Prerelease:Donkey Kong 64

This page details prerelease information and/or media for Donkey Kong 64.

This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes. Notes: Currently undergoing a rewrite, so it may look disjointed in places.

Over the course of two-and-a-half years, Donkey Kong 64 transformed from a scrolling platformer into an open-world adventure. Somewhere along the line, a supermarket's worth of collectibles found its way in as well.

Development Timeline

• Late 1996-Early 1997 - Development begins.
• c. Mid-1998 - Work on the 2.5D version ends in favor of a 3D free-roaming approach.
• 1999
  • January - The game is officially announced with a screenshot in Nintendo Power.
  • May 12 - Nintendo announces that the Expansion Pak, now a requirement for running DK64, will come bundled with the game.
  • May 13-15 - A custom build is shown off at E3.
  • August - The E3 build makes a reappearance at Space World.
  • September - An in-store demo is released.
  • October 1 - Nintendo sends a letter to Rare requesting the removal of Stop 'n' Swop.
  • November 22 - The final game is released.

Conception and Early Development (1996-1998)

Work on what would eventually become Donkey Kong 64 started somewhere between late 1996 and early 1997, just after the team had finished Donkey Kong Country 3. Following the precedent set by previous titles, the game was originally conceived as a linear, fixed-camera platformer similar to Klonoa or Crash Bandicoot, featuring a mix of sidescrolling and forward-scrolling sections. However, the team was still new to 3D development, and "weeks and weeks" of work would result in extremely short levels that could be completed with minimal effort. After about a year and a half, it became apparent that the game in its current form was not going to work out (though artist Mark Stevenson asserts that, given it was the N64's early period and there was no common framework yet, the same amount of time would have been spent "getting stuff up and running anyway"). Observing the trend of 2D series going the Super Mario 64 route in 3D, the team decided to scrap what they had and start over with a similar approach.

A 64DD Title?

To do: Find the actual Dengeki article (issue 14?) and see if it adds any extra context (and even lines up with anything else).

In July of 1997, IGN and GameSpot (via Dengeki Magazine) reported that a Donkey Kong game was being developed for the 64DD, slated for release sometime in 1998. If this is indeed referring to DK64's original incarnation, then the game was moved to cartridge format at some point, likely around the time it was rebooted.

Donkey Kong World (1998)

To accommodate the new direction, the game's design and software leads were switched out for Banjo-Kazooie co-designer George Andreas and an unnamed programmer (likely either Blast Corps lead engineer Richard Wilson or Diddy Kong Racing software director Robert Harrison, as both were on the development team and DK64's engine appears to share DNA with both titles). Banjo and GoldenEye 007 composer Grant Kirkhope was asked to help DKC3 musician Eveline Novakovic (née Fischer) with the audio work, and eventually took over the music side (with Novakovic providing sound effects). He later stated that, while it was perhaps not the best decision in hindsight (with Banjo-Tooie and Perfect Dark also in the pipeline), he did it anyway because he was friends with Andreas and enjoyed working on the series. All three developers had prior N64 experience, which would have made them an asset to this project.

During this time, Rare had already released a successful 3D platformer that carried on some of Donkey Kong Country's traditions in Banjo-Kazooie, and so one of the team's main priorities was distinguishing the Donkey Kong series in a 3D setting. For Rare co-founder Tim Stamper, that meant emphasizing item collection above all else:

"Banjo-Kazooie had a lot of great things about it, so one of the first things [Tim] told me was 'Make sure there's lots to collect'. I'd always go back to him and say 'Here's some' and he'd go 'No, more things'. We had to make it as much of a collect-a-thon as possible to help try and differentiate it."

- George Andreas

Furthermore, DKC's trademark tag-team gameplay had already been replicated in Banjo to a degree, so the teamwork aspect was dialed up several more notches, utilizing a party of five swappable characters to allow for new approaches to level design and puzzle-solving. (A 2-player co-op mode was known to have been planned at some point, but was cut due to performance issues and generally not working in 3D.) Banjo was also noted for its more laid-back tone, so exploratory segments in DK64 were broken up by grandiose boss battles and what Andreas termed "thrilling moments"-- fast-paced challenges, such as minecart rides and slide races, that harkened back to similar gauntlets in the DKC trilogy. For his part, Kirkhope deliberately veered away from the Elfman-esque "oompah" style that characterized Banjo to give the game a more traditional DKC sound (finding a use for some of his scrapped Project Dream compositions in the process):

"In my head, I had to try and separate Banjo-Tooie from DK64, and I always felt DK64 was a darker game. Dave Wise's soundtracks had some moody parts to them, so I felt like I needed to bring that moodiness back into DK64."

