general moveset that consists of racing around a track in a car, plane, or boat. Their power-ups come from items made available through balloons scattered across the track. These power-ups include boosts, various types of missiles, an oil slick to make opponents spin out, a mine to explode, a bubble to trap opponents, a protective shield, and a magnet to pull enemies toward them. Let's see what we can do.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Heat-Seeking Missile
Timber, or whatever racer you are, will send out a heat-seeking missile that will make a beeline toward the nearest opponent, following them and exploding on impact.

Side B: Magnet
The racer will pull out a powerful magnet that will draw opponents toward them. Once pulled nearer, opens them up to be attacked in a number of ways.

Up B: Balloon OR Airplane
I'm hesitant on balloon, partially because I know that will be perfect for Mario Kart when we get to it, but also because balloons aren't particularly used to lift anything in this game. On the other hand, the racer's vehicle could switch to a plane and swoop upward, but I feel the plane mode will come in handy for most of the character's aerial maneuvers.

Down B: Oil Slick
A rather unique move to Diddy Kong Racing, the racer will drop an oil slick behind them, which will make characters who cross it slip and spin out.

Final Smash: Taj's Grand Prix
Taj the Elephant will appear above the stage and wave a flag, at which point all racers from Diddy Kong Racing will race across the stage from the background to the foreground, some in cars, some in planes, and some in boats, each one covering a different level of the stage so nowhere is safe.

Entrance: probably just screeching onto the stage in the car.

Taunts: some of the characters' various victory taunts from the game and so on.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover a similar in concept character, Kalypso!

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Character Sheet: Klump (DK Miscellaneous)

KLUMP

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Character Sheet: Krusha (DK Miscellaneous)

KRUSHA

Monday, January 27, 2020

Character Sheet: Kritter (DK Miscellaneous)

KRITTER

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Character Sheet: Lanky Kong (DK Miscellaneous)

LANKY KONG

Friday, January 24, 2020

Character Sheet: Tiny Kong (DK Miscellaneous)

TINY KONG

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Character Sheet: Wrinkly Kong (DK Miscellaneous)

WRINKLY KONG

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Character Sheet: Funky Kong (DK Miscellaneous)

FUNKY KONG

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Character Sheet: Cranky Kong (DK Miscellaneous)

CRANKY KONG

Standard B: Dynamite

Side B: Barrel

Up B: Pogo Stick

Down B: Dentures

Final Smash: Mad Scientist

Entrance: Cranky could break out of a barrel like the rest of them, though he could just be sitting on stage, cranking his gramophone like in the first game's cutscene.

Taunts: Waving his stick around like a grumpy old man, making some comment about "kids these days." Maybe a secret taunt where he gives out hints.

Next up: We cover our boy Funky Kong!

Monday, January 20, 2020

Character Sheet: King K. Rool (DK Miscellaneous)

KING K. ROOL

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Character Sheet: Dixie Kong (DK Miscellaneous)

DIXIE KONG

Friday, January 17, 2020

Character Sheet: Diddy Kong (DK Miscellaneous)

DIDDY KONG

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Character Sheet: Donkey Kong (DK Miscellaneous)

DONKEY KONG

Here is his moveset:

Standard B: Giant Punch

Side B: Barrel

Up B: Barrel Cannon

Down B: Ground Pound

Final Smash: Jungle Rush
Almost the primary attack in Jungle Beat. Nice.

Entrance: He bursts out of a barrel.

Taunts: Pounding his chest for sure, maybe eating a banana, maybe playing his bongos a bit.

Thanks for reading! Next up: on to Diddy Kong!

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Donkey Konga 3

DONKEY KONGA 3

Third verse, same as the first two. Once again, pretty much the same, except it has different songs, you can play as Funky Kong now, and the game was never released outside of Japan. Not much more to add, so I guess we'll move on.

