Reviewing SNES-Era Donkey Kong Renders

[@paulgilbert5278]

These renders were very charismatic and full of personality

[@facanadio]

For me they're just creepy, imagine seing the renders in your house.

[@yeehaw1181]

God I love the limited 3D they use for this game. It's so charming

[@dedaccount-q9d]

they look disgusting nowadays they didnt age well

[@ShakaCB]

2:03 l 2:08 loo o 2:13 Lloolk Lo 3:37 lmao o😅lo 4:51 4:52 4:53 ll L Loolmo

[@seronymus]

You mean surreal and liminal?

[@GuestZer0]

When I was a small kid, I always liked opening the manual and getting lost in these renders. I very much appreciate these in-depth looks.

[@lonecom685]

I love early CGI renders so much and it's probably because of these old Nintendo games. There's something so cool about looking back at these old images, which could only have been created at that specific moment in history (mid to late 90s). Donkey Kong, in particular, is such a funny character to begin with, that these images become relics. The Union Jack render broke me into pieces XD! Please, keep up with the good work.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I love 90's era renders! I also love the Mario RPG renders as well. The latter looks like George Pal's Puppet toons!

[@HalfEatenMedia]

It had a charming simplicity. Less is more sometimes. These renders will always be the definitive Donkey Kong. I also think it’s better that the apes don’t speak. Having them speak actually takes away from their character. In the Mario film they made Donkey Kong talk. He never needed to talk since he was able to show his feelings through expression and body language.

[@MadameSomnambule]

I love old school cg so much. Depending on the era it was made in, it's got its own vibe from the colorful experimental stuff in the 80s to the low poly graphics of games like Star Fox and Virtua Racing. But there's something to be said about cg from the mid 90s to early 2000s. I grew up at the tail end of the 90s after all, so that era of cg graphics has a certain charm to it in different ways, and they're also quite nostalgic for me.

Don't forget the old Toy Story renders, and of course, Banjo-Kazooie

[@DaNintendude]

24:06 In defense of the Kremlings in DKC3: The ones from the first 2 games are the usual Kremling Krew, originating from Crocodile Isle. But the ones in DKC3 are from the Northern Kremisphere. Their designs are bland, weird, and doofy. Almost all of the Kremlings have severe underbites, while only 1 from Crocodile Isle did in DKC2. This makes the DKC3 gang almost feel like *_Discount Kremlings._* And that fits perfectly with the story of the game. K Rool is kept secret until the end of the game, and new players may get the impression that these Kremlings belong to KAOS instead. K Rool is treated like a joke in this game. He kidnapped DK and made KAOS, sure. But when you meet him he immediately jokes about his nonexistant wife, and he's defeated by getting a big eggshell dropped on him while he's taking a joyride around the bay. This bunch of weirdos is just all he could find while he was undercover, and they fit how incompetent he seems to be in this game. When K Rool reappears in DK64, he's back with his Kritters, Klaptraps, and other newcomers that fit in more with the Crocodile Isle crew. Without a need to be undercover, he gladly ditched the DKC3 Kremlings and went back to his old krew. Even though I hate the DKC3 Kremling designs, I can at least appreciate why they look the way they do. DK Barrel Blast redesigned Kopter specifically to look more like the other Kremlings. And while I do prefer his new design, it's a shame they ditched his underbite-- one of the key features of Northern Kremisphere Kremlings.

[@dcboys4195]

"Cannon" truly remarkable.

[@GarnetTillAlexandros]

The reptile villain in DKC3 is not K.Rool from DKC1&2, it's his cousin !!!

[@DaNintendude]

@@GarnetTillAlexandros Baron K. Roolenstein is K. Rool putting on a persona. If you're referring to the Smash Bros trophy bio, that claims that Kaptain K Rool is K Rool's brother, which is false.

[@GarnetTillAlexandros]

@@DaNintendude The manual never said that it's K. Rool. It just says that it's his cousin. Why would he put on a persona?

