Pokun wrote:I remember reading that a Rare employee saying that he had designed Super Donkey with the intention of him being a grown up Jr.
[...]
Also Diddy was first supposed to be DK Jr at first, but Nintendo wouldn't allow a complete redesign so they had to make him an original character.
That's what I always find so suspicious with these rumors:
On the one hand, Donkey Kong was designed to be a grown-up Junior.
On the other hand, Diddy was supposed to be Junior.
So, what now? Did they intend the game to star a grown-up Donkey Kong Junior being accompanied by a cloned child version of himself? Or does "was originally intended" simply mean: "We thought about it for five minutes and then abolished the idea immediately"?
Pokun wrote:I read through my DKC manual for mentions of Cranky being his grandfather but I couldn't find any, so I assumed it's possible Cranky is his father.
From the game:
"It's about time you visited your frail, old Grandpa!"
"And what have you brought for your old Grandpa?"
"Well, you've amazed your old Grandpa by getting this far!"
"So, you've finally come to get some game play advice from your old Grandpa!"
This also makes much more sense: Donkey Kong Jr. was the hero of his own old-school game, even rescuing the old Donkey Kong/Cranky. So it doesn't make much sense for Cranky to always complain to him that the new games are crap and that the new Donkey Kong wouldn't last in those games. This fits much better for the grandson who was never in an old-school game.
About whether Nintendo retconned it to be a single Donkey Kong: I wasn't aware of the references in the baseball and the "Brawl" game, so maybe I was wrong with my assumption. Or maybe they just don't care.
Here's another misconception that I once had:
I thought that the "Donkey Kong" Game Boy game intends to show the modern Donkey Kong. After all, he wears a tie and has a pointed head, not a round one.
So, I saw that game as a sequel where the new Donkey Kong kidnaps Pauline, just like his grandfather did.
In the ending sequence, Mario and Donkey Kong make peace with each other, so that was my explanation why he's a hero in the next game, "Donkey Kong Country".
Since Donkey Kong Junior appears in the game as well, I assumed that there are four Donkey Kongs:
The arcade one which is Cranky Kong.
Arcade Donkey Kong Junior.
Donkey Kong from "Donkey Kong Country" and from the Game Boy game.
And
that one's son Donkey Kong Junior from the Game Boy game.
But today, it's obvious to me that the Game Boy game is just supposed to be an enhanced retelling of the arcade game, even though the Donkey Kong from the Game Boy game also wears a tie.
What I don't understand: Which game is canon now? "Donkey Kong" for the arcade or "Donkey Kong" for the Game Boy? If it's the Game Boy version, does that mean that "Donkey Kong Jr." never happened? The idea of Mario putting Donkey Kong into a cage doesn't fit with the Game Boy game's storyline.