Donkey Kong 64 - What Happened?

[@MattMcMuscles]

Check out Evil West here ➤ bit.ly/3fWK5nd - Sponsored by Focus Entertainment Wanna watch me go insane collecting everything in DK64? ➤ kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmjJm2eKdsdpic0 Stop Skeletons From Fighting's Expansion Pak video here ➤ kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGKahHd8j7ioldE

[@horineveresa]

Mid Game

[@zekewat6515]

Suggestion do what happened Halo 5 guardians and halo infinity

[@thejoker420xp]

honestly i loved this game as a kid, my uncle lived with us at the time and when i got home from school we would grind out levels and collectables together for hours, he even picked up the strat guid wich was the size of a phone book

[@donkeykong6426]

sure it would be hilarious to see a fruit shooting gun, but you would have to do it right

[@justpassingby3743]

Hey Matt, could we please have a whu happen for Saints Row 2022?

[@Rexdrinksredbull]

The imagery of a room full of people going deadly quiet the SECOND they see DK pull out a realistic gun is so funny to me, even more so that Miyamoto's reaction was to redesign it on the spot.

[@arubinojr5670]

Fast forward to Smash and Joker's standing special: Gun.

[@genericname2747]

To be fair, if I saw a gorilla with a gun I'd go silent too

[@neoqwerty]

@@genericname2747 As a DKC fan, despite Dixie's guitar solos and Funky's various contraptions, the idea of Donkey Kong with a SHOTGUN is such a Conker's Bad Fur Day idea I'd also go dead silent before going "...WHY ISN'T IT MADE FROM A BARREL????"

[@TheShadowcreator]

COCONUT GUN

[@TriforceWisdom64]

"I have updated my audio equipment."

[@Zakanuva]

For all the flak we've given Miyamoto-san over the years for his various eccentricities, I think it really speaks highly of the man that when a team of crazy Brits gave one of his babies a realistic (by N64 standards, at least) gun, even when his immediate reaction was of shock and disapproval, his _ultimate_ response was _not_ to demand its removal but rather to go, "No, wait... We can work with this!" and come up with something rather interesting.

[@BknMoonStudios]

Yup. And it would happen again with Mario in the latest Rabbids game. Mario with a sci-fi gun is still crazy, yet it somehow works..

[@Jacob42086]

Fucking weeb

[@comettamer]

And that team (mostly) went on to work on one of the most underrated and awesome FPS games of all time, Timesplitters 2.

[@StuffAboutSandwiches]

A similar thing happened with Super Mario RPG. Squaresoft originally gave Mario a sword, but Miyamoto told them to change it to a hammer. And then the hammer became Mario's default weapon for the rest of the Mario RPG sub-series.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

I love that, Miyamoto was kind of a genius.

[@JEZ346]

As someone who grew up with very few games I really appreciated DK64 being a long game I could just play through for days on end.

[@addictedtoRS]

I recall playing it from time to time for years with my best buddy at the time. I don't remember if we ever beat it but man that game gave us so many hours of enjoyment.

[@a7xtherevrend]

I love the game as a child and an adult.

[@Unoriginal1deas]

If you play DK64 in the modern day it can absolutely be a chore. But if you’re a kid and you get 1 game for like 6 months this is absolutely one of the best dollar for value games you could get. And as a kid especially I never minded doing each level 5 times. Sure as an adult I hate it but I feel like perspective is important here

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Agreed This was also the era where just playing around in a level was more of a thing, so a lot of that "backtracking" was going to be done anyways, just by deciding today I wanted to goof off with the jetpack or Lanky

[@aw98000]

Yes. This is it. I would get one game for Christmas and one for my birthday in April. I loved this game and how big it was. I loved replaying the mini games. Mario 64 was great and Banjo was next level but nothing like DK64 had ever existed. it was life and industry changing. It's weird how people will criticize dk64 but love the recent assassin's creed or fallout games.

[@robbG7334]

It was amazing collecting all the items as a kid. I use to play it all the time for hours trying to get everything.

[@stephenallen1995]

Took me and my siblings several years to beat it but we loved every minute of it. NWe didnt have any internet or tv back then and pretty much only got games on Christmas so yes, you are completely correct!

[@BillytheBolter]

This was the first game I had as a kid and I played it for yearrrrrrrs

[@felixpeters2001]

The fact that anyone heard the DK Rap and didn't think it slapped is unbelievable to me, shit goes hard.

[@INFERNO95]

Back then not too many people like rap.

[@PhillKaggitz]

The DK rap is a jewel of games OST

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

@@INFERNO95 Not only did me and my friends love it back then, we thought it was the joke it was. We certainly didn’t skip it when we booted up the fame. And still it was better than half the bad educational rap forced into TV programing to be ‘down with the youth.’ have a feeling the people able to complain about it were stuffy older players or young adults ‘too cool’ to be amused by rapping cartoonish characters.