- Grant Kirkhope

Part of the design document for this iteration was shared by Kameo programmer Nic Makin on Twitter in 2015. It describes the final game fairly accurately, aside from a few tweaks:

• The overall structure is a bit more linear, as levels are described as ending with a boss door that each Kong takes a "slightly different" path to. It's possible that the Kong Exit Doors were a remnant of this design.
• Cranky's upgrades are paid for with special "Cranky Coins", rather than the regular Banana Coins.
• There appears to be no distinction between regular and Golden Bananas.
• Bosses hide behind "Banana doors" that are opened by collecting a certain number of bananas (analogous to Troff 'n' Scoff boss doors in the final game, but could also refer to B. Locker's progress gates - see above). Beating these bosses allows direct progress to the next world, with no mention of a go-between such as K. Lumsy.

• 

  The main concept brief.

• 

  The rap section of the document.

The DK Rap

To do: I seem to remember reading a 20th anniversary article that said Grant went for more of a De La Soul sound over "It's Like That"? Can't find it now...

One of Andreas' ideas, said to have stemmed from a lunchtime joke between him, Kirkhope, and DKC/Banjo software lead Chris Sutherland, was to open the game with a musical number that would combine the themes of Donkey Kong Country's opening (the transition from an old platform/generation to a new one) with the tongue-in-cheek humor of Banjo-Kazooie's "hoedown" sequence. Originally this song was to be performed by the Kongs in a band, with Donkey Kong as the lead singer; while this aspect would be dropped, the final game has the Kongs make use of weaponized musical instruments, which may have tied into it at one point. Eventually the concept solidified into a rap track, inspired by Jason Nevins' remix of Run-DMC's "It's Like That" (which was topping the charts in Britain at the time). Andreas wrote the lyrics and performed the rap alongside Sutherland, while Kirkhope mixed the backing beat, starting with a basic drum loop and adding various instruments to humorously represent each member of the DK Crew. Additional vocals for the chorus were provided by team members Gregg Mayles, Steve Mayles, Ed Bryan and Chris Peil. The DK Rap would debut alongside the game at E3 1999, but wouldn't receive wider exposure until release, where it garnered some unexpected criticism:

"[U]nfortunately [the rap received] a barrage of abuse from the reviewers and public alike, who didn't understand it was supposed to be a bit of fun. I think they wanted 'gangsta' rap on the 'streets' and didn't like our jokey effort - so we chalked it up to a British sense of humour that on this occasion didn't work."

- Gregg Mayles

"I thought everyone would get the joke but no one did [...] It was the first time I'd ever had anyone write something negative about my music. I'd been fortunate up until then - people liked my tunes most of the time - and it was supposed to be a joke track about monkeys rapping about bananas and grapes, so I felt a little bit hard done to."

- Grant Kirkhope

"I don’t think we anticipated any backlash specifically, we just thought we were creating something fun and different, to make the game stand out... I do remember that recording took a while as Grant would have to repeatedly stop the recording to try to get us to understand our rapping was drifting way out of time to the beat! I lost count of the number of times he told us to stop and try again. I’m sure he must have employed a lot of digital trickery to make it all work in the end!"

- Chris Sutherland

Aside from some very minor differences (which were changed by the time of the kiosk demo), the rap as seen at E3 is identical to the final version's.

---

[Nintendo Nation] – There was one little alteration Nintendo made of course; did it annoy you that all the Hells became Hecks [in Smash]?
[Grant Kirkhope] – That was funny actually, I got that all the time with Nintendo [...] And I couldn’t believe they complained about ‘one hell of a guy’, I just thought that was the most ridiculous thing. Of course with the middle of America, the sort of Bible belt, they don’t want to alienate anybody, and though we got it past in the end we thought it was ridiculous. We knew we were working at a company that made broad appeal games, and we liked making broad appeal games – it was great fun to talk to the kids and all that – so we would never do something to offend. So it was a bit bizarre, but there you go.

"The truth is, we just didn't give ['one hell of a guy'] a second thought, and nowhere along the way did anyone suggest that it might cause problems [...] to be honest we're still amazed at the fuss it's caused."

- Leigh Loveday

Characters

According to Ken Lobb, an early decision was to restrict returning playable characters to those from the original Donkey Kong Country (a claim debunked by Stevenson years later). In any case, Lanky started out as an ordinary-looking orangutan lacking the clothes or clown nose (looking something like King Louie from Disney's The Jungle Book). Tiny began life as a male ape in a vest and fez (likewise resembling Abu from Aladdin), who later became female to inject some variety into the all-male playable cast. Her final incarnation was (at least as far as Stevenson can remember) designed around the Mini-Monkey ability. Wrinkly was brought in (and killed off) when the team "needed a ghost character to pop out of obscure places". No data relating to her exists in the game's kiosk demo, so the decision may have been made later on.

• 

  Concept art of the male Tiny Kong.

• 

  Concept art of Lanky.

Technology

To do: Sacrificing visual fidelity for expressiveness in animation (DF Retro) Polys vs NURBS (Nintendo Life) Pressure from Nintendo to sell the Expansion Pak (Believer/Nintendo Life) The dynamic lighting cheat (GamesRadar) Using prerendered models to texture the in-game ones (Nintendo Life)

Donkey Kong 64 (Pre-E3 1999)

The Nintendo Power exclusive.