[@DaNintendude]

@@GarnetTillAlexandros The manual doesn't mention Baron K. Roolenstein whatsoever. It only mentions KAOS. K Roolenstein was supposed to be a twist villain, with KAOS being the fake-out. The persona of K Roolenstein fits this. He's hiding behind the scenes, inventing KAOS to do his bidding for him. K Rool has put on many personas through the years. There's his king persona, his pirate captain persona (which may even be his true self), and his mad scientist persona. He also acts as a boxer in DK64's final boss, and dresses in Egyptian clothing in Super Sluggers. In the scrapped GBA game, Diddy Kong Pilot, at one point K Rool was supposed to be dressed up as an aviator.

[@SketchCraftian]

It's heavily hinted at that Lanky Kong is the same species as the Manky Kongs. Lanky Kong wanted to join the other kongs so bad so he hung around them all the time, and they basically took him in cause he was just a funny dude. So apparently that's all it takes

[@abbyelectric]

he had no style, he had no grace, but that Kong just had a funny face.

[@GolumTR]

@@abbyelectricYeah, he doesn’t have the flanges adult male orangutans 🦧 develop

[@Bacxaber]

It's not "implied", it's blatantly obvious that Lanky is an orangutan.

[@calebdonaldson8770]

I simply adore these early 3D renders. The exceptionally cartoony designs paired with vivid colors and a lush, waxy look make them aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I feel like modern renders are so obsessed with realism and clean, corporate-friendly designs that they fail to embrace pure zany imagination. So what if a few designs look clunky or dirty? I'll take gruesome over generic any day.

[@akasajian]

I really miss the era of 90s box art. I'm thinking DKC, Super Metroid, Super Castlevania IV, Super Ghouls N' Ghosts, Shinkiro art, Doom, etc. I really liked that SOMETHING was usually happening on them. Now we often just get the main character standing front and center. The earliest example I can immediately think of is Metroid Prime.

[@calebdonaldson8770]

I feel the same way about traditional animation going out of style. I really miss it. I always find it more aesthetically pleasing than computer-generated. @@akasajian

[@smashers6971]

15:26 The worm pie and Groovy Gravy are explicits jabs to Earthworm Jim due to the Sega CD version of the game having a hat the titular character could wear with a cheat code being DK’s head with an arrow through it, so rare not only brought that jab, but in cranky’s video game heroes screen at the end of the game you can see Jim’s gun alongside Sonics shoes next to a trash can with a sign stating “No hopers” Also the renders of Diddy and Dixie with the controllers are actually used in game for the mode select, the solo Diddy one is for just 1 player, Diddy and Dixie holding the controller together is for 2 player co op, and the one where they’re fighting over the controller is for the 2 player race mode. Pretty great video regardless!

[@Vic_v._Gerdenheim]

Old Rare renders are truly a lost art... I'd love to see you cover Killer Instinct renders at some point!

[@josephb.4640]

12:40 - It is theorized that this "Fedora Kong" is actually Donkey Kong Jr. as an adult, who would also be Donkey Kong's father, since Cranky is his grandfather. This means that Donkey Kong's official government name is "Donkey Kong the Third."

[@maximus4765]

It's interesting to me how Earthworm Jim for a time was seen as the Sonic to DK's Mario but that fell through after Sega itself lost the console wars and Jim basically died in EWJ 3D. That's what the "Groovy Gravy" was referring to. Jim says "Groovy" a lot.

[@DarkOverlord96]

It's nice seeing someone talking about old CGI renders in a more positive light as opposed to saying stuff like "this looks sooo dated CGI never ages well 2D art is so much better and timeless" because, well, dated as they may be they still have artistic merit, especially considering the time they were made and how the technology improved years later and yet it still retains some charm that's unique to that era and it's because of the limitations of the technology since they really to push the boundaries of what could be done with it, thus we end up with a lot of CG art that looks really charming, atmospheric and/or cozy, I love looking at old vintage CG art like this, it feels me with so much nostalgia! ...that said, the part with Candy Kong was a bit of an overreaction, lol.

[@KremBotop]

The 3d artists quickly figuring out fur by the second game made the renders look even better. The whole set looks timeless and full of charm

[@BareBandSubscription]

I *love* 3D renders like this from back in the day. I used to flip through the instruction booklets of the DKC games, Banjo, Mario 64, etc, and the sight of those renders is just so nostalgic for me.