[@QrazyQuarian]

Seriously, I thought it was the k. oolest shit in gaming. And I fucking lost it when I heard it in Melee for the first time. My friends didn't understand the backstory behind the song until I went to their house and starting singing along while kicking ass as Fox.

[@kenhollis6197]

@@INFERNO95 I miss those days. Rap is crap. Go ahead and "at me."

[@triggeredcat120]

DK Rap is a certified hood classic along with the entire game soundtrack.

[@TheIcpfan23]

What hood are you talking about and have you been in a hood

[@triggeredcat120]

@@TheIcpfan23 I certainly have been in the hood.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

That entire DK64 soundtrack silences the Naysayers about the N64’s capabilities in the right hands.

[@AS-fu1kd]

I will forever adore this game. I've always hoped for an HD remake, or another full 3D Donkey Kong game. Definitely in my top 5 favorite n64 games

[@icsx]

This game lagged horribly on N64 in every open and in detailed places. Framerate must have been horrible.

[@GodChaos333]

I also love this game. It’s a old classic.

[@raynegro666]

I always hoped they would release a remastered version on the 3ds

[@mirabilis]

@@icsx Lies

[@AS-fu1kd]

I don't understand how there hasn't been another full 3D Donkey Kong yet honestly

[@weirdferretthing]

Friendly reminder: "What Happened?" doesn't exclusively cover BAD games. Just games that had problems during development or even just had some problems after release. This doesn't mean the game is bad, but the story of games and their creation is important, as lessons can be learned for the future.

[@anueutsuho7425]

Yeah, they did one on Metroid Prime and that's legit one of the greatest games of all time

[@krishrama]

DK64 killed the dk franchise tho. 😔 should have fired georgeyboy. 😂 but i guess banjoo saved him. what a letdown from dkc on snes. idc if they graphic didnt live upto the pre rendered stuff. as long as they made another decent platformer. which im sure could have been done...?! instead of jumping on the forced gotta be 3D hype of the time. a crash bandicoot style game i think would have made alot of us content. but oh well! yay collectables 🙁🙄 thank god it revived on wii with dkc returns! the way it should have been on 64. also hilarious at shiggys on the spot redesign. nintendo really loved RARE at this time. they got to do what they wanted. like with conquer. sad they let them go by gamecube era. also wish dino planet got relaeased on 64 tho. the beta was amazing.

[@corey2232]

@@krishrama But it didn't kill the franchise... and it sold very well too. Guessing you didn't watch the video before commenting.

[@ElVlogdeBob]

Yeah, it's still a bad game.

[@krishrama]

@@corey2232 right which is why it took until wii to get a proper sequel?? 😂

[@undeadwilldestroyall]

Your ability to rally people to help reveal the full story about these games is always impressive - well done

[@0boro]

Being a kid during that time and this being your game for the next month or two I have to say that I always found the fact that DK64 had so much stuff in it was a good thing. Nowadays though where I have the opposite problem of too many games not enough time then yeah I can see it as a problem. Just gotta look at DK64 through the lens of a kid at that time. It was glorious to have so much content.

[@Nirual86]

same, mostly. I do seem to recall liking Banjo-Kazooie a bit better and the early levels were a bit annoying with all the backtracking involved after unlocking the other Kongs but at least they designed things so you'd have the full crew unlocked fairly quickly. Plus I don't think I had much of a completionist mindset per se, just more stuff to do while I kept playing. It was a collectathon game after all, so it was the whole point.

[@sor3999]

It's weird that it's considered a problem NOW, when it should be praised by modern standards of open world chore-a-thons with a bajillion things to fetch and collect.

[@captainjurgh8142]

Even to this day i'm still surprised by the fact that Rare tried to give DK an actual double barrel shotgun like if he was in Doom 64.

[@circa1919]

LIKE he was in Doom 64? I think you meant, SINCE he was in Doom 64

[@haroldasusus4684]

The most Texan thing about rareware was not realizing its weird to give dk a fucking shotgun

[@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

@@haroldasusus4684 But that's what's even weirder... isn't Rare British?

[@haroldasusus4684]

@@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her I was getting rare and retro confused

[@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

@@haroldasusus4684 I see. Though on a related note, I'm convinced that some peeps on the team did go to the U.S. out in the country somewhere (maybe even Texas) around early development of this game. Funky's change in interests & the overall feel of his area just screams "I just got back from some bonfire cookouts with beer & country music involved, rode down dirt roads in pickup trucks, & visited U.S. army surplus stores for the first time, WOOOO!!!!".

[@davidjsaul]

Some of the golden bananas kicked my ass as a child but this is still one of my all time favourite games. I'd love to see this get an HD re-release.

[@Damian_1989]

That fucking rabbit race...

[@IvyTinwe]

I would love to have it in the N64-online-collection for the Switch, because my N64 is broken :( still have the old cartridge

[@davidjsaul]

@@Damian_1989 yep, giving a generation of gamers PTSD 😂

[@zachdavisson6110]

Really the only thing that's truly wrong with DK64 is the fucking Beaver Bother bonus stages on Creepy Castle. Fuck those bonus levels, and fuck the person who coded it. Otherwise DK64 is a banger - I don't mind a grind and I love playing as an animal collecting shit.