After years of rumor and speculation, DK64 was finally revealed to the public in a Subscriber Bonus supplement included with Nintendo Power #116 (January 1999), followed by Rare's own website a few weeks later. The lone screenshot shown depicts Diddy facing off against a Krash in Jungle Japes' minecart course.

Prerelease	Final

• The lighting on the tracks is a bit brighter than in the final game.
• There is no red light on the Krash's minecart.
• The sparks appear to be polygonal instead of 2D.
• The DK Coin counter icon is backwards. It would continue to look this way for a number of months.

At some point before April 26, another two screenshots were released, featuring Chunky in Fungi Forest's minecart course and Donkey in Jungle Japes.

On April 28, Rare put up a DK64 preview on their site, along with (presumably) three more screenshots.

May 1999

To do: Better organization. E3: Press kit screens (dkshot7-14) May 21: 12 Rare screens (dkshot15-26)

Video

Nintendo sent the following gameplay footage to journalists as part of an E3 press release. Despite the E3 designation, it showcases elements that appear to predate the E3 build, so it will be noted first. The original source tape (what you see to the right) was uploaded to YouTube by Giant Bomb in 2017.

Jungle Japes

E3 1999	Final

• The tree line texture is cut off at the top instead of fading into the background.
• 3:07 - The vines take a second to get going. In the final game they immediately go into full swing.
  • The banana pickup jingle is different. This audio remains in the final game, unused.
• 3:12 - The vines are also higher off the ground, which makes DK hit the upper wall instead of the alcove. in the final game, they were readjusted so that he lands neatly in it.
• The fixed camera icon is a static red sprite. This graphic still exists in the final game, unused.

E3 1999	Final

• The back wall of the alcove has rock texturing instead of leaves.
• The rock texturing around the gate is disjointed and was made prettier for the final.
• The tunnel archway is narrower and more sloped. The texturing of the wall above the alcove has an open seam, which was filled in with a leaf texture eventually.

• 3:17 - There are no pickups near the Chunky Barrel.
• 3:22 - The Crystal Coconut icon is to the left of the counter rather than the right.
• 3:26 - The purple (or red) bananas are being picked up by Chunky and counted as green bananas.
• 3:28 - Instead of watermelons, the health meter is a set of quartered circles. They could be barrels viewed from the top down, or simply placeholder graphics.
  • Also, the life counter was considered part of the health GUI in that it popped up after every hit taken, just like in Banjo-Kazooie. Lives aren't balloons yet (at least in the HUD), instead being represented by a Diddy head.
• 3:32 - Chunky's jump attack is one somersault long rather than two.
• 3:37 - Chunky wanders out into the open as Hunky Chunky. In the final game, this is forbidden and will instantly de-transform you.
  • The central totem is featureless. The ring is not sun-shaped-- in fact, looking carefully at the footage, it appears to have horns instead.
• 3:39 - The ground tile is browner and more patchy-looking, with no green polygon tint to indicate moss. The textures are still there in the kiosk version.

Early	Final

• Much of the area's texturing in general is different.
• Interestingly, the stairs to the left are fully modeled rather than just a textured ramp.
• No blade of grass sticking up in the middle of the path.
• There are no Bananaporters here.

• 3:41 - The bananas around the statue are red rather than green.
  • Kritters don't drop health.
• 3:57 - Troff 'n' Scoff's area is (rather generically) labeled "Level Guardian", with a lead-in like in the main levels.
  • The area itself is the same as it appears in the kiosk version, including the feeding cutscene.
• 4:21 - The door only takes 20 bananas to unlock. In the final game, the lowest total is 60.
• 4:38 - The treasure chest is much more crudely textured.
  • There is no Tag Barrel here.
  • There are also no pickups at all to be seen in this segment. This is in line with the kiosk version.
• 4:42 - The Lanky Pad is higher up than it would normally be at high tide. The ledge's height must have been readjusted.
• 4:44 - Lanky's voice is very high pitched, as if he were huffing helium. Makes sense, but would probably be quite annoying if heard on a regular basis.
  • There is no music for the Baboon Balloon.
• 5:03 - The textures for this area are entirely different. The "X" patch is also not recessed into the ground.
  • The boulder has a different (and rather ugly) texture.
  • There is a red(?) coin here, where there would normally be green bananas.
  • Two ammo crates can be seen next to each other. In the final game, the ammo crates and bananas are interspersed.
• 5:10 - An early Golden Banana screen that can also be seen in the kiosk version.
  • This is the first Golden Banana in the game, despite Chunky being active (who requires at least 15 Bananas to unlock).

Expansion Issues

Just prior to E3, Nintendo announced that Donkey Kong 64 would be the first game to require the Expansion Pak—citing a need for "added visual depth and smoother framerates"—and would even come bundled with it to ensure everyone who owned a copy could play it without issue. This caused a minor stir in the gaming community, particularly among those who already owned an Expansion Pak and were unenthused about buying another. Despite this, Nintendo further stated that they had no plans to release the game without it, claiming that putting out two versions of the same game would "confuse consumers".

