This weekend marked the 20th anniversary of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, a title which many consider to be the highlight of that particular franchise. To commemorate the occasion, Gregg Mayles, the game’s producer and designer, has taken to Twitter over the last few days to reveal a number of concept sketches and heretofore unknown details regarding the development of the SNES classic.
The original Donkey Kong Country introduced a group of animal friends that could assist Donkey and Diddy in their travels. The sequel expanded upon those characters, but apparently more were also going to be introduced. “Banana animals” were at one point considered for the game, with at least twelve different characters in early design stages. Mayles has also revealed a number of concept sketches, level layouts and a lot more!
Perhaps the most interesting thing Mayles has revealed so far is a list of potential names that Rare and Nintendo had on the table for the character that would become Dixie Kong. Interestingly enough, Diddiane seemed to be a favorite at one point. Dee Dee Kong was also in consideration, despite the fact that it sounds a bit too similar to DK’s other simian companion.
It’s always interesting to get a glimpse at what happened behind-the-scenes of our favorite games. Mayles has released a number of gems about the game, and it looks like he’ll continue to do so over the next few days. Be sure to check out his Twitter account at the link below!
Source: Twitter