Donkey Kong Country it has long been considered one of the most beautiful games on the Super Nintendo, and part of it can be attributed to the designs of former Rare artist Kev Bayliss. In a new YouTube video, Bayliss revealed a series of early sketches of the game, including designs for Donkey Kong, Winky, the Kremlings and more. It’s a fascinating look at the design process and should be of equal interest to those who played the game when it was released in 1994, and to those who discovered it last year when it was released on Nintendo Switch!
The video can be found embedded below.
Bayliss’ designs are a little “more animated” than the versions that ended in the final game, but still feel the same. It’s easy to see how those sketches evolved into the designs that made it to the final game. Although most of the characters that appeared in Donkey Kong Country were totally original, Rare had to make a considerable effort to modernize Donkey Kong from the version that initially appeared in the arcades alongside its former enemy, Mario.
Rare’s approach to Donkey Kong has clearly been very successful. This version of DK not only appeared in a trio of SNES games, but the redesign of the character began to appear in Mario family games, as Mario Kart 64 and Mario Party. Despite this close association with Nintendo’s mustache mascot, DK is notably absent from Universal Studios Japan’s Super Nintendo World attraction. However, a dataminer was able to discover seals and materials related to the character in the Super Nintendo World app. These materials present Rare’s vision of DK, as well as Diddy Kong and more. This may indicate that the theme park attraction may see Donkey Kong content at some point in the future!
Many designs from previous games are often lost or discarded, so it’s really amazing to see that Bayliss’s sketches managed to survive for more than 25 years. Maybe one day they’ll even see the release as part of a game-based art book! Given the popularity and relevance that Donkey Kong Country keeps after all these years, it certainly seems like a possibility.
What do you think of this early? Donkey Kong Country conceptual art? Are you a fan of the Super Nintendo game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about games!