14 years after release, Conker programmer Chris Marlow stated that the real reason for the Expansion Pak's inclusion was to hastily work around a game-breaking bug that only happened on the "4-meg-only [i.e. non-Expansion Pak-enabled] build". The story goes that the game would crash at random, and nobody on the team could figure out why, so they were forced to scrap the 4MB build and bundle the Pak with the game at a substantial cost to Rare and Nintendo (who were essentially giving the accessory out for free). However, Stevenson clarified in 2019 that, while the bug existed, it was exclusive to a particular N64 hardware revision (not game build), was eventually fixed, and had nothing to do with the Expansion Pak (which, as mentioned above, was an executive mandate-- in other words, there was no 4MB build to begin with).

The E3 Demo

Pick your poison.

After spending the previous two years in Atlanta, E3 returned to Los Angeles in 1999, and DK64 was shown off in playable form for the first time alongside Jet Force Gemini and Perfect Dark. A special demo build was prepared for the show, containing several different challenges for attendees to try. These were:

• "Boss II" (Dogadon 2)
• "Light House" (in Gloomy Galleon)
• "[The] Toy Factory" (Frantic Factory)
• "Mine Cart II" (in Fungi Forest)
• "Temper Temple" (Diddy's section of the Maze Temple in Angry Aztec)
• "Jungle" (Japes)
• "Mine Cart I" (in Jungle Japes)
• "Boss I" (Army Dillo)
• Crystal Caves
• and "Race" (the slide race in Angry Aztec)

The E3 lobby's setup and texture data still remain in the September kiosk demo.

---

This footage was taken by Dan and Trevor of now-defunct fansite RareNet on their visit to the expo. While the quality leaves a lot to be desired, it's the most comprehensive look at this build.

• 2:10 - Funky's Armo(u)ry looks the way it does in the kiosk version.
  • Funky's idle animation is different.
  • The speech bubble appears as he is walking out, rather than after he stops.
  • And of course, he has some special E3 text:

HEY DUDE, I'VE ALMOST FINISHED GATHERING THOSE SUPER COOL WEAPONS YOU ASKED FOR! BUT CRANKY'S SPOILING ALL THE FUN, AND SAYS YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS TIME BEFORE YOU CAN TRY THEM OUT. BETWEEN YOU AND ME, I THINK THE OLD DUDE'S COMPLETELY LOST HIS BANANA THIS TIME, IF YOU DIG MY MEANING! ANYWAY, I'LL SEE YOU AT CHRISTMAS, KONG DUDE.

• 2:54 - "Crystal Caves" is missing the plural.
• 2:56 - There is no ledge with a Tiny Barrel on the wall.
• 3:21 - Lanky is able to pick up the bananas here (and they appear to be blue, though the video is too washed-out to tell for sure). In the final game they're purple, and so only Tiny can pick them up.
• 4:05, 6:57 - Squawks' text here is the same as in the kiosk version.
• 5:13 - There is no short cutscene here.
  • The sparks on the minecart wheels are more detailed, as in the kiosk version and early screenshots.
• 7:01 - The "GET OUT" timer is only 10 seconds long, instead of 25 like in the final game.
• 7:18 - The crosshairs' shot is capable of missing the Kongs. In the final game, it always hits no matter what.
• 8:16, 27:35 - Footage of an early pause menu. It uses the plain white font normally reserved for dialogue.
  • There are stars surrounding the "Are you sure?"; the A/B prompt uses plain text instead of icons, and replaces the "Are you sure?" line instead of appearing alongside it.
  • The pause music also appears to be different.
  • The background image is not blurred.
• 8:45 - No DK Portal, just an ordinary doorway... with no loading zone in it.
• 8:56 - The Bananaporter pad is oddly blank.
  • Squawks' text here is even more provisional than the kiosk version's:

E3	Kiosk	Final
PRESS TO ACTIVATE THIS PAD	FIND THE OTHER PAD WITH THE SAME NUMBER ON IT TO BANANA PORT BETWEEN THE TWO. PRESS TO ACTIVATE THE BANANA PORT	FIND A SIMILAR NUMBERED PAD IN THE SAME AREA AND PRESS TO BANANAPORT BETWEEN THE TWO.

