| Funky Kong | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Series |
Donkey Kong |
|
Debut |
Donkey Kong Country (1994) |
|
Console of origin |
Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
|
Species |
Kong |
|
Gender |
Male |
unky Kong is a Kong inhabitant of Donkey Kong Island and member of the Kong Family. One of the hero Donkey Kong's best friends and allies, Funky Kong first appears in the game Donkey Kong Country and has made various subsequent appearances since, often selling or offering some service to his friends. He occasionally appears as a playable character in spin-off games.
Description[]
Funky Kong has the same general build as fellow Kongs such as Donkey and Kiddy Kong, being both large and muscular; Funky's fur is generally light brown in color. The shade of it varies in his appearances and artwork, being either light or dark. In all of his appearances, Funky wears a pair of sunglasses which conceal what his true eyes look like; however, in Donkey Kong Country, Funky could be seen lifting his sunglasses and revealing a pair of eyes just like Donkey Kong's. Funky's sunglasses were originally black in color in Donkey Kong Country, but virtually all subsequent appearances depict as being purple tinted.
In Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2, Funky Kong's attire is essentially the same, with him wearing a red bandanna with white polka-dots, medals around his neck ("bling"), a purple swimsuit, and sandals.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! radically alters Funky's appearance, having him discard his medals and replace them with tools slung from a tool belt; Funky also wears a white muscle shirt, blue shorts and black boots in this game. Donkey Kong 64 has Funky changing clothes again, with him wearing navy blue and black cammo print in this game. More recently, Funky's appearance has remained consistent, being identical to his attire from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, with his tool belt being replaced by a regular one and no boots.
While Funky's bandanna has always been red with white polka dots in official artwork, in-game sprites depicted it as purple in the first two Donkey Kong Country games and solid red in the third. DK: King of Swing was the first game to depict him with a polka-dot bandanna in his sprites.
History[]
Donkey Kong Country[]
Funky Kong first appears in Donkey Kong Country as the proprietor of Funky's Flights, an airplane service. Found in every area of Donkey Kong Island, Funky will allow both Donkey and Diddy Kong to utilize his Jumbo Barrel to travel to areas of the island they have cleared of King K. Rool's operatives. As well as running Funky's Flights, Funky, in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country, runs Funky's Fishing where a fishing minigame can be played.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest[]
Funky Kong returns in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, where his role is relatively the same as his debut appearance. Found in Funky's Flights II, which is located in every area of Crocodile Isle except the Lost World, Funky will allow Diddy and Dixie Kong to use his Funky Barrel to fly to areas of Crocodile Isle that they have previously visited; although, unlike in Donkey Kong Country, the Kongs will need to pay a certain number of Banana Coins to use the Funky Barrel, though all trips after the first will be free. Funky does not wear his tank-top in this game.
Funky Kong's role is expanded upon in the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Here, Funky, instead of owning the Funky Barrel, has a Gyrocopter, which he will allow Diddy and Dixie to borrow for their adventure if they succeed in beating a mini-game with it. Additionally, at the various Funky's Flights II on Crocodile Isle, Funky will give Diddy and Dixie DK Coins if they beat his minigames. Funky also appears at the ending of the game, planting a bomb on King K. Rool's Flying Krock and rescuing Diddy, Dixie, Donkey, and Cranky Kong from it before it detonates.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble![]
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Funky Kong runs Funky's Rentals in the Northern Kremisphere, near Bazaar's General Store; at the beginning of the game, Dixie Kong must visit Funky in order to pick up her cousin and partner throughout the game, Kiddy Kong, as well as the Motor Boat. As Dixie and Kiddy progress through the game, they can gain various items and give them to Funky, who will use them to create new, more powerful vehicles for them to use and reach new locations.
Throughout Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, references to Funky working on a "secret project" are made by the Brothers Bear; if Dixie and Kiddy confront Funky about this, he will acknowledge that he is working on something, also saying that for a down payment of every DK Coin in the game, he will let the Kongs see what it is and let them use it. If the Kongs do bring Funky all the DK Coins obtainable, he will give them his Gyrocopter, which they can use to locate the Banana Bird Queen and her last three children.
In the Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Funky Kong's role is essentially the same as in the original, with the only difference being that he will allow Dixie and Kiddy to play various minigames in his shop; if the Kongs beat all these minigames, Funky will reward them with a Banana Bird.
Donkey Kong 64[]
In Donkey Kong 64, Funky runs Funky's Armory, which, as its name implies, is a weapons shop which the Kongs can buy weapons and accessories for themselves from. Funky Kong will also give away free ammunition if the Kongs visit him and he has nothing available for sale. In this game, Funky is located in every world except Hideout Helm.
During the ending cut scene of Donkey Kong 64, it is Funky who delivers the final blow to King Krusha K. Rool; as the Kremling King is distracted by Candy Kong, Funky, does his bit, and fires a boot at him, which knocks King Krusha K. Rool through the ceiling of his arena and on to K. Lumsy Island.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[]
After five years of not appearing in games, Funky Kong returns in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as the owner of the item shop (named Funky's Fly 'n' Buy) since Cranky Kong is now a playable character.
Personality[]
Unlike most of his relatives, Funky Kong actually loathes adventuring, preferring to aid his friends through other means, such as through his shops and flight services. He is also portrayed as being bold and energetic, despite his dislike for adventuring. Funky's hobbies include such things as surfing and tinkering with and building various machinery such as vehicles and weapons.