[@vidsurfer5630]

@@IvyTinwe I'm surprise they don't have it up there, especially considering they have donkey country trilogy on the SNES online collection

[@alexwilliamfisher]

People didn't like the DK rap? This makes me irrationally angry. That's songs dope!

[@genericname2747]

Honestly, we should just stop making music. Nothing will be better than the DK rap

[@neoqwerty]

@@genericname2747 Hear me out: DK rap played on the MEGALOVANIA. (yes i'm calling it an instrument)

[@genericname2747]

@@neoqwerty I like that idea

[@SapphireDragonDX]

I was one of those kids that enjoyed it from day one. I had no idea it was so divisive back then.

[@hrdjr]

As a Brazilian who didn't understand anything, I still thought it was really cool. Not everyone out there is English-speaking so it really wasn't that divisive everywhere.

[@kokotheclown2588]

It’s crazy I seen a ton of videos now dedicated to DK64 and how much either reviewers like it or straight up hate the level design

[@ljpal18]

It's not the level design. It's moreso the excessive bloat and segregation of the collectibles.

[@FrancisYorkMorganFBI]

the level design and overall gameplay is really great. it's just all those damn collectibles that make it a bit of a chore to play. rare was kinda weird with their collect-a-thons. you had to(as far as i remember) grab all of the bananas to finish the game and that can get really annoying in some levels. they did the same thing with the tribals in jet force gemini.( and those guys are collectibles that you can actually kill by accident.)

[@williamdrum9899]

In my opinion the game is fun to play but not fun to actually try to beat. (And by "beat" I mean get to the final boss, not 100% completion)

[@MarcuStar745XD]

This happens with most games considered "the worst of the franchise", look at Sonic 06

[@knuclestheechidna5406]

@@MarcuStar745XD To me Donkey kong 64 was the best out of all the Donkey Kong games.

[@danielferrieri7434]

Video Idea: Star Fox 2: What Happened

[@williamdrum9899]

What happened was simple: The N64 was coming out soon and Nintendo didn't think manufacturing all those cartridges (Super FX chips included, mind you) was worth it.

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

I’m more interested in a Paper Mario Sticker Star what happened. That trash pile of a sequel deserves it.

[@songohan3321]

@@bearerofbadnews1375 That game deserves to burn in the 13 circle of Hell.

[@GoofyPoptart]

@@bearerofbadnews1375 Yeah foreal how do we go from the first 3 games to "Sticker Star" they completely changed the formula for no reason.

[@bearerofbadnews1375]

@@GoofyPoptart and the copy and pasting of generic Toads and Bowsers minions.

[@neliaironwood7573]

Seeing that we have several Nintendo What Happuns, I'd like to see the following; -Virtual Boy (could also talk about how Japanese laws forced them to put the stand) -Metroid Dread and it's long voyage through development hell -Xenosaga (how Nintendo bought Monolith Soft)

[@genericname2747]

Mother 3, and Nintendos refusal to give it to anyone not Japanese

[@genericname2747]

@@phineas81707 Yeah that games been through a lot

[@worldofthought8352]

I can't help but imagine that everyone was fearing for their careers once Shigeru Miyamoto went silent, reach for a pen and paper...only to show them a proposed redesign that they were glad to implement!

[@MagmaMKII]

Its interesting to look at the Rare developed DKC games and how they evolved the colectathon concept. The first game was pretty much a prototype, there wasn't much real incentive to look around for items and hidden rooms other than earning extra lives, and all you'd get for a 100% was an extra line in the ending. DKC2 is where the concept really took form and DKC3 refined it, with every collectible having a practical purpose. DK64 basically takes the concept to its logical extreme.

[@rivetsquid8887]

Yesss, DKC3 is such a tight experience, even the panning hints are better and easier to interpret. If the setting change hadn't upset so many people, I think it would be remember more fondly. Also roll jumping probably should have been explained to the player. I was like 20 before I figured that out lmao.

[@cattysplat]

@@rivetsquid8887 The Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64 were already out by the time DKC3 released for Christmas 1996. Mario 64 made DKC gameplay look positively ancient by then.

[@Nicholas_Steel]

@@rivetsquid8887 I think the manual explains roll jumping on water surfaces, there's also various visual aids throughout the levels.

[@y0gafire]

ya a tedious extremes.

[@rivetsquid8887]

@@cattysplat I recall, I had a snes and a pikachu n64 at the time. I wasn't really talking about in comparison to games of the time (Descent 2 also came out in 96, but people still played Starfox lol) relative to the other two titles in the trilogy, it was historically panned by people who enjoy DKC. It's a genre. 2d platformers. They never stopped making those, they're still a popular genre lol. In the last couple years that opinion has turned around a little, but if you check a few older KZbin videos or forum posts, people who regularly replay 1 and 2 wouldn't touch 3. It even had a less robust speedrunning community.

