News Archive
June 13, 2017
I'm so very, very happy :D
Cheers,
~Gibbon
January 13, 2017 Big News! Yestrday Nintendo held a press conference where they showed off their new system and some games for it. Including this(!): NEW DONK CITY! DKViner Zedxclon has written up an interesting article on it and the classic Donkey Kong Cities that have preceded it. You can read it HERE Keep an eye out as we strive to bring you more info on this latest game that we can proudly count among the Expanded Arcade Era! Cheers, ~Gibbon
November 7, 2016
Well, I actually have a host of updates I've been meaning to post about, so this update's going to be a bit lengthy.
First up, we've got a forum now! Join the discussion at dkgirder.freeforums.net!
Next up, I recently discovered the existence of a Europe-exclusive Donkey Kong Slot Machine!
Released in June of 1996, it seems to be based both on Donkey Kong Country 1 and the original arcade Donkey Kong.
Next up, friend and forum member Milo has informed me of some updates to the Sky Skipper restoration project!
Nintendo of America recently revealed that they had, hidden away in the vaults, Sky Skipper machine number 001! They've granted access to the machine to the members of the restoration project, which should be of great help. You can read more about it here.
Finally, friend Milo has also done some work of his own! I recently scanned the comic in the back of the Donkey Kong '94 Guide and Milo cleaned it up and translated it!
October 13, 2016 I recently sat down with the Sega Ages Collection Volume 25 for Playstation 2 and took what I think might be the only existent footage on the internet of the PS2 version of Congo Bongo. Watch me fumble through the game below. It turns out that my modded PS2 couldn't run it so I had to rely on some emulators, but still, fun times. Fortuitously, I discovered that Hardcore Gaming 101's next Sega Arcade Classics book will feature Congo Bongo!
Here's a better look at the cover art below:We've updated our Patreon tiers! $2 will get your name credited in future books! Plus, previews of upcoming stuff: https://t.co/8ttN9c798m pic.twitter.com/ms1eJJuW7a
— Hardcore Gaming 101 (@HG_101) October 12, 2016
Good stuff! Good time to be a Congo Bongo fan :)
Cheers,
~Gibbon
October 1, 2016 New Episode of the podcast is up! With special guest Milo, of DKVine & Tumblr. Direct Download HERE Again, hope yall like it! Milo's Tumblr: http://miloscat.tumblr.com/ Milo's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiloScat Milo's Honourable Mentions feature on DKVine: http://www.dkvine.com/games/honourable_mentions.html Cheers, ~Gibbon
July 26, 2016 Now with more podcast! Episode 0 of The Arcade Era Power Hour is now up and about! Direct download HERE Hope yall like it! Cheers, ~Gibbon
July 14, 2016 Nintendo's releasing a new Mini NES later this year!
Among the games announced are Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Mario Bros., and Ice Climber! Good times, good times. I know I'll be ordering mine asap. :) Cheers, ~GibbonNintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System arrives on 11/11 w/ 30 games included! https://t.co/yN2sJmjxDf pic.twitter.com/1BmIHbldbn
— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) July 14, 2016
July 9, 2016
Happy 35th, Donkey Kong and Mario!
Knock back a cold one, you've earned it.
Cheers,
~Gibbon
July 7, 2016
Became aware today of an interesting version of the Vs. Golf arcade title, Vs. Ladies Golf
This, combined with the following flyer I was able to track down, suggests that it's our very own Pauline!
Family BASIC came out the year prior, so not quite her playable debut, but it's always fun to find more, yeah?
Cheers,
~Gibbon
June 19, 2016
Speaking of amiibo, I stumbled across an interesting piece while looking through custom jobs:
No idea on the source, so if anybody knows, feel free to shoot me a line on twitter or DKVine or something.
Cheers,
~Gibbon
June 16, 2016
They've just announced a bunch of new Amiibo display stands.
Among them is a familiar-looking set-piece...
Cool beans!
And it looks like you might be able to stack them high than just the initial three shelves if you buy more.
There's also going to be some Mario and Zelda themed ones but who cares about those? :p
Cheers,
~Gibbon
May 21, 2016
DKVine poster MFWolfe has pointed me towards a rather spectacular find!
A veritable "lost" early Nintendo arcade title, Sky Skipper, has finally been recovered!
GO CHECK OUT THE AMAZING ARTICLE!
It's pretty magnificent for a 1981 arcade title, featuring both up and down AND side to side scrolling, and the level of detail on the sprites is pretty great considering the time period.
So the question is: is the "Guest Star", this "Gorilla", any relation to our beloved Kong?
WELL...
After each level, we are treated to a scene of "Gorilla" encaged while "Mr You" celebrateds. Gorilla roars out a "Dammit! I'll escape!" (language!) while a tune plays. And one of the tunes that play is the familiar DOnkey Kong arcade theme!
