The Donkey Kong Country 25th Anniversary Interview Documentary

25 years ago from this upload date, Donkey Kong Country set itself upon the world. It became a legendary title and forever changed the history of the Donkey Kong series. To celebrate this occasion, Gregg Mayles, Steve Mayles, Kevin Bayliss, Chris Sutherland, and David Wise have come together to share their journey of the development and eventual release of the hit title.
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I dont plug my patreon in the videos because I want to keep the content pure and timeless. However currently I am accepting for support. / boundarybreak
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Intro Theme remixed by F1NG3RS - / f1ng3rsmusic
Logo by rainbowcupcakemonster.com ( / rcm_art , pixel design by Clay Burton: www.clayburton.ca
Outro art sourced and repurposed from Startropics, animated by Clay Burton: www.clayburton.ca

[@tuxedobird]

Steve: I was only 20 and I’d pea- Shezez: N O

[@tuxedobird]

Now I’ve been pinned, so I suppose I’ve also peaked.

[@nightmarezer0507]

1:06:15

[@ChillavaKirby]

Shesez: yeah... wait no!

[@A7CHITECT]

I love how I read this the exact moment this happened lol

[@Dr170]

"Hey, this is Boundary Break, where we basically take the camera anywhere we want... and where I make the odd amazing video game documentary because my talent has no boundaries either."

[@mariannecrews4263]

@MultiTarded Simply because it's not the usual content. Though, they seem enamored with it. I know I am

[@PhoenixClank]

@MultiTarded "odd", in this context, does not mean "weird", it just means "one-off", with no negative connotation.

[@largeboi4678]

@@PhoenixClank I didn’t know that weird had a negative connotation tbh

[@thenefariousnerd7910]

The part about DK's mouth being just a flattened, folded, and deformed sphere totally blew my mind.

[@BoundaryBreak]

I love to hear it man!

[@privatkatze9186]

Mine too. And then my blown mind was blown even harder with the Enguarde thing.

[@aservant1284]

Lol yeah so simple

[@SuperhondanutVG]

What an incredible bunch. These guys were only in their 20's, and they made something iconic and revolutionary. Nothing but respect for these gaming legends.

[@biga6664]

what an incredible BANANA BUNCH HAHA HILARIOUS That joke was horrific....

[@Resimaster]

These days people that young are lucky to even get a reply from the games industry, let alone a job.

[@LowSpecGamer]

Underrated video of the last leg of 2019

[@BoundaryBreak]

thanks man

[@SpunckyJew6969]

@@BoundaryBreak my pleasure

[@grimmmetals5290]

Get ready for a crazy year.

[@Domtendo]

Legends...they've created the gaming series of my life

[@Lillfx04]

Hi Domtendo seit wann guckst du denn Boundary Break seh dich gerade zum erstenmal in den Kommentaren?

[@FireJojoBoy]

warum überrascht es mich das ich domtendo hier finde?

[@user-jl7cz2pe6d]

Never noticed the Battle Toad eyes

[@Dargonhuman]

@MultiTarded That means Diddy is riding Donkey's face when he's on Enguarde? Or, worse, Donkey is riding his own face?

[@JazGalaxy]

Here’s the thing, though: while I ever really noticed that they have the same eyes, when he bosses come out In DKC, Donkey Kong’s eyes blue out EXACTLY like the battle toads and I was always surprised that more people didn’t notice that.

[@chambres]

You've come so far in KZbin! It's insane, and I can't wait to see the future of this channel!

[@nintendolife]

You're both certified lovely people.

[@jejron8967]

you’re a certified lovely boy

[@Nintenerdo]

I read that in your voice

[@idontknowleavemealoneplease]

Congratulations on this man. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more than you. Glad the industry is giving you the attention you deserve.

[@alainchristian]

There's maybe 16 Donkey Kong documentaries on KZbin and I'm fine watching them all.

[@sparrowthesissy2186]

I loved this interview. I know you said this was a one-off, but if you get a chance to do more of these post-mortem interviews on classic groundbreaking games, I'll definitely watch them.

[@vexumvii3559]

seriously, do these again. ratchet and clank, sly cooper, and jak and daxter would pull a lot of views because of the generation they were. that ps2 era.