[@Lugmillord]

While I clearly see the issues, I personally had a lot of fun collecting all colored bananas, golden bananas, banana rings, banana coins, blue prints, crowns, banana fairies, Rareware and Nintendo coins over like 5+ 101% save files. :D 3D collectathon platforms were my childhood. And yes, of course I know the whole DK rap. ~ He can pick up a boulder with relative ease...

[@TheBlackSeraph]

I thought the idea of the coloured bananas was stupid since why would a primate only eat bananas of only one specific colour. I also would have liked the idea of having some golden bananas that weren't tied to specific Kongs, but beyond that I liked the fact that I always had something different to do. Kinda what I like about SM Odyssey.

[@Lugmillord]

@@TheBlackSeraph I doubt that the reasoning behind the colored bananas had anything to do with real life animal diets. ;) Yes, having some collectibles that any Kong can get would have been nice.

[@aw98000]

I never had an issue with the bananas. I understood the game wanted me to explore that area with another Kong because there was something to do with that Kong there. Sometimes I wouldn't know what to do in an area but I would see blue or green bananas and know i need this Kong here. I enjoyed it. I just think people are whiny spoiled bitches these days.

[@robbG7334]

Amazing right. I completed it all too. I use to love going to the pigs where to go to the bosses and just be in that room. Sounded magical.

[@gabbagoo9774]

Did you go back and grab the rainbow coin nobody found until just a few years back?

[@Rhidalgo789]

As a kid I didn't mind the length or the amount of collectibles. In fact, I completed it multiple times with 101% completion. So much fun to explore. I still like it just as much.

[@aw98000]

Rounded to a whole number, zero percent of people thought this game was bad for years after it was released. If anything, it was the gold standard.

[@louiepikmin3184]

I started playing it for the first time a while ago, and it's a really fun game. Definitely not perfect but most of the issues I had were just emulation issues. But yeah, a really fun game overall and it's the kind of game that I'm gonna enjoy slowly making my way through

[@AlexRodriguez-gb9ez]

@@aw98000 It was after you replayed the game a few year later that you were like "wait this game has padding"

[@juliagoodwin9510]

Nice to see people appreciate the DK rap for what it is, a silly little intro song. I distinctly remember my brother and cousins preforming the rap for the family when we were kids... good times.

[@SwordfighterRed]

There was a _lot_ in this game, but it was still vintage Rare quality through and through, I felt. Got it for the holidays, immensely enjoyed it, rap and all.

[@KarimJovian]

Love you and your videos. Always a good time

[@MattMcMuscles]

Thanks so much, Karim!!!

[@kieranstark7213]

@@MattMcMuscles You’re Welcome, Matt McKong (get it?! Because DK64 doesn’t just have one brawny character, but THREE! Donkey Kong, Chunky Kong (man, for his age, which could be about a decade of age considering how young his highly underrated (just like the game he came from, even by the (mostly) high standards of the Mario franchise) brother (whom believe it or not, is likely to reappear in the Mario movie after only appearing in Donkey Kong Country 3 and its handheld/Virtual Console counterparts!) and yes, even King K. Rool!)!

[@OSW]

Matt: it's a collect-a-thon Me: ah I'm sure it's not so bad Matt: 3800+ UNIQUE ITEMS!

[@jlcdavenport6268]

It probably feels a lot these days where there's a trillion games and no time to play any of them, but in those days one game would have to last you for months, so DK64 lasting for 30hours instead of 15like Banjo was a positive for me, I really enjoyed it and it was a surprise for me to go online years later and see people upset about all the banana hunting!

[@cattysplat]

Yeah, the concept of busywork through exploring big levels was actually a novel new thing to videogames then. Spent so much time as a kid trying to find every little thing. Compare to today when we have so many open world collectathon grindfests.

[@rga1605]

It's so nice to know what happened behind the scenes. One reason why I love this game is how big it is, to the point of crumbling under its own weight. I always find this kind of game fascinating.

[@elderwest9411]

Loved the surprise Uncle Derek cameo! Great episode overall. Awesome that you got so much new information

[@TheRTDZ]

Imagine finding a blue coin in Super Mario Sunshine, only to be told you have to replay the whole level as, say, Wario before you’re allowed to collect it. And while you’re playing as Wario, you find a different blue coin, but the game insists this blue coin is for Mario only, and you’ll have to start over to collect it with him. These two blue coins are around the corner from each other. That’s the problem with DK64’s bananas in a nutshell.

[@alfiehicks1]

No, the bananas are way more plentiful than blue coins, plus each level in DK64 has multiple tag barrels, so you don't have to "replay the whole level" - at worst, you'll have to backtrack for maybe a few minutes.

