DKC Atlas Forum

[Kiddy14]

Well, I don't know if anybody else has watched this review from DKC, but at the end, there are some of what I think beta shots from DKC2 Because:

1.- There's no fog in Web Woods.
2.- When Dixie threw Diddy in Web Woods, his sprite was still over Dixie's.
3.- Lava Lagoon has no lava.
4.- The water level didn't change.
5.- When Dixie floated and stopped, her hair didn't start whirling as it usually does.
6.- There's a storm in Mainbrace Mayhem and Krow's Nest.

**MODERATOR: Renamed Topic**

[BlueTronic]

Tal, you seem to have left out the most obvious ones:
7. there's Klaptraps in Lava Lagoon!
8. You move straight through Zingers!
9. You don't swim in the water, you just fall down!

Also, some less noticeable ones:
10. In Parrot Chute Panic Diddy walks in the air instead of hanging on Purple Squawks.
11. In Web Woods, there's a banana bunch in the walls.

It simply has to be a beta shot. I mean c'mon, Klaptraps in Lava Lagoon!

[Kiddy14]

OMG Yeah, those are Klaptraps! O_o

I also noticed:

1.- Bananas don't have animations.
2.- There are no counters in screen.
3.- Diddy not only walks in the air while Dixie's in Squawks, he also does it while she's in ropes.
4.- That Squawk in Parrot Chute Panic isn't a blue one.
4.- Dixie walks through the honey.

by the way, the Banana Bunch isn't stuck, you can just walk to the right, kill that sword guy, and grab it XD

And...

Spoiler!

OMG... Klaptraps in Lava Lagoon!!1!!eleven!

[Qyzbud]

Wow, those are very beta indeed. You've turned up some good stuff lately, Tal.

Almost as strange as seeing Klaptraps in Lava Lagoon, was hearing this guy's "factual report"

"Donkey Kong Country is truly perfect."

"If you do not get this amazing new generation of Donkey Kong madness, you are stupid!

Yes, I know; that's insulting, but it's also the truth."

I mean, I agree, but...

By the way, Topsail Trouble & Krow's Nest looked great in that vid. The darker storm aesthetics were very well suited, I think.

[Kiddy14]

I wonder if those effects in Mainbrace Mayhem and Krow's Nest are still in the game code. We know Klaptraps aren't since they were removed with the Klampon sprites, but it can be

By the Way, how people call me makes me feel tall XD

[Qyzbud]

Yeah, the rigging levels' weather effects might be PAR/RAM-tweakable. I found a way to have proper lightning strikes appear in DKC's jungles (see the Atlas' codes page for that), instead of just the flashes you see in Ropey Rampage... so you never know what might be possible in DKC2.

[Raccoon Sam]

Wow, Klaptraps in DKC2? I'm gonna hope they're still somewhere in the ROM :>

[Goe]

great...i love that video...the only bad ponit is too much DKC footage...i'd pefer see more DKC2 beta footage.

The bananas don't move...and Squawks only wears Dixie, while diddy is floating in the air!

[bruss2]

one of the first things I noticed in Lava Lagoon (besides Klaptraps and no lava) is that the water level didn't rise as diddy moved forward in the level as it does in the game.

In Mainbrace Mayhem, there should be a halfway barrel above the ropes by the Neek, and there should be a bunch of Neeks in a row.

The egg that Krow drops stays at the same height for a few bounces instead of getting lower.

[[KJ]StErOiDs]

The kongs dropping through the water in the ship's hold is a dead giveaway of a beta sneak-peak.

It seems to me that part of the animation is missing when Diddy and Dixie climb horizontally through the rigging at about 5:05 in the video. I just remember that as being a whole lot smoother in the DKC2 I've played.

Now, when was this video promo released; does anybody know? I'm really wondering what the hell was going through Rareware's mind to be so far along in DKC2 development before DKC was even released!

Or if portions of DKC2 were even meant to be a sequel to begin with, rather than part of DKC.