[@joshshrum2764]

We really need one of these for Donkey Kong Country 2, like i don’t care about hearing about any other game in the series, but that game is so special to me, and many others

[@SuperMario911]

This is the best video you've ever done. Thank you for giving Donkey Kong Country the respect it deserves.

[@michaelcole2076]

If this became a series in parallel to Boundary Break, I'd be all about it

[@mebamme]

Seeing so many scrapped development ideas gives me a new appreciation for DKC1! I think it's a lot weaker than DKC2, but that makes sense - making DKC2 from DKC1 isn't as hard as making DKC1 from absolutely nothing. This video really makes you realize how challenging it is to find out what to keep and what to cut, and how well Rare did that in the end.

[@gwenc1371]

24:32 The elephant idea looks like it actually eventually got used with Ellie in DKC3, that's really cool!

[@Mohrmann2]

Just saying, this is still technically a boundary break, going outside the walls of the game for a better look at how it was made. I've never had an interest in playing any of the Donkey Kong games, but this has peaked my interest.

[@JJ-Trick]

donkey kong. women want him, men want to be him. but few _understand_ him.

[@tuxedobird]

JJ Frunkington Men want him too, that’s a hot kong

[@user-jl7cz2pe6d]

Hi, Robert Kongman.

[@spawny6191]

You win

[@ZeroExperiment]

[Great Ape War]

[@jejron8967]

The dong expander himself

[@bahooneyonastick]

Wow. I know this isn’t a future direction for the channel, but... my guy. This is grade-A. People hone their documentary skills for years to get something of this quality. Bravo.

[@Kraigon42]

This was one helluva good retrospective interview; the fact that you got all these original team members to talk about it (not that they're extremely hard to find, now most of them being part of Playtonic), and tracking down so many images from the original development of the game, is just great. You should be proud of this. It was really good.

[@ninop.r489]

Great honor to interview these people David wise made my childhood

[@Dargonhuman]

David Wise composed the soundtrack of my childhood too. Roughly 2/3 of my video game music library is made up of David Wise, Koji Kondo and Michael Salvatori & Martin O'Donnell.

[@Lakitu1134]

Thank you for celebrating this game's anniversary in such a massive way. I loved the editing that actually demonstrated the 3D modeling techniques and tricks they used. What a wonderful documentary.

[@BlazePiffington]

This reminds me of a VHS tape that came in randomly in the mail before the release of the game… Just watching the intro got me so pumped for the game, Can’t believe it’s been 2 1/2 decades already

[@flyingfish1138]

This video never got recommended to me! What the heck KZbin, I had to find it in the description of the portal episode.

[@Rem-pg6fs]

Same

[@mathprodigy]

We almost had an Owl, a Mole, and "Ms. Clamity". Oh man that's great. These interviews are amazing, these games are legendary and a huge part of my childhood.

[@SuperShadowKin]

The men who made my childhood.

[@KosmasMJpec]

...happier ;)

[@smilesawayfromhere]

"Not actual images of the facilities" = Just some farm pictures

[@BoundaryBreak]

its the best i could do. Wanted you guys to have something to watch throughout the entire video

[@marijuanaknowsomething6743]

I don't have enough time to watch now. So I'll like it and come back later. Can't wait. Love your work man.

[@the_one_gio]

The credits music for DKC always hits right in feels for me.

[@geopoe8160]

Amazing. Donkey Kong Country is a series that deserves love, and I am so glad there are people willing to give it, plus sparing some love for the people behind the games. I loved this video, great work!

[@ChristopherMoom]

Damn, dude, the DKC Series is honestly amazing. I think making this video was a *_Wise_* choice.

[@greentheshinyumbreon1]

wait

[@greentheshinyumbreon1]

you again?

[@greentheshinyumbreon1]

why do i see you everywhere?

[@tuxedobird]

Green The Shiny Jolteon Does it matter?

[@kito861]

I love you

[@MASF_]

The Owl giving out information idea was probably reused for Squawks in Donkey Kong 64, he serves as a guidance explaining rules of the game.

[@Revegelance]

Wow, what a fantastic set of interviews. I love hearing about and seeing behind the scenes stuff on such classic games.