[@coltonhamilton3116]

People who have this issue with "playing the level 5 times" simply don't know the right way to play this game. If u don't familiarize yourself more with level layout than ya you'll have to tag all the time but whoever plays the game that way is doing it to themselves

[@ToranosukeEdo]

The DK64 final boss fight is pretty epic and funny- you have to appreciate the concept of shrinking down with Tiny to bust up K Rool's toes lol

[@dusklunistheumbreon]

...If only it weren't a 20 minute fight for a TAS, though. I get *why* it's that long, but it ends up being PAINFULLY long.

[@Nirual86]

speaking of which there is a fun little story there. The N64 original had some lag issues even with the expansion pack, but the devs actually accounted for that with the hitbox timing etc. However, they forgot about that with the Rare Collection where the lag is gone, accidentally making the fight harder.

[@briansmith5239]

That was a very difficult boss fight overall in my opinion.

[@DragonCrestPC]

An absolute favorite of mine. DKC is my favorite series of all time so DK64 automatically shines bright in my heart.

[@HighPriestFuneral]

I loved the nuance at the end there, talking about DK64's purpose in terms of game philosophy as a whole. The idea of a "maximalist game design of the late 90's" is quite an interesting case versus the argument of "too big, too much bloat" that many people level at some older games nowadays.

[@SonofMrPeanut]

I'd chalk the initial DK Rap reaction up to the industry being in its adolescent "Everything has to be more mature/look more realistic" stage. Once the industry an a good chunk of the fans were able to get over themselves in this regard (hearing it for years in Melee helped, as mentioned in this video), that's when it climbed in popularity. Also, I'm sure those my age who finally got old enough to join the online discourse were able to steer its legacy in a positive direction. Funny how that keeps happening with numerous things that used to be agreed upon as "worst thing evar."

[@vulcanraven9701]

Yeah fr. I find the dk rap funny and good

[@lightbluesquid]

Ooh, this episode is certainly gonna be a good one! Cheers for blessing our Saturdays as always, Matt! 💙

[@SoyAntonioGaming]

it is already released, u can watch it

[@ShiftyQuail]

This freaking game. My cart of DK64 had a glitch that prevented the last banana I needed from populating in Creepy Castle. So when I finally stopped trying to complete it I had every item and an agonizing 200/201 golden bananas.

[@Damian_1989]

Which of the golden bananas was glitched out, do you remember?

[@Thrillhou]

I thought I read somewhere that that was pretty common, like it spawned inside a wall or something and no one was able to actually 100% the game. Never played it myself, so I'm prepared to be wrong about the details.

[@ShiftyQuail]

@@Thrillhou That's exactly what happened. It was a Diddy Kong one where you need to shoot a peanut switch. Once you hit it the fanfare played but the banana never populated in an area where you could pick it up

[@Thrillhou]

@@ShiftyQuail oof, that does sound frustrating. Rare games are usually more polished than that (or at least they were during that console generation; the company isn't what it used to be), but I guess with just the sheer scale of collectibles and level size, not to mention the different character systems and mechanics, something was bound to fall through the cracks.

[@Mr.Lemmington]

Where many n64 kids grew up with Mario 64 and ocarina, I grew up with this. This game will always be etched into my heart. While the backtracking is annoying at times, the charm and fun will always outweigh the cons for me.

[@ardentROB]

Agreed! I can't remember many other games, if any, that I just loved hanging out in and "vibing" with when I was young; I must have spent countless hours just hanging out in frantic factory because I loved aimlessly wandering between the fun toy rooms and gritty industrial levels. DK64 was so effectively enchanting in a way that few games can compare

[@raynegro666]

I grew up with all three and I still think DK64 is on the same level as those two, although I understand it's personal preference

[@aw98000]

I never had Mario 64 or OoT. I got my N64 with DK64 in the special jungle green color. It was my first game on n64. I played the other games with some friends and i ended up borrowing Mario 64 which was an excellent game. But I feel you. DK64 was my first love.

[@Jaaayzen]

It was pretty much SM64, OoT and DK64 for most people and all these videos bashing DK64 have valid arguments, but it was released at the perfect time and nobody back then cared at all. Levels and music was great, multiplayer was cool and you could spend hours completing it, without feeling the collect-a-thon vibe or all the backtracking.

[@DeltaJim]

The other day Grant Kirkhope tweeted out an "apology" for 23 years of the DK Rap. I responded with "Never apologize for art" and a gif of Snoop Dogg saying "That was some artistry right there". He liked my tweet. This is only tangentially related to the video, but it was a cool thing that happened and I wanted to mention it.

[@KyogresHideout_Vegito2121]

Despite all it's problems my nostalgia for this game just can't allow me to hate it. First game I ever owned and I've lost track of how many times I've beaten it over the years.

[@vvvv4341]

Fun fact, Shigeru Miyamoto got so upset when he saw the gun he started to hurl coconuts al over the office. That is what gave them the insperation for the 'cocunut gun'

[@TCPolecat]

Heh, I remember playing this game for so long... I %100 it when I got it. And no, I was an adult when I did it (in my 20s). Honestly that sort of collect-a-thon was totally my jam.