[@BareBandSubscription]

Also, I personally much prefer Diddy’s classic solid red shirt and hat. I never liked the gold stars and logo they added. There’s just something kinda tacky about them imo

[@afternoonbears6989]

This was super engaging! Thank you for putting this together & sharing it with us!

[@92web34]

the dkc2 ones are so cute you can really see the amount of fun theyre having, the best one being the krazy kremland one

[@intelligent_fern2981]

I can't believe it! the madlad has done it again!

[@Kirbunny]

I can't keep getting away with it!

[@mactrololo7326]

Reviewing N64 era renders? Hell yeah! You earned a sub!

[@prageruwu69]

man i love renders like these. while those early 3d renders do look kinda uncanny, they still have a lot of charm.

[@untrustworthybagel]

12:26 i adore that poor, stupid looking stingray so much

[@alani.8784]

@ 15:37 I never thought I would see someone throw some shade at Swanky Kong, but here we are.

[@SECONDQUEST]

Happy to see you continue to grow. I know it's difficult to have a sudden influx of viewers. Do what you wanna do. That's what's important.

[@LoG_9961]

11:26 diddy's about to kill the kremling

[@leftistLizard92]

So, I didn't think I'd ever watch a video like this. Renders of characters in a video game franchise and someone is going to review them? No thank you. But I watched it. And I don't know, I got so sentimental watching this. My whole childhood came back to me. I didn't realize I was so connected to these images. Even the random baddies brought back memories of levels I spent hours trying to beat. I saw the little "banana bird" and started remembering all the little side quests I figured out on my own to find them in DKC 3. This video was the highlight of my night just now, and I thank you so much for doing it. DKC was and is my all time favorite video game series. This was unexpectedly beautiful.

[@R3TROREID]

Awesome video! I spent an unhealthy amount of time as a kid just staring at these renders. Brings me a lot of joy and that says something. If only the old show looked like these renders, I would be all over that 😵

[@ergoth154]

Donkey Country is probably the coziest SNES series, something about the orange burst sunset skies, the dripping sounds in quiet caves, the oddly relaxing water levels and the incredible music... it's good vibes all around

[@legokingcandy]

i didn't realize how janky these models were till seeing them in HD up close. In game they look pretty polished, but joints of fingers, arms, or legs (donkey Kong, and the zinger in particular are probably the worst) have visible gaps and it makes them seem very unnatural, in the same sense as like a chuck E cheese animatronic, or hell even fnaf. The textures also have this fabric, plastic look to them, which adds to this vibe a significant amount. this is a personal take, and i know these renders predate the likes of toy story, but its still something that I felt as thought I should mention. Great video once again, i will be looking forwards to the next installment. edit: the renders of the kongs with the snes controllers are used for the little in game menu for the respective 2 player, 2 player contest, and single player modes when you create a new save file.

[@bisquick3662]

Keep going! These videos are niche and interesting. I subscribed because I really look forward to what you're going to cover next! Please keep doing these render videos.

[@FPzero]

These three games defined my childhood and so it's always fun to see people discussing every facet of them. I really enjoyed the video!

[@adam711s]

Not to sound weird, but you have such a nice speaking voice

[@Kirbunny]

Not weird at all! That's very kind of you to say. Thanks a bunch!

[@nons823]

7:23 that's one of the best censure sound edits I've ever heard on KZbin 😂

[@Toast_94]

If I recall right, Donkey Kong Land's instruction manual basically says that cranky kong rambled that DK and Diddy only beat their adventure solely because of the graphics and challenged donkey kong to beat an adventure on a console with 8 bit graphics "say, the gameboy" and arranged K. Rool to take the bananas to force D.K. and his friends to take on that challenge. In a sense it's canonically a sequel since it takes place shortly after the first Donkey Kong Country.

[@Dokurider]

7:22 Okay that's a FNAF render you can't gaslight me

[@macuser7048]

Must be a generational gap. I actually prefer how the renders looked for DKC 1-3 in the 90s.