[@cmcproductions26]

My all time favorite game when I was a kid. My grandma (may she rest in peace) got me playing video games on the NES when I was still in diapers. Then she bought a Super Nintendo when it came out, and when it released in 1994, she got me Donkey Kong Country. I was only 4, and was teaching HER how to play it. She passed away in 2016. So whenever I see videos of it like this, it makes me miss her even more. I need to get a Super Nintendo, and Donkey Kong Country, so I can teach my 4 year old daughter how to play it. That would be awesome.

[@RetroBreak]

LOVE this kind of video! Hopefully you'll do more in the future!

[@guguig9746]

Just came here to add this to my "watch later" list. No time right now, but this is definitely a must watch for me

[@rezahydra]

This game wasn’t originally my childhood. I first played the Kong’s on the 64, and was blown away. David Wise tied for my #2 favorite video game composer of all time with Koji Kondo and Revo, and just behind Grant Kirkhope who’s at #1. I first played DKC on the Wii VC along with the entire trilogy. I don’t regret a thing. Donkey Kong and all his countries have taken me on more journeys that do not need to be forgotten. There’s the leader of the bunch, the rocking cousin, the cranky original, the bombastic bro, the swanky fro, the idol girl, the Kommanding King, the ghost of old, the ponytailed bubble-blower, Jr. and the kid, the pigtailed feather, the chunky baby, the whacky clown, the Klumsy fool... there’s so many more I wish I could state, but I must go so let’s be quick. May we meet back in 25 years for reminiscing about the days of old both good and bold. To Rare, to Donkey Kong, to the King... to everyone who worked on this, we thank you all!

[@jonbourgoin182]

K. Rool = Krool = Cruel I don’t know if that was intentional because he didn’t mention it when talking about the names, but I’m sure it was.

[@Mazerath459]

This needs way more attention, you don't see documentaries like this very often, great work shesez!

[@pixel8991]

I still remember the first video that showed up in my recommended feed. Absolutely loved it! Keep up the good work Shesez!

[@strafefox]

Wow this is really awesome! I always love these behind the scenes stores :) Thanks so much for making this really cool video! Btw: The company I worked for used to have Poweranimator and a bunch of SGI machines. I remember when I first got hired 20 years ago being really impressed with that stuff, but the fun things is the 3D department pretty much closed down at that point and nobody used PowerAnimator any more in the company. Me and a colleague were more familiar with 3dsmax and kept on using that instead. Anyway I find it really impressive that the guys at Rare were able to master the software so quickly.

[@ChillavaKirby]

THIS IS AMAZING! You've put so much effort into this! I love it! There's so much to learn. So much backstory and it's incredible hearing it from the developers themselves. I would LOVE to see videos like this going forward. This is awesome!

[@Joyceages]

I’m 29 and I got this with my Super Nintendo at 4 years old. It’s crazy how it still holds up to this day!

[@joshshrum2764]

Now we really need a Donkey Kong Country 2, Diddy’s Kong Quest, one of these, because it’s the 25 anniversary of it this year, plus i would love to get lost in hearing about the development of the game since it’s one of my favorite games on the SNES, and my favorite game in the Country, series, and hearing David, go in depth on the music would brighten my day. So i am excited to see if you’ll ever make that video.

[@Niphern]

Wow thanks so much for this video everyone involved. DKC, the first video game I owned. Such a huge inspiration for my own career path.

[@EpicPrawn]

Went for a playthrough of DKC since I have a NSO subscription and the SNES library, and was reminded of this amazing interview. On a related note: Cranky's rambling hits different 26 years later. You have the elderly Original DK comparing 1981 arcade machines to home consoles in 1994, 13 years later. Talking about frames, colors and graphics and "kids these days." To then see that dialogue TWICE that length of time later. What a trip.

[@monochromemiku7983]

I don't know if seeing these guys achieve so much being around my age is inspiring or depressing

[@Garrulous64]

It's so cool to hear that the Kremlings were supposed to be from a game that never happened. That was so informational and fun to hear from all these legends, well done, man!

[@HybridAngelZero]

This was so cool! I really enjoyed every bit of this. The guys at Rare/Playtonic are such chill, down to earth people and I love that

[@tiborostube1]

Excellent work, I hope this document stays public. Thank you for gathering and putting all of this together.