Let's see what we've got:

Characters:
Donkey Kong: run, jump, bounce, flurry of punches, swing, flower cannon, sonic attack, helper monkeys, hoofer, flurl, helibird, play the bongos
Diddy Kong: play the bongos
Dixie Kong: play the bongos
Funky Kong: play the bongos
Diddy Kong Racers (Diddy, Timber, Pipsy, Banjo, Conker, Bumper, Tiptup, Krunch, Drumstick, T.T.): drive, fly, boat, boosts, missiles, oil slick, mine, bubble, shield, magnet
Barrel Blast Racers (probably Kalypso): fly, boost, wild move, prop monkey, parrots, banana fairy, blazing banana, melons, coconuts, mini-necky, mini-zinger, whirlwind, backwards barrel, TNT barrel, pineapple launcher.
Wizpig: fly, run fast, lightning, teleport, lasers, missile, spaceship
The Evil Kings: punch, kick, stomp, grab, reference character (see: Donkey Kong moves above)

Bosses:
Tricky
Bluey
Bubbler
Smokey
Rocs
Tusks
Hogs
Cactus King and Ghastly King

Stages:
Dino Domain
Snowflake Mountain
Sherbet Island
Dragon Forest
Future Fun Land
DK Jungle
Salty Sea
Mt. Dynamite
Scorching Canyon
Mammoth Glacier
Cranky's Temple
Rumble Falls
So many different stages
The Bongos?

Items:
Balloons
Barrels
Bananas
Bongos

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover our characters, both old and new!

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Donkey Konga 2

DONKEY KONGA 2

Not much to say here. Pretty much the same game as the first one, just with new songs and Dixie Kong now playable alongside Donkey and Diddy. So, I guess we're done here.

Let's see what we've got:

Characters:
Donkey Kong: run, jump, bounce, flurry of punches, swing, flower cannon, sonic attack, helper monkeys, hoofer, flurl, helibird, play the bongos
Diddy Kong: play the bongos
Dixie Kong: play the bongos
Diddy Kong Racers (Diddy, Timber, Pipsy, Banjo, Conker, Bumper, Tiptup, Krunch, Drumstick, T.T.): drive, fly, boat, boosts, missiles, oil slick, mine, bubble, shield, magnet
Barrel Blast Racers (probably Kalypso): fly, boost, wild move, prop monkey, parrots, banana fairy, blazing banana, melons, coconuts, mini-necky, mini-zinger, whirlwind, backwards barrel, TNT barrel, pineapple launcher.
Wizpig: fly, run fast, lightning, teleport, lasers, missile, spaceship
The Evil Kings: punch, kick, stomp, grab, reference character (see: Donkey Kong moves above)

Bosses:
Tricky
Bluey
Bubbler
Smokey
Rocs
Tusks
Hogs
Cactus King and Ghastly King

Stages:
Dino Domain
Snowflake Mountain
Sherbet Island
Dragon Forest
Future Fun Land
DK Jungle
Salty Sea
Mt. Dynamite
Scorching Canyon
Mammoth Glacier
Cranky's Temple
Rumble Falls
So many different stages
The Bongos?

Items:
Balloons
Barrels
Bananas
Bongos

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover the third installment in the series!

Monday, January 13, 2020

Donkey Konga

DONKEY KONGA

Well, this one should be pretty quick. Donkey Konga is the first of three games developed to work with the DK Bongos. Basically, you play the bongos in time to various songs, like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, but with bongos. Donkey and Diddy are playable, but that basically just means you can select them to sit on screen and match your movements while you play. Not much to offer. Just fun.

Let's see what we've got:

Characters:
Donkey Kong: run, jump, bounce, flurry of punches, swing, flower cannon, sonic attack, helper monkeys, hoofer, flurl, helibird, play the bongos
Diddy Kong: play the bongos
Diddy Kong Racers (Diddy, Timber, Pipsy, Banjo, Conker, Bumper, Tiptup, Krunch, Drumstick, T.T.): drive, fly, boat, boosts, missiles, oil slick, mine, bubble, shield, magnet
Barrel Blast Racers (probably Kalypso): fly, boost, wild move, prop monkey, parrots, banana fairy, blazing banana, melons, coconuts, mini-necky, mini-zinger, whirlwind, backwards barrel, TNT barrel, pineapple launcher.
Wizpig: fly, run fast, lightning, teleport, lasers, missile, spaceship
The Evil Kings: punch, kick, stomp, grab, reference character (see: Donkey Kong moves above)

Bosses:
Tricky
Bluey
Bubbler
Smokey
Rocs
Tusks
Hogs
Cactus King and Ghastly King

Stages:
Dino Domain
Snowflake Mountain
Sherbet Island
Dragon Forest
Future Fun Land
DK Jungle
Salty Sea
Mt. Dynamite
Scorching Canyon
Mammoth Glacier
Cranky's Temple
Rumble Falls
So many different stages
The Bongos?