[@mino2123]

my ideal DKC remake is one where all the graphics look exactly like the 3d renders, kinda like the SM64 PC fan project

[@hawshimagical]

i would love that. tropical freeze felt a little too flat-coloured for me. great game though.

[@doom5895]

gruesome? they have more soul than most character designs now

[@GraySheep1717]

You missed out on the context in the video, a magazine with a Donkey Kong render described it as gruesome.

[@ilikethecokev2]

For being 30 years old, I think they've still aged quite well.

[@Fatih_M177]

Early CGI renders, animation, and effects have a strange charm, like i think the old renders look more "realistic" if you know what i mean, explaining it is SO HARD I am not gonna bother explaining but i think some people can relate and might understand what i mean

[@Shiftarus]

They're stylized and cartoonish, so it works. This same effect is why stylized games and pixel art hold up so much better than most "Realistic" attempts. Also: Nostalgia is a powerful thing

[@hawshimagical]

the early models had simple, solid 3d shapes, and the lights were placed carefully so the black shadows would sit in the right spots to exaggerate the dimensions. they felt like plastic toys and figures you could hold in real life.

[@Fatih_M177]

​@@Shiftarus i am so glad someone finally doesn't look at these models and comment how "they didn't age well" when clearly they did, they're not meant to be realistic that's the point lol, who cares if the lighting looks plasticy, it would look worse if it were photo real, honestly kinda refreshing seeing people praise early cgi and pixel art

[@DiamondEpsilon]

we miss you and your amazing opinions

[@bigfenix8272]

23:08 It took me a second... but then I got my daily dose. Thanks, Doc.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

I love pretty much every design Candy has gotten, but something about her first look is charming in its simplicity. It's just so"this is what a flirty sexy 90s cartoon gorilla lady would absolutely look like" lol. Though her actual 90s cartoon version is completely different and has more going on... Well that's a really nice design too anyway lol. I also like to imagine her design changes are a result of her progressively gaining more knowledge on human fashion but adding a Kong twist.

[@lucetubegplusstillsux2678]

One important thing to remember is they were meant to be readable when downscaled, so some details are over emphasized like the fur texture so it'd look decent at low res.

[@fatmario8244]

Man I love the SNES series of DK games, some of my favourite games ever, yes the model at 2:26 is an earlier version of the model and was eventually refined.

[@eduardoaguero1220]

22:34 Imagine inspiring someone to make an indie horror game all because the characters looked like animatronics lol. I liked this video, it was the first I watched from you and it provided some interesting trivia.

[@AgdaFingers]

You're right about Cat O'Nine Tails. He looks like the offspring of Sonic the hedgehog and Felix the cat - after he's been run over twice.

[@ZealotPara]

I just finished your N64 renders video and immediately went to this one. I hope you have more content like this planned in the future, you've already earned my sub. 🧡💚💜

[@SuprMikey64]

man you really have a great way of describing things. 15:12 is so accurate but the way you said it killed me lmfao

[@guyrocketram9698]

so glad you decided to make this a series. i love these

[@FS64_]

You should look at the game cube/Wii mario renders they’re like a in between of the modern design and the n64 design

[@PingerSurprise]

Those renders were made with computers at least a million times less powerful than the watch you're wearing right now.

[@AntiRiku]

such a cool idea, hope you're cooking up a new video on this topic behind the scenes

[@pangysaghavods]

“I never thought a bug could be unimaginably, irreparably angry” I hope he doesn’t do his research into irl bugs, cus it just gets more horrifying from there

[@J_A_M_D]

"Candy looks.... fine." 😂

[@oshkeet]

4:05 Monkey defense squad here. Spidermonkeys, and all primates, have five fingers, even when they're more like paws than hands. Their thumbs are just WAY shorter than the others.

