Cranky Kong (クランキーコング) is an elderly ill-tempered ape, known for his scathing, fourth wall-breaking commentary. Introduced in Donkey Kong Country, he has appeared in a number of Donkey Kong games, primarily as a reluctant adviser to Donkey Kong and his various simian pals (in game and in the instruction manuals), as well as running minigames and tutorials. His wife was Wrinkly Kong.
Cranky is the original Donkey Kong character featured in the 1981 arcade game[1]: The current Donkey Kong (introduced in Donkey Kong Country) is either Cranky's grandson[2][3], or his son, an adult Donkey Kong Jr.[4][5]; the canon is divided on this.
As his name implies, Cranky is a perpetually bitter about many things and complains about them to anyone who gives him even the slightest acknowledgment. He is mostly angry about the state of modern video games, once going so far as to complain about how many bits and bytes are used up to simply animate his swinging beard. Every time he sees any such thing he seems to fondly recall his heyday in which he was an 8-bit character with only three frames of animation.
In Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, Cranky's main purpose was to distribute helpful hints about the game's many stages to Donkey Kong and his sidekick Diddy Kong whenever they dropped by his cabin. Donkey Kong Country 2 saw him play a similar role, although this time the player would have to provide enough banana coins to buy specific hints. In Donkey Kong Country 3 he hosted a throwing minigame at Swanky's Sideshow; in the Game Boy Advance versions of Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3, he hosted several minigames, and was briefly playable in one of them.
Donkey Kong 64 saw Cranky deal out potions that granted each of the five playable Kongs special abilities and could be purchased at Cranky's Lab. He also hosted the Jetpac game, and would let you play it after earning 15 Banana Medals. Achieving 5,000 points in Jetpac earned you the Rareware Coin, which was required to beat the game.
Cranky also made cameo appearances in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as well as appearing in Donkey Konga and its sequels. His most recent appearances have been dispensing tips in DK-King of Swing and DK Jungle Climber, and in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast where he served as a fully playable character for the first time (aside from the Dojo minigame of Donkey Kong Country 3's Game Boy Advance port).
Cranky was a regular on the Donkey Kong Country animated series. He was still as senile as in the games, but without his fourth wall-destroying comments. His cabin was where the Crystal Coconut, the mystical bauble that made DK the future ruler of Kongo Bongo Island (as DK Island was called on the show), was kept. Often, Cranky mixed potions, somewhat prefiguring hisDonkey Kong 64 role. He was voiced by Aron Tager, and in the Japanese dub by Ryūsei Nakao.
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Prone to long-winded rants concerning the state of modern video-gaming and fourth-all breaking commentary, Cranky Kong has been viewed as either the grandfather, or father, of the current video game incarnation of Donkey Kong. Though he made his first canonical appearance in Donkey Kong Country, he has intimated, and it has been confirmed, that it was he, Cranky, that once opposed Mario, hurled barrels, and caused general mayhem in the 1981 arcade classic, Donkey Kong. Thus, his previously introduced offspring, Donkey Kong Jr., is in fact a youthful incarnation of the now famous simian hero.
As Cranky however, the aged ape has long been a source of useful hints and tips across the various Donkey Kong Country games, always ready to provide information, though not without a complaint, an insult, or a sharp smack of his cane. In Donkey Kong Country 2, he began to demand coins in exchange for his help, and in the third incarnation of the series, he began to take a more active role in the proceedings, serving as an opponent for Dixie and Kiddy Kong at the Swanky’s Sideshow minigames.
Cranky's main complaint, it seems, is the relative pointlessness of the more advanced graphics engines of the current era. As he laments, he was perfectly satisfied when he was just an 8-bit sprite with only three frames of animation. The sheer amount of processor power, he claims, just to animate the swinging of his beard, is proof that modern programmers have no sense of priorities when it comes to game design.
As Cranky however, the aged ape has long been a source of useful hints and tips across the various Donkey Kong Country games, always ready to provide information, though not without a complaint, an insult, or a sharp smack of his cane. In Donkey Kong Country 2, he began to demand coins in exchange for his help, and in the third incarnation of the series, he began to take a more active role in the proceedings, serving as an opponent for Dixie and Kiddy Kong at the Swanky’s Sideshow minigames.
Cranky's main complaint, it seems, is the relative pointlessness of the more advanced graphics engines of the current era. As he laments, he was perfectly satisfied when he was just an 8-bit sprite with only three frames of animation. The sheer amount of processor power, he claims, just to animate the swinging of his beard, is proof that modern programmers have no sense of priorities when it comes to game design.