Items:
Balloons
Barrels
Bananas
Bongos

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover Donkey Konga 2!

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat

DONKEY KONG: JUNGLE BEAT

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat is an odd one. I could very easily have included it in my main series run of games, but it's so radically different from every other main title, I felt it belonged in a separate category. The game was the series' main outing for the Game Cube and ran on the bongos gimmick that Nintendo pushed really hard back at that time.

The game stars Donkey Kong, going on an adventure with literally none of his friends or supporting cast at all, his moves built around what can be done with the bongos. He could run around, jump, and bounce, his main form of attack being a sudden flurry of punches that later influenced his current final smash. He could swing from ropes, fire himself from some kind of flower? cannon, and he could launch a sonic attack as well. He was also helped out by a series of helper monkeys who would work together to throw you from place to place and form a rope swing. He also had one animal buddy in the form of Hoofer, a water buffalo who functions more or less the same as Rambi.

His villains, at least as far as the game's marketing suggested, were four Evil Kings, though there were other sets of bosses and a final boss as well. The four Evil Kings included Dread Kong, Karate Kong, Ninja Kong, and Sumo Kong. Donkey Kong would face these four on top of high mountains and compete in basically boxing matches with them. As such the four kings would mostly punch, though Karate Kong and Ninja Kong added in kicks, while Sumo Kong would stomp the ground and grab you as well. Honestly, if it weren't for them being the best option available for a reference character to the game's gimmick, I'd say they didn't have a chance. As it is though . . .

The other types of bosses included the Rocs, four large birds who fly around, drop eggs, shoot feathery darts and drop meteors on you; the Hogs, giant pigs who hop around and throw electric coconuts at you; and the Tusks, giant elephant tanks that shoot bombs and missiles from their trunks. The final boss is some kind of warped, ghostly version of the Evil Kings, riding a giant pig, called Cactus King and Ghastly King, they swipe at you, breathe fire, and throw fireballs.

We see a number of enemies throughout the game, which I will list now: Flurls, squirrels who inflate themselves like parachutes; Helibirds, who carry you upward; Orcos, fast orcas who swim around; Pig Poppos, little round pig things that can blow you away; Karikaris, little rats that latch onto you; Pea Frogs, who inflate; Snow Moles, who obstruct your path; Bees that spin and fly; Coco Pigs, who sit in trees and throw coconuts; Bakkies, various types of bats; Gorumondo, an armadillo who spins really fast; Kobu Kokkos, weird giant chicken-head things; Snow Men; Banana Squids and Jellyfish who swim around; Dan Spiders, giant spiders who move back and forth; Mini Igas, weird ghost things that float toward you; Rolling Frogs; Tar Men, giant tar creatures that spit projectiles at you; Mini Pandas, who dance and perform sonic attacks as well; Slump Birds, who fly; Iguanagon, a giant lizard who chases you; and Ninjapes, ninja monkeys who attack with katanas, shurikens, or lightning.

We have a number of stages, mostly across a random assortment of biomes, I guess it would be easiest to just list them: Dawn Savannah (savannah), Jungle Deeps (jungle), Silver Snow Peak (snow), Sky Garden (sky), Monkey Fest (night), Desert Oasis (desert), Massive Canyon (cave), Ice Warren (snow), Helibird Nest (sky), Spirit Tree (tree), Rumble Falls (waterfall), Pristine Sea (water), Chopperbird Race (sky), Cactus Mine (desert), Sweet Paradise (sky), Primeval Ruins (ruins), Aurora Glacier (snow), Grim Volcano (volcano), Arctic Plunge (snow/water), Ancient Foundry (volcano), Iguanagon's Realm (snow), Banshee Swamp (haunted), Battle for Storm Hill (battlefield), Aerie Fortress (fortress), Deep Sea Sprint (water), Clock Tower (clockwork), Helibird Dash (sky), Lava Cavern (volcano), Cloudy Heights (sky), Magma Coliseum (volcano), Ninjape Rally (night), and Asteroid Belt (space).

