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[Watch Da Birdie]

Troff and Scoff.

Yeah, I know a lot of people are mixed on Rare's designs, but I actually enjoy most of them when it comes to Donkey Kong and Banjo Kazooie. Not every character is perfect, or super well-designed, but I thought they fit the world well enough. I think Donkey Kong 64 suffered a bit though from going towards the more cartoony nature of Banjo-Kazooie and away from its more atmospheric, "darker" Country-style, and I disliked how Donkey Kong in 64 was so much smaller than everyone---it was weird since he should usually be a character who has a sense of size. I guess it was due to the 64 limitations, bigger models were easier to handle, but it still bugs me regardless.

But these guys are just so unappealing to me. Troff is the biggest offender---just the way he looks with those yellow eyes and the realistic pig squeal he makes freaked me out as a kid, and he looks oddly realistic compared to most of the other characters you run into in Donkey Kong 64. Scoff isn't as bad, but still his design bothers me. Rare loved the protruding belly + man nipples look, but I think these guys really just look off with the way they're proportioned.

And feeding them bananas to make Scoff grow fat was just really off-putting to me as a kid, especially how he belched afterwards. I almost feel like there's some weird feeder fetish underlying this whole deal, like Rare was trying to just make this whole process feel gross and icky. And really, this was probably one of the dumbest implementations of a Collectible---you gotta feed these dudes bananas so one of them will be heavy enough to prop the other one up to reach the key to the Boss Door.

I'm super-excited about Donkey Kong 64 tomorrow, but I'm not looking forward to seeing these dudes again.

 

[mrmickfran]

I was expecting Candy Kong.

 

[PROh1bited]

I was expecting Candy Kong.

And Lanky.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Yeah I thought it was lanky lol.

 

[statham]

And Lanky.

Love lanky

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Those look "so bad they're good" or in that territory.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

I was expecting Candy Kong.

Well, they made her back in the SNES Days.

I still don't know if Candy Kong is actually Rare trying to be sexy, or if they're taking the piss out of folks.

 

[Hypemaster]

I was expecting King K. Rool and was going to defend him but I see it was not needed.

Those two aren't so bad OP.

 

[Piston Hyundai]

the gritty shooter reboot of funky kong licked ass, too

 

[23qwerty]

I was expecting Candy Kong.

naw son she's fine as hell

 

[Rydeen]

Love lanky

Yeah I loved Lanky. The best of the new Kongs. So weird, up there with Tingle and Waluigi in the "so wrong they're right" menagerie of odd-ball Nintendo characters.

 

[Aeriscloud]

I almost feel like there's some weird feeder fetish underlying this whole deal, like Rare was trying to just make this whole process feel gross and icky.

That's not how I would describe it.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Kong Crew in 64 were cool as hell...

I still think they should've just used Dixie over Tiny (especially consider how Tiny turned out later on), but Lanky and Chunky were solid. Don't really want to see them in Retro Donkey Kong, but throwing them into a Mario Spin-Off could be neat.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

I seem to recall some Sonic cast vs. DK cast thread that made me realize how ugly most of the secondary DK characters are.

 

[Servbot24]

Rare's character designs have always been gross.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I like collectathons a lot and played and loved just about every Rare game except Donkey Kong 64 but I don't want to blow my eshop money already.

Should I download this game in a few days???

 

[Dad]

I like collectathons a lot and played and loved just about every Rare game except Donkey Kong 64 but I don't want to blow my eshop money already.

Should I download this game in a few days???

That depends. Do the worlds "over 4000 collectables" make you giddy or strike fear into your heart?

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Biggest problem with Rare is a lot of their tertiary characters (minor characters, mooks) are pretty unmemorable, outside I think Donkey Kong Country.

Like when I played Banjo Kazooie recently I realized the game doesn't really have any iconic or memorable enemies whatsoever. They're all pretty bland, and there's not really any "signature" enemy like how DKChas Kritter, Mario has Goomba, Kirby has Waddle Dee, etc., and that I think is a major flaw for a cute platformer to have. Good enemy design is one of the most important elements of a game for me, especially a mascot platformer.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

That depends. Do the worlds "over 4000 collectables" make you giddy or strike fear into your heart?

Well, both.

If the game is well made, giddy.

If it's lackluster and poorly designed, fear.

I think the reason I never got to around playing it was because of the inconsistent reviews.

 

[CassSept]

Eh, at least they're not playable? Lanky is atrocious. What a weird time for Nintendo, Lanky, Waluigi and Tingle all within a year. At least the latter two fall into so bad it's good category, especially Waluigi.

Though to be fair I really dislike most of Rare's designs.

 

[potam]

I'd say, you know, the platforming mechanics are more important than side-character design in a platformer.

 

[desmax]

They have no style
They have no grace

 

[Blackage]

I was expecting Candy Kong.