I've just always imagined DKC2 beginning development in 1995, following DKC's release and extremely favorable reception.

Buuuut in any case, incredible, absolutely incredible video. Thanks so much for sharing with us!

[PotoGamer]

Wow, I saw that review almost 6 months ago, and I didn't notice that the footage at the end had so many differences from the original version!

Oh, and I noticed that Diddy is walking in the air while Dixie is going from rope to rope. It's similar to how Diddy originally walked in the air while Dixie rode Squawks in Hornet Hole.

[Lanky Kong]

i found this video from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6bLx2i0tyg

noticed also is "Level 0" (Beta Web Woods)

this code can access the level: 7E06A907

[Sora444]

Wow, those are very beta indeed. You've turned up some good stuff lately, Tal.

Almost as strange as seeing Klaptraps in Lava Lagoon, was hearing this guy's "factual report"

"Donkey Kong Country is truly perfect."

"If you do not get this amazing new generation of Donkey Kong madness, you are stupid!

Yes, I know; that's insulting, but it's also the truth."

I mean, I agree, but...

By the way, Topsail Trouble & Krow's Nest looked great in that vid. The darker storm aesthetics were very well suited, I think.

navgtr ftw. now wheres DKC4 where Candy gets Breast Cancer

[Tiptup Jr.]

Alright, I'd just like to comment on how ridiculous the above "Donkey Kong Country is perfect" quote is. I mean, I like the game as much as anyone else, but does he know how much of an a**hole he sounds like? Like... seriously. That was just dumb. Grrr.

[dkc2fan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAHUXDTX2TQ this is the video of e3 of1995
have many beta elements of dkc2

[aperson98]

I think I may have found a DKC1 leftover in DKC2. Nothing too exciting it appears to be DK's getting tagged SFX from the first game being played when I was using Squawks and shooting nuts with him.


here's the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tMjPvsAfWg

[Kiddy14]

DKC2 uses the same monkey sound effects from DKC1. You can hear that sound when switching in DKC2 and DKC3 too, just a little bit high-pitched (and a little bump from the kick).

[aperson98]

@ Kiddy14 - You are right Kiddy14 that is still used in the game. It seems that the tag sound may have been spliced together from the old monkey SFX from the first game. the lower pitched part of the tag sound plays very briefly so it is easy to miss.

[dkc2fan]

Look this image is for 1995 e3 http://img812.imageshack.us/f/072s.jpg/
Many sprites for DKC1 was used by DKC2 beta.
in a nintendo power (76 exactly) Has a dkc2 image that appears the k letter sprite for dkc1 and mr X image, but more editions later this was removed

[Mattrizzle]

That screenshot just reminded me of something...

The wasp hive levels in the final version still have DKC1 Zingers in the background honeycombs!
Also, the Zingers flying around the main Crocodile Isle map use a scaled-down version of the DKC1 model with an added turning animation.

[aperson98]

@ Mattrizzle - Yeah I noticed that too I made an image comparing the Zingers of DKC 2 with the first one. The one from the first game matches the background graphics of the wasp hive levels much better then the used in DKC2 itself. I wonder if the Zinger's had a design change very late in game development.

The image-

[Katastrophe Kong]

Quite a bit of a bump here, but I was reading some magazine scans I found promoting Donkey Kong Country 2 in the days of pre-release and I noticed some differences:

- Gloomy Gulch's placeholder name was "The Haunted Forest", Krazy Kremland's was "Kremland Amusement Park", Krem Quay was just "The Swamp", and K. Rool's Keep was "K. Rool's Castle".

- Kong Kollege was "Wrinkly's Schoolroom", Monkey Museum was "Cranky's Junk Shop", where he apparently sold "game stuff", Swanky's Bonus Bonanza was "Swanky's Game Show", and Klubba's Kiosk was "Klubba's Toll Booth".

- It mentions the ghost ropes were to appear in Crocodile Cauldron.

- Kannon was named "Klumpa", and Kruncha was still named "Krusha".