[@TheJadeFist]

The DK Rap is just so extremely camp that it circles from bad back to good.

[@vulcanraven9701]

I agree. Its become a cult classic

[@YesterdaysMoose]

I really enjoy Donkey Kong 64 and getting 101% is a god-level achievement. In fact, I liked DK64 so much, I made a game inspired by it that won a contest. I'm currently working on an updated version of this game and maybe one day will actually have it made in Unreal or something.

[@Sandux930]

whats the game??

[@YesterdaysMoose]

@@Sandux930 It's called Defenders Of Light. Originally I made it for RPG Maker on PS1, now I'm working with RPG Maker MV on Switch. I have some videos on my channel.

[@medioa6884]

Shout out to all the 101 percenters out there. It means you corralled all those beavers into the hole and clogged up that mechanical fishes heart. These are no small feats and you should be proud!

[@ZeroDeMighty]

The only thing left to make this definitive would be to release four more videos of Wha Happun to DK64 with minute differences

[@UltimaShadowX]

I can't believe the entire story about the game crashing without the expansion pak was a myth, my life is a lie.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

The Dong never needed expansion. Why even live?

[@snaccpacc651]

Your interview with Mark was awesome, I was real confused how 2.5D could be harder so his explanation really made a lot of sense.

[@raze2012_]

yeah, made sense. Bad tooling made 2.5D the worst of both worlds, losing the visual sharpness of 2D while not having the easy of re-use that would make 3D much easier for larger teams.

[@Brave_New_Tube]

This game was such a gigantic part of my childhood. I remember playing it again on an emulator years ago and sometimes I’d just stop and nostalgia out on the OST. Happy to see you finally discussing it 👍

[@Cj-cv4wb]

I might be one of the few who likes the tag barrel system. So much of the level design and experience was seeing this big labyrinth I had to figure out what my few keys starting worked for and take note of interesting mysteries and barriers I can't pass yet, then when I get new abilities and such, having the excitement of being able to recontextualize and explore those areas, building upon my experience with the level. And then on playthroughs I can do it faster now that I know. And having to weigh my options of what to do with my time based on who I was, where I was, and what was nearby. It's got a bit of the Metroid feel exploration wise, with the replay experience of sonic 1's roadblocking slow first playthrough which paves the way from learning to beat the game at its game for a fluid cool run.

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

For their first try, it's excellent. In retrospect, they could tighten up a lot of the level design and make collecting all those things much more enjoyable. I really wish they'd make a sequel and show how the system can work now that they have more experience.

[@emperorshark888]

18:50 This is wild, because Banjo-Tooie to me felt more herculean to complete than Donkey Kong 64.

[@MrSpecialone0848]

Got this game three days before release (thanks to a lady who quit a video rental store in a huff) and got I play it non stop for two weeks straight during Christmas break. My brother and I were determined to get every collectible thanks to an article we had read in Electronic Gaming Monthly. Needless to say we failed, but we played for hours and hours and definitely made some unforgettable memories. DK64 will always hold a special place in my gaming headspace.

[@MrXMysteriousX]

Nice work on correcting the misinformation on the expansion pack. I'd heard the "correcting a memory leak" thing dozens of times before. Things like this spread like wildfire but the corrections take ages to filter through. Being a big channel covering this sort of gaming info means hopefully this will be sorted our going forwards.

[@robbG7334]

My favorite 64 game. I remember getting it the first day it come out. I never mind collecting all the items and i did complete it back then. I use to play it all the time.

[@James-gj8rn]

Always a pleasure to see Uncle Derek on the show, great episode Matt, i love the show :)

[@Minecraftgnom]

Yeah, this game was definitely the most important N64 platformer in my childhood. I still listen to the music on a regular basis and will always have fond memories of all the enemies and areas. :3

[@DSan-kl2yc]

I never even noticed tiny wasn't Dixie and the other one wasn't baby. Knowing that banjo isn't as nuts and shorter makes me want to try those games some day.

[@Spidey_Laundry-man]

DK 64's rap in the intro is the best!

[@antoniopena3254]

Not if you're Lanky Kong 🤣

[@LoneWindtheWolf]

well, at least he has a funny face 🤣

[@guywhomstvepostgood]

this is the rare Wuh Happen situation where the answer is "they did exactly what they set out to do." They wanted the collectathon with the most stuff in it and, well, they did it.

[@Kingayethe1]

Donkey Kong 64 in one sentence = "No. More things."

[@lthefifteenth661]

I wasn't aware there was a problem with DK64. It's actually my favourite N64 game so I was surprised to see this video in my feed.

[@miguelgarces8946]

1:33, where's Tiny Kong?

[@Itosalix]

Stamper: "I got a fever... and the only prescription... is more cowbell. I mean, collectables."

[@Inferno144]

Hitting me with that 101% nostaliga.