[@Caspur189]

idk why it took me so long to watch this, solid stuff dude love your boundary/region break series keep up the great work :)

[@downscale]

I'm glad you linked this at the end of your short DK video. I've been a long time fan of the channel, and never knew this existed. Very interesting!

[@germ187]

DKC is one of my favorite IP’s ever and I am so happy you made this interview possible. David Wise’s music is to this day my favorite video game music ever and I was so happy to see him being part of this as well. Happy to be a subscriber

[@Dustyvv]

All three DKC games are my favorite soundtracks of all time. No contest.

[@JeffreydeKogel]

Those guys from Rare seem like such a lovely and passionate bunch. It's quite awesome to hear these things from some of the creators of this legendary game themselves. Thanks for the great video!

[@mathometer]

this was fantastic. I loved this game and its so interesting to hear the details of how it was put together. Thank you!

[@SinisterPuppy]

Thanks for putting this detailed documentary together. Loved the questions, commentary and design docs shown. And most of all thanks to the Rare team for making DKC :)

[@tonyhoang1966]

wow this is legendary, thank you so much for putting this all together!

[@KyleKyleBensen]

This video should get more credit. You did a wonderful job capturing a game that I feel in love with when I was 10 years old. Thank you, dude

[@ElectricPopTart18]

Absolutely fascinating!! Thank you so much for getting these guys together for an interview. Such fresh and special insight for something so beloved. I know that so many people out there appreciate this.

[@matthewallen1957]

I can really take the time to appreciate a video (let alone channel) like this. DKC is the earliest game I can remember playing when I was about 4 or 5! Thank you so much for this gem of a video. So glad I found your channel when you first started.

[@Huanchee]

every time I see something about DKC's 25th anniversary I feel compelled to watch. This was such a huge game for me as a kid growing up. Just like everyone else during that generation I was blown away by the graphics, but also the music. And on a side note, one thing I've wanted for a few years now was to actually see (and try to use) the original computer(s) and programs they used to create the game. I know that it's practically impossible to find the old silicon graphics workstations like they used, But i really wish I could find the program with the earliest version that they used for the character models and world, and somehow get it to work(likely through some sort of emulator of Old pc hardware.) Same thing with the Keyboards/synths that David Wise used. For me(now anyway) it'd just be so interesting to actually see and use the original software/hardware they used to create this game, to see what kind of issues they had to overcome. I've also wanted to see if they had a version working that wasn't restricted to the SNES"s limitations, something that was running on that pc itself for debugging.

[@dafffodil]

Realllly incredible video, not just the interview but the accompanying imagery, very very good work!

[@Buderus69]

This was really well put together, thanks for this video :)

[@mattpietropaoli835]

Great watch. Thank you for putting so much hard work into this video.

[@hadsbros]

So absolutely amazing. Great vid, great work and phenomenal content! Boundary Break is HUGE for us gamer's that respect and love the medium. Thank you for all the awesome insight into our favorite games, it's beyond appreciated

[@Joseph-xh9ir]

I enjoyed watching this so much, shame more people haven't given it the time. Your questions, editing and appreciation for the game and the team is amazing to watch. Thanks

[@BelleAim]

This was so well done!! Excellent job, I really enjoyed it the whole way through. I can tell a lot of genuine passion went into this. I listened to the whole thing while cooking and cleaning up from dinner and was so immersed and learned so much! Thank you for putting this together with such a great flow. I know that must have took a long time!

[@BoundaryBreak]

Thank you Amy!

[@jimmelton5846]

Amazing work on this one, I was entertained from start to finish.

[@rux_ton]

I am so happy to see this video. the donkey kong country series is what got me started in making music and eventually doing music as well as sfx for indie games, its so nice to see this wonderful piece of history being retold from some of the main fellas! Thank you so much for this video dude! love your vids a TON

[@BasVoet]

This is actually great! Thanks so much for this!

[@DDJJ2468]

Great vid! I loved all the tidbits and origins behind the designs.

[@nullbyt]

So stoked to see this thank you! Awesome to see you put out long form content especially at such high quality. A blast from the past :) I absolutely love it.

[@kurtownsj00]

Only a third of the way through but this is awesome! Thanks for the large amount of work in helping get these stories out there! I still remember getting DKC2 for my birthday close to release and I was ecstatic.