The items of course include mostly bananas to be collected.

Let's see what we've got:

Characters:
Donkey Kong: run, jump, bounce, flurry of punches, swing, flower cannon, sonic attack, helper monkeys, hoofer, flurl, helibird
Diddy Kong Racers (Diddy, Timber, Pipsy, Banjo, Conker, Bumper, Tiptup, Krunch, Drumstick, T.T.): drive, fly, boat, boosts, missiles, oil slick, mine, bubble, shield, magnet
Barrel Blast Racers (probably Kalypso): fly, boost, wild move, prop monkey, parrots, banana fairy, blazing banana, melons, coconuts, mini-necky, mini-zinger, whirlwind, backwards barrel, TNT barrel, pineapple launcher.
Wizpig: fly, run fast, lightning, teleport, lasers, missile, spaceship
The Evil Kings: punch, kick, stomp, grab, reference character (see: Donkey Kong moves above)

Bosses:
Tricky
Bluey
Bubbler
Smokey
Rocs
Tusks
Hogs
Cactus King and Ghastly King

Stages:
Dino Domain
Snowflake Mountain
Sherbet Island
Dragon Forest
Future Fun Land
DK Jungle
Salty Sea
Mt. Dynamite
Scorching Canyon
Mammoth Glacier
Cranky's Temple
Rumble Falls
So many different stages

Items:
Balloons
Barrels
Bananas

Thanks for reading! Next up, we start in on the Donkey Konga series!

Friday, January 10, 2020

Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast

DONKEY KONG: BARREL BLAST

Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast is a racing game that seems to be kind of an attempt to recreate Diddy Kong Racing, or Mario Kart even, for the Donkey Kong franchise. It doesn't seem to have done very well, all things considered, but it could be fun nonetheless. The game was built on the idea of racing in the sky rather than on the ground, with barrel rockets strapped to the racers. Again, if a character comes from this, it will be mostly built around the mechanics of the game rather than the specific characters.

As for the characters, the racers are divided into eight Kongs and eight Kremlings, each one having a respective rival. The Kongs included Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong, Funky Kong, Wrinkly Kong, and Cranky Kong. Their rivals included Kritter, Kip and Kass (two small-sized Kremlings matching Diddy and Dixie), Kopter, Kalypso (a female Kremling with a giant pink afro and easily the most memorable newcomer), Kludge (basically a Krusha or Kudgel type), Klump, and King K. Rool. Candy Kong also appears, but mostly hosting minigames, so probably effectively sinking any chances for her for the last time (unless the cartoon gives us something to work with).

The game is played racing along an aerial course lined by markers, using barrel rockets instead of vehicles. Like most racing games of this kind, items can be obtained, from balloons just like Diddy Kong Racing. These items include: a prop monkey, who throws bananas in front of another player; Squawks and Quawks, two parrots who attack other players; Banana Fairies, who collect bananas for you; Blazing Bananas, that burn other opponents; Tasty Melons and Crystal Coconuts, that make you invincible; Mini-Neckies, who ram into opponents; Whirlwinds, which act like whirlwinds of course; Backwards Barrels, that clog up the track; Mini-Zingers, who swarm opponents; Pineapple Launchers, that fire pineapples; and TNT Barrels that explode. The racers can also perform wild moves, which give them a speed boost, and the animal buddies Rambi and Enguarde help you out on occasion.

The game covers numerous stages, though most fall into only a few specific biomes rather than every one being unique. These include DK Jungle stages, which are mostly general jungle levels; Salty Sea stages, which are water levels; Mt. Dynamite stages, volcano levels; Scorching Canyon stages, desert levels; Mammoth Glacier stages, snow levels; and Cranky's Temple stages, ancient ruins levels. Across these, we see a few returning enemies acting as obstacles, including Flipflaps, Zingers, Neckies, Chomps, Hurleys, and Lockjaws, alongside a giant centipede, squid, and frog.