Look on the bright side, it helped focus the Rule 34 of Donkey Kong stuff on the internet.

 

[Dad]

Well, both.

If the game is well made, giddy.

If it's lackluster and poorly designed, fear.

I think the reason I never got to around playing it was because of the inconsistent reviews.

I'd say it's a pretty fun game to play through normally and an absolute chore to 100%. There are 500 color coded bananas per level that only the corresponding Kong can pick up. It essentially makes you scour every corner of the level five times.

 

[Leafhopper]

And Lanky.

Spoiler

H___________E

but yeah I did too.

 

[Neiteio]

 

[Hero of Legend]

Rare's character designs have always been gross.

Hell nah!

Tp me if you insult Rare's character designs like in their DK and Banjo games (at least in the Nintendo era) you do the same to Nintendo, why?

Because they share MANY of the same design quirks, especially in the Mario series.

Not to mention Nintendo kept numerous characters fully intact post-buyout, including DK, Diddy, Funky, Lanky, etc.

 

[Dad]

The goods are over this way

 

[Rydeen]

They have no style
They have no grace

This Kong has a FUH-NEE FAISE.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

The goods are over this way

I remember the Nintendo Power Donkey Kong Country Power Guide had this as the back-cover of the magazine. Great times.

I miss Nintendo Power Guides, I used to love buying them when I got a game (or didn't, I had guides for games I didn't own) and reading them in the car on the way home or in the bathroom.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

The goods are over this way

I thought that was Lanky's head for a second instead of DK's tie.

 

[Leafhopper]

I thought that was Lanky's head for a second instead of DK's tie.

Oh my god.

I can't unsee that.

 

[Salsa]

their characters are always fucking hideous

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

their characters are always fucking hideous

I never played that game so I just pretend it doesn't exist.

 

[Opinionatedfish]

Well, both.

If the game is well made, giddy.

If it's lackluster and poorly designed, fear.

I think the reason I never got to around playing it was because of the inconsistent reviews.

I call the idea of artificially inflating completion time of a game with meaningless collectibles and gates: "Stamperism." So named for the Stamper bros of Rare, circa Donkey Kong 64.

That said, it's not the worst offender of that kind of design, but it was the first time I was horribly annoyed by it.

 

[Dad]

their characters are always fucking hideous

Rare didn't make Xenoblade Chronicles X though

 

[MrSaturn99]

You can say whatever you want about 90's Rare designs, but none of them come close to these two post-Rare specimens.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

They have very well defined nipples.

Also Lanky's design is intentionally goofy as shit, lay off him.

 

[Gonzo The Great]

Phew, for a second there I was worried that this thread was about my beloved K. Rool.

Troff and Scoff are hideous, but that's part of their charm. The thing about Rare is that their characters (for the most part) aren't badly designed, but the early CGI artwork makes them look creepy. Mario didn't look too hot in that era, either.

 

[Neiteio]

their characters are always fucking hideous

That's a prototype image, back when they were going to be kids. They had different proportions in the final game, where they're young adults:

I never played that game so I just pretend it doesn't exist.

Jet Force Gemini is like a Top Three Rare N64 title

 

[master15]

their characters are always fucking hideous

As much as I love the game I do feel the remodeled characters do look better;

edit: Beaten to the punch. Same image too!

 

[TouchMyBox]

Uh oh, are we getting to the point where people realize that Rare is probably the most overrated developer of all time?

It's funny because their best character design came from the post MS-buyout period.

 

[Kurdel]

 

[Salsa]

That's a prototype image, back when they were going to be kids. They had different proportions in the final game, where they're young adults:

yeah, and they're even worse

I played hundreds of hours of GFJ, I wish I was less aware of how everyone in it looked ;_;

 

[Lady Siara]

their characters are always fucking hideous

Why is Juno wearing shorts and why is his costume red?

Edit: Already answered.

 

[dimb]

their characters are always fucking hideous

These weren't even the designs in the final game. It's probably more an instance of 3D renders at the time trying to bring N64 models to life. I don't think there's anything really offensive about Jet Force Gemini's character design in game.

 

[Gonzo The Great]

Uh oh, are we getting to the point where people realize that Rare is probably the most overrated developer of all time?

It's funny because their best character design came from the post MS-buyout period.

Are you implying that Diddy Kong is badly designed

Barring Nintendo EAD, Rare is the greatest developer of all-time. And no amount of revisionism will change that, dammit.

 

[Neiteio]

yeah, and they're even worse

I played hundreds of hours of GFJ, I wish I was less aware of how everyone in it looked ;_;

They look absolutely fine in the actual game. I don't put much stock in the '90s-era promo renders.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

Paper 3D Lanky Kong confirmed.

 

[Gonzo The Great]

They look absolutely fine in the actual game. I don't put much stock in the '90s-era promo renders.