- It's also the same magazine that features Mr. X's render, yet it makes no reference to him. Though the description of "the Ghost Pirate who haunts the forests shadows" may imply that Mr. X was an earlier design of Kackle.

[Simion32]

<<< This. (see above)

[Katastrophe Kong]

:k: <<< This. (see above)

I just got what you said.

[Gaz]

The DKC Kong Letter sprites were used in the beta? If one was to eve get the beta, I hope they'd release it.

[Gaz]

I know this is going to be a bit of a bump, but I have found a video with interesting DKC2 beta footage (especially the ending): http://www.videodetective.com/games/donkey-kong-country-2-diddy-kongs-quest/5795

Things I've noticed:
*Kaptain K. Rool is referred to as King K. Rool.
*The rain in Mainbrace Mayhem
*When Diddy jumps on Kruncha, it doesn't turn red.
*The cool ending (more fun when you see it yourselves).
*Krow appears to be Kreepy Krow at Krow's Nest, which itself has rain.

I'm sure there are more differences, but those are the most obvious ones.

Because you cannot download the video, I've recorded it and modified it slightly:

DKC2 Video.zip

(2.55 MiB) Downloaded 2415 times

Image:

vlcsnap-2013-12-18-17h08m38s114.png (74.16 KiB) Viewed 183010 times

I also think this should not just involve DKC2 SNES's beta screenshots, but also the beta information of the game itself.

Mattrizzle
Qyzbud
Geno

[Geno]

So, what I saw

-Banana SFX sounds wonky (Too high pitched)
- Odd SMW-ish sounds in the shot with Kannon (sounds like the sound from SMW when Magikoopa shoots magic at you) EDIT: Also, the brick/flip block breaking sound is VERY audible.
-Kruncha doesn't yell
-Mining Melancholy appears to me missing, or very quiet, or VERY DIFFERENT (might be what those weird SFX in the Kannon shot were from)
-And that title screen animation at the end. SO COOL, WHY WASN'T THAT USED (well, besides the fact that the logo changed)
-Plus, the dude speaking mentioned 2 Player SIMULTANEOUS gameplay. So, 2 players, playing at the exact same time?

This video gave me the same feeling that I got when watching early SMW, SM64, and SMS (Mario Sunshine) footage: like there was some cool stuff left out of the final versions of those games, and it's a shame that they were removed. (Although that really only applies to the last two things)

[Mattrizzle]

- Odd SMW-ish sounds in the shot with Kannon (sounds like the sound from SMW when Magikoopa shoots magic at you) EDIT: Also, the brick/flip block breaking sound is VERY audible.

It's very likely those sounds were added to the video in post-production, along with the accompanying Super Nintendo logo in the bottom left corner. Notice how they play in-sync with the logo's animation.


That ending is really cool. However..

...the more I look at it, the more it looks like a mockup. It seems to be too wide for the SNES's native resolution.

[Geno]

Well, after viewing it again, you are right about the SMW sounds thing, but the ending part is the same resolution as the actual gameplay shown, so yeah. It's probably like what some TVs did, where they stretch the screen a tiny bit.

[Katastrophe Kong]

I noticed in this video...

There's no background to the ship cabin.

Spoiler!

And Rattly is already out of his box when the Kongs encounter him.

Spoiler!

Also in the video that Gaz posted...

Sure the title screen is different, cool, and animated, but the name of the game is different, too. The final game is called "Diddy's Kong-Quest" to be a pun off of "conquest", but here it's called "Diddy Kong's Quest." Also, Diddy's eyes look a little crossed.

Spoiler!

EDIT: Also I found another video to analyze: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QIskOXzXO8

In the first shot of the video (and later on) we see the early Web Woods.

Other differences:

1:21 - Static bananas
1:29 - No overhead banana trail
1:32 - Bananas don't go to any counter
1:43 - Barrel moves noticeably slower when thrown (you throw like a girl! )
2:00 - Dixie moves noticeably slower up the map
2:04 - Kongs don't get stuck in the honey
2:12 - Kongs don't grab onto ghost ropes
2:19 - Kaboings staying stationary and not jumping
2:36 - DKC Kong letter
2:37 - No cart, fireworks seem more frequent
2:42 - DKC Kong letter

[Geno]

IT appears that in that video, not only are thrown barrels slower, they're so slow that THEY AREN'T MOVING AT ALL!