We've already covered the items as they are used by the racers in the game. Other than that we have various types of barrels along the tracks and bananas that give you boosts.

Let's see what we've got:

Characters:
Diddy Kong Racers (Diddy, Timber, Pipsy, Banjo, Conker, Bumper, Tiptup, Krunch, Drumstick, T.T.): drive, fly, boat, boosts, missiles, oil slick, mine, bubble, shield, magnet
Barrel Blast Racers (probably Kalypso): fly, boost, wild move, prop monkey, parrots, banana fairy, blazing banana, melons, coconuts, mini-necky, mini-zinger, whirlwind, backwards barrel, TNT barrel, pineapple launcher.
Wizpig: fly, run fast, lightning, teleport, lasers, missile, spaceship

Bosses:
Tricky
Bluey
Bubbler
Smokey

Stages:
Dino Domain
Snowflake Mountain
Sherbet Island
Dragon Forest
Future Fun Land
DK Jungle
Salty Sea
Mt. Dynamite
Scorching Canyon
Mammoth Glacier
Cranky's Temple

Items:
Balloons
Barrels
Bananas

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, we'll cover another racing title, Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast!

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Diddy Kong Racing

DIDDY KONG RACING

You know, sometimes I don't entirely think through the order I do these in, because I really should have covered Mario Kart first. My thought process on the character concept was going to be much easier to explain starting with that one. C'est la vie, I guess.

Diddy Kong Racing is a kart-racing game developed by Rare as a spinoff of the Donkey Kong Country series starring Diddy Kong and a bunch of other new furry characters, including both Banjo the Bear and Conker the Squirrel who both went on to have quite successful game franchises of their own. You might have heard of them. I suppose their isn't much point to going into the differences between all the characters, as they all function off the same mechanics.

Your drivers include Diddy Kong, Timber the Tiger (the leader of the group of animals, who calls in Diddy to help fend off Wizpig), Pipsy the Mouse, Banjo the Bear, Conker the Squirrel, Bumper the Badger, Tiptup the Turtle, and Krunch the Kremling. Later in the game you can also unlock Drumstick the Rooster and T.T., the living clock who takes your place in Time Trials.

The game is played by racing around a track, your vehicles including a kart, a plane, or a hovercraft, depending on the terrain. Occasionally boosts line the track, as well as balloons that give you items. These items include: missiles (either a single, a homing, or a group of ten), three different levels of speed boosts, an oil slick, a land mine, a bubble to trap your enemies, three levels of shielding, and three levels of magnets to pull your opponent toward you. All of this does lend itself well to a moveset, and as I was thinking with Mario Kart, the characters in the karts are quite mobile thanks to their bodies being able to interact with their environment despite being in a vehicle, so there's actually a solid case to be made for playability.

Two other important characters appear in this game. The first is Taj, an elephant genie who rides on a flying carpet and offers you tutorials. He does race you at certain points, but there's not enough to make him his own thing. Wizpig, on the other hand, is an evil alien pig wizard trying to take over Timber's Island. He is shown being able to fly, run really fast on his own legs (fast enough to outrun the karts), call down lightning on the racers, teleport, use a spaceship, fire lasers, and ride on a missile as his own vehicle. He does in fact offer up enough to work with.

We also have four bosses that make an appearance, all of which race you, but with their own special quirks. The first is Tricky, a triceratops who mostly just charges. Bluey is a walrus who slides down a mountain on his belly and leads a snowdrift wake behind him. Bubbler is a giant octopus who leaves bubbles and mines in the water behind him. And finally Smokey is a dragon who flies and breathes fire on the track.

