The Kongversation: Donkey Kong Universe Discussion

Concluding our retrospective on Donkey Kong 64, we break down the worlds one-by-one... only to discover that they're doing the same to us. It's the good, the bad, and the Chunky as we have a serious discussion about what works with DK64 and what its ultimate failings are.

1999 brought Chad and Hyle together for the first time, DK Vine was created, and all eyes were on a single title - Donkey Kong 64. Now they revisit the Rare N64 classic to determine whether it truly is the best game ever made, or if they were just shitty teenagers with shitty teenage opinions.

With the first completely new Conker adventure in fourteen years now part of the Donkey Kong Universe, Hyle and Chad give their verdict on Big Reunion! Plus, we give the game for free to nine lucky listeners!

Unless you've been living under a rock lovingly rendered by Steven Hurst, you know that Project Ukulele is now the mind-boggingly successfully funded Yooka-Laylee! Chad and Hyle discuss their thoughts on the upcoming title, whether or not it's a proper DK Universe game yet, and some unfortunate byproducts from the Internet's reaction at large.

Conker's back! We sit down with Brian Perry of Team Dakota, the developers behind Project Spark and Conker's Big Reunion, to get the inside scoop on how our favorite squirrel was revived and where he may be headed next.

It's the calm before the storm of DLC, games, Kickstarters, and E3 occupies our collective headspaces, preventing us from functioning as productive members of society. So Chad and Hyle do the most productive thing they can think of, and clear out the call log before digging into the latest from the Wii U's Virtual Console, and everything to expect from Nintendo, Team Dakota, Playtonic, and Rare in...

DK Vine Forum member Zeppelin (aka Andy Barrett) takes over the Kongversation via his Silverbacker status! Chad and Hyle talk with him about the aesthetics of the Donkey Kong series and how presenting a realistic natural world helps set the games apart from other platformers. It's more entertaining than it sounds!

It was an unusual April 1st for everyone paying attention to the latest news from Nintendo. Chad, Hyle, and a series of call-in listeners attempt to make sense of the implications for Rare, Nintendo, Banjo, Donkey Kong, and indeed, THE ENTIRE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT.

After taking a bevy of calls from the Kongversation Hotline's heavy-hitters, Hyle and Chad discuss the latest in DKU news. On deck are crossover possibilities for Project Ukulele, confirmation of Mumbo Jumbo's species, and finally Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's announcement that Nintendo will begin developing games for mobile platforms. Oh, and naturally, nasal diarrhea.

Chad and Hyle are joined by Joe Mudd to take a round of listener calls, then discuss the latest news out of Rare, Team Dakota, and Playtonic. It's a veritable Rarenaissance, and we haven't figured out a more tolerable way to describe it!

In this very special episode, we sit down with former Rare programmer and project director Chris Sutherland (Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Kinect Sports) to discuss his tenure in the Donkey Kong Universe and his future with the newly-formed Playtonic Games. We better act our age!

Remember It's Mr Pants? The 2004 handheld puzzle game featuring a pasty stick man in a bowler hat and red undies? Well, Chad and Hyle sure do! In this week's episode, they relive it all so you don't have to. Smile, baby!

In one glorious day, the entire Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land trilogies arrived on the North American Nintendo eShop while Nintendo also revived their infamous "Play It Loud" slogan specifically for Donkey Kong. Yeah, we're pretty happy with life right now.

What can we say, it's a slow news week. Chad and Hyle discuss the latest bits and bobs from Playtonic Games before delving into the fantastic New Nintendo 3DS and its not-so-fantastic name.

First there were Donkey Kong 64 2ish rumors. Then Hat in Time. Lobodestroyo. New Banjo-Kazooie rumors. Okay, okay, you get the point! So what's the big deal? Well, listen up! Because there's a new dynamic studio from the creators of Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye that's ready to kick some serious excitement into 3D platforming. IT'S PLAYTONIC GAMES!

The Kongversation introduces a new feature this week, in which we shine a spotlight on an Honourable Mention - one of the many games that was very nearly part of the larger Donkey Kong Universe. Up first is Rare's criminally overlooked 1999 classic Jet Force Gemini. Friend of the show Alastair Craig drops by to gush over this incredible game in nauseatingly positive detail.

We're coming out of the most-depressing week of the year, but still waist-deep in the Winter Shitfucks. Chad and Hyle try to weather the storm of the most desolate time of the year for a Donkey Kong Universe fan by essentially goofing off and taking calls for close to two hours.

Part Two of Chad and Hyle's enormously controversial Super Smash Bros. for Wii U impressions continues, this time with an unapologetic fan of the game, Jeff Onan, in tow. The trio discusses some new rumors about that old chestnut Rare returning to form, take a few calls, and then dig into the meat of the show - whether Smash Bros should get a pass for ignoring its single-player fans, despite being...

We've been hyping it for two months, so let's do this thing. In PART ONE of our two-part Smash Bros. for Wii U episode, Chad and Hyle are joined by Joe to first talk about this week's Nintendo Direct before spending over an hour giving what's sure to be controversial opinions on a critical and fan darling. This one is going to get heated, folks.

It's been two years since we gave our first impressions on the Wii U. How has the financially-maligned system shaped up in the intervening time? Chad and Hyle talk about that and can't get over the fact that Sarah Jessica Parker still looks like a horse. Welcome to another season of the Kongversation!