• 9:05 - The Bananaportation sequence is longer and contains more spinning.
• 9:08 - The Storage Room Bananaporter is positioned in front of the doorway to Chunky's room rather than in the corner.
  • A Bonus Barrel can be seen floating atop the boxes.
• 9:12 - The lone coin in this corner was replaced with five green coins and a banana bunch surrounding the Bananaporter.
• 9:18-9:27 - Klobbers in Frantic Factory. In the final game they only show up in Angry Aztec and Gloomy Galleon (bonus stages aside).
• 9:30 - Ammo crates on the boxes, where there are none in the final game.
• 9:43 - Tiny can pick up the bananas here. In the final they're blue, and thus belong to Lanky.
• 9:46 - As in the kiosk version, only Cranky's Lab is in this room. Several collectibles were added, removed, or rearranged as a result.
• 9:52 - Tiny's ledge climbing animation is slower.
• 21:07 - Blue bananas in the lighthouse, indicating that it was originally Lanky's area and not DK's.
  • The item placement and quantities seem to mirror the kiosk version.
• 22:20 - Instead of a lever or switch, there is a Bonus Barrel at the top.
  • The bonus game is Stealthy Snoop. This appears to be map 41, which belongs to this level but is completed by Diddy in the final game.
  • Every minigame is called "Banana Challenge" in this demo.
• 22:45 - The "You were caught!" text uses the early white font instead of the yellow menu lettering.
  • Also, Lanky just lies there for a bit before the scene fades out and kicks him back to the lighthouse. In the final game, you're prompted to try again as he's hitting his head.
• 22:56 - The lighthouse's name appears on screen once Lanky returns, in a manner similar to Ocarina of Time. In the final game, this is reserved for the main levels, and they only show up the first time you enter.
• 23:05 - More early text.
• 24:29 - There appear to be different textures on the cave walls. This is in line with the kiosk version missing the final textures for that area.
• 24:33 - The pad in this area is a DK Pad. It would become a Bananaporter 1 in the kiosk version, then a Bananaporter 3 in the final game.
• 24:41 - The animation for DK launching up is just his regular falling animation.
• 24:46 - The blast courses evidently have names in this version. Jungle Japes' is called "Blast Barrel Blitz".
• 24:55 - DK has a different blasting animation, which is used for the initial launch as well.
• 25:00 - The second item in the Barrel Blast sequence is a coin instead of a banana bunch, making this different from both the kiosk and final versions.
• 25:08 - The Banana Medal is motionless.
• 25:20 - There are coins in this alcove, and in more than one color too. In the final game, there are only bananas.
• 25:44 - The rock's collision box is much smaller, as DK partially clips through it.
• 26:00 - The Gnawty that DK hits here isn't in the final game.
• 26:44 - A Bonus Barrel just sitting out in the open. This one has Kremling Kosh, which is normally not in Jungle Japes. It appears to be the hardest variation (map 75), found in the Hideout Helm Lobby and Snide's H.Q. in the final game.
  • The time limit is 45 seconds instead of 60, which is tougher than even the kiosk version of this map.
• 26:56 - The Kritters make a different noise when they appear, which is still in the kiosk version (the implementation, or just the sound effect?).
• 29:11 - Standing on the Troff 'n' Scoff character pads appears to do nothing. Maybe you had to be that particular Kong to see anything?
• 29:48 - DK just rolls right through the ramp into the blackness. (Dan and Trevor unfortunately don't use this to get past the boss door.)
• 33:34 - Chunky does some kind of extra wiggle here (as Dogadon is taking off) that he doesn't do in either the kiosk or final versions.
• 35:05 - For whatever reason, Tiny is not facing straight ahead at the start of the Aztec slide.
• 35:54 - lol the game froze
• 36:28 - The DK Rap is unchanged, save for three things:
  • DK and Diddy's guns use the old realistic models and sound effects.
  • 39:09 - Chunky does his "seasick walk" instead of tiptoeing. He also does this for a split second in the earlier video above, so it may have actually been his original tiptoe animation.
  • 39:24 - In the final game (and the kiosk version), the subtitles stop for the last set of lines. Here, they continue to the very end. This was probably changed to clash less awkwardly with the rap being cut off by Klump.
• 39:36 - The title screen is very different:
  • The game's title is abbreviated, with an animated 3D logo. The models for the letters are still in the kiosk version.
  • The DKTV demo shows DK inside the Jungle Japes mineshaft (which is normally only accessible by Diddy).
  • The copyright info is also different, implying Nintendo and Rare shared the rights to the game (they didn't; the series was always owned by Nintendo, who "loaned" the rights out to Rare):

Prerelease	Prototype/Final
©1999 NINTENDO & RARE	©1999 NINTENDO. GAME BY RARE.

• 39:44 - The film rolls have a different design, with no "DK" insignia.
• 40:02 - The vine graphics are overlaid on top of the polaroid. This (generally?) doesn't happen in the final version.
• 40:18 - More Crystal Caves footage. A Life Balloon floats in the background behind Lanky.
• 40:54 - Back to Jungle Japes. Instead of a DK Pad (which is on the ground, as mentioned above), there is a Golden Banana on the platform, flanked by Oranges.
  • The platform itself has yellow stone texturing instead of grass.
• 41:15 - This Mad Maze Maul is map 45, normally done by Diddy in Crystal Caves. Here, DK challenges it instead.
  • It's possible to take damage and die, which puts you back at the beginning of the maze. In the final game, you're invincible.
  • The baddies actively fight back instead of running away.
• 41:39 - No transparency on the railings.
• 43:07 - Diddy's tail is not stretched out during his spin attack. He also spins faster.