So maybe not explicit, but the inference was definitely deliberately made by Nintendo :)
All in all, a spectacular find. Will be keeping my eyes open for a cabinet, but will content myself with the MAME rom in the mean time.
Cheers,
~Gibbon
May 5, 2016 Trying something new with the news layout again... In other news, Mini-Mario & Friends is out in the US! Go check it out! Cheers, ~Gibbon
January 13, 2016 BIG BIG NEWS! Nintendo has just announced a new title: MINI-MARIO & FRIENDS: AMIIBO CHALLANGE - PRESENT CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL SITE FOUND HERE In a strange twist of fate, the series has finally decided to apparently ditch the "real world" aspects and nominally star the minis. I'll be providing coverage as the next stage of evolution of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. Exciting times! Cheers, ~Gibbon
October 28, 2015 BIG BIG NEWS! DKVine Forum meber Glowsquid has made me aware of a Donkey Kong 3 sequel made by Hudson for Home Computers in 1984, released in October, according to a quick search through some obscure Japanese sites! Trippy stuff, right? Cheers, ~Gibbon
July 25, 2015
First and foremost, Pixels is out!
I've heard that it's delitefully aweful, so I'll probably go see it sometime this weekend, if only to see our big galumphing guy in action :p
I gather that he (and his arcade game) are a bit more than just another game reference in the film, so I'll be interested to see how that plays out.
Additionally, I'd like to appologize for the lack of updates. I recently started a new job and it's been eating up a lot of my time. All is not lost though! I'm still plugging away at this and other things, so all's good :)
Remember, "Keep Calm, and Donkey Kong"
Cheers,
~Gibbon
June 19, 2015
First of all, props to DK Vine forum member GManSir for pointing out the upcoming Mario vs. Donkey Kong update for the Japanese-only 3DS eShop title Collectible Badge Center!
Secondly over in the Articles section, you'll find three articles that comprise parts 1 through 3 of the Jungle Beat Translation Project.
A while ago, I took it upon myself to order the Japanese Donkey Kong Jungle Beat guide, see if it had enemy listings, among other things, and, if so, scan and translate them.
The enemy lists was somewhat of a staple of the Donkey Kong Country games and guides that sort of faded out during the N64 era, before picking up again in Retro's DKC revival series.
At least, that's how it went down in the West.
In Japan, the guides continued to have enemy and boss listings and descriptions through the N64, GBA, Gamecube, and NDS titles.
So, as DKVine is mostly focussed on the "Country" side of things, I took it upon myself to expand my horrizons a bit from "Arcade Donkey Kong" to "Non-Country Donkey Kong, and thus was the Jungle Beat family of console and arcade games welcomed to the DKGirder family.
As such you can find articles covering translations and DKVine Comunity-driven localizations for the Bosses and Enemies, a detailed world overview rundown of the Japanese Area Names, as well as a look back at what Jungle Beat brought to the series that I wrote up when I was done with all the translating.
I hope you find them all enjoyable and enlightening!
Cheers
~Gibbon
June 18, 2015
Managed a gif of the Donkey Kong '94 reference in Skylanders SuperChargers!
A wonderful little reference, really. :)
Donkey Kong's moveset in this game is super respectful to the franchise as a whole. I'm really looking forward to it!
~Gibbon
June 14, 2015
Wasn't expecting much of any Arcade Era news at E3, but we've already got some snippets!
First off, a pastiche of the Arcade Donkey Kong on the pip-boy in Fallout 4!
Additionally, Mario is sporting an update of his Wrecking Crew '98 duds on the new Super Mario Maker promotional images:
Fun times, fun times.
June 11, 2015 Did some prelim work on the character pages, ported over some more articles, and started a twitter handle! You can see me trying to figure out how this "tweeting" thing works at @IMGibbon Cheers, ~Gibbon
June 7, 2015
Some Old-School Cool: A magazine add for the Super Game Boy and its launch title, Donkey Kong
Also, updated some more pages around the site.
It's a work in progress, but I hope people are liking what they're seeing so far.
Cheers,
~Gibbon
May 28, 2015
DKVine Forum Member JordanFreeman pointed out this lovely little Guild Card from the latest round of monthly DLC for Monster Hunter 4!
Also, the kind folks over at the aforementioned DKVine.com have given us a shoutout!
If imitation is flattery, our heads couldn't get any bigger. Check out this WIP site from #DKVineForum's I.M.Gibbon! http://t.co/elYLsBRB0v
— DK Vine (@dkvine) May 28, 2015May 20, 2015 Ported over more articles, as well as filling in some more of the rest of the site. Sorry it hasn't been going quicker, medical issues trying to kick me in the face and all. Cheers! ~Gibbon
May 13, 2015 Finally got around to doing some work on the site. Porting over posts from the Arcade Era topic over on the DKVine Forums where I've been doing a sort of dry-run for the sort of stuff I want to post here. You can find the pieces in question over under the Articles tab. Enjoy!