- Not to be confused with Donkey Kong (character).
Cranky Kong (also known as Donkey Kong Sr.)[1] is one of the main characters from the Donkey Kong games and the grandfather of Donkey Kong. While Donkey Kong Country is his first appearance as Cranky Kong, a creation of Rare, Cranky bore the title "Donkey Kong" in prior releases, so his actual debut is in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, in which he is the main antagonist.
History[]
Donkey Kong[]
Cranky Kong is the original Donkey Kong who was seen in the Donkey Kong arcade games, something that has been established since Cranky was introduced in Donkey Kong Country.
Donkey Kong Country/Land games[]
Donkey Kong Country[]
Donkey Kong Country artwork
Cranky made his first official appearance as "Cranky Kong" in Donkey Kong Country.
In the game itself, he resides in his cabin where he is willing to give Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong advice for items, levels and such. He has many unused level-related quotes deleted from the final build, thus only having Kongo Jungle and early Monkey Mines level tips. He also can be seen at the end of every boss battle after a boss is defeated in the Game Boy Advance version.
Unlike the sequel, his advice randomly pops up and cannot be chosen by Donkey and Diddy on which advice they want to hear. Also, no currency is used in Donkey Kong Country so his tips can be heard for no money.
Donkey Kong Land[]
While Cranky does not appear in Donkey Kong Land itself, he is the one whom has caused the events of the game to happen. He made a bet to King K. Rool to once again steal the bananas from the hoard as he was jealous of all of the two monkeys' success to see if the two may complete the game on an 8-bit system.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest[]
Cranky reappears in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
In the game, he once again gives the two monkeys advice, thus making him still the same, but is now located inside of his hut now called the Monkey Museum. Also, he gives out advice, but can now be chosen by Diddy and Dixie. Also, Banana Coin currency is also in the game, meaning that some tips cost money. This is similar to how Kong Kollege has it. He also hosts a Video Game Heroes competition with Mario, Yoshi and Link making cameos after The Flying Krock is completed. Diddy needs all of the DK Coins to be ranked first place in the Video Game Heroes competition.
In the Game Boy Advance version, feathers were included as new elements in this version for Cranky's new minigame titled Expresso's Racing. Here, Diddy and Dixie must power up Expresso as much as possible so that he may race against other birds. The more feathers, the more power Expresso gets. Alternatively, Cranky also discusses to the monkeys after defeating a boss.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble![]
Cranky reappears in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!.
In this game, Cranky does not make much of actual appearances and are more or less minor. In Swanky's Sideshow, he is once again an enemy in the game like he was in the arcade games and says comments that are deemed unkind.
Afterwards, he mainly makes an appearance near the ending. Here, he criticizes Dixie and Kiddy for winning against KAOS. The two then approach him in an ominous sort of way and attempt to pummel him. If one manages to get the ending with the Banana Birds and 105%, Cranky will do water skiing tricks and then hold up an inked sign saying THE END. He also is ranked the all time greatest at the game before Dixie and Kiddy completes it fully. If they complete it in 105%, they also gain a Cranky trophy labelled "immortal monkey".
In the Game Boy Advance version, Cranky no longer competes in Swanky's Sideshow as the place itself is converted to a virtual reality area named Swanky's Dash. Instead, Cranky now runs an area called Cranky's Dojo. Here, he has to train himself for his "first game", as he states called Cranky Kong Country. Here, he has to defeat thirty Bristles so Dixie and Kiddy may gain a Banana Bird on the first try. Also, he once again talks after a boss is defeated.
Donkey Kong Country Returns[]
Cranky appears in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. In the game, he runs a shop in each world and will often make sarcastic remarks over what Donkey and Diddy Kong buy. Aside from Donkey and Diddy, Cranky is the only Kong from the original trilogy to make a return appearance. According to him, the reason he made the shop was because his pension was revoked, so he has to sell items to make money. Unlike in previous games, he does not directly break the fourth wall, though he makes more subtle comments about the game's structure.