[@Gojiro7]

with how dead silent the previous video was, the normal mic quality here jumpscared the hell out of me XD

[@GoldenYoshi1]

5:28 the Candy section made me lol! Subbed

[@FifthOfNovember_Original]

Thanks for covering these! I remember when I first saw these renders as a kid back in mid 90s, I was totally blown away how good they looked lol! I found it very fascinating, how these game characters looked like physical objects almost, like toys! The style is still very charming and innocent to this day, and I'd love to see a realtime remake of og DKC that would look like exactly like these renders! No modern rendering techniques, no post-processing, just hard edged shadows and noise-based textures!

[@ssbfox]

I have never been more sidelined by a "Thanks, Doc" in my life

[@lobsangbarriga5324]

Thank you for this great and insightful video, please do more of these!

[@commanderblackheart5856]

7:50 Though not clearly defined exactly, we do know that to be a Kong you do not need blood relation (Just look at Funky, Swanky, Lanky, or even Dixie's side of the clan!) My verdict is that what makes a Kong is mainly sapience, given that all official Kong's are smarter then your run-of-the-mill gorilla/chimp/monkey with them being able to talk, construct various structures vehicles and firearms, ware/make clothing, have an understanding of music science and economy (No i am not kidding, Tiny is DK isle's resident tax officer and manages the Kong's finances!). Manky is clearly feral and there-for is not affiliated with the actual Kong clan.

[@ivo9202]

"from the earlier, _cozier,_ days of 3d graphics" I like that description

[@jamesgullickson4039]

a remaster with these renders would be a god send

[@davidrich27]

12:50 That’s the grown up DK Jr, our DK’s dad. He went out for cigarettes.

[@lilaclunablossom]

Grown up DK Jr. is just DK

[@TheDoomMaster]

This dude really dropped two banger videos about 90s video game renders out of nowhere before disappearing without a trace

[@Kirbunny]

This comment will have aged VERY well come Wednesday. 👀

[@TheDoomMaster]

@@Kirbunny 👀

[@TehIdiot306]

Hey there what’s that new Pfp you got

[@AizaBreathe]

hell yeah i love dixie from that era more than the current one tbh

[@FierceFlame9001]

This and the previous video you made about renders are so good. I just really like the sincerity of your videos. A lot of others might treat reviewing such a niche thing as a joke or a gimmick, but here you're just sitting down and genuinely analyzing an often taken-for-granted area of art. It's really nice. Gets me thinking about things I never normally would.

[@Kirbunny]

That legitimately means a lot, thank you! I'm (finally) working on another video, and comments like this are playing a huge part in propelling me toward the finish line.

[@edicionanimacion8879]

No man, I need another review, right now... excellent job, we have the same passion for this, please make the Yoshi Story video but first and most importantly for Killer Instinct, the 3D art is one of the first inspirations that They made me dedicate myself to 3D art as a passion and as my job.

[@extremepop324]

Beautiful renders! The levels and world maps are gorgeous!!! Some of the best still to this day!

[@mr.j3rs3y]

These renders were so neat imo. Just a lot of charm

[@fabiantalton6888]

Damn renders we’ll never get again. They don’t put the same kinda love into it anymore. Only us the fans can keep it alive at this point 😭

[@abominablesnowman64]

Donkey kong has to be the biggest reversal ever. The DKC series has to be one of my favorites.

[@moonstoneuniverse8516]

Man the Kiddy hate is too much he doesn’t look bad you can tell they thought what would a cartoony giant baby kong look like.

[@juandiegotorres9632]

The low quality kinda makes sense considering 3d was still in its infancy. Remember Pixar shorts like Tin Toy and movies like Toy Story?

[@joevondayl4878]

90`s Nintendo - Let`s make a busty monkey for all kids to see and adore! 2023`s Grown Man - I will get in trouble talking about her Question: What happened in between those years?

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

I think "Personality" might've been the word you were looking for over "Charisma".