[@WhispyWoods.]

I remember renting this one weekend when it first came out and could not get over how they said hell in the intro rap. I was no stranger to swear words at the time but could not believe “the H word” was in a mainline relatively tame game like this. I wasn’t offended just surprised 😅

[@Brentastrophe]

The SSFF / Matt McMuscles trade off cameos is always a treat

[@jboj999]

Was that "No, more things" or " No more, things" or "No more things"

[@Porkey_Minch]

Despite all the collectibles, it usually takes me less time time to complete DK64 than it does to complete Banjo Tooie. Also BT has a lot more backtracking to previous levels so I end up forgetting a lot of stuff I need to collect.

[@ericb3157]

yes, Banjo-Tooie has a LOT of backtracking. the first Banjo-Kazooie literally had only ONE "jiggy" you needed to backtrack for, if you did the levels in order. and in DK64, only a few in the first 2 levels need you to backtrack, after unlocking all the Kongs.

[@wistfulanthophila9317]

I'm the opposite I've beaten BT like 3 times but with DK64 I ALWAYS get to frantic factory before I give up. I can't quite figure out why though.

[@mCreecher91]

I have great memories of this game. I got the transparent jungle green n64 that came packaged with DK64 and my brother and I played the hell out it. As a kid this game seemed almost infinite in all the things there were to do.

[@rickdaniel7341]

Rare: Puts a shotgun in a gorilla’s hand. Shigeru: I am not mad, just disappointed.

[@misawa8629]

I remember there being an article or review in Nintendo Power talking about how the expansion pak allowed for more advanced lighting and shadows in the game. I never heard about the bug theory until many years later.

[@GenerationWest]

"He has no style, he has bo grace, this Kong is an absolute disgrace." And of course... "And then there's Chunky ... He's dead."

[@Soulxstar]

D K Chunky is dead

[@BurnabyBoyZippy]

For anyone out there looking to play this game today, I have found and played a mod that allows the dpad to be used to swap Kong's on the fly. No need for the tag barrel. It makes the game so much more friendly to a modern audience. Worth checking out!! I played it on my Wii U and it was a great time.

[@W0lfenstrike]

I got this game on christmas 1999 and finished it by that same New Year's eve and I'm talking about MARATHONIC sessions that my 11 year old self could handle at the time, I'm still not sure whether I loved it or hated it, but at least the final boss fight was worth ALL the trouble, that was genuinely great!

[@cattysplat]

I borrowed it for a week from a friend and played it non stop. I still could not 100% it by the time they came round to collect. I made them wait till the end of the day until I defeated the final boss which was not easy for a kid. There is still a part of me that wished I had 100'd it but man, the amount of backtracking to change Kongs and brutal minigame difficulty ate up so much time.

[@2sallads]

I’m all about the collectibles. Had no issues with it myself. Can never have enough

[@garretteverett2613]

I beat DK64 when it came out and just recently went back to it. The collectibility is rough but honestly the worst part is the backtracking to swap monkeys. Unlocking a new character didn't feel awesome, because you knew you now had to find a swap barrel, swap out, and then revisit everywhere you'd already been just to get your monkey up to par with the current roster. With new monkeys being dropped heavily in the first couple of levels, you'd think it would be cool, but it actually ended up feeling like you were just... Playing a tutorial level over and over. Five times in a row. Combined with the framerate, low draw distance, and inexplicable Rare touch of platforming characters who turn around like a drunk careening down a spiral staircase, it was enough to make me throw my hands in the air, yell "Woooo blabboo!" and walk away.

[@GreyWolfLeaderTW]

Gotta love that Shigeru Miyamoto didn't freak out seeing a real gun in the hands of Donkey Kong and came up with the idea of a coconut gun as a compromise between Nintendo and Rare (no doubt inspiring similar changes in the weapons of the other kongs).

[@GhengizKanye]

The worst thing is how much potential this game really had, you can tell with levels like creepy castle that there was a solid foundation for how to do a collectathon. Then gloomy galleon is probably the worst experience in any 3d game ever.

[@alwaysabiggafish3305]

You get in touch with a lot of people for these videos, would love to see you start doing full long form interviews

[@0blivionvoid139]

... I always unironically loved the DK rap.

[@lilflossin14]

Blows my mind people didn't appreciate the rap I let it play every single time I started

[@jaydayy6949]

One of my memories as a kid was nearly breaking my controller over this game 😂 also that Funky DK rap

[@BlinksAwakening]

Yeah, I'm ready for a modern streamlined sequel to DK64, it wasn't a perfect game by any means, but overall it was a lot of fun, and with the right amount of polish it could have been a universally beloved classic.

[@johnbonhamsinger]

6:17 Matt showing amazing self control by not saying "Kong-sequences"

[@nebuchadnezzar8683]

*-[AND THERE'S CHUNKY...HES DEAD!!!!!!]-*

[@justinianthe1st790]

*DK DONKEY KONG*

[@nellyp2622]

I never had an N64 when this came out and it was my big Christmas gift of ‘99. I remember begging my parents for the Jungle Green DK64 console bundle and they got it for me and it was awesome.

