Do you remember the 24th of September? Yes, the day when our Earth was blown away by the wind into the fire of change. The day when Rare was purchased by Microsoft. On the 20th anniversary, the Kongversation reflects on the highs, lows, and ultimate acceptance of Rare leaving Nintendo... and how despite the odds, the Donkey Kong Universe has persevered.
At the conclusion of Stinky Ape Summer, Chris Allcock of Rare fame returns to the Kongversation to discuss what went into writing "Sea of Thieves: Heart of Fire," the newest novel set in Rare's universe!
The oft-rumored Nintendo Direct that we've simultaneously longed for and feared for the past three months finally happened this past week. The Kongversation discusses the return of Diddy Kong, Pierce Brosnan, the 1 vs. 3 Mini-Game Tree, and hand-wringing about the future of Donkey Kong!
Hyle and Cameron discuss the new Sea of Thieves novel, "Sea of Thieves: Heart of Fire" by Chris Allcock! The second full-length novel set in the shared Rare universe is an emotional nautical parable about overcoming trauma, finding where you belong, skeletons being kooky, and a DILF with a mustache who makes the shipwrights go weak in their hulls.
Was destroying Crocodile Isle a mistake? Not from an in-universe perspective, as we're sure Diddy is still haunted by the nightmares of that fateful day. We're asking if incinerating the Kremling homeland gave us decades worth of plot fallout at the expense of one of the most interesting locations in the Donkey Kong Universe!
Beloved Kongversation co-host Joe Mudd returns to the show to help us round out our multi-year discussion on Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair! We talk about some of the highlights from the last areas of Playtonic's masterpiece, the stress of the Impossible Lair itself, and break down both twist-filled endings!
We can't put a pin in our Kongversations about Fangamer's RareRacers products. Not when there are TWO pins to discuss!
With both excitement and criticism around Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass, two of DK Vine's resident Mario Kart Tour players, Hyle and Cameron, take a look at the interesting interplay between the two concurrent Mario Kart titles. Does upscaling a mobile game's tracks to double a celebrated console game's content really work?
Take a trip back in time 25 years to a curious three months in Donkey Kong Universe fandom... before the Donkey Kong Universe was even conceptualized! When Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Quest were first announced instead of Donkey Kong's big Nintendo 64 game, there were hurt and confused feelings. But could there somehow be a connection between the three? We know how the story ended, but this is the seldom-remembered prologue!
Stretching from March 10th to the first week of August, Sea of Thieves' Season Six was a long period full of murder, mayhem, ghost houses, disco tornadoes, and methodical shaming of Hyle and Jeff's work and self-esteem. Catch up on what you've missed in Rare's ongoing omni-prequel!
It's also finally here! Altermentality joins Hyle once more for yet another much-delayed discussion on Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, this time for the Donkey Kong Adventure DLC! But more than just DLC, it's actually a lovingly-crafted Donkey Kong game that, in this vast desert of Kongtent, any DK fan thirsty for some Kong juice would be wise (or Kirkhope) to lap up!
It's finally here! Altermentality joins Hyle for a much-delayed discussion on Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle! In the first of two episodes, we recap the long history of Mario RPGs and how they led us to Kingdom Battle. We then chat about how the base game struck us, specifically as Donkey Kong and Rare fans!
Have you ever wondered how Donkey Kong lives? No, no. I mean, have you ever REALLY WONDERED how this tie-wearing, banana-hoarding gorilla spends his days when he's not adventuring or racing Mario? The Kongversation takes a comprehensive four-hour tour of each of Donkey Kong's treehouses and the homes that are often said to belong to him but probably don't. Think of it as the ultimate Airbnb experience!
It's the return of Mario Strikers! But where's Diddy? Where are the Kritter goalies? Where's the rest of the content? The Kongversation analyzes Battle League from the perspective of the bewildered Donkey Kong fan!
In the second special Tribunal episode this season, Hyle and Cameron reinvestigate the case of the 2013 reboot of Killer Instinct. We've questioned whether it's part of the shared universe of Donkey Kong in the past, but the results were inconclusive. So what's changed now? And how exactly does it connect to Banjo-Kazooie, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, and the Xbox One hoverboarding game Bleeding Edge?