• 43:37 - DK goads the enemies into falling off the Arena platform. If only it were that easy in the final game.
• 51:09 - Stealthy Snoop uses the music from Mad Maze Maul.

E3 Display Video

While a wider aspect ratio cuts off some of the gameplay, the showfloor video had some unique footage recorded by N64 Magazine. Footage of the reporters playing in Jungle Japes is also included.

Unknown Area

A second-long shot of Chunky using a Hunky Chunky barrel at 07:47 shows a strange jungle room with a door and a unique wooden sign that says "MYST-" on one half, plus a climbable tree and two Klumps.

• The path through the doorway leads upwards, ruling out the possibility of this being the Jungle Japes beehive room. There are also no logs, which are seen in footage of the beehive room from this same video, or giant trees. It bears some resemblance to the Army Dillo arena, but with unique map geometry.
• The floor is grassy with a yellow path.

Jungle Japes

As briefly seen in other footage, Cranky's Lab is atop the lower left cliff instead of being in the rain area.

Angry Aztec

E3 1999	Final

This brief shot shows an early version of Snide's HQ.

• The hut is dark brown with a green roof.
• The building loads from further away. In the final, helper shops pop up when much closer in order to save resources.
• There are two large barrels to the right and left of the building. Notably, ordinary barrels are smaller and only appear in boss arenas and the barrel training barrel in the final game.
• An uncollectable (by Lanky) Golden Banana is in front of the door.
• This platform in Aztec was much larger, square in shape, and had blue floor tiling. Much like the rest of Aztec, the area was condensed massively in the final.

E3 Trailer

The game's official E3 trailer.

June 1999

To do: 14 IGN screens (taken from May video footage?)

Roughly (but not before) June 28th 1999, the Kiosk ROM is built ready for September 1999.

July 1999

To do: Jul 12: 12 IGN screens (taken from elsewhere?) Jul 13-16: 4 IGN videos Jul 14: 7 Rare screens (dkshot27-33)

According to Electronic Gaming Monthly, the game was around 60% complete by this point. Interestingly, the same article also mentions four-player slot car and boat races, neither of which are possible in the final game. Various in-game leftovers suggest that multiplayer racing was an intended feature that didn't make it in:

• The kiosk version contains text for a multiplayer racing option left over from a much earlier version of the main menu.
• The final game's boat race has three unused spawn points that correspond to other places on the starting line.
• Both versions have text for four possible race positions (winning/2nd/3rd/last), despite all the races in the game being one-on-one.

August 1999

To do: IGN screens (some are duplicates of Rare screens): Aug 24: 9 screens Aug 28: 18 screens

Following E3, DK64 made an appearance at Space World 99. According to IGN, however, this was just the same demo as before, complete with "E3 '99" labelling.

September 1999

To do: Sep 1: 12 IGN screens (taken from Hot Newz?) Sep 15: 15 IGN screens

As early as September 8, a kiosk demo became available to play at select Toys "R" Us stores. Some screenshots and a promo video were also released at this time.

Hot Newz 64

As was typical during the SNES and N64 eras, Nintendo Power sent out a promotional VHS to subscribers and retailers featuring DK64 alongside Jet Force Gemini.

"[Rare] got sent a whole load of copies of [this] promo tape, for some reason. We even watched it... and I've never seen so many people stay so utterly straight-faced for so long."

- Leigh Loveday

• 10:45 - The sound of Dogadon falling into the lava is different.
• 11:06 - The gravestones pop up much lower to the ground than in the final game.
• 11:11 - DK appears to use Diddy's voice clip when hit.
• 11:15 - The fireballs make a "fwoosh" sound when dropping, instead of the (more obnoxious, but easier to make out) whistle of the final game.
• 12:29 - The domino enemy T-poses after being hit.
• 12:32 - The floor of K. Lumsy's prison is stone instead of metal; the locks are also unnumbered as in the kiosk version.
• 12:37 - Lanky has only one melon in Crystal Caves, which is impossible in normal gameplay. The life counter is also seen here.
• 12:39 - There is a green "Koko Konga" vending machine behind Candy that was taken out (though the textures for it remain in the kiosk version).
• 12:41 - The slide race tower is all gray; the floor surrounding it also uses the same texture as the roof.
• 13:07 - Bryan Hartmann mentions four-player minigames, which, again, don't exist in the final version.
• 13:21 - The Crystal Caves slide race originally consumed Crystal Coconuts, similarly to the rabbit race. This was probably changed because it would make the race unwinnable if you happened to run out. It can also be seen in footage released for Space World, meaning it dates back to at least August.

Miyamoto and the Coconut Gun

On September 10, 1999, Nintendo producer and Mario/Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto (along with HAL president Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of America chair Howard Lincoln) traveled to England to attend a European trade show. While there, they also took the opportunity to visit Rare's (then-)new Manor Park headquarters and offer feedback on their projects.