[@Nhawk316]

This game was my favorite of that era. Didnt know it had so much controversy.

[@jamesedward3619]

7:11 This explanation makes no sense. He says the precedent they set in the Donkey Kong Country trilogy was that each new game would feature one Kong from the previous game and one new Kong, which is true. But that doesn't justify what they did with 64 at all then. He says they knew they wanted Donkey and Diddy included, but then that's already a contradiction of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy format since it brings in two Kongs from previous games, not one. Additionally, adding 3 new Kongs in 64 also breaks with the Donkey Kong Country trilogy format of adding just one new Kong. If they had actually wanted to stick to the Donkey Kong Country trilogy formula, then keeping Donkey, Diddy, Dixie, and Kiddie while adding Lanky would have been a much closer approximation. That would have retained the tradition of adding one new Kong (Lanky) to join the previous Kong/Kongs. This explanation doesn't satisfy at all. There is more to this than we're being told.

[@VideojugadorIrritado]

I don't care If you like It or not, is one of the best in the N64, the worlds, the music, the puzzles, the minigames, the coconut gun, the Jetpack, the boss fights, many memories. The quotes like "OOH BANANA", "OK", "YEAH..." and "WELCOME TO BONUS STAGE" and of course the whole rap. The OST is gold, one of the best works of Kirkhope, Fungus Forest is my favorite. Fun Fact: There was a commercial for DK64 (México) where the voice of the narrator was the same voice actor for Piccollo from Dragon Ball, It was so fucking cool for me.

[@alexduran2476]

Not gonna lie, the idea of Donkey Kong whipping out a shotgun and blasting is hilarious

[@jackwymer3667]

I played through this recently with my nephew and had a blast. It definitely hasn’t aged as well as Mario 64 or the Banjo games, but it works well as an introduction to 3D platformers.

[@vewyscawymonsta]

This was one of the games that defined my childhood. Me and my friends loved the pvp arena mode.

[@AshXXMayftw]

I'd say give it another shot, but instead of having the player constantly returning to barrels to switch characters, allow them to do it on the fly. Also, do away with the specific bananas and instead replace them with challenges only certain Kongs can solve. Like in Mario Odyssey and how you'd need certain enemies to read certain moons.

[@RazorBladezX]

There's mods already in place it was cool to see. Someone on GDQ did a speed run randomizer. You could switch kongs on thr fly

[@AshXXMayftw]

@@RazorBladezX Nice. I'd personally like to see the Odyssey team tackle a DK game like this in the future with how well MO turned out.

[@LordAlucard55]

Matt, I just love when you and uncle Derek do videos together. You guys are great!

[@mexiwolf009]

One of my favorite games I never finished. Hope someday I can do that.

[@SilverSpireZ]

Can’t wait for the inevitable What Happened episode for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

[@IvanPerina]

DK64 was the ONLY game that I had on my 64, so i kinda liked the fact that it had this many collectables. It was good also when I switched games with my friends, they also played it a lot and i was able to play longer their games And since 1999, i know the lyrics of the money rap

[@Iinneus]

Man, that idea of making another DKC game for the N64 made me imagine them going the route of making another sprite-based game with pre-rendered graphics, but with sprite art that could look even better than anything the SNES could produce. I always think of games like Symphony of the Night and how, on the one hand, pushing forward into the world of 3D graphics was great, but those consoles had the power to take the last generation's sprite graphics and make them AMAZING. But of course, it's easy to sit here in 2022 and say "man i wish i could see a DKC4 with the sexiest pre-rendered graphics ever, just the ultimate realization of what DKC's art style could achieve", but I know that kind of thing was never going to be what the devs would've made back then. Maybe one day we'll get a Render96-style project for DKC.

[@idontwantahandlethough]

I love this game. In a world full of game companies trying to do the least amount of work possible, i think there are worse problems to have than "your game is literally _overflowing_ with content". It's definitely got some annoying aspects, but to me it's not a big deal because i actually enjoy running around that gorilla island. If that isn't the sign of a good game, idk what is :)

[@LilacMonarch]

The develoment of "Triple A" studios that strangle the passion out of their developers by overworking them and exploiting them to pump out games with absurd release schedules is a big part of it. That's why we end up with these lifeless husks of what could have been good games chock full of cut corners. Good games come from places where the developers are allowed to enjoy what they do.

[@LXDarkSniper]

I'm glad you said something about KI2 SNES. This needs more attention. This is my holy grail of lost media.

[@KremBotop]

Never got to play DK64 despite loving all the 2d DKC games for years. My overall experience with N64 games has admittedly been quite limited. Still, with all the videos made about this game lately it'd be exciting to finally play it eventually.

[@DannyBeans]

"I would have unified the banana system" is my new favorite out-of-context sentence.