And at around 01:55, that Cat 'o' Nine Tails render has it with BROWN fur, unlike the final one, where it's fur is blue!

I find the lack of banana counter, and banana animations odd. You'd think that DKC2 was built off of DKC1, especially with the various photos and videos with Kalptraps, DKC1 Zingers, and of course, the DKC1 letters, but it appears that that must not be the case, as if it WAS built off of DKC1, the banana counter and the animated bananas would still be present.

[Katastrophe Kong]

They probably changed the color of the fur to make it... wait. Why would they do that? It was more cat-like when he had brown fur. Maybe they just wanted to make him look more cartoony...?

Also the banana thing also happened in the early builds of Donkey Kong Country 3, and if that was built off DKC2 I have no idea what's going on with the bananas.

[Blue Banana]

10. In Parrot Chute Panic Diddy walks in the air instead of hanging on Purple Squawks.

You're a little color blind, the Squawks is blue, purple is Quawks, Just giving you a heads-up.

EDIT: My mistake, he is green.

[axel]

Hello.

I would like to share some Donkey Kong Country 2 Beta Images from a German Videogame Magazine with you.

[Markster]

So, Krem Quay was originally Swamp Quay. interesting.

[Qyzbud]

Interesting post, axel; thanks for sharing!

I can't understand much German, so I'm probably missing out on some good info, but I love that every screenshot pictured has at least one notable difference from the final game.

Welcome to DKC Atlas, by the way.

[VideoViking]

*merged*

Due to the many PostIts made possible by the Gregg Hayles Twitter account, I am creating this thread to catalog all the elements that were dropped from the final release. A thing to note is that, unlike DKC1, DKC2 did not get a behind-the-scenes look for this one reason: what's the point. Therefore, we never got to see original enemy placements, item locations, and other goodies. But what we do have is cold mysteries coming to a close.

Take Kleever's Klin for instance. Why was there an open spot behind the entrance? Turns out it was a hidden spot for Squawks the parrot. That's right: you could have fought as Squawks in two boss levels!

Source: Gregg's Twitter Account

If anyone else has any stuff to share on Donkey Kong Country 2, go on ahead.

[Geno]

I think, in the same post you linked up there, that having Klubba as the Lost World's boss is a super cool idea!
It's interesting how his battle seems to be a mix of Kudgel, and Dumb Drum

Dunno if I like Klubba letting you into the Lost World and then betraying you, or Klubba letting you into the Lost World and turning on K. Rool better, but I can see why they changed it. Having K. Rool not be the true final boss kinda makes the game seem less focused on him as a villain.

Although, I bet Kudgel is all that they managed to get done for Klubba, before deciding to put K. Rool in Krocodile Kore.

[Lanky Kong]

Now that's an interesing fact about

...and now if someone hacked Squawks into Kleever's Klin...

[Geno]

I'm actually surprised nobody mentioned the Gangplank Galleon image, because
I just noticed how odd it is

Besides the obvious lack of a player and level name on the map...
For one thing, every icon is level icons. Monkey Museum, Kong Kollege, Swanky's Bonus Bonanza, and Funky's Flights II are all Diddys
And of the icons, the ones for Topsail Trouble and Lockjaw's Locker icons are completely absent
And speaking of the Kong Kollege icon, it is underwater! I betcha that's one of those scrapped underwater stages that used "Stickerbrush Symphony" as the music.