Well, this is weird. Hyle and Josh "The Geek Critique" Wallen imagine a fantasy E3 where almost everything breaks DK Vine's way. A week full of DKU announcements and surprises across the entire spectrum of studios and franchises. Escape from the dreary world to a fantasy haunted spider hotel where your E3 wishes actually come true!
A weekend of rumors snowballing like some sort of ursine mammal transformed on the ice side of a volcanic island lead to... disappointment! What else? Hyle and Jeff talk about Bear Hikes, bears taking a hike, and the genuinely exciting Sea of Thieves update announced at today's Xbox presentation!
Welcome to the E3 of the mind. With no official show this year but the potential for game announcements, DK Vine's "Not E3" 2022 will combine the thrills of gaming's annual event with the uncertainty of every other time of the year. On this live kickoff episode, we speculate what may be shown DKU-wise from Rare, Nintendo, and Playtonic!
Is Donkey Kong's beloved rhinoceros companion named after Bambi or Rambo? This is about the only thing we DON'T discuss in this episode that delves into the ins, the outs, and the outs made ins by Rambi smashing through walls!
What makes the level names of the Donkey Kong Country and Land series so memorable? Hyle and Matt have a lovely little chat about the poetry of the map screen, including our favorites and some memorable interpretations across multiple languages!
I'm the key figure in an ongoing government charade, the plot to conceal the truth about the existence of extraterrestrials in the Donkey Kong Universe. It's a global conspiracy, actually, with key players in the highest levels of power, that reaches down into the lives of every monkey, bear, and squirrel on this planet. So, of course, no one believes me. I'm an annoyance to my superiors, a joke to my peers. They call me Spooky, Spooky Hyle, who played Donkey Kong Country when he was just a kid ...
Did Donkey Konga hurt the public's perception of Donkey Kong in the West? That's the claim that former Nintendo of America COO Reggie Fils-Aimé has made, so it's time for DK Vine to partner with the Geek Critique to look back on the most divisive time in DK fandom! Josh Wallen is in the co-host chair!
In the juiciest episode of the Kongversation ever recorded, Hyle and Dustin book a ticket to the eco-friendly island factory of Juicy Jungle! More than just Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze's fifth world, it's a location steeped in the lore of Donkey Kong and the DKU. Make like a pig and lap up these audio juices with your ears!
The return of RareRacers, plus general geeking out over the existence of Great Mighty Poo, Rareware, and DKU merchandise! https://www.fangamer.com/collections/rare
Released on the same day as Banjo-Tooie and effectively replaced only two-and-a-half years later with another remake, the Game Boy Color version of Donkey Kong Country is a relatively forgotten curiosity in DKU canon. But we? We sort of love it. The Kongversation puts the Spotlight on a game where you can't even properly display spotlights: DKC GBC!
Yooka-Laylee has turned five! Hyle and Dustin celebrate the Yooka-Layleeversary by looking back at how the presence of Playtonic Games has boosted Donkey Kong Universe fandom over the last half-decade. Plus, we also speculate and share what we'd like to see from them next!
The Kongversation discusses the newest DKU Cameo Game, Jitsu Squad! It's an indie 2-D beat 'em up/1990s martial arts pastiche with guest appearances by Yooka, Laylee, and Rextro Sixtyfourus! Master Ramen requests that you listen. Master Ramen also reminds you that you can't hear the podcast if you can't stop laughing at his name.
For a character with relatively few games, Conker's had some dramatic tweaks to his art style and presentation throughout the years. The Kongversation discusses the evolution of Conker's look (and his world) from marshmallow fingers to football head!
JINJO! Hyle and Malik get into all of the hidden lore and history of the Jinjo species from off of the Banjo-Kazooie series!
For Women's History Month, Hyle is joined by Gibbon and Courtney "Altermentality" Svatek to look at the ladies of the Donkey Kong Universe! From quiet trailblazers like Dixie Kong and Kazooie to those who caused flooding on the path (Candy Kong, Berri), it's an expansive look at some of our favorites across the DK series, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Dinosaur Planet, Yooka-Laylee, and more! Additional reading: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/03/08/xbox-celebrates-international-womens-day-2022