To buy items in Cranky Kong's shop, the player needs to have Banana Coins. In his shop, there are Extra Life Balloons bundled into groups of 1, 3, and 7 balloons. There is also a Heart Boost, which gives Donkey or Diddy the ability to have three hearts for the duration of one level, Banana Juice, which gives limited invincibility, and Squawks the Parrot, who helps the Kongs collect undiscovered Puzzle Pieces in levels. There is also a key for sale, which gives access to the locked path in each world.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[]
Cranky Kong appears as a playable partner character in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and its Nintendo Switch port of the same name, marking the first time he is fully playable in a Donkey Kong Country game (his role as shopkeeper filled by Funky Kong). Cranky is able to use his cane to bounce upward, as well as on spikes, and defeat certain enemies that the other Kongs cannot. His cane can also be utilized while underwater, using a move called the Cane Swipe to attack and take down enemies that cannot be defeated by a simple corkscrew move, such as Pufftups and Sea Urchins. Despite the cane's capabilities, it cannot be used to collapse unsound underwater structures, balancing it in relation to the corkscrew action. Cranky's Denture Popgun has unlimited ammo of dentures, which can be shot at enemies in order to stun them for a brief period of time. Cranky's use of his cane as a pogo stick to attack enemies is similar to the method of attack used by Scrooge McDuck, the main protagonist of Disney's DuckTales, in a video game adaptation of his show that Capcom produced for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is the only game in the Donkey Kong Country series where Cranky does not have any written dialogue.
Donkey Kong 64[]
Cranky turned into a mad scientist and made potions for the five Kongs to buy, necessary to beat the game. He also owned Rare's first game, Jetpac, that could be accessed after earning fifteen Banana Medals. When the player score 5,000 points, they earn the Rareware Coin necessary to beat the game.
Diddy Kong Racing games[]
Diddy Kong Pilot (2001)[]
Cranky was to appear as a playable character in the now cancelled 2001 build of Diddy Kong Pilot. Nothing else is known, except that he seems to pilot a wooden plane.
Diddy Kong Pilot (2003)[]
Cranky appears in the only ROM-available 2003 build of Diddy Kong Pilot. Here, he is the replacement for Bottles from Banjo-Pilot. He also resides in his cabin and complains a lot about Team Kremling. He also considers the player a bad pilot until defeating King K. Rool in a dogfight battle. As well as all that, he explains the game to the player.
Once Donkey Kong is defeated by Team Kremling in a dogfight battle, Team Cranky, only having Cranky in the team himself, is unlocked.
In DK series[]
DK: King of Swing[]
Cranky taught players how to play the game, along with Wrinkly Kong.
In other media[]
The Super Mario Bros. Movie[]
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Cranky Kong in the movie.
Cranky Kong will appear in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.[2]
Gallery[]
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To view Cranky Kong's image gallery, click here.
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References[]
- ↑ Playing with Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics Prima Games, p. 112 - "THE DK LINEAGE: Super Mario Kart is the only Mario Kart game to feature Donkey Kong Jr. Due to the success of Donkey Kong Country, all future Mario Kart entries featured Donkey Kong, who is actually Donkey Kong Jr.'s son, with Cranky Kong, aka Donkey Kong Sr., canonically being the character featured in the original Donkey Kong game. Make sense, right?"
- ↑ Illumination (2022-11-30). The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Retrieved on 2022-11-30.
| Donkey Kong characters | |
|---|---|
| Kong Family | Donkey Kong • Diddy Kong • Cranky Kong • Dixie Kong • Funky Kong • Lanky Kong • Tiny Kong • Wrinkly Kong • (Donkey Kong Jr.) • Candy Kong • Kiddy Kong • Chunky Kong • Swanky Kong |
| Kremlings | King K. Rool • Kritter • Klaptrap • Klump • Krusha • Kopter • Krunch • Kip • Kass • Kalypso • Kludge |
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