The sheer AMOUNT you went through to scrub out Kiddy Kong from this entire video is absolutely stupefying.

Y'all are totally missing the meaning behind the game's subtitle...It's called 'Dixie Kong's DOUBLE Trouble', because Dixie is all on her own without a partner character, which means that, proportionally speaking, she's encountering and taking on DOUBLE the TROUBLE because she's doing it all by herself without being one half of a duo! It's basic math, people!!!

The way you avoided showing or mentioning he who shall not be named, even ending the video like 1 frame before he would have been busted out of that barrel was just masterful. I applaud you for having so expertly avoided any mention or image of him, even going as far to photoshop and print out a new sticker for the cartridge.

I love how Dixie is the only playable Kong in this game. It would be pretty lame if she had some ugly baby with her the whole time.

This magnificent bastard just made a 54 minute video, retconned the existence of Kiddy Kong, and played it completely straight-faced the entire time as if it's always been the timeline we're living in.

This. This is how you do April Fool's.

So glad Dixie got her own solo game!

The whole video had me on my toes “when does he mention him?” then, I started to see details like only footage with Dixie being shown, a certain someone being edited out of the title screen and even a replaced sticker art on the cartridge. The ending of the video was the cherry on top, this is brilliant!

Gotta appreciate Josh's commitment to the bit that he had to play most of the game with only one hit.

I legit missed the elephant-in-the-room joke for about 5 minutes AFTER we figured out Which Brothers Bear Is Best.
Had to pause the video and yell "WAIT A MINUTE!" while I frantically googled to make sure I hadn't gone crazy, as memories spontaneously flooded back of my best friend playing the game like... twenty years ago?


And I remembered. Ooooohhhh, I remembered.
You nearly had me, Geek Critique. You ALMOST had me.

You thought I FORGOT, didn't you? Just tried to gloss over his contributions? Hand-wave his presence like it was nothing?
BUT NO. I wouldn't forget. I could NEVER forget.


....About Benny being the Best Brother Bear!
I mean, he's basically Bjorn, but lets you ride for free from the get-go! Objectively better already.
AND he has no issues for you to fix. Dude has his life together, unlike his broken, resentful brother, or really most of the Brother Bears. He's a real inspiration for us all. Just an awesome guy living his best life.


I sure wish Dixie had gotten someone like him as a partner on her journey. Someone who could really have her back, and be a memorable Player 2, ya know? Oh, well...

I got 45 minutes into this video without realizing that Kiddie wasn't mentioned or shown a single time. this is great.

You know he who must not be named is actually an Easter egg in the Mario movie. He’s sitting in the stands in the background.

13:23 "...given how truncated this was..." while talking about the elephant.  Gold tier pun.

One of the greatest triumphs of DKC3 is that if effectively pulls off a theme of venturing out into the unknown.

DKC1 was essentially the Kongs defending their serene and beautiful territory against the Kremling intrusion, with Krekmkroc Industries Inc being an example of what DK Island could become if K Rool and company aren't stopped. DKC2 was the inverse, putting our heroes behind enemy lines; featuring darker settings and haunted (sometimes literally) landscapes that they have to survive in.

The Northern Kremisphere is thus a departure from both, emphasizing it being almost a frontier to explore, down to even the main musical theme being neither friendly nor foreboding, but almost mysterious. You don't know much about this new land, but both the Kongs and you the player are drawn into seeing more of it. The more open section of the hub world is an extension of that, inviting one to really look over it like a cartographer poring over a map of a new land.

And in a way, I think even the level design itself fits that theme in a gameplay sense. Rare was experimenting with stage gimmicks in a 2D platformer like few developers ever had, and that (given the genre's hibernation over the next dozen plus years) few would to the same extent until relatively recently. DKC3 is a game about going into uncharted territory in both a thematic and meta sense, and while the eventual discovery isn't always perfect (see certain level gimmicks and the resolution of KAOS) its central identity is a worthwhile and distinct one.

It's weird that you didn't mention the removal of the partner system. It feels really jarring, especially since it was effectively the health system as well. One hit now means instant death no matter what, a surprisingly harsh turn from the extra hit you could take and replenish in the last two games. I guess they had already stuck Funky Kong to his role in the final game, but it would've been nice if you could partner up with him or something.

The amount of work to cut out Kiddie's existence entirely 🤣🤣🤣🤣 to even cropping him out of the cartridge, you're a hero and this is probably one of your best critiques 👍

Still find it funny that both Diddie and Dixie appear in the trilogy more than Donkey Kong himself.

Ya know, I always found it weird how Dixie never got her own partner in this game. Like in the previous two, we got to play as the titular character with a new face to come along on the ride. Dkc1 gave us Diddy, and dkc2 gave us Dixie. I guess rare couldn't come up with anyone for this game. It was pretty frustrating having to die in one hit. Really makes ya wish they added someone else. Like sure, the games perfectly fine without it, but it would have been very welcome to have any kind of partner no matter who it was. Just image what kind of character the geniuses at rare could have come up with if they just felt like putting in the effort. A character that would be as celebrated, and revered as the rest of the DK cast. If only . . .

The way you Thanos'd Kiddy Kong out of existence is just metal.

I really like the symbolism of the whole video, that being the absence of Kiddy Kong. One of the talking points in your DKC3 critique was a segment of shamelessly bashing Kiddy because he replaced the other two Kongs. Leaving him completely out of this video is symbolic of how your perspective has changed, and how you're looking at the game through a more fair—more mature—lens. Even if he's part of the game, him being present is inconsequential to the game's quality.
At first when I saw the modified title screen without Kiddy in it, I thought it was going to be played off as a joke. However, the more I started to understand that this video was about letting go of childhood bias, the more I started to understand what him being absent was paramount to this video's thesis.
At an age of not yet 25, I've never really strayed too far from playing video games that conform to what I think a video game SHOULD BE based on experiences that I've had with them since my childhood, but this video has had an impact on me. Maybe I, too, need to be more patient with the games I play, and give games I would have never considered myself liking a change.

As always, TGC, keep up the quality work. You have a true gift.

I noticed a kong barrel at 47:36 I wonder what the purpose of it is as dixie is alone in this game