Also, which levels there are cleared or not don't make much sense
They all display Diddy faces, except Pirate Panic, Mainbrace Mayhem, Ganplank Galley, and Krow's Nest, so I have no clue what the path on the map must be
(Additionally, Krow's Nest uses the normal Klomp icon instead of a )

[Lanky Kong]

I'm actually surprised nobody mentioned the Gangplank Galleon image, because
I just noticed how odd it is

Besides the obvious lack of a player and level name on the map...
For one thing, every icon is level icons. Monkey Museum, Kong Kollege, Swanky's Bonus Bonanza, and Funky's Flights II are all Diddys
And of the icons, the ones for Topsail Trouble and Lockjaw's Locker icons are completely absent
And speaking of the Kong Kollege icon, it is underwater! I betcha that's one of those scrapped underwater stages that used "Stickerbrush Symphony" as the music.

Also, which levels there are cleared or not don't make much sense
They all display Diddy faces, except Pirate Panic, Mainbrace Mayhem, Ganplank Galley, and Krow's Nest, so I have no clue what the path on the map must be
(Additionally, Krow's Nest uses the normal Klomp icon instead of a )

If you notice there, Topsail Trouble is STILL there, and Lockjaw's Locker is moved a bit upwards right.

[Retro]

When I was going through Gregg Mayles #DKC2is20 Twitter posts, I found something that was very interesting:

Spoiler!

And here is the text of the concept sheet for easier copying:

Spoiler!

Each different list indicates a different image is above.

Klubba Golb [not sure what the second word is, any suggestions?]

Klubba EOLB [End of Level Boss, suggested by Mattrizzle.]

• Played on 2x1 screen.

• Klubba drops in at start, screen shakes, player can't move. Klubba insults player via onscreen text.

• Klubba leaps off screen after whistling. Baddies appear in puff of smoke somewhere on the screen. (Baddies will be varied + increase in difficulty)

• Upon killing last of the baddies, and object is set up in the center of the screen (to throw at Klubba) (object will vary)

Klubba bellows before drop and is angry red

• Klubba drops in after a short delay. If you are on the floor when he lands (he aims to land next to you), you will be immobilised (any carried object will be dropped + land)

After a short delay, Klubba will swing his club (player recovers prior to swing, so if at end of his club range could have time to dogde it)

• Player should jump to avoid immobilisation effect. If throw barrel at him, it will either break or bounce off (depending on what it is)
• Klubba jumps back offscreen + then lands again + swings (does this 3 times)

• After 3 bounces + swings, Klubba stands still + taps club, enabling player to hit him with the object (Klubba returns to normal cours to indicate status)
• After hit goes back to setting up next set of baddies.

• Later stage Klubba drops + swings, then hops across, land + shakes screen + swings again + hops + swings a 3rd time. Height of hop varies too, small hops = very tricky!

• When Klubba dies, screen shakes + explosion appear all round the power source + top of stairs (rocks fly off). Power source flashes + flickers + then fades, player run off screen as rocks + debris starts to fall
• Goes to super end sequence.

End of spoilered text.

Apparently, Klubba was planned to be the final boss of the Lost World, instead of K. Rool (I say final boss because of the text on the bottom right of the sheet: "Goes to super end sequence". He would have started with the summoning of some baddie minions (this concept reminds me of Dumb Drum), and then would have went into a jumping routine like Kudgel. Unlike Kudgel, he would have have swung his club after each time he landed, and would have had smaller jumps in addition to the large jumps in the second stage of the battle.

It appears to me that this was pre-Kudgel as well as pre-K. Rool. If Kudgel had been a boss already, I don't see why Rare would have duplicated him to be the final boss of the entire game.

What I am curious about is if this is pre-Klubba's Kiosk (it probably is.) If it isn't, then that would have meant Klubba was leading the Kongs to their final battle with him, where he would betray them.

[Mattrizzle]

Perhaps the title on that concept sheet is "Klubba EOLB." EOLB stands for End-of-Level Boss.

[Retro]

Ah, yes. That makes sense. How did you think of that?

I will go back and edit it.

EDIT: Although, now that I think about it why would it be end-of-level boss? Wouldn't it be EOWB - End of World Boss?

[WesternTanager794]

I’m rehashing this topic so that when I find something interesting it will be easy to access. And I will just edit this post.