This past weekend, I sat down and powered through the newest Donkey Kong title Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. And as I explored all the game has to offer, I found myself nearly giddy at Cranky Kong’s special ability: to bounce along on his cane like Scrooge McDuck in the NES classic DuckTales.
I love Scrooge McDuck. He is without a doubt the single cartoon character that shaped my childhood—and one that I find even more profound as an adult. So it is no surprise that anything relating to the “Richest Duck in the World” would catch my eye. Though, admittedly, you don’t have to look very hard to see how the DuckTales game inspired some of the newest Donkey Kong Country’s gameplay.
One of the new features in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is that Donkey Kong can break open specially marked “CK” barrels to release Cranky Kong. Cranky then acts as a power-up to Donkey Kong—doubling his health and giving him a special attack. This special attack is the pogo stick-like cane bounce from DuckTales.
Not only does the cane bounce look like Scrooge’s pogo-cane in action, but it also plays exactly the same as well. You can jump higher and move faster while on the cane, kill enemies when you land on them, and even bounce across pits of spikes or thorns without getting hurt.
While not the most useful character power-up (I found Dixie Kong’s helicopter ponytail better for most situations), it’s nostalgic properties always made me eager to use it—especially for the game’s excellent boss fights.
Check out the videos to see the pogo-cane in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and DuckTales: Remastered.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was released in Japan on February 13, 2014. It will be released in the United States and in Europe on February 21, 2014.
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