Later screenshots and video depict DK and Diddy's weapons with their final designs, instead of the realistic metal look seen at E3. Speaking to GamesRadar in 2019, Andreas tells the story of how this change came at Miyamoto's behest:

"We switched on the game, they saw the rap, and then I started running around as DK. I swung on some vines, collected bananas, and they were beginning to really smile. And then I pressed the button to pull out the gun. It wasn't a textured gun that you might expect but a realistic shotgun with bullets flying out and with horrifying sound effects. You get so used to things being in development, even if it is a placeholder, and I completely forgot that it was in there. I'm shooting beavers, turned to my side, and see this look of horror on Miyamoto's face! Then he smiled and, taking some paper and a pencil, drew a coconut gun in front of us. It had leaves on it and he handed it to me. I looked at it and said 'Oh yeah, that's cool, we'll put that in' and the coconut gun was put in after that."

Aside from that, Miyamoto's (and Nintendo's) input on DK64 was described as "negligible", though Stevenson had the general impression that Miyamoto was somewhat dissatisfied with the game being another 3D platformer in a time of market saturation, and would have preferred a more traditional 2D outing. An interview conducted by EarthBound creator Shigesato Itoi shortly after the visit implied Miyamoto's real issue was that the game didn't experiment enough within the 3D platforming genre, calling it "old-fashioned" and "standard":

"I think we've reached a period where 3D action games can't get by just because they’re the new thing. Now it's a matter of making sure that there's a central novelty to your gameplay that's actually fun because it works in 3D. And Rare - they're incredibly good at taking it in the opposite direction. [...] They're really good at reproducing what it is that makes a Nintendo game a Nintendo game, and their directors know what they're doing. I'll go ahead and say it - [Donkey Kong 64 is] definitely a game that players can enjoy, and they will. But [...] it's a 3D action game for better or worse, so whether or not it can attract new users that haven't had any interest in games up until now - I don't think it can based on looks alone. So, this Donkey Kong 64 will certainly carry its weight for what it is, but as far as whether or not it's going to be the thing to energize the 64 market during this Christmas season - I think people that see what I'm saying will think, 'If that's the case, hurry up and put out something newer, fresher.'"

- Shigeru Miyamoto

---

[Nick Burton]: I want to hear about Diddy Kong being dressed up in that rubber suit, with squeaky noises.
[George Andreas]: I think Brendan was having some fun one day.
[Brendan Gunn]: It wasn't me; I think it was Mr. [Mark] Stephenson^(sic). For some reason it was a complete shiny red PVC suit, except for a little brown hole under the tail. [laughs]
GA: We didn't show Miyamoto that.
NB: Good job.

October 1999

To do: Oct 14: 16 IGN screens Oct 15: 25 IGN screens

According to Miyamoto, the game was to have gone gold by this point. Timestamps stored within the compressed game files indicate it was finalized in mid-October.

November 1999

To do: 1 IGN video (the rest are identical to final) Some (or all) of these differences are also in earlier videos, and should be moved to the appropriate section when the videos are added.

The game's North American commercial is comprised almost entirely of footage from an earlier point in development. Most of the differences seen there are also in the kiosk version, and thus don't warrant an in-depth comparison:

• The DK Door in Jungle Japes (0:09)
• Purple Kasplat with red hair (0:10)
• Purple bananas in the cave leading to Jungle Japes' shell area (0:24)
• Blue coins surrounding the Chunky Barrel in Angry Aztec (0:25)
• Kritters not dropping melon slices (0:34)
• Chunky's face on the boss door while Scoff is being fed (0:36)
• Mad Jack throwing fiery blocks (0:37)
• The harder Army Dillo fight taking place in Jungle Japes (as evidenced by the jet thrusters and cannon) (0:37)
• Yellow sunlight texture on the Gloomy Galleon lighthouse beacon (0:40)
• The Rambi transformation being timed, as well as the lack of sparkles on the timer (0:45)

Unknown

To do: Anything that can't be dated goes here. Possibly Hobby Consolas, as well as the other trailer.

The Support Team

Towards the end of development, eight more people were added to the core team of sixteen to help finish the game. Among them were:

• DKC/Banjo director Gregg Mayles, who designed the K. Rool battle;
• His brother, DKC/Banjo artist Steve Mayles, who designed several enemies;
• Banjo artist Ed Bryan, who designed Candy, the mermaid, and the model renders of Lanky and Tiny;
• Conker designer Chris Seavor, who designed two characters (one of which was the "lightfish" that appears in the Gloomy Galleon shipwrecks);
• and Sutherland, who provided various character voices in addition to the DK Rap voiceover.