The game itself is built around the large hubworld of Timber's Island, with four distinct sectors, each having four tracks and a boss level. Dino Domain is themed around dinosaurs, with large dinosaurs lumbering around, and desert, jungle, and volcano tracks. (I think it was the basic of Dino Dino Jungle in Mario Kart Double Dash). Snowflake Mountain is a snow and ice themed world. Sherbet Island is a beach and water themed world. Dragon Forest has a strong medieval bent to it, with a medieval village and castle in one level, and windmills in another, like in Don Quixote. After you've cleared all the levels and beaten Wizpig once, you then chase him back to his home planet, Future Fun Land, which he has turned into a space-themed amusement park.

Obviously, items would be the balloons and the items found inside, though those would lend themselves to the characters' moveset.

Let's see what we've got:

Characters:
Diddy Kong Racers (Diddy, Timber, Pipsy, Banjo, Conker, Bumper, Tiptup, Krunch, Drumstick, T.T.): drive, fly, boat, boosts, missiles, oil slick, mine, bubble, shield, magnet
Wizpig: fly, run fast, lightning, teleport, lasers, missile, spaceship

Bosses:
Tricky
Bluey
Bubbler
Smokey

Stages:
Dino Domain
Snowflake Mountain
Sherbet Island
Dragon Forest
Future Fun Land

Items:
Balloons

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, we'll cover another racing title, Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast!

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Super Smash Bros. Universe (Donkey Kong Country) Roster, Updated

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY

1. Donkey Kong
2. Diddy Kong
3. Dixie Kong
4. King K. Rool
5. Cranky Kong
6. Funky Kong
7. Wrinkly Kong
8. Tiny Kong
9. Lanky Kong
10. Chunky Kong
11. Kiddy Kong
12. Donkey Kong Jr.
13. Stanley the Bugman
14. Xananab
15. Kritter
16. Krusha
17. Klump
18. Tucks
19. Tiki Tong
20. Lord Fredrik

A Mario Series Roster navigation selection would fall right after Lord Fredrik.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll start in on the miscellaneous Donkey Kong titles, starting with Diddy Kong Racing!

Character Sheet: Xananab (DK Handhelds)

XANANAB

And now, it's time to go through our characters once again. This time, most of them will just be a token effort as there really isn't anything new to add to most of the characters. However, for the sake of thoroughness, and to give myself the chance to get ahead on watching and taking notes on upcoming games so that I don't get behind, let's go through them anyway.

1. Donkey Kong (Revision)
2. Diddy Kong (Revision)
3. Dixie Kong (Revision)
4. King K. Rool (Revision)
5. Cranky Kong (Revision)
6. Funky Kong (Revision)
7. Kiddy Kong (Revision)
8. Kritter (Revision)
9. Krusha (Revision)
10. Klump (Revision)
11. Wrinkly Kong
12. Xananab

Xananab is a talking alien banana from the planet Plantaen, where everything is made of banana, but also crystal, and sometimes those bananas can mutate Kremlings into giant monsters. He came here in his banana shaped ship and helps Donkey and Diddy stop their enemies by teleporting them to a crystal dimension sometimes. And his name is Banana spelled backwards and starting with an X. How many drugs were the developers on when they created this character? All of them. Probably banana-flavored. Thanks for asking.

Now, I can't say this one was a surprise entry. Going into this whole thing, I had been aware of the character, although I had written him off as probably not going to get in, until I actually got to Jungle Climber, and realized "Oh, I guess he can do a bit." He has a ship that he flies around in. He has a teleporter device that he can use to create a wormhole. His ship drops carrot-shaped bombs for some reason. Crystal swords are used frequently in the game. And of course, Jungle Climber has a few mechanics unique to it that he can act as representative of. So . . . we get an alien banana as a playable character. Neat.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Crystal Dagger
Although not used frequently by Xananab himself, several enemies, including the bosses mutated by his crystal bananas, use them to swipe and stab at their opponent, so they can be linked to him too.

Side B: Carrot Bombs
Xananab will speed forward quickly, leaving behind a trail of carrot bombs that then burrow into the ground before exploding. These are based on his boss battle, though he drops them instead of his ship.

Up B: Feather and Leaf
This one is a mechanic unique to the game that I decided to attribute to him as a representative. One common item was a golden feather and a silver leaf, which when grabbed could be used as wings to fly around the stage without the need of pegs. Xananab will produce these items and fly into the sky for a short time with them.