[@ThankYouBomb]

O.o An hour long Shesez documentary and Half-Life: Alyx announced on the same day?? Getting out of bed was a good move today

[@NintendoTrav]

Thank you for putting in the work for this. I can't even imagine the amount of time you dedicated to putting it together. I wish you the best!

[@Schwift3D]

You knocked it out of the park man, great video! Would love to see more like this. Also love how long it is, there were so many moments where I thought to myself "I don't want this video to end, then I see how much time is still left and smile 😊👌"

[@EduardoWeidmanBarijan]

Awesome work. I love to see documentaries and interviews with developers. You can see the passion they had and still have nowadays with the new projects. Looking forward to more content like this

[@paulanderson929]

This is a hidden gem of a video. Thanks for mentioning it at the end of your Portal video.

[@StevenCasteelYT]

You did a really great job editing this. Flows very nice. You also asked great questions. Top notch content. Would love to see something like this again from you.

[@liamfitzgerald1400]

A lot of the time with these longer KZbin videos I’ll get about 20 minutes in, say I’ll watch the rest some other time and I just...don’t. But this one had me hooked the whole time through. I guess I’m just repeating what everyone has said but this was such a great experience.

[@SethGaramonde]

Thanks, Shesez. The kid inside me is extremely happy now thanks to you. I loved the game in those days, as a game and as an incredible technology in those days. Only in the first level, renders apart, the sky of the stage is obtained using two color layers and intercalating both to give the perception of having more colors. In the end of the level, we can see a progressive pallete swap to give the aspect of nightfall.

[@Joshers744]

Amazing my friend. Thank you so much for doing this

[@lucasl3657]

Thank you so much for this video. One of my favorite games ever, and it's amazing to hear the stories behind its development.

[@Bigbadbog]

This was amazing. An absolute treasure. Thank you for the great work Shesez!

[@tannerbrodt8419]

Shesez, you’re the man! Thanks so much for conducting all of these interviews so we can hear the developers explain what they went through in making such an iconic game. These guys are legends for how impactful they are to the gaming landscape.

[@MarioQuinteroo]

Hi I just subscribed! And i have to say I love your content man! Boundary break and this one-off type of content, everything! Cool channel

[@ankd956]

DKC is my favourite game of all time, thanks so much for making this video it was awesome!

[@aaronsluka7591]

Love the New Content! Can’t wait to see more just like it! Glad to see your channel grow!

[@SpiritAnswersPodcast]

Thank you for this, fantastic interview!

[@BossZnakemaster]

Donkey Kong Country is one of the main reasons why i bought a Super NT. It was expensive, but to hear the SNES music as clearly as it was intended made it worth it. David Wise' score is timeless. Kudos to the entire amazing Rare team for making one of my favorite games of all time.

[@frogofthemotherland]

I can't even express how much I enjoyed this video. Thank you so much!

[@caseywood4184]

Dude, this was awesome. Please do more of these!

[@JFrameMan]

It's a good thing you told us about this in the portal video. I would have never known about this masterpiece.

[@protocetid]

love behind the scenes videos, you and those old Rareware legends are so humble and passionate!

[@jerodmcallister1974]

What a great tribute to an amazing series! Learned a lot from this video!

[@gvlbright]

This was a very enjoyable and well edited look into DKC's development!

[@mrwaxwave]

Fascinating. Deserves more exposure!

[@KremBotop]

Watching this was an amazing experience. Since DKC was such a quintessential childhood game, I was totally invested in hearing all of the tidbits from the developers (as well as trying to improve my understanding of British English since my first language is Spanish) There were very kind in accepting your invitation to be part of this project. Anyway, that scrapped slide attack kinda reminds me of one of the unused animations that still exist in the final game’s data. (And that can be found in TCRF) Those cut DK sprites matched the poses 1:1. Also, I’ll give a shoutout to Jammin Sam Miller, whose YT channel includes restored/uncompressed recreations of multiple DKC songs that were put together by locating the original samples used to make the songs, and then remix it to a studio-quality sound. They all sound great. Anyway, thanks for this incredible anniversary project!

[@terrawest9500]

This documentary is so good