[@jaccblacc8424]

The four fingers thing is considered a taboo in Japan. the DKC trilogy and DK64 were made by British company, Rareware. Cartoon characters having four fingers instead of five (to not make the hand look like a bunch of sausages and to draw hands easily) is a tradition within Western animation. In DKC and DK64, characters such as Donkey, Cranky, Wrinkly, Funky, Candy, Kiddy and Swanky have five fingers and toes while the rest lack that. I heard the DK was originally intended to have 4 fingers and toes but Nintendo was against that, so DK characters that were made by Nintendo have five fingers. When Rare was bought Microsoft, Nintendo took full control of DK. Since Nintendo is a Japanese company, around 2002, renders of Diddy and Dixie are shown with them having five fingers. In fact, there are Japanese renders in the 90's with them having five fingers. In Japan, four fingers are associated with the Yakuza, who are known for doing a ritual called the Yubitsume ritual, in which they cut fifth finger to either someone who's expelled from the member or a victim. This is why a lot of Western cartoons receive a fifth finger in Japan (check the Japanese boxart of The Simpsons video games).

[@great1004]

Back then they were REVOLUTIONARY

[@dragooncroft]

I really hope we'll see DK64! One of my favorite childhood games

[@maccamachine]

The dkc series is one of my favorite series ever. I love these early 3d models the first game is still my favorite it’s timeless fr I usually go play and play the original trilogy once a year

[@Bandinthesky]

This was a great video! hope you do more of these!

[@alejandroaguilar4693]

DKC and SMRPG were so special, they gave the SNES life after the 32 bit era had already begun.

[@llpk]

I'm loving these render vids bro

[@akasajian]

I'm completely biased because of nostalgia, but every "flaw" you pointed out with the original DKC renders were, in fact, products the artists' creative expressions and whims.

[@Sly88Frye]

12:45 Okay wow that Kong has big boobs. I'm sorry that is like the easiest thing I noticed on the Kong besides the hat What the hell😂

[@GuiOmania]

Wow the kong at 12:48 appear in the 3d cartoon i thougt he was a new charactor for the show i was wrong !!!

[@retroengineer90]

You have to admit, some of the renders of the Kongs Age like fine wine in a retro sort of way.

[@sephserrano5194]

That render of diddy and dixie running together is my favorite too

[@5ecret3nding87]

Underrated channel, i loved the video!🌟

[@metro9640]

23:07 is an insane reference

[@SECONDQUEST]

THE TIE HIDES HIS JUNK

[@ericxplackis]

Can’t wait for the next one The new microphone sounded great

[@FictitiousCtrlGames]

Man, I wish we can get our hands on those classic models from rare.

[@thomasmarrity2939]

I really enjoyed your commentary. I also really appreciate the way you love this stuff even though you weren't around the way many of us were when it all came out. Thanks for putting all this together. I had a smile on my face the whole time.

[@Kirbunny]

I'm delighted to hear that! Thank you so much.

[@WILFORDCLUX]

The muddy and noisy textures on the Game Boy renders give me N64 vibes, because N64 games also had textures that looked like that thanks to linear filtering.

[@leafyfeathers]

Can’t wait to see Super Mario RPG renders next

[@Redvox57]

Really enjoy your videos covering these. Would love to see more of rareware renders from the n64 era (dk64, perfect dark, goldeneye, getforce,ect)

[@Meteotrance]

People wont realise the amont of work it was doing that on a very limited 16 bit hardware , 3D CG Was only possible on sillicon graphics workstation back then and converted in to tiny slice of 2D sprite to fit the SNES graphic limitation and it was before the first Toy Story release so yeah it was cutting edge graphics back then .

[@otaking3582]

I wish someone would use a Silicon Graphics workstation to recreate the graphics for this game without any of the SNES's pixelation (kinda like what that one remake of Mortal Kombat tried to do with live actors)

[@stripedhyenuh]

About the early worse looking DK renders: If I had to guess, they sent these early renders for approval by Nintendo, Nintendo rejected it since having four fingers is taboo in Japan because of cultural stigma relating to Yakuza cutting off fingers. So they gave him five digits in the updated and better looking model

[@jadthecat387]

I know Imagine DK as a Yakuza and that is weirdly funny to me.

[@reptilemark7346]

Diddy kong was always a cool character to me as a kid. He was my favorite and it blew my mind to come across dkc2, it felt surreal like it was a dream or something

[@_maximus_prime_]

You should do a video on the weird old Sonic renders from the late genesis-saturn era.