Down B: Wormhole
Xananab will hold up his wormhole-creating device, which will launch a wormhole forward into the air. The wormhole will then act much like the Black Hole item in Smash, sucking up characters and items and keeping them trapped.

Final Smash: Banana Ship
Xananab will hop up into his banana-shaped spacecraft and it will move slowly across the top of the stage, dropping a constant stream of carrot bombs onto it.

Entrance: He will swirl out of a wormhole, probably shouting his iconic "Banana!" line as he does so.

Taunts: Whatever they are, I'm sure they will include his tic of repeating the last word of every sentence in a goofy manner.

Thanks for reading! Now, let's rearrange our roster once again.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Character Sheet: Wrinkly Kong (DK Handhelds)

WRINKLY KONG

And now, it's time to go through our characters once again. This time, most of them will just be a token effort as there really isn't anything new to add to most of the characters. However, for the sake of thoroughness, and to give myself the chance to get ahead on watching and taking notes on upcoming games so that I don't get behind, let's go through them anyway.

1. Donkey Kong (Revision)
2. Diddy Kong (Revision)
3. Dixie Kong (Revision)
4. King K. Rool (Revision)
5. Cranky Kong (Revision)
6. Funky Kong (Revision)
7. Kiddy Kong (Revision)
8. Kritter (Revision)
9. Krusha (Revision)
10. Klump (Revision)
11. Wrinkly Kong
12. Xananab

After all this time, Wrinkly Kong finally gets her due. Wrinkly Kong is Donkey Kong's grandmother and Cranky Kong's wife, likely making her the mother of Donkey Kong Jr. as well. Wrinkly Kong is probably one of the few characters with a visible physical arc over time, first appearing as the elderly dean of Kong College, giving out hints to the players, in Country 2, then appears to have retired in Country 3, spending her days working out and saving your game. She seems to have tired of exercise by Land III, simply resting in her rocking chair, and by 64, she has died and appears as a ghost to provide the heroes with hints. She retains this ghostly form in every subsequent game appearance.

In one of her solitary playable appearances, Wrinkly appears in DK: King of Swing, first during the tutorial stages, with Cranky instructing the player on how to perform basic moves, and Wrinkly demonstrating them. Wrinkly then carries over into the challenge modes as an optional player. As the game is rather unique for her playability, it seems fitting that she more or less act as a representative of the game's mechanics, including climbing around on pegs, throwing rocks, launching from the pegs, and so on. Some of her previous stuff fits in too.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Rock Launcher
This is based on the basic attack move from King of Swing, wherein DK spins around a peg, grabs a rock (or sometimes a bomb), and chucks it into the air as a projectile. A peg will appear in midair, Wrinkly will spin around it, producing a rock on the down sweep, and chuck it into the air. A small percentage of the time, the rock will be a bomb.

Side B: Hammer
This one comes from Jungle Climber, where she is not playable, but as that one didn't quite fit into the moveset I had planned out of Xananab, I figure it works just as well for her. A disembodied hammer will float around Wrinkly, slamming wildly left and right and all around for a few seconds.

Up B: Charge Attack
This one is based on the move from King of Swing, where the player can pull down on the two pegs he is holding and release them to launch high into the air. Wrinkly will grab two pegs that appear above her, pull down on them to charge for a second, then throw herself into the air.

Down B: Banana
This one will be a health restorative move, as we probably haven't seen one of those yet, and is based on the bananas used to heal your character in King of Swing. Wrinkly will eat a banana and her health will be restored some.

Final Smash: Going Bananas
Wrinkly will eat a bunch of bananas which will make her glow a rainbow color similar to the Starman, making her invincible, faster, and stronger than she normally would be for a short time, able to KO several characters in that time.

Entrance: If I wanted to be really morbid, I could have her falling asleep in her rocker then having her ghost emerge from it. If not she could burst from a barrel like the others, or emerge from her door in Donkey Kong 64.

Taunts: Maybe making a scary face then laughing, looking something up in a book, or lifting some weights.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll be covering Wrinkly Kong!