In an interview with Nintendo Life, Gregg Mayles described his thought process behind the game's final battle:

"There were two objectives I set myself - I wanted K.Rool to have yet another new identity (it was his trademark) and I wanted to ensure it felt like all the Kongs were teaming up to beat their nemesis. The boxing idea came from wanting a way for each Kong to have their own dedicated fight with K.Rool, and the round-based nature of boxing was ideal to achieve this. It was also a theme I thought we could have a lot of fun with, parodying the over the top, glitzy world heavyweight boxing that used to regularly come from Las Vegas in the '90s. I think Tiny Kong fighting K.Rool’s toes inside his boot is one of the oddest gameplay experiences I have ever come up with!"

He noted that this somewhat flew in the face of K. Rool's characterization up to that point, as something of a cross between Darth Vader and Ernst Stavro Blofeld, but didn't think that approach would make for a fun boss battle.

Mayles also planned to include compatibility with Banjo-Kazooie's game-connecting Stop 'n' Swop feature; the two games allegedly had a working connection before Nintendo requested the feature be removed due to hardware concerns, leaving only some dummied-out remnants-- the only game in the "circle" of six (other than Kazooie) to have any.

Info to be Incorporated

Screenshots

• Rare's old DK64 section (some of the screenshot links may be broken, but DKVine's old gallery has copies of them all)
• IGN for any screens that can't be found elsewhere

E3 1999 Press Kit

Goes in the May section.

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Video Footage

• Rarenet E3 Video
• E3 1999 Trailer (begins at 2:54:31)
• Hobby Consolas #99 (contains high-quality E3 demo footage, as well as some other stuff from later on)
• Undated Trailer
• Nintendo E3 1999 Second Half B-Roll (2:44-5:15; same footage as IGN's May videos, but in much better quality)
• Nintendo Winter Releases 1999 (18:19-23:22)

All of IGN's prerelease videos can be found on YouTube, though they're missing the proper titles:

• May:
  • Throwing Boulder, Eating Banana
  • Gigantic Chunky Roaming Around
  • Floating Around
  • Unlocking Gateway
  • Donkey Kong in the Jungle
  • Mine Cart Level
• July:
  • Donkey Kong Intro, Swinging, Dancing
  • Lighting Effects, Boss, Turning Small, Racing
  • Flying, Mine Level, Sniper Mode
  • Boat Racing, Swimming, Fighting and Barrels
• August: Exploring, Boating, Skidding, Flying
• November: Look At the Size of This Guy!

Other

• Andreas/Mayles/Kirkhope E3 interview (Long gone, doesn't even appear to be on Wayback; left here on the off chance it can still be found somewhere.)
• Miyamoto interview circa late September 1999
• Possibly relevant: Jetpac was included because "Diddy's got a jetpack" (being Rare/Ultimate's very first game may have also had something to do with it)
• "Apparently, the whole 'Dolphin auditions' thing was the result of one of the team members "going off on one", which is another way of saying that nobody here really understands it either..."
• GamesRadar's 20th anniversary retrospective
  • More details on working in 3D vs 2D
• Nintendo Life's 20th anniversary retrospective
  • Difference between polygons and NURBS, "[we] essentially had to start from scratch"
• Believer's 20th anniversary retrospective:
  • Clarifies that it was Nintendo who pushed for Expansion Pak support

Stop 'n' Swop

• Patent filing

October 1, 1999 Chris Stamper Rare Limited Dear Chris: I am writing you regarding the "Stop n Swap" in Donkey Kong 64. While we respect the creativity of this feature, after testing and discussing this feature with R&D3 and Uji plant, we must ask that you remove this feature from Donkey Kong 64. Nintendo has a  number of issues with the way in which this feature has been implemented: There is no way that we can guarantee that the RDRAM will retain data long enough in all current and future version of the N64 console for this feature to work. There is also a risk of damage to both the console and the game pak should the swap be made while the power is still on. However unlikely, there is a chance that a consumer who has exchanged game paks with the power on will experience a latch-up condition in a chip which could cause overheating and potential consumer safety problem. In spite of the fact that these bonuses are not necessary to complete either game, we feel that it must work reliably on all N64 consoles. Given the limited time remaining in the schedule, we cannot thoroughly examine all of the potential conflicts and solutions. We would like to suggest that you find alternate method of achieving the bonuses in both Banjo and Donkey Kong. Perhaps it is would be possible to reveal passcode in DK64 which could be used to open the locked area in Banjo? Correspondingly, subsequent visits to the Game Pak in DK64 could produce the Ice Key by asking the player some question about their experience playing the new area in Banjo, such as "Which item did you find with my special code in Banjo Kazooie?": banana; Ice Key; Golden Note; etc." The balance of DK64, including the different ending could then remain, accessible only to those who played through the new area in Banjo. I believe a solution such as this will preserve some of the benefit of tying the two games together and have minimal impact to the code, testing and ultimately the remaining schedule. After you have had a chance to confer with the team, please let us know how you will resolve this issue and what, if any, impact it may have on the schedule. Lastly, should you wish to implement other such unique features in the future, please contact me directly so that we can completely research the ramifications when we have time in the schedule to allow us to be more flexible. Sincerely, [Name redacted] Director of Technical Support